Twins conjoined at the liver separated in Peru – video

Two baby girls who shared a liver have been separated by doctors in Lima, Peru

Schmallenberg vaccine available to UK farmers this summer

Vaccine will prevent a disease that causes severe birth defects and miscarriages in livestockA new vaccine is being made available to prevent a disease which causes severe birth defects and miscarriages in livestock, it was announced today.Schmallenberg virus, which emerged in the Netherlands and Germany in 2011 and has been seen in cattle and sheep in the UK since early 2012, has been ide

Build the Human Body by Richard Walker | Book Review | @GrrlScientist

This kit overcomes one of the main challenges for teaching anatomy by adopting a build-it-yourself approach. The book is concise, well-written and engaging and the kit is accurate and interesting and will provide many hours of enjoyment as children and adults work together to build the human body. Sometimes, the best way to learn is to wrap your hands around stuff and ... build it yourself! T

The science of webcomics| Dean Burnett

Do webcomics use an 'emergent system'? Maybe not but it's enough for Dean Burnett to shoehorn an interview with the authors/artists/web gurus behind Exterminatus Now in the Guardian science sectionWebcomics are increasingly widespread and popular. It could be argued their proliferation is linked to the decline of print comics, in the same way that free news sites and blogging are often blamed

In praise of … the Tim takeoff | Editorial

As the first official British astronaut, Major Tim Peake will surely rescue his first name from derisionThe sickly child in Dickens and the dog in Blyton – the literary canon was never especially kind to Tims but it was Harry Enfield who finally did for them. After the "nice but dim" caricature, the "Come on, Tim" mantra that accompanied the annual Henman heroics in SW19 was waspishly dismiss

Should we send animals into space? | Poll

Almost half the animals onboard a Russian spacecraft died during a study of the long-term effects of weightlessness. Should space agencies experiment on animals?

Country diary: Coombs Dale, Derbyshire

Coombs Dale, Derbyshire: The land is scarred and nicked, like the face of a veteran fighter, but the blackthorn is smothered in blossomThe high limestone country north of Longstone Edge has its own strange energy, a consequence perhaps of the quarrying there, both ancient and modern. The land is scarred and nicked, like the face of a veteran fighter, a blue-collar countryside.It's also ric

Tim Peake's space station mission could put a rocket under Britain's economy

UK space businesses set sights on £1bn orders as Major Tim becomes first official British astronaut chosen to visit ISSThere is the urge to explore the endless heavens, there are the mysteries of the starry cosmos to solve, but above all there is the faltering economy to revive.Of all the reasons nations give for sending their citizens into space, making money has always mattered. For Brit

Lost in space: why it has taken so long to put a British astronaut into orbit

From early missed opportunities to its belated involvement, Britain has never been a contender in the space raceThere were always two British space communities. One consisted of visionaries and hard-headed realists who knew what should be done and why it had to happen. The other community, of non-dreamers for the most part, had political power, scientific authority and access to the Treasury.

Tim Peake: one giant leap for Britain's first man in space

Major Tim Peake will make history when he joins the crew of the International Space Station in 2015. So what can Britain's first official astronaut expect of life onboard?I think we already know what people will be calling him in two years' time. When that Soyuz rocket blasts off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Kazakh desert carrying Britain's only visitor to the International Space Station (

Creationism and revisionist history threaten to invade our classrooms | Zack Kopplin

We have to stop state legislators from sneaking creationist and revisionist textbooks into public schoolsLouisiana's legislators are continuing their legislative jihad to keep the theory of evolution out of the state's public school science classrooms. On 1 May, legislators killed a bill to repeal Louisiana's creationism law, the misnamed Louisiana Science Education Act (LSEA).The law allo

Giant 1950s robot Gygan up for sale

Eight-foot-tall radio-controlled robot capable of responding to voice or light ray commands is to be auctioned in LondonGygan, a giant radio-controlled robot, which more than half a century ago entranced the world by flashing its car headlamp-like eyes, turning its head stiffly from left to right, and shuffling forwards at the terrifying speed of 10 feet a minute, is to be auctioned after dec

Tim Peake to become first official British astronaut to visit International Space Station - video

A former army test pilot is to become the first official British astronaut to visit the International Space Station

Who invented clothes? A Palaeolithic archaeologist answers | Becky Wragg Sykes

Hadley Freeman's answer to the question was chiffon-flimsy, so here's the lab-coat response"Who invented clothes?" It's one of those brilliant questions that children ask, before they learn that the big things we wonder about rarely have simple answers. It's the kind of thing that archaeologists like me get put on the spot about when chatting to kids, and we love to have a crack at answering.

Heartland Institute wastes real scientists' time – yet again | John Abraham

Wouldn't it be nice to live in a world where armchair experts gave up fighting over whether climate change is occurring?This spring, I began receiving calls and emails from colleagues about a strange little book that was mailed to environmental science professors around the country. This was a big mailing, in total, a reported 100,000 copies were sent out. What was it about this little book t

Discover More: The Elements by Dan Green | Book Review | GrrlScientist

Crammed with gorgeous full-colour photographs and rich graphics, clear and concise writing, and large, easy-to-read font, this is the best chemistry primer I've ever read!Did you know that the bamboo lemur consumes enough cyanide daily to kill a human? ...that Paris green paint, which gets its colour from arsenic, was so toxic that it was used as a rat poison as well for painting masterpieces

Major Tim Peake stole my space age daydream | Suzanne Moore

Britain's first official astronaut will beat me into space. But the light of long dead stars will continue to guide our fantasiesIt's so unfair. Rather like a talentless X-Factor inmate, I still don't properly understand why I am not being sent into space but someone called Major Tim Peake is. OK, he may have graduated from the European Space Agency, be fit, smart, capable and able to drive a

Are mental illnesses such as PMS and depression culturally determined? | Corrinne Burns

A growing number of psychiatrists suspect mental conditions are 'culture-bound syndromes' rather than exclusively biologicalThe latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – DSM 5 – was published over the weekend. Produced by the American Psychiatric Association, it describes the symptoms of a vast range of mental illnesses and is intended as a guide to diagnos

15 thoughts on eliminating neglected tropical diseases

We summarise the points made by a live chat panel on how the global health community can work towards eliminating NTDsDr Paul Emerson, trachoma control programme director, The Carter Centre, Atlanta, USANTDs aren't as remote or obscure as many think: Trachoma and worms used to be endemic to the US and Europe, but were eliminated through improvements in hygiene, sanitation and access to medi

Protection for trees from pests and disease held back by 'skills gap'

Government taskforce calls for plant health to be put on a par with animal health and for the creation of a plant officerEfforts to protect Britain's trees from diseases and pests such as ash dieback and caterpillars that strip oaks of leaves are being hampered by a "skills gap", a government-appointed taskforce has warned.The taskforce, set up in the wake of a fungus that kills ash trees

UK's first official astronaut Tim Peake 'absolutely delighted' to get ISS mission

Former army helicopter pilot will blast off on Soyuz rocket from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in 2015Britain's first official astronaut has spoken of his delight at being selected for a lengthy mission aboard the International Space Station.Major Tim Peake, a former army helicopter pilot, will blast off on a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in November 2015.For t

Scientific research and the European Union | Jon Butterworth | Life & Physics

What effect does European Union membership have on science and research? And what would it mean if the UK left?A recent edition of the BBC Radio 4 science programme "Material World" fulfilled current BBC policy by including a member of UKIP. Roger Helmer MEP was in discussion with Professor Ed Hinds, from Imperial, about the effects of EU membership, or lack of it, on research. I was also the

Look inside space by Rob Lloyd Jones | Book Review | GrrlScientist

This well-constructed and engaging 'flap book' is interesting, accurate and highly interactive – a wonderful introduction to space for young children. Do you like flaps in your books? Even though I am an adult, I really like books with flaps. So knowing that, it's almost a foregone conclusion that I'd really enjoy Rob Lloyd Jones's new children's book, Look inside space [Usborne Publishing, 2

Separating the recent from the ancient past | Dr Dave Hone

The ever-changing landscape can cause some confusion when organic remains of different eras come togetherIt is not uncommon to come across claims of fossils being found in layers where we would not expect them to be, with combinations of animals from different geological eras coming together. A foundation of palaeontology is of course that most groups of organisms tend to come and go – they w

Podcast: Cory Doctorow on an internet that sets us free

This week's edition of the podcast is dedicated to the Sense About Science Lecture 2013, given by the sci-fi writer and web activist Cory Doctorow.Cory's lecture was entitled "We get to choose: How to demand an internet that sets us free" and was delivered to an invited audience at The Institution of Engineering and Technology on 13 May.To find out more about Cory Doctorow's writings go to

Weatherwatch: Keeping warm under a snowy blanket

With snow still lying on the Cairngorm plateau in Scotland, this year has started well for ptarmigans, mountain hares and blaeberry plants. These species thrive in arctic conditions, and a decent covering of spring snow aids their survival.Underneath the 'subnivium', as this special habitat is called, plants, insects, reptiles, amphibians and mammals all take advantage of warmer temperatures,

Climate change: human disaster looms, claims new research

Forecast global temperature rise of 4C a calamity for large swaths of planet even if predicted extremes are not reachedSome of the most extreme predictions of global warming are unlikely to materialise, new scientific research has suggested, but the world is still likely to be in for a temperature rise of double that regarded as safe.The researchers said warming was most likely to reach ab

Heatwave deaths in New York city could rise by up to 22%, study shows

New temperature norms under climate change will increase weather-related deaths in metropolitan areas in coming decadesNew York city could experience up to 22% more deaths from extreme summertime heat in the coming decade under global warming, according to a study of the impact of climate trends.The higher deaths will be partially offset by a reduction in deaths due to the milder winters p

Russian space lizards return to Earth

Mice and lizards to undergo tests in Moscow after a month in orbit, in study into effects of weightlessness on cell structureA Russian capsule carrying mice and lizards has returned to Earth after spending a month in space.Scientists say the experiment is intended to test the effects of weightlessness and other factors of space flight on cell structure.Russian state television showed th

The invisible beauty of flowers - in pictures

Artist Susumu Nishinaga has used a scanning electron microscope to delve deep into the fabric of petal, leaves and pollen