Using drugs or diet to reduce levels of asparagine may benefit patients, say researchers Breast cancer patients could be encouraged to cut asparagus and other foods from their diets in the future to reduce the risk of the disease spreading, scientists say. Researchers are investigating whether a change in ... Read More »
Witness to a massacre: the former Myanmar soldier who saw his village burn
Nazmul Islam watched as the army prepared to attack his home in Tula Toli, where its Rohingya residents were raped and murdered After they finished burning the bodies, the soldiers ordered chicken curry. Nazmul Islam watched as local Buddhists set about preparing food for the men he says raped ... Read More »
Alzheimer’s hope as scientists unveil blood test for early signs
Researchers say they will be able to detect build up of beta-amyloid and give sufferers a headstart for treatment Scientists are closer to rolling out a revolutionary blood test for Alzheimer’s after discovering a new way of detecting one of the earliest signs of the brain disease. For decades ... Read More »
Conflict in Congo has led to children being sexually abused and recruited as soldiers, finds Unicef
More than 3,000 boys and girls recruited by militias and armed groups over past year At least 1.3 million people have been displaced in the Democratic Republic of Congo by inter-ethnic violence and clashes between the regular army, militia and armed groups, according to a Unicef report. More than 800,000 ... Read More »
‘Space graffiti’: astronomers angry over launch of fake star into sky
Giant disco ball dubbed ‘Humanity Star’, launched by startup Rocket Lab, will interfere with scientific study of the universe, experts say Astronomers across the world have criticised a privately owned, New Zealand-based space company after it secretively put a satellite likened to a giant disco ball into orbit. ... Read More »
Two planets in unusual star system are very likely habitable, scientists say
Exoplanets orbiting Trappist-1 have thrilled astronomers since their discovery last year thanks to their Earth-like potential to harbor water Scientists have identified two planets circling round a dim dwarf star as especially likely candidates to have habitable conditions, with probable water and a source of heat, attributes thought necessary ... Read More »
Britain’s strategy to target smugglers sending migrant boats across Mediterranean doomed to fail, study suggests
Cambridge University study warns that sea operations will be ineffective unless demand is addressed Britain’s strategy to tackle people smugglers sending migrants across the Mediterranean is doomed to fail, a new Cambridge University study has suggested. Wiretapped telephone conversations between gangs show there are no “kingpins” who can be ... Read More »
Blood test could use DNA to spot early-stage cancers, study shows
DNA and biomarkers could be used to detect and identify cancers, including five types for which there is currently no screening test Scientists have made a major advance towards developing a blood test for cancer that could identify tumours long before a person becomes aware of symptoms. The new ... Read More »
Surprise as DNA reveals new group of Native Americans: the ancient Beringians
Genetic analysis of a baby girl who died at the end of the last ice age shows she belonged to a previously unknown ancient group of Native Americans A baby girl who lived and died in what is now Alaska at the end of the last ice age belonged ... Read More »
Squalor and disease await Rohingya babies born in Bangladesh camps
Newborns in danger of malnutrition and disease as huge influx of refugees from Myanmar puts pressure on basic services in Cox’s Bazar shelters More than 48,000 babies will be born this year in the cramped and squalid refugee camps where the Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar are living. According to ... Read More »