Science

Few things are as satisfying as scratching an itch – and now scientists have scratched the most nagging of all: why do we itch? For the first time, experts at Harvard Medical School have identified how a common skin bacterium makes us itch by acting directly on our nerve cells. Researchers exposed the skin of

When living your best life just isn’t enough, why not live two? That’s the ethos of the Japanese green syllid worm, which scientists have found is able to detach its backend to embark on its own underwater adventures. In a process called stolonisation (which sounds like a Christmas diet), the bottom end of these worms

A new image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope reveals never-before-seen features at the centre of the Milky Way.  It shows a portion of the centre of our galaxy about 25,000 light years from Earth in “unprecedented detail”. It will allow astronomers to learn more about how stars are formed in an “extreme cosmic environment”,

RSV circulates in the UK every winter, typically starting in October and peaking in December or January. The virus, which mostly affects young children, is normally mild. But it can develop into a more serious illness and require hospital treatment. During the past two winters, cases were higher than usual after pandemic measures in previous

Tube commuters in London have been given a glimpse of new air conditioned train carriages set for introduction to the network from 2025. The images show how they will look inside once they are used on the Piccadilly line. “The first trains are being put through rigorous testing on a test track and in a

A new satellite that will help scientists monitor climate change and natural disasters will be built and funded by the UK. The country will join Portugal and Spain in the Atlantic Constellation project, which is developing a group of satellites to monitor the Earth. The UK Space Agency is providing £3m for a new pathfinder

SpaceX has lost contact with its Starship mega rocket following an explosion during its second test flight from south Texas. The two-stage 397ft rocket – the largest and most powerful ever built – arced out over the Gulf of Mexico after blasting off from the Elon Musk-owned company’s launch site near Boca Chica, with SpaceX

Australian says divers were injured after the Chinese navy used sonar while they were in the water clearing fishing nets. Australia’s defence minister Richard Marles said the government had expressed his concerns to Beijing for its “unsafe and unprofessional” use of the technology. It comes after similar complaints from the US, Canada and Australia over

Experts in etiquette have advised on the best way people should use their mobile phones – including no longer leaving voicemails. Those who want to call a friend would be better off messaging them first to nail down a time to speak if they do not pick up straight away, says DeBretts. The firm said:

Major US companies including Disney, Warner Bros and NBC parent company Comcast have pulled advertising from X (formerly Twitter) amid a row over Elon Musk’s alleged endorsement of an antisemitic conspiracy theory. The Tesla chief on Wednesday agreed with a post on X that falsely claimed Jewish people were stoking hatred against white people, saying the

The NHS is using artificial intelligence to monitor people’s eating and drinking habits in a bid to reduce “avoidable” hospital admissions ahead of a busy winter period. Kettles and fridges are being tracked as part of a pilot scheme launched in Buckinghamshire. Patients’ habits are flagged to care teams who speak to them to try

A long-beaked echidna, named after David Attenborough and thought to be extinct, has been rediscovered in the mountains of Indonesia.  The long-lost species of mammal is described as having the spines of a hedgehog, the snout of an anteater and the feet of a mole. It was caught on camera in Indonesia’s Cyclops Mountains more

Astronaut Frank Borman, who commanded NASA’s first Apollo mission to the moon, has died aged 95.  Borman commanded Apollo 8’s historic Christmas 1968 flight, which saw the spacecraft circle the moon 10 times – paving the way for the following year’s lunar landing. He died on Tuesday 7 November in Billings, Montana, NASA said. Paying

Blood tests which help detect Alzheimer’s could be made available on the NHS within five years as charities join forces for a £5m project. Diagnosing the condition is often difficult and relies on drawing a sample of spinal fluid from the lower back – a process known as a lumbar puncture – or brain imaging.

Smartphones may be able to detect how drunk a person is based on changes in their voice, according to a new study. Researchers used sensors in smartphones to record a person’s voice before and after drinking. They then put the recordings through a digital program to isolate and measure certain aspects, like frequency and pitch.

A man has been crushed to death by a robot that mistook him for a box, according to South Korean media. The worker in his 40s was inspecting the robot’s sensor at a warehouse for agricultural products in South Gyeongsand province. According to the Yonhap news agency, the robot was lifting boxes of bell peppers