Astronomers used machine learning to mine data from South Africa’s MeerKAT telescope: what they found: SAURON: radio intensity (purple) from MeerKAT overlaid on an optical image from the Dark Energy Survey. Michelle Lochner / The Dark Energy Survey Collaboration 2005 New telescopes with unprecedented sensitivity and resolution are being unveiled around the world – and …
I went behind the scenes of Penguin’s psychiatric titles – what I found was women’s hidden labour: Retro Clip Art/Shutterstock Penguin Books brought psychiatric ideas to post-war Britain through their inexpensive paperback list. This eclectic list ranged from general introductions to psychiatry and psychotherapy, to discussions of specific problems like depression and anorexia nervosa, and …
Countries agreed to ban ozone-depleting chemicals in the 1980s – but we found five CFCs increasing to record levels in the atmosphere: Despite a global ban in place since 2010, atmospheric concentrations of five ozone-depleting chemicals have reached a record high. Chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, are entirely man-made gases used in a variety of applications, including …
We investigated the cause of an unexplained outbreak of hepatitis in children in the UK – here’s what we found: LightField Studios/Shutterstock In the spring of 2022, a paediatric gastroenterologist treating children in the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow issued an alert to Public Health Scotland (PHS), warning of an unusual outbreak of hepatitis …
What’s the most sustainable way of dealing with Japanese knotweed? Here’s what we found: More than £150 million is spent trying to control Japanese knotweed in the UK annually. Tomas Vynikal/Shutterstock When it was introduced to Europe in the mid-19th century as an ornamental plant, Japanese knotweed, known as Reynoutria japonica var japonica, quickly went …
The camera never lies? Our research found CCTV isn’t always dependable when it comes to murder investigations: "The camera never lies," goes the old adage. But how true is that? Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock As a victim or suspect of a crime, or witness to an offence, you may find your actions, behaviour and character scrutinised by the …
New discovery: fossilised giant zebra tracks found in South Africa: An illustration of two giant Cape zebras alongside a much smaller plains zebra. Maggie Newman Tens of thousands of years ago, a huge horse species walked, trotted and galloped across the shifting sands of what is today South Africa’s Cape south coast. The Giant Cape …
A new invasive mosquito has been found in Kenya – what this means for malaria control: Malaria transmission in Kenya has been largely limited to the coast and western parts of the country. Shutterstock The Kenya Medical Research Institute recently detected an invasive mosquito species in Laisamis and Saku subcounties of Marsabit county in Kenya’s …
I dug for evidence of the Rosetta Stone’s ancient Egyptian rebellion – here’s what I found: Hellenistic soldiers as depicted in the Nile mosaic of Palestrina. World History Encyclopedia The Rosetta Stone is not known for its content, but as a lexicon of Egyptian hieroglyphics. The decree inscribed on the stone, however, discusses a violent …
Newport ship: after 20 years’ work, experts are ready to reassemble medieval vessel found in the mud: An artistic impression of how the Newport Medieval ship may have looked . David Jordan/Newport Museums and Heritage Service When construction work began on a new arts centre in Newport, south Wales, in 2002, the builders on site …
Possible link between Alzheimer’s disease and gut microbiome found in mice – new study: SewCream/Shutterstock Researchers may have found an unlikely contributor to the development of Alzheimer’s disease: the bacteria in your gut. Their study, published in the journal Science, suggested that certain gut bacteria increase the brain damage seen in mice with an Alzheimer’s-like …
We tested the wastewater from planes to detect COVID among travellers – here’s what we found: Wichudapa/Shutterstock Small traces of many pathogens, such as viruses we may be infected with, are excreted when we go to the toilet. Ultimately, these agents find their way to municipal wastewater treatment plants where sewage samples can be taken …
Angola’s peatlands trap carbon and clean the region’s water – how we mapped this newly found landscape: Ask most people what they picture when thinking about natural “carbon sinks” – ecosystems that absorb and store greenhouse gases – and they’ll probably describe a forest. Reforestation is a common feature of climate change plans. But there’s …
Rutland Roman villa: how we found one of the most significant mosaics discovered in the UK: Archaeology students and ULAS staff from University of Leicester carefully clean the fully exposed Trojan War mosaic. © ULAS, Author provided The discovery of a previously unknown Roman villa in rural Rutland during the 2020 lockdown was one of …
The best fiction of 2022: NoViolet Bulawayo’s Glory found new ways to write about violence and peace: NoViolet Bulawayo, author of Glory. NyeLynTho A young woman learning to love, the children inspired by her, and the collective voice of a village community recovering from violence and corruption assemble a powerful message of resistance. The hope …
We found Britain’s greenest city centre – and its least green: Meet the winner: Exeter. Panoptic Motion / shutterstock Some of Britain’s city centres are filled with trees and parks, while others have little vegetation to break up the bricks, tarmac and concrete. Such differences aren’t just aesthetic: they affect whether animals can move around, …
We’ve been studying the same people for 76 years – this is what we’ve found out about Alzheimer’s disease: This article is part of the Insight’s Uncharted Brain series. In March 1946, just months after the end of the second world war, James Douglas began a pioneering and extraordinary study. Based on a representative sample …
We tested Einstein’s theory of gravity on the scale of the universe – here’s what we found: Thousands of galaxies seen by the James Webb Space Telescope. Nasa Everything in the universe has gravity – and feels it too. Yet this most common of all fundamental forces is also the one that presents the biggest …