- Science RSS Feed

Lack of fresh water could hit half the world’s population by 2050

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:41:18 GMT

Severe water shortages will affect more than half the world’s future population of nine billion people by 2050 if governments fail to collaborate on international efforts to protect and conserve life’s most vital ingredient, experts have warned. One of the first indications of a future water crisis will be mass migrations of people away from areas without water.

An undignified end: Richard III was buried in 'hastily dug and untidy grave'

Fri, 24 May 2013 06:17:05 GMT

Researchers have revealed the remains of King Richard III, which were discovered under a city car park, were found in a hastily dug, untidy grave.

Richard III was buried in 'hastily dug and untidy grave'

Fri, 24 May 2013 06:17:05 GMT

The remains of King Richard III, which were discovered under a city car park, were found in a hastily dug, untidy grave, researchers have revealed.

Don't scratch the itch: Scientists find substance that could be key to stopping the sensation

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:00:43 GMT

Scientists have discovered a key substance in the central nervous system responsible for transmitting the sensation of an itch from the skin to the brain – a finding that raises the prospect of new treatments for serious itching conditions.

Don't scratch the itch: Scientists find neuro-transmitter that could be key to stopping the sensation

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:00:43 GMT

Comment: We've all had an itch we need to scratch, but what exactly is it?

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:00:09 GMT

An itch is not a tickle, although some people may think it is funny. Neither, according to the latest research, is an itch a form of pain, although try telling that to people tormented by chronic, long-term scratching.

Hungry? Print a pepperoni pizza

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:39:29 GMT

It isn’t the most offensive entry into our occasional round-up of crimes against pizza (a Pizza Hut burger-ringed dish being the worst) but it may yet incite protests on the streets of Naples.

Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:18:10 GMT

They are images which have the capacity to make us feel insignificant and empowered in equal measure: from startling close-ups which reveal the malevolent fury of the Sun, to the serene majesty of the Earth viewed from the International Space Station. Since the advent of photography in the mid-19th century, the medium has forged a unique alliance with astronomy, not only enabling us to peer into mysterious black holes and the furthest galaxies – but better to understand them.

Arizona University unveils the top 10 new species discovered in 2012

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:53:44 GMT

With the ubiquity of Google Maps and cheap international flights it often seems that we, as a species, know good old planet Earth like the back of our collective hands. Today’s list of the top new species from Arizona State University aims to show us just how much more we have left to discover.

Arizona University unveils the top 10 species discovered in 2012

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:53:44 GMT

Archaeologists uncover nearly 5,000 cave paintings in Burgos, Mexico

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:55:05 GMT

Nearly 5,000 ancient cave paintings have been discovered in Burgos, Mexico.

Five thousand cave paintings discovered in Mexico by archaeologists

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:55:05 GMT

Five thousand cave paintings have been discovered in Burgos, Mexico.

Five thousand cave paintings discovered in Mexico

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:55:05 GMT

Five thousand cave paintings have been discovered in Burgos, Mexico.

Scientists create new flu vaccine that works against many different strains of the virus

Wed, 22 May 2013 20:30:49 GMT

A new kind of flu vaccine that works against many different strains of influenza virus has proved to be more effective than conventional vaccines at stimulating the immune defences of laboratory ferrets, the standard animal “model” of the human infection, a study has found.

Oklahoma twister that hit Moore ‘more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb’

Wed, 22 May 2013 19:55:08 GMT

The vast tornado that struck an Oklahoma suburb on Monday afternoon dwarfed even the Hiroshima atomic bomb in its destructive power, according to scientists.

Mothers' diets may harm IQs in two-thirds of babies

Tue, 21 May 2013 23:00:13 GMT

Iodine deficiency is widespread amongst pregnant women in the UK and may be harming the cognitive development of their children, scientists have found.

Mothers’ diets may harm IQs of two babies in three

Tue, 21 May 2013 23:00:13 GMT

Iodine deficiency is widespread amongst pregnant women in the UK and may be harming the cognitive development of their children, scientists have found.

That figures: Professor who had to work at Subway dazzles world of maths after solving centuries-old prime number riddle

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:28:35 GMT

A university professor who was forced to work at Subway when he couldn't find a job as an academic has solved a prime number riddle that has puzzled the best mathematical brains for centuries.

'Former Subway worker' close to solving mathematics' mystery of the Twin Prime Conjecture

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:01:35 GMT

Maths classes teach us what prime numbers are from an early age.

Further Space Oddity: Jeremy Paxman grills British astronaut Major Tim Peake in weirdly aggressive Newsnight interview

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:56:04 GMT

If there were any doubt that a former Apache helicopter pilot and Britain’s first official astronaut could be cool under pressure, he proved it last night in the face of weirdly aggressive questioning by Jeremy Paxman.

One giant leap for Britain: UK's first official astronaut Major Tim Peake on tweeting like Chris Hadfield and missing his wife and sons

Tue, 21 May 2013 08:16:55 GMT

Britain's first astronaut in more than 20 years, a 41-year-old Apache helicopter pilot called Major Tim Peake, said today that his biggest anxiety about spending six months on the International Space Station as a flight engineer was the thought of leaving his young family behind on Earth.

One giant leap for Britain: UK's first official astronaut Tim Peake on tweeting like Chris Hadfield and missing his wife and sons

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:34:55 GMT

‘I’ll tweet from space like Chris Hadfield – but I’ll also miss my wife and sons’: Britain’s first official astronaut Tim Peake on his new life in space

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:34:55 GMT

A cure for HIV is now a a realistic possibility

Sat, 18 May 2013 23:00:00 GMT

This week in Paris, the world's leading Aids scientists will gather to mark the 30th anniversary of the discovery of HIV. At least one of them, who won the Nobel Prize for her work, is quietly confident that very soon something approaching a cure for HIV will be possible.

Asteroid nine times the size of the QE2 liner to sail pass Earth

Sat, 18 May 2013 09:39:06 GMT

An asteroid nine times larger than the QE2 is due to sail past the Earth later this month.