Temperatures could rise by as much as 9.1C while mass-melting would see size of permafrost drop by quarter Climate change could make large swathes of Siberia habitable before the end of this century, a new study suggests. Winter temperatures could rise by as much as 9.1C while mass-melting would see the ... Read More »
World’s rivers ‘awash with dangerous levels of antibiotics’
Largest global study finds the drugs in two-thirds of test sites in 72 countries Hundreds of rivers around the world from the Thames to the Tigris are awash with dangerously high levels of antibiotics, the largest global study on the subject has found. Antibiotic pollution is one of the ... Read More »
Cambridge scientists create world’s first living organism with fully redesigned DNA
Researchers create altered synthetic genome, in move with potential medical benefits Scientists have created the world’s first living organism that has a fully synthetic and radically altered DNA code. The lab-made microbe, a strain of bacteria that is normally found in soil and the human gut, is similar to ... Read More »
Humanity must save insects to save ourselves, leading scientist warns
Insects are ‘the glue in nature’, says Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson, underpinning the food and water we rely on Humanity must save insects, if not for their sake, then for ourselves, a leading entomologist has warned. “Insects are the glue in nature and there is no doubt that both the [numbers] ... Read More »
Ancient tomb discovered in Egypt dating back 4,500 years
Cemetery near pyramids houses burial shafts of top officials Archaeologists have uncovered part of a cemetery thousands of years old near Egypt’s famed pyramids on the Giza plateau near Cairo. The cemetery houses burial shafts and tombs of top officials. The most significant artefact uncovered was a limestone statue of ... Read More »
Killing off animals and plants now threatens humanity itself, UN experts to warn in urgent call for action
Up to a million species facing extinction in the world’s sixth mass die-off – as big a risk as climate change, say scientists The future of humanity is under threat from the widespread destruction of the Earth’s plants and animals by people, leading scientists will warn in a dramatic ... Read More »
Notre Dame fire: How Victor Hugo’s hunchback saved the cathedral from ruin in the 1800s
‘It is difficult not to sigh, not to wax indignant, before the numberless degradations and mutilations which time and men have both caused the venerable monument to suffer’ Notre Dame has gone through a lot in its 856 years. It has endured ill-advised remodelling, revolutionary ransacking and pollution-induced decay. Hitler ... Read More »
Notre Dame was ‘15 to 30 minutes’ away from complete destruction
Firefighters risked their lives to stop the raging fire spreading to the two belfry towers Notre Dame Cathedral was within “15 to 30 minutes” of complete destruction as firefighters battled to stop flames reaching its gothic bell towers, French authorities have revealed. A greater disaster was averted by members of ... Read More »
Earth Sees First Image Of A Black Hole
The world is seeing the first-ever image of a black hole Wednesday, as an international team of researchers from the Event Horizon Telescope project released their look at the supermassive black hole at the center of galaxy Messier 87 (M87). The image shows a dark disc “outlined by emission from ... Read More »
Scientists discover chunk of distant planet that could offer glimpse into future of our Solar System
The ‘heavy metal’ composition of the planet is thought to have allowed it to survive the intense events it has undergone Scientists have spotted a chunk of a distant planet that could offer a hint at the future of our Solar System. The fragment, seen circling a dead star 400 ... Read More »