Ian Sample

UK scientists will use NHS patients’ cells to grow standardised human organoids for drug testing, disease modelling and more personalised treatment selection. The £20m Cambridge hub, funded by the Medical Research Council, will develop validated models covering conditions including inflammatory bowel disease, cancer and neurological disorders, making them available to researchers and pharmaceutical companies. The initiative supports the UK government’s plan to reduce animal experimentation through organoids, organ-on-a-chip systems and artificial intelligence. Researchers say the models could improve on animal testing, where more than 90% of drugs that pass animal studies later fail in human trials, although some animal research will remain necessary. Additional Innovate UK funding will support projects such as VivoSphere’s heart-cell toxicity tests, which aim to identify harmful drugs before they reach animal studies.

The podcast examines evidence that people are reading less as digital distractions compete for attention. Madeleine Finlay discusses the cognitive benefits of reading, including effects on memory and IQ, with Guardian science editor Ian Sample and experimental psychologist Falk Huettig of the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics. It considers how declining literacy and reduced reading habits could affect cognition and wider society.

Researchers at Stanford University used the genome language models Evo1 and Evo2 to design bacteriophages, producing 16 viable viruses from nearly 300 laboratory candidates. A cocktail of the AI-designed phages killed drug-resistant E. coli strains, suggesting potential advances in phage therapy. The work also demonstrates that generative AI can produce functioning viral genomes, prompting warnings about biosafety, biosecurity and inadequate governance. Experts say research involving viruses that infect humans, animals or plants should not proceed, while recommending layered safeguards covering AI access, research review, DNA-synthesis screening and laboratory containment.

The podcast examines research identifying four distinct types of thinker, an unprecedented US cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to two deaths, and funding cuts threatening Jodrell Bank Observatory and its Lovell Telescope. The episode notes that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reportedly expanded the outbreak investigation to 15 states, while artists, writers and scientists are urging the UK government to protect the observatory.

The highest-resolution images ever taken of the Sun reveal tiny swirling structures identified as possible Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities, formed where fast-moving plasma flows past slower plasma. Researchers believe these vortices may braid and destabilize magnetic field lines, helping explain solar explosions and the long-standing mystery of why the Sun’s corona reaches millions of degrees while its surface is about 6,000°C. The findings, based on observations from Hawaii’s Inouye Solar Telescope, are published in Nature but require further confirmation.

A study of more than 5,000 Italian schoolchildren found that those who opened social-media accounts at ages 11 or 12 performed worse in mathematics and Italian tests than peers who waited until at least age 14, with the gap at age 16 equivalent to roughly six months of schooling. The research adjusted for factors including prior academic performance, family structure and parental education but cannot prove that social media caused the difference. Frequent phone checking was one of the strongest predictors of poorer results, while no effect was found in English, possibly because social media provides incidental exposure to the language. Researchers and child-psychiatry experts called for healthier platform design and habits, as governments consider restrictions on social media for under-16s.

Madeleine Finlay examines the evidence behind the claimed mental and physical benefits of saunas and cold plunges, which have become increasingly popular across the UK. She discusses the research with Guardian journalist Ian Sample and Heather Massey of the University of Portsmouth’s Extreme Environments Laboratory.

The Science and Technology Facilities Council plans to withdraw funding for Jodrell Bank and the e-MERLIN radio astronomy network by March 2028 unless alternative support is found. The decision forms part of wider cuts across UK physics, including reduced participation in major international observatories, pressure on the Large Hadron Collider’s LHCb experiment, and reduced budgets for underground and accelerator facilities. Rising costs and a projected funding overrun have driven the crisis, while surveys suggest nearly 80% of early-career physicists are considering leaving the UK, threatening the country’s scientific capacity and economic growth.

Ian Sample discusses the science of dreams and nightmares with Dr Michelle Carr, director of Montreal’s Dream Engineering Laboratory and author of Into the Dream Lab. They examine why people dream, what dreams may reveal, and how people can respond when dreams become distressing. Carr also offers practical techniques for taking greater control of dreams and attempting to influence their content.

Jodrell Bank Observatory faces possible closure after UK Research and Innovation decided to withdraw funding for the e-Merlin radio astronomy network when its current agreement ends in March 2028. The decision threatens 28 jobs and could end observations at the facility, affecting nearly 3,000 researchers. Scientists, the Royal Astronomical Society and the Prospect trade union condemned the move, while Brian Cox urged the government to intervene. UKRI and the Science and Technology Facilities Council said the reductions followed an evidence-based prioritization process driven by cost pressures and a focus on long-term scientific value. The wider cuts include reduced UK participation in the Rubin Observatory and Next-Generation Transit Survey, the cancellation of funding for future Extremely Large Telescope instruments and withdrawal from the Event Horizon Telescope.

England’s record-high life expectancy in 2025 masks a widening north-south divide. Life expectancy rose substantially in London and other southern regions over the past decade, while the five northern regions saw little or no improvement, leaving people in the north-east about three years behind London residents. Local disparities are even greater, with men in Blackpool living around 10 years less than those in Hart, Hampshire. Healthy life expectancy declined across all English regions, and people now spend roughly 2.5 more years in poor health. The King’s Fund attributed the disparities to deprivation and broader conditions such as insecure work, low pay, inadequate housing, pollution, transport and diet, calling the government’s goal of halving the healthy-life-expectancy gap unrealistic without a much stronger prevention strategy. The Department of Health and Social Care defended its 10-year NHS plan and cited £2.2bn in redirected resources for deprived areas.

A small six-month trial of 47 women aged 50 to 79 with overweight or obesity found that those who restricted eating to a nine-hour window and avoided food for four hours before bed performed better on spatial planning and problem-solving tests than participants who ate over roughly 12 hours, despite similar weight loss of about 7kg in both groups. Researchers say the cognitive benefits may involve circadian rhythms, metabolism and inflammation, but stress that the effects were modest and preliminary. Larger, peer-reviewed studies are needed to determine whether time-restricted eating meaningfully protects cognitive health.

A study by economists at Claremont Graduate University and Wuhan University analysed more than 23,000 real-time thought reports from 258 volunteers and identified four tentative thinking patterns: worriers, domestics, bodily thinkers, and work-hard, play-hards. Thoughts commonly concerned sensory experiences, work, food, sleep, hobbies and relationships, while reported thought content predicted happiness better than the other factors examined. The researchers stress that the groups are fluid, the sample was limited to WEIRD participants, a quarter of prompts went unanswered, and the findings remain preliminary because the study has not yet been peer reviewed.

Durham University researchers used supercomputer simulations to argue that the Milky Way’s disc was tilted by more than 90 degrees after a head-on collision with the dwarf galaxy known as the Gaia Sausage about 10 billion years ago. The merger, which destroyed and absorbed the dwarf galaxy, may explain why stars in the Milky Way’s halo rotate much more slowly than stars in its disc. Gaia observations had previously identified the collision through the distinctive orbits of its surviving stars. The event is considered the Milky Way’s last major merger; future encounters with the Large Magellanic Cloud and Sagittarius dwarf galaxy are expected to have different, less dramatic effects.

A brain-computer interface using a “double neural bypass” enabled Keith Thomas, paralysed from a 2020 accident, to move his arms, regain a sense of touch and perform tasks such as feeding himself. Developed by researchers at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, the system reroutes brain signals to the limbs and returns sensory information, and appears to have helped partially rewire his nervous system. After months of training, Thomas gained significant strength and recovered lasting sensation, though further trials are needed to determine broader applicability.

A Ryanair-Air Malta Boeing 737-800 lost a window mid‑flight after suspected engine debris struck it, partially pulling a passenger outside before the aircraft returned safely to Thessaloniki. Experts note such events are extremely rare, typically triggered by engine component failures, and are mitigated by passengers wearing seatbelts and structural aircraft design. Previous similar incidents involved Boeing 737 models and CFM engines, though survival is common when rapid decompression occurs. Specialists warn that aging aircraft and outsourced maintenance can increase risks, stressing the importance of quality control and adherence to safety procedures.

A first patient has received an experimental gene therapy designed to make ageing retinal cells behave more like young cells and potentially improve vision. The treatment is being tested for safety, and success could support the development of broader cellular-rejuvenation therapies. Madeleine Finlay discusses the research with Guardian science editor Ian Sample and cell biology professor Paul Knoepfler.

Evolutionary biologist Toby Kiers discusses the ecological importance of fungi and the underground networks they form. She explains her work mapping fungal systems on Palmyra Atoll in the Pacific Ocean and argues that fungi play an often overlooked but essential role in planetary health. Her research and environmental advocacy have received major recognition, including a MacArthur fellowship and the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement.

Astronomers have detected erythrulose, a four-carbon sugar found in raspberries and fake-tan products, in the interstellar dust cloud G+0.693-0.027 near the Milky Way’s centre. The compound appears to form on microscopic dust grains at temperatures around −250C when glycolaldehyde and ethylene glycol react. Its presence suggests that sugars and other molecules important to life can form in space and may reach planets through comets and asteroids. Researchers propose that such material could have contributed to Earth’s prebiotic chemistry, although how these molecules ultimately led to life remains uncertain.

Scientists report that average male testosterone levels may have halved over the past 50 years, raising concerns about a broader male fertility crisis. Obesity and diabetes may contribute to the decline, while endocrine-disrupting chemicals in household products and global heating are also being investigated. Ian Sample and Hannah Devlin discuss how the findings have been received and what action researchers want to see.

More than half of UK smokers now believe vaping is as harmful or more harmful than smoking, a misconception that discourages smokers from switching to less harmful alternatives. Research from Action on Smoking and Health shows a sharp decline in public understanding over the last decade, driven in part by media coverage of studies highlighting vaping risks without comparing them to the far greater dangers of smoking. Experts warn that these misperceptions undermine smoking cessation efforts despite evidence from major reviews, including work by King's College London, showing e‑cigarettes pose only a fraction of the risks associated with tobacco. Public health advocates call for clearer communication to support smokers in quitting while also backing government measures aimed at reducing youth vaping.

Researchers have created tiny, quivering blobs that use laboratory-made DNA to feed, grow and multiply in a dish, which they say brings scientists closer to creating life from scratch. Madeleine Finlay examines the significance of the development with Guardian science editor Ian Sample and genetics professor Kate Adamala, including the potential future directions of synthetic-life research.

Researchers created SpudCells, synthetic structures built from non-living components that can grow, replicate their DNA and divide, marking a significant advance toward artificial life. The cells rely on chemical-rich liquid environments and feeder liposomes for growth, and while far less capable than living cells, they demonstrate fundamental life-like behaviors. Experts describe the work as a major breakthrough that may enable future applications in drug, food and fuel production, though some question its philosophical and practical value. An international initiative, Biotic, aims to develop these synthetic systems further as a potential operating platform for engineered biology.

Experts describe the biological causes of recurring algae blooms in the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool and why they persist despite recent cleaning and repainting efforts. The discussion outlines the environmental conditions that enable the algae’s rapid return and considers what approaches could more effectively address the issue, as President Trump’s attempt to renovate and recolor the pool fails to prevent the blooms.

High temperatures combined with alcohol consumption increase dehydration, lower blood pressure and strain the heart, raising risks of collapse, arrhythmias and heart attacks. Alcohol also heightens the likelihood of heatstroke and impairs judgment, prompting risky behaviour. Experts note that while strong drinks and large quantities are dangerous during heatwaves, small amounts of weak beer or shandy can aid hydration. Temporary public drinking bans, such as in Paris, aim to reduce medical emergencies and risky behaviour during extreme heat conditions.

Julie Elie received the 2026 Coller-Dolittle prize for identifying 11 core zebra finch calls and demonstrating that the birds understand the meanings behind them. Her research used long-term observation, machine learning, and behavioral tests showing finches distinguish calls by meaning. Judges described the work as a major step toward interspecies communication. Other shortlisted studies included research on African striped mice, bonobos, and chimpanzees. Advances in AI are seen as accelerating progress toward meaningful human–animal communication, with the Jeremy Coller Foundation predicting breakthroughs by 2030.

Perseverance detected macromolecular carbon in mudstones in Mars’s Jezero crater, adding to evidence that the planet once hosted habitable environments. Scientists note that such carbon can arise from biological or geological processes, leaving the origin uncertain. The findings, supported by Sherloc instrument analysis, align with similar discoveries by Curiosity thousands of miles away, suggesting organics were widespread on ancient Mars. Researchers emphasize that determining whether the carbon is biological will likely require laboratory analysis of returned samples, though NASA’s original sample‑return mission was canceled and a revised version is being planned, with China also pursuing its own return mission.

AI-driven virtual unwrapping has revealed more than 20 columns of text from the charred PHerc 1667 scroll, one of the oldest recovered from the Herculaneum library. Researchers identified stoic philosophical content and evidence pointing to an author such as Chrysippus. The achievement builds on techniques developed through the Vesuvius Challenge, which used machine learning to detect ink within X‑ray images. Scholars have now shifted from technical extraction to interpreting the newly accessible texts, which include insights into stoic concepts such as impulse and practical wisdom.

A detailed Euclid telescope mosaic reveals more than 60 million stars in the Milky Way’s galactic bulge, demonstrating the instrument’s unexpected power for exoplanet research. The imagery will significantly enhance microlensing studies by providing clear pre-overlap views of stars, allowing more precise motion and mass measurements. Combined with the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, scientists expect discoveries of over 100,000 new exoplanets, marking a major shift in planetary research.

A global review of cannabis reforms finds that decriminalisation or tightly regulated legalisation does not significantly increase use or mental health problems, while commercialised markets in the US and Canada correlate with higher consumption, increased potency and more cannabis‑related psychosis. Researchers attribute these outcomes to profit‑driven incentives that expand access and promote stronger products. Experts argue that non‑commercial models, such as Uruguay’s state‑controlled system, avoid these harms and provide valuable guidance for policymakers considering reform.

Ancient DNA from late Stone Age cemeteries in south-eastern Siberia indicates that hunter-gatherer communities experienced two plague outbreaks beginning about 5,500 years ago. Analysis of dental pulp from skeletons revealed Yersinia pestis in 39% of individuals and suggests the disease may have killed all those buried due to likely false negatives in degraded samples. Evidence points to infection from handling or eating marmots, followed by person‑to‑person spread that disproportionately killed children. Genetic data shows the bacterium emerged at least 5,700 years ago and possessed a toxic superantigen linked to severe illness. The findings demonstrate that even small, isolated prehistoric communities were vulnerable to lethal epidemics long before the rise of densely populated agricultural societies.

UK scientific facilities including the Diamond Light Source and the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source face potential cuts of up to 20% as the Science and Technology Facilities Council seeks £162m in savings by 2029–30. Rising electricity and staffing costs, alongside exchange-rate pressures linked to international collaborations, have driven a major budget shortfall. Scientists and sector leaders warn that reductions could halt planned upgrades, lead to beamline closures, and damage the country’s research capability and global standing. STFC leadership has signaled that impacts across the research portfolio are unavoidable, though no final decisions will be made until autumn.

Higher‑empathy NHS trusts show better patient outcomes, stronger staff wellbeing, and lower spending on agency staff, according to provisional research using data including CQC ratings and staff surveys. Even small increases in empathy scores correlate with significantly improved safety and effectiveness ratings, reduced burnout, and lower financial outlays. The findings follow scrutiny of failings at Nottingham’s maternity services, underscoring the risks of low‑empathy cultures. Researchers note the study does not prove causation but aligns with wider evidence linking empathy to reduced pain, anxiety and improved satisfaction. Experts suggest genuine gains require redesigning clinical work rather than adopting empathy as a superficial slogan.