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Stanford researchers implant human brain organoid cells into mouse cortex
Researchers at Stanford have developed a technique that replaces most of a mouse’s cortex with human brain organoid cells, offering a potential new way to study human brain diseases in a more realistic biological context. Brain organoids, small tissue structures grown from stem cells, have shown promise for modelling human disease but lack the connections…
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New screening identifies lead-bearing Herculaneum scrolls for digital unwrapping
Researchers have developed and validated a new screening method to identify which of the unopened Herculaneum scrolls—charred papyri buried by the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius—are most likely to contain lead-based ink, making them priority candidates for the “digital unwrapping” techniques used in the Vesuvius Challenge. To test the approach without risking the fragile…
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Woman charged after evacuations at Sheffield property over explosives
A bomb squad and army explosives specialists have been deployed to a residential street in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, after “substances” were found concealed at a property, prompting the evacuation of nearby homes. A 35-year-old woman, Rachel Hale, has been charged under Section 4 of the Explosive Substances Act 1883 and remanded in…
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A sandwich a day could shrink your waist, cut cholesterol and slash risk of heart attack, major study finds
A major review of existing research has found that eating wholegrain foods daily, roughly equivalent to two large slices of wholegrain bread, is linked to a range of heart health benefits, including weight loss, a smaller waist and lower cholesterol. Researchers combined data from 87 clinical trials involving more than 6,500 people across Asia, Europe,…
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‘We weren’t shy. We were queers in leather!’ Sunil Gupta on his momentous photographs of gay life
Photographer Sunil Gupta, who has documented queer life since the 1970s across India, Canada, the US and the UK, reflects on five decades of work ahead of a retrospective at Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge. His photography has explored intimacy, public and clandestine spaces, and the political forces shaping queer identity, sometimes at real personal risk…
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Drivers forced to shell out extra £7.5 billion at the pumps – netting Treasury £1.3 billion VAT windfall – thanks to Iran war, study finds, as petrol and diesel prices spiral again to four-year high
Drivers in the UK have paid an extra £7.5 billion at the pumps since the conflict involving Iran erupted, according to a study by the RAC Foundation, intensifying pressure on the Labour government to abandon its planned Fuel Duty increase. The figure covers the period since 28 February, when prices surged after the US bombed…
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How British Comedy Show ‘Mock the Week’ Found New Life on TLC After BBC Cancellation: ‘Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder’
The BBC panel comedy show “Mock the Week” has been revived by TLC, the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned network, three years after the BBC axed it in 2022 due to budget cuts. Created in 2005 by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson, the satirical news show ran for 17 years on the BBC before returning in February…
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Online hate researcher keeps hammering X despite deportation threat
The US government is continuing its legal fight to detain and deport non-citizen researchers who track online safety risks, despite a federal judge ruling in July that the underlying policy was unconstitutional. US District Judge James Boasberg had blocked the policy after finding no evidence linking targeted researchers to any foreign power attempting to manipulate…
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British Columbia ends drug decriminalisation after study finds no overdose reduction
A pilot scheme in British Columbia that decriminalised small amounts of hard drugs, including fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine and crack cocaine, has failed to reduce overdose deaths, according to a new study, and has since been scrapped. Launched in January 2023, the programme allowed people carrying under 2.5 grams of drugs to be directed towards support…