The path taken by Cyclone Freddy across the Indian Ocean World Meteorological Organization The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is considering whether tropical cyclone Freddy should be named the longest-lasting tropical cyclone on record as it clocks up its 32nd day. “Freddy is pretty unusual,” says Liz Ritchie-Tyo at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Most tropical […]
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Rapid genome sequencing helps save hundreds of critically ill babies
River had his genome sequenced as part of the trial, which revealed he has a genetic condition called Gaucher disease. He was then started on an experimental treatment and is now a “typical 2-year-old” Cody Bailey Critically ill babies in Australia have had their lives saved after their genomes were rapidly sequenced as part of […]
Changes to surrogacy laws must consider future reproductive technology
MOST people assume that if you create a child, it is your child. But the links between creation, commission and child-rearing are growing more tenuous as reproductive technology advances and laws are reformed in response. In the coming decades, we might see the first children conceived using synthetic eggs and sperm and “born” through ectogenesis […]
Inflammation’s role in heart disease is being overlooked
Heart disease is one of the commonest causes of death SEBASTIAN KAULITZKI/Science Photo Library/Getty Images Doctors are in the middle of a major rethink about the causes of heart attacks and strokes – among the commonest causes of death worldwide. For decades, much of the focus has been on cholesterol: statin drugs, used to lower […]
Flight Paths book review: Why understanding migration may save bird species
Technology has revealed the truth about the migration of birds like snow geese. Steve Byland/istockphoto/getty images Flight PathsRebecca Heisman (Harper Collins) QUESTIONS about how and why so many birds make extraordinarily arduous annual migrations – and where they are going – have puzzled us for years. Perhaps they are flying to the moon, speculated 17th-century English […]
AI trained on YouTube and podcasts speaks with ums and ahs
An AI can generate more natural-sounding synthetic speech by including pauses Shutterstock/PrinceOfLove Generating speech with different rhythms and pauses makes it sound more human-like, according to an assessment of an artificial intelligence trained on speech taken from YouTube and podcasts. Most artificial intelligence text-to-speech systems are trained on data sets of acted speech, which can […]
Relativity Space: First 3D-printed rocket is about to launch into space
Update: The Terran 1 rocket was not launched on 8 March due to an issue involving the temperature of the fuel, and Relativity Space is expected to release a new launch date soon. The first 3D-printed rocket is preparing for liftoff. The Terran 1 rocket, built by US aerospace start-up Relativity Space, is set to […]
Restoring the brain’s mitochondria could slow ageing and end dementia
Protein plaques in the brain may be caused by failing mitochondria Sebastian Kaulitzki/Alamy IF YOU own a car, you will have noticed the engine getting less efficient with time. The further you drive it, the more fuel it takes to make the same journey – until, eventually, it becomes so underpowered that it needs a physical […]
Breastfed C-section babies get more of their microbiomes from milk
Breast milk can be a source of bacteria that make up a baby’s microbiome Nastyaofly/Shutterstock Babies who missed out on their mothers’ gut bacteria because they were born by Caesarean section receive more bacteria from their mother’s milk, if they are breastfed, compared with breastfed babies born naturally, a Dutch study has shown. The research […]
Orca seen foster parenting a pilot whale calf for first time
Saedís, an orca, with a long-finned pilot whale calf at her side orcaguardians.org A long-finned pilot whale calf has been documented swimming behind the flipper of a female orca – in “echelon”, or the mother-and-calf position – for the first time. How the inter-species pair came together is unknown, leading researchers to wonder whether the […]