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Tuesday November 21 2023

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Rhys Blakely

science correspondent

Rhys Blakely has reported for The Times from South Asia, the US West Coast and Washington DC. The paper has sent him to hunt giant rats in Mumbai and to Oscars parties in Hollywood. In Nashville, Dolly Parton once sang to him. He is now The Times science correspondent and lives in Cambridge.

Showing 1 - 20 of 8010 results

Search for longer life ‘could be catastrophic’ for planet

For thousands of years, mystics sought an elixir that would grant eternal life. That they did not succeed is possibly for the best, the head of a new Cambridge University department has suggested — because immortality would only open the door to a crushing sense of ennui.

Dr Stephen Cave, a philosopher by training, will lead Cambridge’s new Institute for...

Tuesday November 21 2023, 12.01am, The Times

Search for longer life ‘could be catastrophic’ for planet

For thousands of years, mystics sought an elixir that would grant eternal life. That they did not succeed is possibly for the best, the head of a new Cambridge University department has suggested — because immortality...

Tuesday November 21 2023, 12.01am, The Times

Scientists figure out why red wine gives us such a headache

Scientists may finally have solved a centuries-old mystery: why is it that some of us will suffer a splitting headache after drinking only a modest amount of red wine?

The phenomenon appears to have first been recorded by Aurelius Cornelius Celsus, who wrote about medicine in ancient Rome. There was a certain type of sore head, he observed, that seemed to be...

Monday November 20 2023, 5.00pm, The Times

Scientists figure out why red wine gives us such a headache

Scientists may finally have solved a centuries-old mystery: why is it that some of us will suffer a splitting headache after drinking only a modest amount of red wine?

The phenomenon appears to have first been recorded by...

Monday November 20 2023, 5.00pm, The Times

Man-hating feminists are a myth, say scientists

Writing in The Times in 2016, Jane Fonda explained why she hadn’t initially been a fan of the women’s liberation movement. “I assumed being a feminist meant being angry with men,” she said.

She decided that she’d been wrong

and joined the cause in 1970, and now her change of heart appears to have been vindicated by a large international study that has shown...

Friday November 17 2023, 9.30am, The Times

Man-hating feminists are a myth, say scientists

Writing in The Times in 2016, Jane Fonda explained why she hadn’t initially been a fan of the women’s liberation movement. “I assumed being a feminist meant being angry with men,” she said.

She decided that she’d been

Friday November 17 2023, 9.30am, The Times

Blood vessels grown from skin cells offer hope of dementia treatment

An experiment where Cambridge University scientists grew blood vessels from stem cells has pointed to a possible new treatment for dementia.

The research sought to unravel the causes of cerebral small vessel disease (SVD), where fine blood vessels in the brain begin to leak. SVD is a leading cause of age-related cognitive decline and is thought to contribute...

Friday November 17 2023, 12.01am, The Times

Blood vessels grown from skin cells offer hope of dementia treatment

An experiment where Cambridge University scientists grew blood vessels from stem cells has pointed to a possible new treatment for dementia.

The research sought to unravel the causes of cerebral small vessel disease (SVD)...

Friday November 17 2023, 12.01am, The Times

Britain to launch world’s first gene therapy for sickle cell

Britain has become the first country to authorise a medical treatment that uses a revolutionary gene-editing tool known as Crispr, offering hope to thousands of patients with two serious blood disorders.

The treatment, called Casgevy, is for sickle cell disease and beta thalassaemia. Both are inherited conditions caused by faults in the genes that produce...

Thursday November 16 2023, 4.20pm, The Times

Britain to launch world’s first gene therapy for sickle cell

Britain has become the first country to authorise a medical treatment that uses a revolutionary gene-editing tool known as Crispr, offering hope to thousands of patients with two serious blood disorders.

The treatment...

Thursday November 16 2023, 4.20pm, The Times

Why meeting on a dating app means your marriage may be less stable

Nearly a century ago, James Bossard observed that most married couples met while living in the same neighbourhoods. “Cupid may have wings, but apparently they are not adapted for long flights,” the sociologist concluded.

Since then, the business of finding a mate has been transformed by dating apps and websites. These matchmaking services have brought...

Thursday November 16 2023, 12.01am, The Times

Why meeting on a dating app means your marriage may be less stable

Nearly a century ago, James Bossard observed that most married couples met while living in the same neighbourhoods. “Cupid may have wings, but apparently they are not adapted for long flights,” the sociologist concluded

Thursday November 16 2023, 12.01am, The Times

Ban cats from Cyprus over coronavirus risk, scientist says

A senior scientist has called for an urgent ban on cats being brought into the UK from Cyprus and southeast Europe to prevent the spread of a highly infectious and deadly feline virus.

The bug, a type of coronavirus called FCoV-23, is estimated to have killed 8,500 cats in Cyprus in the first half of this year and is likely to have caused the death of many...

Wednesday November 15 2023, 12.01am, The Times

Ban cats from Cyprus over coronavirus risk, scientist says

A senior scientist has called for an urgent ban on cats being brought into the UK from Cyprus and southeast Europe to prevent the spread of a highly infectious and deadly feline virus.

The bug, a type of coronavirus...

Wednesday November 15 2023, 12.01am, The Times

Rare bluetongue virus case confirmed on Kent farm

The government’s chief vet has urged farmers to look out for the bluetongue virus, which can kill livestock, after an infected cow was found near Canterbury in Kent.

Christine Middlemiss, the chief veterinary officer, said the disease did not affect people or food safety but outbreaks could result in costly trade restrictions. It had not been detected in the...

Monday November 13 2023, 10.20pm, The Times

Rare bluetongue virus case confirmed on Kent farm

The government’s chief vet has urged farmers to look out for the bluetongue virus, which can kill livestock, after an infected cow was found near Canterbury in Kent.

Christine Middlemiss, the chief veterinary officer...

Monday November 13 2023, 10.20pm, The Times

Healthy heart, happy mind: Why the risk of dementia is on the decline

Albert Hofman, a professor of epidemiology at Harvard University, was initially surprised by the results. He had been looking at how the risk of developing dementia has changed over the past quarter of a century.

Robbing patients of their memories and personalities, the disease is feared across the affluent West. And as lifespans have grown longer, the number...

Friday November 10 2023, 9.00am, The Times

Healthy heart, happy mind: Why the risk of dementia is on the decline

Albert Hofman, a professor of epidemiology at Harvard University, was initially surprised by the results. He had been looking at how the risk of developing dementia has changed over the past quarter of a century.

Friday November 10 2023, 9.00am, The Times

Father with brain injury sues Covid vaccine maker

A man who suffered a brain injury after receiving the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine has launched a legal action against the drug company, alleging that it overstated its efficacy.

Jamie Scott, a father of two, suffered a blood clot that appears to have left him with permanent brain damage and forced him to stop working after he was given the jab on April 23, 2021...

Thursday November 09 2023, 12.01am, The Times

Father with brain injury sues Covid vaccine maker

A man who suffered a brain injury after receiving the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine has launched a legal action against the drug company, alleging that it overstated its efficacy.

Jamie Scott, a father of two, suffered a...

Thursday November 09 2023, 12.01am, The Times

Scientists rewrite yeast DNA to create ‘cell like nothing in nature’

Scientists are poised to create the most advanced “synthetic” organism ever made — a single-cell life form designed on a computer that may mark the start of a new era in genetic engineering.

For the past 15 years, an international team of researchers have been working on creating a type of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, or baker’s yeast, that is controlled...

Wednesday November 08 2023, 9.10pm, The Times

Scientists rewrite yeast DNA to create ‘cell like nothing in nature’

Scientists are poised to create the most advanced “synthetic” organism ever made — a single-cell life form designed on a computer that may mark the start of a new era in genetic engineering.

For the past 15 years, an...

Wednesday November 08 2023, 9.10pm, The Times

Renowned journal forced to retract electrifying study

The prestigious British science journal Nature has retracted a study that claimed to have discovered a revolutionary new superconductor, dashing hopes that it would lead to more powerful computers, levitating trains and massive energy savings.

The research caused a sensation in March, when a group overseen by Ranga Dias, a physicist from the University of...

Wednesday November 08 2023, 12.01am, The Times

Renowned journal forced to retract electrifying study

The prestigious British science journal Nature has retracted a study that claimed to have discovered a revolutionary new superconductor, dashing hopes that it would lead to more powerful computers, levitating trains and...

Wednesday November 08 2023, 12.01am, The Times

Spinal implant helps Parkinson’s patient regain mobility

The first person with Parkinson’s to be fitted with a spinal implant that helps him to walk has described how the potentially game-changing technology has “profoundly improved” his life.

Mobility problems affect about 90 per cent of Parkinson’s patients and include muscle stiffness, slowness of movement, freezing of gait, problems starting and stopping...

Monday November 06 2023, 7.00pm, The Times

Spinal implant helps Parkinson’s patient regain mobility

The first person with Parkinson’s to be fitted with a spinal implant that helps him to walk has described how the potentially game-changing technology has “profoundly improved” his life.

Mobility problems affect about 90...

Monday November 06 2023, 7.00pm, The Times

Teesside crab and lobster deaths weren’t caused by toxic chemical

A chemical trapped in silt for decades did not cause the mass deaths of crabs and lobsters off northeast England in 2021, new testing has found.

The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), a government body, said that it had developed a new method to test for the presence of pyridine.

Campaigners and some scientists had suggested...

Saturday November 04 2023, 12.01am, The Times

Teesside crab and lobster deaths weren’t caused by toxic chemical

A chemical trapped in silt for decades did not cause the mass deaths of crabs and lobsters off northeast England in 2021, new testing has found.

The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), a...

Saturday November 04 2023, 12.01am, The Times

Cunning chimps take the high ground in warfare

In The Art of War, the Chinese general Sun Tzu argued that a wise soldier should seize “the raised and sunny spots” of the battlefield before they fell into the hands of the enemy – “then you will be able to fight with advantage”.

Now, in an apparent first, this warfare tactic has been observed by scientists in a species other than humans.

The research was...

Friday November 03 2023, 12.00am, The Times

Cunning chimps take the high ground in warfare

In The Art of War, the Chinese general Sun Tzu argued that a wise soldier should seize “the raised and sunny spots” of the battlefield before they fell into the hands of the enemy – “then you will be able to fight with...

Friday November 03 2023, 12.00am, The Times

Space crash that created moon left ‘alien blobs’ under our feet

Since the 1970s, scientists have believed the moon was formed when a planet the size of Mars ploughed into Earth about 4.5 billion years ago.

A new study suggests that as well as changing the night sky, the impact left a relic deep beneath our feet — two massive alien “blobs” of iron-enriched rock that might have been instrumental in shaping the continents.

Thursday November 02 2023, 12.01am, The Times

Space crash that created moon left ‘alien blobs’ under our feet

Since the 1970s, scientists have believed the moon was formed when a planet the size of Mars ploughed into Earth about 4.5 billion years ago.

A new study suggests that as well as changing the night sky, the impact left a...

Thursday November 02 2023, 12.01am, The Times

Starfish are simply heads without bodies

Usually it’s not too hard to tell an animal’s head from its rear: the former leads, the latter follows.

When it comes to starfish, however, things are not so clear cut. Any one of five identical arms can lead the way as the creatures propel themselves across the seabed, prompting some researchers to suggest that perhaps they don’t really have a head at all. A...

Thursday November 02 2023, 12.01am, The Times

Starfish are simply heads without bodies

Usually it’s not too hard to tell an animal’s head from its rear: the former leads, the latter follows.

When it comes to starfish, however, things are not so clear cut. Any one of five identical arms can lead the way as...

Thursday November 02 2023, 12.01am, The Times

Cats ‘have 276 facial expressions’ — here’s how to decipher their mood

“Please would you tell me,” asks the heroine of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, “why your cat grins like that?”

Alice is both surprised and somewhat sceptical when told by the Duchess that all Cheshire cats can grin and that “most of ‘em do”.

We can only wonder, then, what she would make of

that claims that our feline pets actually have nearly...

Tuesday October 31 2023, 3.45pm, The Times

Cats ‘have 276 facial expressions’ — here’s how to decipher their mood

“Please would you tell me,” asks the heroine of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, “why your cat grins like that?”

Alice is both surprised and somewhat sceptical when told by the Duchess that all Cheshire cats can grin and...

Tuesday October 31 2023, 3.45pm, The Times

Hot-heads get ahead: anger aids problem-solving

Jane Austen wrote in Pride and Prejudice that “angry people are not always wise”. Yet a study suggests that when it comes to solving problems and achieving goals, they can outperform their level-headed peers.

Researchers found that people tended to do better at tests of mental agility after they had been subjected to an experience that was designed to make...

Tuesday October 31 2023, 12.01am, The Times

Hot-heads get ahead: anger aids problem-solving

Jane Austen wrote in Pride and Prejudice that “angry people are not always wise”. Yet a study suggests that when it comes to solving problems and achieving goals, they can outperform their level-headed peers.

Tuesday October 31 2023, 12.01am, The Times

‘Dinosaur tree’ planted in Britain to save it from extinction

Nearly 30 years ago, a park ranger in New South Wales lowered himself using a rope into a remote ravine. As he descended, he entered a habitat that was supposed to have vanished during the age of the dinosaurs.

Around him stood dozens of towering Wollemi pines, a tree previously known only from fossil records that was thought to have disappeared 80 million...

Tuesday October 31 2023, 12.01am, The Times

‘Dinosaur tree’ planted in Britain to save it from extinction

Nearly 30 years ago, a park ranger in New South Wales lowered himself using a rope into a remote ravine. As he descended, he entered a habitat that was supposed to have vanished during the age of the dinosaurs.

Tuesday October 31 2023, 12.01am, The Times