Footage shows North Island skies lighting up followed by a ‘huge boom’ days after a separate fireball in South Island
Two large suspected meteors have flashed and boomed across New Zealand’s skies in recent days, delighting those who glimpsed the celestial events and sending some animals into a frenzy.
A fireball was seen over parts of the North Island just after 10.20pm on Tuesday night, after a separate one streaked across South Island’s skies on Sunday evening.
Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/29/new-zealand-meteor-fireball-sightings", "image": "", "published": "Wed, 29 Jul 2026 02:28:41 GMT" } }, { "id": "4d40ca4fb3f6dd92bc002904104a39ad8cb4c399", "source_id": "guardian_science", "source": "The Guardian — Science", "category": "science", "engine": "rss", "title": "Trump administration needs to stop ‘public harassment’ of Fauci and scientists, open letter says", "summary": "Letter, published before Anthony Fauci will appear before Congress, accuses Republicans of ‘waging a war on individual scientists’US politics live – latest updatesMore than 155 scientists, physicians and public health advocates have called for an end to what they describe as the “vilification and harassment of many American scientists” by the Trump administration and its allies.In an open letter published one day before Anthony Fauci, the former top US government science adviser, is scheduled to appear at a high-profile hearing in US Congress, after the Republican-controlled Senate homeland security and governmental affairs committee compelled him to testify, the scientists and physicians dismissed allegations against the ex-National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Niaid) director as “baseless”. Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/28/trump-administration-fauci-scientists", "image": "", "published": "2026-07-28T14:36:13+00:00", "score": 80.66, "color": "#7cff9e", "raw": { "title": "Trump administration needs to stop ‘public harassment’ of Fauci and scientists, open letter says", "summary": "Letter, published before Anthony Fauci will appear before Congress, accuses Republicans of ‘waging a war on individual scientists’
More than 155 scientists, physicians and public health advocates have called for an end to what they describe as the “vilification and harassment of many American scientists” by the Trump administration and its allies.
In an open letter published one day before Anthony Fauci, the former top US government science adviser, is scheduled to appear at a high-profile hearing in US Congress, after the Republican-controlled Senate homeland security and governmental affairs committee compelled him to testify, the scientists and physicians dismissed allegations against the ex-National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Niaid) director as “baseless”.
Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/28/trump-administration-fauci-scientists", "image": "", "published": "Tue, 28 Jul 2026 14:36:13 GMT" } }, { "id": "8921ef419ba5909b05f75d7e78c93c647f0e9088", "source_id": "guardian_science", "source": "The Guardian — Science", "category": "science", "engine": "rss", "title": "GSK to cut jobs amid £1.9bn cost-cutting plan and bid for faster drug development", "summary": "Pharmaceuticals company is investing £400m in UK life sciences and moving scientists to new Cambridge R&D siteBusiness live – latest updatesThe British drugmaker GSK is to announce sweeping job cuts as part of a £1.9bn cost-cutting programme to pay for a £400m investment in UK life sciences over the next three years, including in a new research and development centre in Cambridge, as it looks to develop drugs more quickly under its new chief executive.The pharmaceuticals company announced on Tuesday it will move more than 1,000 of its scientists to its new site on the Cambridge biomedical campus. It will close its R&D site in Stevenage in Hertfordshire by 2029, while upgrading its R&D laboratories at nearby Ware and moving some employees there. Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jul/28/gsk-cut-jobs-cost-cutting-faster-drug-development-cambridge", "image": "", "published": "2026-07-28T13:20:22+00:00", "score": 80.05, "color": "#7cff9e", "raw": { "title": "GSK to cut jobs amid £1.9bn cost-cutting plan and bid for faster drug development", "summary": "Pharmaceuticals company is investing £400m in UK life sciences and moving scientists to new Cambridge R&D site
The British drugmaker GSK is to announce sweeping job cuts as part of a £1.9bn cost-cutting programme to pay for a £400m investment in UK life sciences over the next three years, including in a new research and development centre in Cambridge, as it looks to develop drugs more quickly under its new chief executive.
The pharmaceuticals company announced on Tuesday it will move more than 1,000 of its scientists to its new site on the Cambridge biomedical campus. It will close its R&D site in Stevenage in Hertfordshire by 2029, while upgrading its R&D laboratories at nearby Ware and moving some employees there.
Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jul/28/gsk-cut-jobs-cost-cutting-faster-drug-development-cambridge", "image": "", "published": "Tue, 28 Jul 2026 13:20:22 GMT" } }, { "id": "d7c29078d9cbf4816422b7ea02ac70e5fb040cde", "source_id": "guardian_science", "source": "The Guardian — Science", "category": "science", "engine": "rss", "title": "How one man’s near-death experience led to the discovery of the first Jurassic sea dragon in Wales", "summary": "Matthew Myerscough’s remarkable find is one of many detailed in his new book. But his journey into fossil hunting began years earlier, when he was caught in an avalancheWhen Matthew Myerscough walks along a beach, he cannot help hunting for fossils. “I think my fossil radar is always on – even if I’m not looking, it’s hard sometimes to not see things,” says the 40-year-old civil engineer, who has discovered thousands of fossils on British beaches.It was while he was “not looking” on Lavernock beach near Penarth, south Wales, that he recently stumbled across the fossilised bone of an early type of plesiosaur, a marine reptile that roamed the oceans while dinosaurs stalked the land during the early Jurassic period. Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/28/matthew-myerscough-fossil-hunting-avalanche-discovery-sea-dragon-wales", "image": "", "published": "2026-07-28T09:00:35+00:00", "score": 77.94, "color": "#7cff9e", "raw": { "title": "How one man’s near-death experience led to the discovery of the first Jurassic sea dragon in Wales", "summary": "Matthew Myerscough’s remarkable find is one of many detailed in his new book. But his journey into fossil hunting began years earlier, when he was caught in an avalanche
When Matthew Myerscough walks along a beach, he cannot help hunting for fossils. “I think my fossil radar is always on – even if I’m not looking, it’s hard sometimes to not see things,” says the 40-year-old civil engineer, who has discovered thousands of fossils on British beaches.
It was while he was “not looking” on Lavernock beach near Penarth, south Wales, that he recently stumbled across the fossilised bone of an early type of plesiosaur, a marine reptile that roamed the oceans while dinosaurs stalked the land during the early Jurassic period.
Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/28/matthew-myerscough-fossil-hunting-avalanche-discovery-sea-dragon-wales", "image": "", "published": "Tue, 28 Jul 2026 09:00:35 GMT" } }, { "id": "3bdd33002f685661a7fe5336d48666558883b459", "source_id": "guardian_science", "source": "The Guardian — Science", "category": "science", "engine": "rss", "title": "For parents staring down the barrel of six weeks’ childcare: take a tip from orangutans | Helen Pilcher", "summary": "With the news that the ginger giants arrange playdates for their offspring, scientists say messing about has health benefits for humans of all agesThe school summer holidays are upon us. Cue the annual expectation that parents will conjure up six weeks of affordable, memory-making fun while holding down a job and hanging on to their sanity. Baking, picnics and den building may be wholesome, but they also involve spending time with your children. By day four, the den starts to look less like a place of adventure and more like somewhere to hide till September.The answer, of course, is the playdate: the socially sanctioned art of abdicating responsibility for a few precious hours so you can finish a cup of tea while it’s still warm. And it turns out that humans aren’t the only ones to have discovered the benefits of a little parental outsourcing. A recent study suggests that orangutan moth…", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/28/kids-summer-holidays-orangutans-playdates-scientists-health-humans", "image": "", "published": "2026-07-28T07:00:32+00:00", "score": 76.97, "color": "#7cff9e", "raw": { "title": "For parents staring down the barrel of six weeks’ childcare: take a tip from orangutans | Helen Pilcher", "summary": "With the news that the ginger giants arrange playdates for their offspring, scientists say messing about has health benefits for humans of all ages
The school summer holidays are upon us. Cue the annual expectation that parents will conjure up six weeks of affordable, memory-making fun while holding down a job and hanging on to their sanity. Baking, picnics and den building may be wholesome, but they also involve spending time with your children. By day four, the den starts to look less like a place of adventure and more like somewhere to hide till September.
The answer, of course, is the playdate: the socially sanctioned art of abdicating responsibility for a few precious hours so you can finish a cup of tea while it’s still warm. And it turns out that humans aren’t the only ones to have discovered the benefits of a little parental outsourcing. A recent study suggests that orangutan mothers also arrange playdates for their offspring.
Helen Pilcher is a science writer and the author of This Book May Cause Side Effects
Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/28/kids-summer-holidays-orangutans-playdates-scientists-health-humans", "image": "", "published": "Tue, 28 Jul 2026 07:00:32 GMT" } }, { "id": "a0dd9201b6529777fac75a958adfd3ab6e090c65", "source_id": "guardian_science", "source": "The Guardian — Science", "category": "science", "engine": "rss", "title": "World-class Jodrell Bank is under threat and UK risks a physics brain drain", "summary": "Funding crisis could lead to an exodus that would be a blow for British science and national growthOn a chilly day in December 1945, Bernard Lovell, a physicist at the University of Manchester, struck out for the Cheshire countryside to study cosmic rays, the streams of high-energy particles that crisscross the universe. Peering at the signals from his army surplus radar, he made an unexpected discovery: radio reflections from the ionised trails of shooting stars.The work marked the birth of radio astronomy at Jodrell Bank. A year later, engineers at the site mounted a radar on the base of a searchlight, providing sweeping access to speeding meteors. When Sputnik launched in 1957, they had just completed the Lovell telescope, the largest radio telescope in the world, the only one capable of tracking the Soviet satellite. Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jul/28/world-class-jodrell-bank-threat-uk-physics", "image": "", "published": "2026-07-28T05:00:30+00:00", "score": 76, "color": "#7cff9e", "raw": { "title": "World-class Jodrell Bank is under threat and UK risks a physics brain drain", "summary": "Funding crisis could lead to an exodus that would be a blow for British science and national growth
On a chilly day in December 1945, Bernard Lovell, a physicist at the University of Manchester, struck out for the Cheshire countryside to study cosmic rays, the streams of high-energy particles that crisscross the universe. Peering at the signals from his army surplus radar, he made an unexpected discovery: radio reflections from the ionised trails of shooting stars.
The work marked the birth of radio astronomy at Jodrell Bank. A year later, engineers at the site mounted a radar on the base of a searchlight, providing sweeping access to speeding meteors. When Sputnik launched in 1957, they had just completed the Lovell telescope, the largest radio telescope in the world, the only one capable of tracking the Soviet satellite.
Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jul/28/world-class-jodrell-bank-threat-uk-physics", "image": "", "published": "Tue, 28 Jul 2026 05:00:30 GMT" } }, { "id": "a0a0e17fecf8036982e92362b96229fc8f340970", "source_id": "guardian_science", "source": "The Guardian — Science", "category": "science", "engine": "rss", "title": "Revisited: The surprising science of dreams and nightmares – podcast", "summary": "In this episode from January 2026, Ian Sample puts listeners’ questions about dreams and nightmares to Dr Michelle Carr, the director of the Dream Engineering Laboratory in Montreal’s Centre for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, and the author of the book Into the Dream Lab. They look at why we dream, what we can learn by examining our dreams, and what we can do when dreams turn into nightmares. Carr gives her top tips for taking charge of our dreams and trying to influence their contentSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepodOrder Into the Dream Lab by Dr Michelle Carr via the Guardian Bookshop Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/audio/2026/jul/28/revisited-the-surprising-science-of-dreams-and-nightmares-podcast", "image": "", "published": "2026-07-28T04:00:29+00:00", "score": 75.51, "color": "#7cff9e", "raw": { "title": "Revisited: The surprising science of dreams and nightmares – podcast", "summary": "In this episode from January 2026, Ian Sample puts listeners’ questions about dreams and nightmares to Dr Michelle Carr, the director of the Dream Engineering Laboratory in Montreal’s Centre for Advanced Research in Sleep Medicine, and the author of the book Into the Dream Lab. They look at why we dream, what we can learn by examining our dreams, and what we can do when dreams turn into nightmares. Carr gives her top tips for taking charge of our dreams and trying to influence their content
Support the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod
Order Into the Dream Lab by Dr Michelle Carr via the Guardian Bookshop
Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/audio/2026/jul/28/revisited-the-surprising-science-of-dreams-and-nightmares-podcast", "image": "", "published": "Tue, 28 Jul 2026 04:00:29 GMT" } }, { "id": "f5930170db9fd1b4e0eaa7a028f93f6fc3c75147", "source_id": "guardian_science", "source": "The Guardian — Science", "category": "science", "engine": "rss", "title": "Industrial chicken farming accelerating spread of diarrhoea bacteria, study finds", "summary": "Intensive nature of modern chicken farming creates ideal conditions for campylobacter, allowing bacteria to evolveIndustrial chicken farming is accelerating the spread of the world’s most common bacterial cause of diarrhoea, scientists have found.The study found a dramatic increase in the exchange of campylobacter strains between wild birds and chickens as farming has intensified, creating the ideal conditions for the bacteria to mix, spread and acquire new traits. There has also been a rise in antimicrobial resistance traits in circulating strains, raising concerns that serious illness in people will be more difficult to treat. Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/food/2026/jul/27/industrial-chicken-farming-accelerating-spread-of-diarrhoea-bacteria-study-finds", "image": "", "published": "2026-07-27T19:00:17+00:00", "score": 71.13, "color": "#7cff9e", "raw": { "title": "Industrial chicken farming accelerating spread of diarrhoea bacteria, study finds", "summary": "Intensive nature of modern chicken farming creates ideal conditions for campylobacter, allowing bacteria to evolve
Industrial chicken farming is accelerating the spread of the world’s most common bacterial cause of diarrhoea, scientists have found.
The study found a dramatic increase in the exchange of campylobacter strains between wild birds and chickens as farming has intensified, creating the ideal conditions for the bacteria to mix, spread and acquire new traits. There has also been a rise in antimicrobial resistance traits in circulating strains, raising concerns that serious illness in people will be more difficult to treat.
Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/food/2026/jul/27/industrial-chicken-farming-accelerating-spread-of-diarrhoea-bacteria-study-finds", "image": "", "published": "Mon, 27 Jul 2026 19:00:17 GMT" } }, { "id": "9599f953b83825efc093127fd0e9ab8038196296", "source_id": "guardian_science", "source": "The Guardian — Science", "category": "science", "engine": "rss", "title": "The Guardian view on ancient DNA: a female shaman exposes our flawed assumptions about the past | Editorial", "summary": "Thanks to new technology we are are acquiring insights into earlier times, and realising how little we truly knowArchaeologists believe the Upton Lovell Shaman, who lived in what is now Wiltshire 4,000 years ago, was an important religious leader and metalworker because of the artefacts and tools buried with the body. Until very recently it was also believed, on considerably slimmer evidence, that this shaman was a man: it was simply assumed that someone of such status must be male, and the view was barely questioned over the years. Now ancient DNA analysis performed at the Francis Crick Institute has revealed that the body, held by the Wiltshire Museum, is in fact a woman.That should cause a stir in bronze-age studies. But it is also yet another example of how many of our assumptions about human history have been upended by the rise of ancient DNA analysis over the past two decades. Ot…", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/27/the-guardian-view-on-ancient-dna-a-female-shaman-exposes-our-flawed-assumptions-about-the-past", "image": "", "published": "2026-07-27T17:25:15+00:00", "score": 70.36, "color": "#7cff9e", "raw": { "title": "The Guardian view on ancient DNA: a female shaman exposes our flawed assumptions about the past | Editorial", "summary": "Thanks to new technology we are are acquiring insights into earlier times, and realising how little we truly know
Archaeologists believe the Upton Lovell Shaman, who lived in what is now Wiltshire 4,000 years ago, was an important religious leader and metalworker because of the artefacts and tools buried with the body. Until very recently it was also believed, on considerably slimmer evidence, that this shaman was a man: it was simply assumed that someone of such status must be male, and the view was barely questioned over the years. Now ancient DNA analysis performed at the Francis Crick Institute has revealed that the body, held by the Wiltshire Museum, is in fact a woman.
That should cause a stir in bronze-age studies. But it is also yet another example of how many of our assumptions about human history have been upended by the rise of ancient DNA analysis over the past two decades. Others include the revelation that there were (frequent) liaisons between humans and Neanderthals just 50,000 years ago, a reconstruction suggesting that the first modern Britons had “dark to black” skin, and the closing of longstanding mysteries such as what really killed two members of Italy’s powerful Medici family in the 16th century (probably malaria, not murder as was often believed). Every time we widen our keyhole view of the past even slightly, we are confronted by how many of our seemingly grounded assumptions are, in fact, wrong.
Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/27/the-guardian-view-on-ancient-dna-a-female-shaman-exposes-our-flawed-assumptions-about-the-past", "image": "", "published": "Mon, 27 Jul 2026 17:25:15 GMT" } }, { "id": "91467bd9a19883b1ea83eecb298ef2f391c579ef", "source_id": "guardian_science", "source": "The Guardian — Science", "category": "science", "engine": "rss", "title": "Jodrell Bank Observatory facing closure after major funder cuts support", "summary": "Scientists say decision is blow to UK astronomy as deep space observatory is home to world-leading facilitiesJodrell Bank Observatory, the hub of a world-leading network of radio telescopes, is facing closure after government funding for the facility was slashed.The deep space observatory includes the Grade I-listed Lovell telescope and is prized by astronomers who study galaxies, black holes, star formation, planets beyond the solar system and the afterglow of the big bang. Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jul/27/jodrell-bank-observatory-facing-closure-uk", "image": "", "published": "2026-07-27T15:39:38+00:00", "score": 69.51, "color": "#7cff9e", "raw": { "title": "Jodrell Bank Observatory facing closure after major funder cuts support", "summary": "Scientists say decision is blow to UK astronomy as deep space observatory is home to world-leading facilities
Jodrell Bank Observatory, the hub of a world-leading network of radio telescopes, is facing closure after government funding for the facility was slashed.
The deep space observatory includes the Grade I-listed Lovell telescope and is prized by astronomers who study galaxies, black holes, star formation, planets beyond the solar system and the afterglow of the big bang.
Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jul/27/jodrell-bank-observatory-facing-closure-uk", "image": "", "published": "Mon, 27 Jul 2026 15:39:38 GMT" } }, { "id": "92a019d491b2dd6d55f5231583e0649624d94422", "source_id": "guardian_science", "source": "The Guardian — Science", "category": "science", "engine": "rss", "title": "Gunther von Hagens, creator of Body Worlds and plastination, dies aged 81", "summary": "Controversial anatomist’s body ‘will definitely be plastinated’ in line with his wishes, a spokesperson saidGunther von Hagens, who developed a technique for permanently preserving human bodies in rigid states and toured the world with his controversial Body Worlds exhibition, has moved closer to fulfilling a long-held wish to be sliced up and displayed in a museum after dying aged 81.“It is with deep sadness that the family and the Institute for Plastination announce the passing of Dr Gunther von Hagens, inventor of plastination and creator of the Body Worlds exhibitions,” the German anatomist’s institute said in a statement on Monday. Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/27/gunther-von-hagens-creator-of-body-worlds-and-plastination-dies-aged-81", "image": "", "published": "2026-07-27T13:52:49+00:00", "score": 68.64, "color": "#7cff9e", "raw": { "title": "Gunther von Hagens, creator of Body Worlds and plastination, dies aged 81", "summary": "Controversial anatomist’s body ‘will definitely be plastinated’ in line with his wishes, a spokesperson said
Gunther von Hagens, who developed a technique for permanently preserving human bodies in rigid states and toured the world with his controversial Body Worlds exhibition, has moved closer to fulfilling a long-held wish to be sliced up and displayed in a museum after dying aged 81.
“It is with deep sadness that the family and the Institute for Plastination announce the passing of Dr Gunther von Hagens, inventor of plastination and creator of the Body Worlds exhibitions,” the German anatomist’s institute said in a statement on Monday.
Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/27/gunther-von-hagens-creator-of-body-worlds-and-plastination-dies-aged-81", "image": "", "published": "Mon, 27 Jul 2026 13:52:49 GMT" } }, { "id": "d16bbea704efdfa4554f5006f22378afe62f0758", "source_id": "guardian_science", "source": "The Guardian — Science", "category": "science", "engine": "rss", "title": "AstraZeneca boss urges western drugmakers to move at ‘Chinese speed’", "summary": "Europe and US risk being outpaced on innovation, as happened in the car industry, warns Pascal SoriotAstraZeneca must operate at “Chinese speed” to ensure it does not suffer the fate of the western automotive industry by losing out to more innovative rivals, the drug company’s boss has said.The FTSE 100 company is watching the rise of China’s pharmaceutical industry closely and collaborating to take drugs to global markets, but its chief executive, Pascal Soriot, said the US and European pharmaceutical sectors must focus on increasing the speed of innovation. Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jul/27/astrazeneca-boss-urges-western-drugmakers-to-move-at-chinese-speed", "image": "", "published": "2026-07-27T12:09:41+00:00", "score": 67.81, "color": "#7cff9e", "raw": { "title": "AstraZeneca boss urges western drugmakers to move at ‘Chinese speed’", "summary": "Europe and US risk being outpaced on innovation, as happened in the car industry, warns Pascal Soriot
AstraZeneca must operate at “Chinese speed” to ensure it does not suffer the fate of the western automotive industry by losing out to more innovative rivals, the drug company’s boss has said.
The FTSE 100 company is watching the rise of China’s pharmaceutical industry closely and collaborating to take drugs to global markets, but its chief executive, Pascal Soriot, said the US and European pharmaceutical sectors must focus on increasing the speed of innovation.
Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jul/27/astrazeneca-boss-urges-western-drugmakers-to-move-at-chinese-speed", "image": "", "published": "Mon, 27 Jul 2026 12:09:41 GMT" } }, { "id": "42903a19307e6e9215e2c06f8c56ea04a3738e46", "source_id": "guardian_science", "source": "The Guardian — Science", "category": "science", "engine": "rss", "title": "AI can fuel biological weapons. We must harness its power for defense | Annie Jacobsen", "summary": "The offensive potential is no longer theoretical. We need to develop systems to strengthen public health as quickly as AI is accelerating biological designAs artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the biological sciences, it is pushing the future of biology in two opposing directions. AI can help bad actors generate recipes for biological weapons with just a few keystrokes and computational prompts. At the same time, AI can track disease outbreaks and deliver critical public health information to millions of people in real time – potentially stopping a deadly outbreak in its tracks. What we are dealing with in this moment is profound: a race between offense and defense. Between the proliferation of dark biology, where deadly pathogens are engineered in secret, and the promise of a new era of collective global health.Every infectious disease outbreak begins with a handful of cases. P…", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/27/ai-biological-weapons-defense", "image": "", "published": "2026-07-27T10:00:38+00:00", "score": 66.76, "color": "#7cff9e", "raw": { "title": "AI can fuel biological weapons. We must harness its power for defense | Annie Jacobsen", "summary": "The offensive potential is no longer theoretical. We need to develop systems to strengthen public health as quickly as AI is accelerating biological design
As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the biological sciences, it is pushing the future of biology in two opposing directions. AI can help bad actors generate recipes for biological weapons with just a few keystrokes and computational prompts. At the same time, AI can track disease outbreaks and deliver critical public health information to millions of people in real time – potentially stopping a deadly outbreak in its tracks. What we are dealing with in this moment is profound: a race between offense and defense. Between the proliferation of dark biology, where deadly pathogens are engineered in secret, and the promise of a new era of collective global health.
Every infectious disease outbreak begins with a handful of cases. Public health wins by learning about an outbreak before it spreads wide, before hospitals fill and a crisis starts to spiral out of control. As transmission rates explode, options shrink. One of AI’s greatest values is its ability to compress the timeline between outbreak and detection. Speed can mean the difference between containing an outbreak and confronting an epidemic, or another global pandemic.
Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/27/ai-biological-weapons-defense", "image": "", "published": "Mon, 27 Jul 2026 10:00:38 GMT" } }, { "id": "239eba34fd30fa4c25aafa108e3a2ac7a76fb1ff", "source_id": "guardian_science", "source": "The Guardian — Science", "category": "science", "engine": "rss", "title": "Starwatch: The summer triangle returns to the northern sky", "summary": "One of the easiest patterns to spot, combination of Vega, Deneb and Altair is also visible in the southern hemisphereIn the northern hemisphere we know that summer is truly upon us when the summer triangle appears overhead. Although not an official constellation, it is one of the easiest patterns to find in the northern summer sky.The chart shows the view looking high in the south-east from London at 11pm UK time on 27 July, although the view remains essentially unchanged all week, with the triangle climbing higher as the evening goes on. Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jul/27/starwatch-summer-triangle-returns-northern-sky", "image": "", "published": "2026-07-27T05:00:33+00:00", "score": 64.33, "color": "#7cff9e", "raw": { "title": "Starwatch: The summer triangle returns to the northern sky", "summary": "One of the easiest patterns to spot, combination of Vega, Deneb and Altair is also visible in the southern hemisphere
In the northern hemisphere we know that summer is truly upon us when the summer triangle appears overhead. Although not an official constellation, it is one of the easiest patterns to find in the northern summer sky.
The chart shows the view looking high in the south-east from London at 11pm UK time on 27 July, although the view remains essentially unchanged all week, with the triangle climbing higher as the evening goes on.
Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jul/27/starwatch-summer-triangle-returns-northern-sky", "image": "", "published": "Mon, 27 Jul 2026 05:00:33 GMT" } }, { "id": "c7657845628d6c97ea4d746cb523ae90d3c58f4f", "source_id": "guardian_science", "source": "The Guardian — Science", "category": "science", "engine": "rss", "title": "‘It’s not rocket science’: a day in the life of a Nasa behavioral health scientist", "summary": "Dr Suzanne Bell helps astronauts perform in a high-stress environment. To do that, she wakes up at 5am – without an alarmTell us: what impact have GLP-1s had on your relationships?Dr Suzanne Bell, an organizational psychologist, leads the Behavioral Health and Performance Laboratory at Nasa’s Johnson Space Center.What’s your morning routine? Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2026/jul/26/suzanne-bell-nasa-behavorial-health-scientist", "image": "", "published": "2026-07-26T16:00:16+00:00", "score": 58.55, "color": "#7cff9e", "raw": { "title": "‘It’s not rocket science’: a day in the life of a Nasa behavioral health scientist", "summary": "Dr Suzanne Bell helps astronauts perform in a high-stress environment. To do that, she wakes up at 5am – without an alarm
Dr Suzanne Bell, an organizational psychologist, leads the Behavioral Health and Performance Laboratory at Nasa’s Johnson Space Center.
What’s your morning routine?
Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/wellness/2026/jul/26/suzanne-bell-nasa-behavorial-health-scientist", "image": "", "published": "Sun, 26 Jul 2026 16:00:16 GMT" } }, { "id": "aa4771fb05a8d9798eb087d3f35081c973708a89", "source_id": "guardian_science", "source": "The Guardian — Science", "category": "science", "engine": "rss", "title": "Restricted eating hours may reduce cognitive decline in older age, researchers find", "summary": "Preliminary study shows older people who avoided food four hours before bed did better in problem solving testsConfining mealtimes and snacks to a nine-hour window and avoiding food for four hours before bed may help stave off cognitive decline in older age, researchers say.A pilot study of older women living with overweight or obesity found hints of improvement in mental skills among those who ate within the restricted period compared with those who spread their meals over a longer time. Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jul/26/restricted-eating-hours-may-reduce-cognitive-decline-in-older-age-researchers-find", "image": "", "published": "2026-07-26T13:30:12+00:00", "score": 58.55, "color": "#7cff9e", "raw": { "title": "Restricted eating hours may reduce cognitive decline in older age, researchers find", "summary": "Preliminary study shows older people who avoided food four hours before bed did better in problem solving tests
Confining mealtimes and snacks to a nine-hour window and avoiding food for four hours before bed may help stave off cognitive decline in older age, researchers say.
A pilot study of older women living with overweight or obesity found hints of improvement in mental skills among those who ate within the restricted period compared with those who spread their meals over a longer time.
Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jul/26/restricted-eating-hours-may-reduce-cognitive-decline-in-older-age-researchers-find", "image": "", "published": "Sun, 26 Jul 2026 13:30:12 GMT" } }, { "id": "cfaf6f4cec3d62676c1dd8352c6992f3ca558479", "source_id": "guardian_science", "source": "The Guardian — Science", "category": "science", "engine": "rss", "title": "Racy short story by Alan Turing offers glimpse of ‘playful, funny, cheeky’ side", "summary": "Writing from year after gross indecency arrest challenges ‘isolated mathematician’ image, says Cambridge academicWhen people think of Alan Turing, they might imagine he was arrogant, isolated, humourless, tortured. A better way of remembering the father of modern computing would be, an academic argues, as “playful, funny, cheeky, literary, and someone who really liked sex”.The Cambridge University English literature professor Sarah Dillon has transcribed and studied a little-known short story that Turing wrote in the year after his arrest in Manchester for gross indecency. Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jul/24/alan-turing-short-story", "image": "", "published": "2026-07-24T04:00:05+00:00", "score": 58.55, "color": "#7cff9e", "raw": { "title": "Racy short story by Alan Turing offers glimpse of ‘playful, funny, cheeky’ side", "summary": "Writing from year after gross indecency arrest challenges ‘isolated mathematician’ image, says Cambridge academic
When people think of Alan Turing, they might imagine he was arrogant, isolated, humourless, tortured. A better way of remembering the father of modern computing would be, an academic argues, as “playful, funny, cheeky, literary, and someone who really liked sex”.
The Cambridge University English literature professor Sarah Dillon has transcribed and studied a little-known short story that Turing wrote in the year after his arrest in Manchester for gross indecency.
Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jul/24/alan-turing-short-story", "image": "", "published": "Fri, 24 Jul 2026 04:00:05 GMT" } }, { "id": "92aa6ee7a8a7a57d59a14b5c58120c94cfc74dd0", "source_id": "guardian_science", "source": "The Guardian — Science", "category": "science", "engine": "rss", "title": "Revisited: A Scottish tea mystery, episode three – a bag for life", "summary": "Science correspondent Nicola Davis investigates the strange story of Tam O’Braan and his attempts to grow tea in Scotland.In episode three of this mini-series first broadcast in October 2025, all of O’Braan’s lies come to a head and it is revealed where he was sourcing the tea being supplied to hotels and shops. At trial, O’Braan takes the stand and the Scottish growers finally get some answers. But what remains today of the Scottish tea industry that O’Braan instigated?A strange brew: the case of the man behind an audacious Scottish tea fraudSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2026/jul/23/revisited-a-scottish-tea-mystery-episode-three-a-bag-for-life", "image": "", "published": "2026-07-23T04:00:35+00:00", "score": 58.55, "color": "#7cff9e", "raw": { "title": "Revisited: A Scottish tea mystery, episode three – a bag for life", "summary": "Science correspondent Nicola Davis investigates the strange story of Tam O’Braan and his attempts to grow tea in Scotland.
In episode three of this mini-series first broadcast in October 2025, all of O’Braan’s lies come to a head and it is revealed where he was sourcing the tea being supplied to hotels and shops. At trial, O’Braan takes the stand and the Scottish growers finally get some answers. But what remains today of the Scottish tea industry that O’Braan instigated?
A strange brew: the case of the man behind an audacious Scottish tea fraud
Support the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod
Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2026/jul/23/revisited-a-scottish-tea-mystery-episode-three-a-bag-for-life", "image": "", "published": "Thu, 23 Jul 2026 04:00:35 GMT" } }, { "id": "656cc8d23be5ebf721ce8067f9fbce501482f166", "source_id": "guardian_science", "source": "The Guardian — Science", "category": "science", "engine": "rss", "title": "Revisited: A Scottish tea mystery, episode two – the list", "summary": "Science correspondent Nicola Davis investigates the strange story of Tam O’Braan and his attempts to grow tea in Scotland.In episode two of this mini-series first broadcast in October 2025, Nicola hears how O’Braan’s network of Scottish tea growers began to have suspicions about exactly what he was selling and where it came from, and how cutting-edge science helped provide some answersA strange brew: the case of the man behind an audacious Scottish tea fraudSupport the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2026/jul/22/revisited-a-scottish-tea-mystery-episode-two-the-list", "image": "", "published": "2026-07-22T04:00:05+00:00", "score": 58.55, "color": "#7cff9e", "raw": { "title": "Revisited: A Scottish tea mystery, episode two – the list", "summary": "Science correspondent Nicola Davis investigates the strange story of Tam O’Braan and his attempts to grow tea in Scotland.
In episode two of this mini-series first broadcast in October 2025, Nicola hears how O’Braan’s network of Scottish tea growers began to have suspicions about exactly what he was selling and where it came from, and how cutting-edge science helped provide some answers
A strange brew: the case of the man behind an audacious Scottish tea fraud
Support the Guardian: theguardian.com/sciencepod
Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2026/jul/22/revisited-a-scottish-tea-mystery-episode-two-the-list", "image": "", "published": "Wed, 22 Jul 2026 04:00:05 GMT" } }, { "id": "e03244c60b673848e52e39e9e3eae53477489348", "source_id": "guardian_science", "source": "The Guardian — Science", "category": "science", "engine": "rss", "title": "Google wants to release 32 million sterile mosquitoes. Our Australian tests offer a valuable lesson | Nigel Beebe for the Conversation", "summary": "Google’s ‘Debug’ project in California and Florida aims to reduce mosquito numbers by releasing millions of sterilised malesIn the United States, Google’s (now Alphabet) Debug initiative has asked the federal government for permission to release up to 32 million sterilised male mosquitoes in California and Florida.Male mosquitoes don’t bite or carry disease. The hope is these millions of male mosquitoes will mate with disease-carrying females, the eggs won’t hatch and mosquito numbers will fall. Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/21/google-mosquito-project-release-debug-australia-test", "image": "", "published": "2026-07-21T01:53:04+00:00", "score": 58.55, "color": "#7cff9e", "raw": { "title": "Google wants to release 32 million sterile mosquitoes. Our Australian tests offer a valuable lesson | Nigel Beebe for the Conversation", "summary": "Google’s ‘Debug’ project in California and Florida aims to reduce mosquito numbers by releasing millions of sterilised males
In the United States, Google’s (now Alphabet) Debug initiative has asked the federal government for permission to release up to 32 million sterilised male mosquitoes in California and Florida.
Male mosquitoes don’t bite or carry disease. The hope is these millions of male mosquitoes will mate with disease-carrying females, the eggs won’t hatch and mosquito numbers will fall.
Continue reading...", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/21/google-mosquito-project-release-debug-australia-test", "image": "", "published": "Tue, 21 Jul 2026 01:53:04 GMT" } } ], "stored": 0, "ai": { "enriched": false, "stored": 0 }, "health": [ { "id": "guardian_science", "name": "The Guardian — Science", "engine": "rss", "category": "science", "ok": true, "error": "", "ms": 150, "count": 20, "cached_at": "2026-07-29T06:19:14+00:00" } ] }