×Bygene-editing trials for treating sickle cell disease and beta thalassaemia are being extended to include children aged under 12 after the therapies proved successful in ongoing trials involving people aged between 12 and 35. The aim is to treat children early enough to prevent them getting lasting damage from these .“The results are superb,” says at Imperial College London, a doctor who is involved in the trials, which include patients from multiple sites across the European Union, UK and US.Now, the challenge will be making the treatment widely available, which could be an issue because...…×Bygene-editing trials for treating sickle cell disease and beta thalassaemia are being extended to include children aged under 12 after the therapies proved successful in ongoing trials involving people aged between 12 and 35. The aim is to treat children early enough to prevent them getting lasting damage from these .“The results are superb,” says at Imperial College London, a doctor who is involved in the trials, which include patients from multiple sites across the European Union, UK and US.Now, the challenge will be making the treatment widely available, which could be an issue because...WW…

×ByBitcoin’s value has plunged by 22 per cent in the past five days as investors rush to sell the cryptocurrency amid fears that an asset bubble is bursting.The average buyer is after the world’s most popular cryptocurrency shed a trillion dollars in value in two months.For El Salvador, which staked its economy on the success of bitcoin when it became in September 2021, the crash has wiped out more than half of its bitcoin holdings – and could be the death knell for its national crypto experiment.AdvertisementEl Salvador has invested heavily in creating and promoting the bitcoin...…×ByBitcoin’s value has plunged by 22 per cent in the past five days as investors rush to sell the cryptocurrency amid fears that an asset bubble is bursting.The average buyer is after the world’s most popular cryptocurrency shed a trillion dollars in value in two months.For El Salvador, which staked its economy on the success of bitcoin when it became in September 2021, the crash has wiped out more than half of its bitcoin holdings – and could be the death knell for its national crypto experiment.AdvertisementEl Salvador has invested heavily in creating and promoting the bitcoin...WW…

×ByA strangely sedate galaxy in the early universe may upend our ideas about how galaxies form. We think most young galaxies in the early cosmos ought to be chaotic and turbulent, but galaxy SPT-SJ041839-4751.9, the earliest galaxy of its type we’ve been able to see with high resolution, isn’t.We see this galaxy as it was when the universe was just 1.4 billion years old and it is much too dim and distant to observe in detail using a regular telescope. Simona Vegetti at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Germany and her colleagues used a phenomenon called to take a picture of it...…×ByA strangely sedate galaxy in the early universe may upend our ideas about how galaxies form. We think most young galaxies in the early cosmos ought to be chaotic and turbulent, but galaxy SPT-SJ041839-4751.9, the earliest galaxy of its type we’ve been able to see with high resolution, isn’t.We see this galaxy as it was when the universe was just 1.4 billion years old and it is much too dim and distant to observe in detail using a regular telescope. Simona Vegetti at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics in Germany and her colleagues used a phenomenon called to take a picture of it...WW…

×ByAfrican grey parrots are not only really smart, they are helpful too. They are the first bird species to pass a test that requires them both to understand when another animal needs help and to actually give assistance.Besides humans, only bonobos and orangutans have passed this test, says Désirée Brucks at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in Germany. Even chimps and gorillas have failed at it.Brucks and first trained birds one at a time. Each was given a pile of tokens – small metal washers – and taught that they could exchange them for food by passing them to a researcher...…×ByAfrican grey parrots are not only really smart, they are helpful too. They are the first bird species to pass a test that requires them both to understand when another animal needs help and to actually give assistance.Besides humans, only bonobos and orangutans have passed this test, says Désirée Brucks at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in Germany. Even chimps and gorillas have failed at it.Brucks and first trained birds one at a time. Each was given a pile of tokens – small metal washers – and taught that they could exchange them for food by passing them to a researcher...WW…

×ByChanging the way we make could reduce their carbon footprint, providing a boost to green energy.Although solar panels are a source of renewable energy, making them has an environmental impact. Fengqi You at Cornell University in New York and his colleagues have analysed the overall environmental impact of two types of new solar panels, comparing these against panels made with crystalline silicon wafers – the current industry standard.The team found that a new type of made from two layers of a mineral called perovskite requires a smaller total and results in fewer carbon emissions. The...…×ByChanging the way we make could reduce their carbon footprint, providing a boost to green energy.Although solar panels are a source of renewable energy, making them has an environmental impact. Fengqi You at Cornell University in New York and his colleagues have analysed the overall environmental impact of two types of new solar panels, comparing these against panels made with crystalline silicon wafers – the current industry standard.The team found that a new type of made from two layers of a mineral called perovskite requires a smaller total and results in fewer carbon emissions. The...WW…

×ByThere may be no need to keep and other similar vaccines at -70°C, potentially making it much easier to distribute them across the world. Two other teams using the same messenger RNA (mRNA) technology for their vaccines have found that they remain stable for at least three months in a normal fridge.The Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine candidate generated great excitement around the world this week when the companies announced …No commitment, cancel anytime*Offer ends 19/10/2022. *Cancel anytime within 14 days of payment to receive a refund on unserved issues.Existing subscribers, please with...…×ByThere may be no need to keep and other similar vaccines at -70°C, potentially making it much easier to distribute them across the world. Two other teams using the same messenger RNA (mRNA) technology for their vaccines have found that they remain stable for at least three months in a normal fridge.The Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine candidate generated great excitement around the world this week when the companies announced …No commitment, cancel anytime*Offer ends 19/10/2022. *Cancel anytime within 14 days of payment to receive a refund on unserved issues.Existing subscribers, please with...WW…

×ByForecasting drought in the Colorado River, one of the most important rivers in the arid western US, could come down to ocean temperatures thousands of kilometers away.The Colorado River runs for around 2300 kilometres, providing water to vast farmlands and 30 million people in seven US states and Mexico. A team of researchers found that distant today could help predict the river’s water supply up to two years into the future.“If we …No commitment, cancel anytime*Offer ends 19/10/2022. *Cancel anytime within 14 days of payment to receive a refund on unserved issues.Existing subscribers,...…×ByForecasting drought in the Colorado River, one of the most important rivers in the arid western US, could come down to ocean temperatures thousands of kilometers away.The Colorado River runs for around 2300 kilometres, providing water to vast farmlands and 30 million people in seven US states and Mexico. A team of researchers found that distant today could help predict the river’s water supply up to two years into the future.“If we …No commitment, cancel anytime*Offer ends 19/10/2022. *Cancel anytime within 14 days of payment to receive a refund on unserved issues.Existing subscribers,...WW…

×ByMindfulness and other types of are usually seen as simple stress-relievers – but they can sometimes leave people worse off.About one in 12 people who try meditation experience an , usually a worsening in or anxiety, or even the onset of these conditions for the first time, according to the first systematic review of the evidence. “For most people it works fine but it has undoubtedly been overhyped and it’s not universally benevolent,” says Miguel Farias at Coventry University in the UK, one of the researchers behind the work.There are many types of meditation, but one of the most popular...…×ByMindfulness and other types of are usually seen as simple stress-relievers – but they can sometimes leave people worse off.About one in 12 people who try meditation experience an , usually a worsening in or anxiety, or even the onset of these conditions for the first time, according to the first systematic review of the evidence. “For most people it works fine but it has undoubtedly been overhyped and it’s not universally benevolent,” says Miguel Farias at Coventry University in the UK, one of the researchers behind the work.There are many types of meditation, but one of the most popular...WW…

×ByAMID an epic haul of jewels and statues rescued from an ancient Greek shipwreck, it was a lump of corroded wood and bronze that would capture the world’s imagination. Pulled from the Mediterranean Sea in 1901, the was an astonishingly sophisticated 2000-year-old computer. The size of a shoebox, sporting chunky bronze gears rimmed with hundreds of triangular teeth, it was built to chart the paths of celestial bodies and was capable of addition, multiplication, subtraction and division – all by cranking a handle.Nearly half a century would pass before its significance became apparent. By...…×ByAMID an epic haul of jewels and statues rescued from an ancient Greek shipwreck, it was a lump of corroded wood and bronze that would capture the world’s imagination. Pulled from the Mediterranean Sea in 1901, the was an astonishingly sophisticated 2000-year-old computer. The size of a shoebox, sporting chunky bronze gears rimmed with hundreds of triangular teeth, it was built to chart the paths of celestial bodies and was capable of addition, multiplication, subtraction and division – all by cranking a handle.Nearly half a century would pass before its significance became apparent. By...WW…

×ByTASKED with telling the universe’s epic story, cosmologists have put on a compelling show. The curtain rises with a bang before a sweeping, unstoppable narrative unfolds. Stars form and explode, galaxies swirl their way into existence. munch and merge, sending out ripples through the auditorium.It is a ripping yarn – but the longer we watch it, the more it seems not quite to add up. The story is inconsistent. The pace changes arbitrarily. Some of the characters are ill-drawn, do inexplicable things or are just plain not there on cue. All in all, there is enough in this play that goes...…×ByTASKED with telling the universe’s epic story, cosmologists have put on a compelling show. The curtain rises with a bang before a sweeping, unstoppable narrative unfolds. Stars form and explode, galaxies swirl their way into existence. munch and merge, sending out ripples through the auditorium.It is a ripping yarn – but the longer we watch it, the more it seems not quite to add up. The story is inconsistent. The pace changes arbitrarily. Some of the characters are ill-drawn, do inexplicable things or are just plain not there on cue. All in all, there is enough in this play that goes...WW…