Doctor behind trial of HIV prevention drug recounts breakthrough moment
Prof Linda-Gail Bekker receives ovation at Aids summit after presenting trial results of ‘miracle’ drug lenacapavir When the doctor behind the trial of a new HIV prevention drug heard the results, she could not contain her emotions. “I literally burst into tears,” said Prof Linda-Gail Bekker. “I’m 62, I’ve lived through this epidemic … I […]
‘A huge opportunity’: Quantum leap for UK as tech industry receives £100m boost
Science secretary backs five quantum technology hubs in push for UK to transform healthcare and industry Britain’s plans to create advanced devices based on the mind-bending physics of the quantum world have received a £100m boost, in a move ministers hope will have a transformative impact on healthcare, transport and national security. Peter Kyle, the […]
Top Olympic tips for mental resilience to enhance success
Team GB’s lead psychologist Jess Thom reveals her advice to athletes to boost focus and performance Team GB’s psychologist on nerves, negativity and self-doubtParis 2024 Olympics – live updates Athletes are encouraged to recognise that they do not have control over their feelings but also that their feelings need not dictate their actions. The approach […]
UK ‘desperately exposed’ to cyber-threats and pandemics, says minister
Science secretary Peter Kyle says national resilience suffered ‘catastrophically’ under Tories The UK science secretary has warned Britain is “desperately exposed” to cyber-threats and the upheaval of another pandemic, claiming that national resilience suffered “catastrophically” under the previous government. Deep public spending cuts under the austerity programme diminished the NHS and other local and national […]
What is ‘nature’? Dictionaries urged to include humans in definition
Defining nature as separate from people perpetuates troubled relationship with the natural world, say campaigners It was last year, during a conference at the Eden Project, the botanic garden and conservation centre in Cornwall, that Frieda Gormley first heard the dictionary definition of nature. The businesswoman and environmental activist was answering questions about her plans […]
Starwatch: July to end with stunning celestial grouping
Crescent moon will appear with Pleiades star cluster, Jupiter and Mars, and the bright star Aldebaran July ends with a spectacular grouping of celestial objects in the eastern pre-dawn skies. The waning crescent moon will appear with the Pleiades star cluster, the planets Jupiter and Mars, and the bright star Aldebaran for two consecutive mornings. […]
Delta Aquariids meteor shower to light up night sky
Best time for viewing shooting stars in UK is expected to be in the hour or two after midnight on Tuesday The first meteor shower of the summer may peak in the early hours of Tuesday morning with stargazers hoping to see dozens of shooting stars tearing across the night sky every hour. Astronomers have […]
Broad beans could be the cure to Britain’s blues, says Cambridge research scientist
Sustainable and nutritious, fava beans are being hailed by Nadia Mohd-Radzman as vital for the UK’s mental health Nadia Mohd-Radzman is a botanist on a mission. The Cambridge University researcher wants the UK to recognise the wonders of a crop that she believes could transform the nation’s health. Hence her campaigning – for the broad […]
Freud was ‘misunderstood’ and wasn’t so obsessed with sex, new analysis of work suggests
A new edition of his theories on dreams argues that he used ‘sexuality’ to describe any purely pleasureable activity For a psychiatrist, so the joke goes, any object that crops up within a dream must represent a phallus. But it seems even Sigmund Freud did not really think all our sleeping fantasies are suppressed erotica. […]
Type of mouth bacteria ‘melts’ some cancers, study finds
People with head and neck cancers are said to have better outcomes if fusobacterium is found with their cancer Scientists have discovered that a common type of mouth bacteria can make certain cancers “melt”. Researchers at Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College London said they had been “brutally surprised” to find that fusobacterium – […]