Revolution Medicines' pancreatic cancer drug has not yet been approved — and already talk has shifted to how (and when) its use might be expanded.
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Search for alien technology on interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS comes up empty
Even though astronomers didn’t detect alien tech signals from a rare interstellar visitor, the results are worthwhile, they say
By Jackie Flynn Mogensen edited by Jeanna Bryner
When Comet 3I/ATLAS entered our solar system last year—only the third known interstellar object to do so—astronomers took notice . And so did scientists involved in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI). These researchers were curious whether this particular interloper may have been linked to aliens.
When astronomers first discovered 3I/ATLAS in July 2025, the icy body was traveling at an impressive speed of about 137,000 miles per hour. Researchers later discovered that it was “ bursting with methanol ” and that its coma—the vapor envelope that formed as the icy object neared the sun—was full of frozen carbon dioxide . Both observations provided astronomers with clues about the comet’s cosmic origin. All signs suggested the interstellar object was natural, but some astronomers took the opportunity to look for so-called technosignatures, particularly radio signals that could be produced by something artificial.
“Eventually, our own Voyager spacecraft will be extraterrestrial artifacts in other stellar systems,” said Sofia Sheikh, a research scientist at the SETI Institute, in a statement , referring to the twin interstellar probes that NASA launched in 1977. “Given that, it is important that we understand the natural distribution of interstellar objects so that we will be able to identify any anomalies that could one day be signs of an artificial interstellar object.”
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To help rule out the possibility that 3I/ATLAS contained some kind of alien technology, She…
Researchers investigating the origins of Stonehenge’s enigmatic altar stone say it is possible that the 6-tonne rock was carried southwards from Scotland by ice flows – but this hypothesis relies on an unlikely series of events, making it more likely that humans transported it.
The 5-metre-long monolith, which is partially buried and overlain by two other stones, has been in its present location, at the centre of Stonehenge’s ring of worked boulders, for around 4500 years.
Read more The surprising origins of Britain's Bronze Age immigrants revealed
The surprising origins of Britain's Bronze Age immigrants revealed
In 2024, researchers including Anthony Clarke at Curtin University in Perth, Australia, determined that the altar stone came from north-east Scotland , based on the chemistry of the rock.
“The altar stone is a sandstone – you can imagine grains of sand at the beach that have been squished together,” says Clarke. “We can get an age and the chemical composition for each of those grains and build up a fingerprint, which we can then forensically compare to other rocks throughout the UK and Ireland.”
The altar stone’s chemical fingerprint matched outcrops in the Orcadian basin, a geological feature that overlays parts of north-east Scotland. This meant the stone must have been transported 750 kilometres southwards to Stonehenge, in southern England.
Each month, Michael Marshall unearths the latest news and ideas about ancient humans, evolution, archaeology and more.
Clarke and his colleagues originally thought it was most likely that the stone had been transported by boat. But they also wondered whether it could have been moved by ice during the last glacial period, potentially reducing the distance humans would have had to carry it.
In the new study, Clarke and his colleagues used geological analysis and ice flow modelling to reconstruct ancient ice movements.
They found that most ice flows from north-east Scotland went to the north, but some did …
An oncologist shares three lessons from the world’s first randomized trial on a multi-cancer early detection.
“One of the cancer community’s worst fears is coming to pass,” writes Gwen Nichols of Blood Cancer United.
Due to a significant gender gap, far less is known about the health risks of early or late puberty onset among boys than girls.
What happens at a longevity festival? On this week's STATus Report, Alex Hogan gets a dispatch from STAT's Sarah Todd.
Ambient scribes were the first large-scale application of AI in health care. Now developers are pitching them as diligent note-takers for patients.
<p>With the Bundibugyo strain of the disease spreading across the DRC and Uganda, scientists and researchers are trying to find rapid solutions</p><p>There is no vaccine or treatment available for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola that is spreading in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, but this week three vaccine developers were awarded $60m (£45m) in emergency funding as the race to halt the outbreak ramps up.</p><p>Security issues in the affected region of the DRC, where conflict has displaced tens of thousands, have made it challenging to set up trials to test drugs. Militias operate in the area and some Ebola treatment centres <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/24/suspected-ebola-cases-congo-health-workers-attacks">have been attacked</a>.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/jun/04/the-race-to-combat-ebola-what-vaccines-and-treatments-are-being-developed-and-how-long-will-it-take">Continue reading...</a>
<p>Light from nearly 4m galaxies measured as it twisted and travelled through intergalactic space</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2026/jun/04/australia-politics-live-capital-gains-tax-property-prices-economy-budget-jim-chalmers-anthony-albanese-angus-taylor-pauline-hanson-senate-estimates-question-time-ntwnfb">Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates</a></p></li><li><p>Get our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=cvau_sfl">breaking news email</a>, <a href="https://app.adjust.com/w4u7jx3">free app</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/full-story?CMP=cvau_sfl">daily news podcast</a></p></li></ul><p>A cosmic map of magnetic fields – the largest ever produced – could help scientists delve into one of the major and most mysterious forces in the universe.</p><p>A global team led by Australia’s national science agency, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/may/20/csiro-job-cuts-climate-australia-projections-to-global-reports">the CSIRO</a> charted the magnetic fields by measuring light from nearly 4m galaxies as it twisted and travelled through intergalactic space.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/jun/04/space-universe-science-cosmic-map-of-magnetic-fields">Continue reading...</a>
A project combining artificial intelligence with conservation has come to an end.
Space4Nature - a collaboration between Buglife, Surrey Wildlife Trust, the University of Surrey and Painshill Park - said it had spent three years working with new technologies and approaches to nature recovery.
It added it had combined high-resolution satellite imagery, citizen science and machine learning to "revolutionise how we understand and monitor habitats".
Space4Nature said it had also restored more than 60 hectares of pollinator habitat at 22 sites across Surrey, including wildflower meadows, heathlands, wetlands and hedgerows.
More than £100,000 had been deployed to connect network insect pathways, it added.
Space4Nature said some 350 volunteers had been trained in ecological surveys for both invertebrates and vegetation.
It explained that the data collected by volunteers was fed into machine learning models, alongside satellite imagery.
This allowed the Space4Nature team to develop a predictive model for grassland and lowland heathland habitats.
"Once peer-reviewed findings are published in scientific journals, the resulting habitat maps will be freely available via the LandApp platform – putting powerful conservation intelligence into the hands of anyone who needs it," according to Space4Nature.
"Space4Nature has advanced our ability to deploy the most cutting-edge satellite and machine learning technology for conservation purposes," said Zoe Channon from Surrey Wildlife Trust.
"But it has also put boots on the ground to deliver immediate improvements for pollinators in habitats.
"It's a perfect example of how local and strategic action can and must combine to deliver nature's recovery."
The project also engaged with local communities, partnering with schools, landowners, community groups and Surrey Nature Partnership in more than 150 events, Space4Nature added.
Follow BBC Surrey on Facebook , X , and Instagram and listen to BBC Radio Surrey on Sounds . Sen…
Failing sea defences 'disaster' for nature reserve
An internationally-important nature reserve faces "disaster" after being flooded by seawater because of failing coastal defences, conservationists have said.
The 120-hectare (300-acre) Farlington Marshes Nature Reserve near Portsmouth is designated as a Special Protection Area (SPA), Special Area for Conservation (SAC) and Ramsar site.
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust has highlighted a failing tidal valve and crumbling sea wall which are letting salt water flood grazing marshland and wash away birds' nests and reed beds.
The Environment Agency (EA) said it was working to find a permanent fix but estimated it would cost about £90m to replace the entire 2-mile (3.5km) sea defence.
The site is home to bird species including bearded tit, avocet, redshank and lapwing.
Jamie Marsh, director of land management for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, said: "This is a bit of a disaster", with eight hectares of reed bed already lost.
"We have a tidal flap that's not sealing off properly and we're seeing water flooding into the site.
"The elevated sea levels have flooded out a lot of these areas and consequently flooded out a lot of the nesting areas. So nests have been lost."
Birds have been forced to move to higher ground to renest and rebreed.
The tidal flap first broke in the spring of 2024. A temporary repair was put in place by the EA which is responsible for the sea defences.
Earlier this year, engineers installed a permanent replacement valve but that too has since failed.
Marsh said it had left the situation "back to square one".
"Habitats that were recovering are now back under threat and under pressure again."
Areas of salt marsh and marsh grazing like Farlington are incredibly important and rare habitat in the south of England.
Not only does it provide a unique home for wildlife but coastal fringes act as both a natural flood defence and a carbon sink.
But with rising sea levels due to climate …
An internationally important nature reserve in Hampshire is under threat from failing flood defences.
A wildlife trust is is celebrating the rare birth of red-ruffed lemur quadruplets.
Shaldon Wildlife Trust in Devon said the lemurs were "just so, so cute but so, so special at the same time."
The trust said red ruffed lemurs were only found in a small area of the northeast of Madagascar and were "critically endangered". It said the birth of quadruplets was incredibly rare, occurring in fewer than 6% of births worldwide.
Zak Showell, director of Shaldon Wildlife Trust, said it was a "huge success and a testament to the hard work that the team do looking after and caring for our animals."
The trust said the babies were born on 4 May to mother Eka and father Nero and were part of the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums breeding programme.
Showell said: "We leave her (Eka) to it ... this is actually her fourth set of offspring that she's ever had so she knows what she's doing ... but we make sure that we give her extra food to keep her energy reserves up."
He said the babies were moving a lot for a month old and the head keeper had seen one trying bites of food.
"They're progression is so so quick in comparison to many other animals," he said.
Showell said: "What's interesting is her partner Nero and their two sons from previous years are still around in that habitat but mum doesn't want them anywhere near the babies, she is being very, very protective."
He said the babies would stay at the zoo for a number of years and "learn from mum and dad how to be a lemur."
They could then be moved to other zoos to continue to breed.
It added alongside being part of the breeding programme, Shaldon Wildlife Trust directly supported the protection of the animals in the wild through their field conservation partner, the Lemur Conservation Association.
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An animal sanctuary says its conservation centre for a species of small wild cats will join an international breeding programme.
Rusty-spotted cats will have three outdoor enclosures at The Big Cat Sanctuary in Smarden, Kent, when a new facility is officially opened in July.
The organisation said resident male rusty-spotted cat Kuda would be joined by a female later in 2026 at the enclosures under the breeding scheme.
The nocturnal animals - native to India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal - are about half the size of domestic cats, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The international group classifies the cat as having a "near threatened" conservation status.
The Kent sanctuary said animals would be monitored by thermal cameras and have climate-controlled heat zones at the indoor component of the new facility.
Automated rainfall systems would mimic natural weather and support breeding success, according to the facility.
The Big Cat Sanctuary managing director Cam Whitnall said the development represented "a huge milestone not only for our sanctuary, but for the future conservation of the Rusty-spotted cat globally".
The charity hoped creating the enclosures would "help secure a sustainable future population while inspiring greater awareness and protection" for the cats, he said.
Follow BBC Kent on Facebook , on X , and on Instagram and listen to BBC Radio Kent on Sounds . Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.
A south London incineration company has been granted permission to process tens of thousands of extra tonnes of rubbish each year after the Environment Agency approved a permit variation.
Viridor Ltd can now increase the amount of waste handled at its energy recovery facility to 382,286 tonnes annually - an increase of nearly 35,000 tonnes.
This comes despite opposition from residents living near the Beddington site, who have previously told the BBC they are concerned about pollution and increased traffic.
Chair of Sutton Council's environment committee, Christopher Woolmer, said he was "deeply disappointed" by the decision, which the council had consistently opposed.
In the run-up to the ruling, locals spoke of unpleasant smells and a near-constant flow of lorries serving the facility, while community campaigners and councillors said repeated objections had been lodged with the Environment Agency on their behalf.
Concerns have also been fuelled by reports of previous emissions breaches at the energy-from-waste plant.
The incinerator exceeded its emission limits 916 times between 2022 and 2024. Viridor said the breaches were caused by a third-party contractor and were very small in scale.
It added they did not pose a risk to human health and said safeguards were now in place to prevent a recurrence.
The Environment Agency said it was satisfied the variation met environmental legislative requirements and provided a high level of protection for human health and the environment.
Matt Higginson, an environment manager for the Environment Agency, said permits placed "stringent conditions" on waste sites.
"Emissions from the plant are monitored around the clock, and the data is rigorously assessed to identify if any breaches to the permit occur."
The agency has powers to suspend or revoke permits, issue enforcement notices or pursue prosecution in serious cases.
The updated permit has also allowed the site to temporarily store and move some hazardous and cl…
<p>It’s just a week until the first whistle of the 2026 World Cup. To mark the occasion, Madeleine Finlay talks to Ian Sample about the science behind the tournament. It’s likely to be one of the hottest ever World Cups, and scientists have written to Fifa asking it to reconsider its heat mitigations for players and referees. Dr Oliver Gibson of Brunel University outlines their concerns. Also on the agenda is the huge fossil-fuel impact of the tournament, and the effect of VAR on the psychology of referees and fans</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/series/footballweekly">Subscribe to Football Weekly for coverage of all the World Cup games</a></strong></p><p>Support the Guardian: <a href="http://theguardian.com/sciencepod">theguardian.com/sciencepod</a></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2026/jun/04/heatstroke-sports-washing-and-var-psychology-the-science-of-the-world-cup-podcast">Continue reading...</a>
Among the affected positions, which the White House estimates to be 8,000, are high-level officials who oversee research grants from the NIH.
White House reclassifies federal epidemiologists and other scientists from civil servants to ‘at-will’ hires
The long-anticipated “Schedule F” order strips job protections meant to safeguard federal employees from political interference
On Wednesday the White House moved to strip civil service protections from about 8,000 federal workers , including many working at public health agencies.
The executive order effectively transforms these jobs—which include “epidemiologist,” “health scientist” and “toxicologist”—into “at-will” positions, meaning people in such roles can be readily fired without cause. The job category, initially called Schedule F and now called Schedule Policy/Career, strips these federal workers of protections meant to prevent political interference.
According to the order, “policy-influencing positions” must be transferred to the new status, thereby “ensuring that such employees can be removed for misconduct or poor performance is essential to protecting democratic self-government by an elected President.” This largely affects senior management roles at agencies that are spread widely across the federal government. The move reflects President Donald Trump’s long-standing claim that there is a “ deep state ” of federal workers who are resistant to his policies, and he has for years called for the schedule change in order to fire civil servants he has viewed as impediments to his policies. The move already faces at least three legal challenges from federal employees .
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Notably, these jobs also include positions that don’t involve policy work, such as “human resources officer,” “customer experience strategist” and “data management specialist,” as well as for some scientist roles . The administration also i…
Are electric vehicles finally going mainstream in India? A slew of indicators suggests the transition may finally be gathering momentum.
The market for electric cars expanded by a solid 25% in the year ending March 2026, while EVs crossed the important 5% threshold in India's passenger vehicle market earlier this year - a figure often seen as a tipping point for mass-market adoption.
"The transition is no longer directional but substantive," India's automobile dealers association said in a press note recently.
Adoption is accelerating particularly in larger cars priced above one million rupees ($10,481; £7,777), where one in every 10 vehicles sold is now electric. Electric three-wheelers and motorbikes already account for more than 30% and 15% of sales in their respective categories.
Interest in electric cars has spiked sharply in the last few months, particularly against the backdrop of the Middle East conflict.
India imports nearly 90% of its oil, and state-run fuel retailers have been forced to raise pump prices after keeping them relatively stable for four years, as crude prices jumped by 50%.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also urged Indians to car pool, use public transport and work from home to conserve fuel.
"This rising uncertainty, alongside elevated fuel prices, acts as an incremental driver strengthening the case for EVs," says Nomura, the Japanese brokerage.
But beyond these immediate triggers, several longer-term factors are also driving buyer interest, most notably upcoming regulatory norms, known as CAFE-3, which are scheduled to come into force from April next year and run until March 2032.
These "meaningfully tighten regulation and are likely to drive more visible acceleration in EV adoption", Venugopal Garre and Param Shah, analysts with Bernstein, said in a note.
India currently doesn't pair its EV incentives with stringent targets or penalties, something CAFE-3 will make binding, say Garre and Shah.
The draft rules seek to reduce…
Some quantum computing companies we've covered have done recent progress updates.
Alnylam announced a three-year deal with Inceptive Nucleics, worth up to $2 billion, with $30 million upfront in cash and equity in the startup.
Highmark Health is the fourth insurer to sue HaloMD, seeking to overturn arbitration wins.
A “Godzilla El Niño” is coming, according to some newspaper headlines. The actual story is that there is an 80 per cent chance of an El Niño developing by September. Most models forecast a moderate event – but some suggest it could be very strong, perhaps even a so-called super El Niño .
That said, the bigger picture isn’t at all reassuring. However strong this El Niño turns out to be, we can be sure that even more damaging El Niños will occur in the coming decades. Even if future events are no stronger, their effects will be greater in a warmer world.
Read more Is a broken jet stream causing extreme weather that lasts longer?
Is a broken jet stream causing extreme weather that lasts longer?
“Even a standard El Niño event in future will cause larger regional and global impacts,” says Axel Timmermann at Pusan National University in South Korea.
What’s even more alarming is that studies by Timmermann and others suggest that El Niños and La Niñas – known as ENSO events – will also become much stronger and start to drive weather in the Atlantic, too, amplifying their impacts.
“Our latest computer model simulations predict a shift to more regular and much stronger El Niño-La Niña extremes, as well as an intensification of ENSO impacts on remote regions, in particular Europe,” says Timmermann.
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The El Niño phenomenon is all about water and winds in the Pacific . During so-called neutral conditions, trade winds blow westwards along the equator, pushing the surface water westwards and piling warm water up along the western Pacific. Cold water wells up next to South America to replace the surface waters being pushed westwards, while warm, moist air rises above the warm waters piled up in the west, producing a lot of rain.
But sometimes the trade winds weaken and even reverse, allowing some of that warm water to spill eastwards. The area of rainfall shifts eastwards, too, which can stren…
In a 2021 ad that ran during the Super Bowl – one of the most-watched TV programmes in the US – the actor Matt Damon walks through a hall displaying some of humanity’s greatest achievements and says, with extreme gravitas, “Fortune favours the brave.” The words crypto.com flash on the screen. The not-at-all-subtle implication is that you too can have it all and do something historic; don’t worry about the risk. This was the moment that Ben McKenzie lost it.
In his documentary Everyone Is Lying To You For Money , you can see McKenzie on his couch in shock at what he’s seen on TV. His personal journey – from an actor with an economics degree (his breakout hit was the teen drama The O.C. ) to one of the foremost voices speaking out about the grifters of the cryptocurrency world – makes for an entertaining watch, one that he narrates with a light-hearted tone and a streak of charming self-deprecation. Even though I’ve followed the headline news of crypto scandals for years, I was still shocked to find out what some of the industry’s biggest figures thought they could get away with.
McKenzie documents the rise of crypto over the past decade, its roots in the loss of trust that followed the 2008 financial crisis and his bafflement at the excitement and increasing appetite for what seems to him to be, plainly, a total scam. He takes aim at the huckster billionaires who run crypto exchanges, interviewing a few of the big names in the game – some of whom received prison sentences for financial crimes, including Alexander Mashinsky, the former CEO of now-defunct cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius, and the industry’s ultimate cautionary tale, Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the now-bankrupt FTX cryptocurrency exchange.
He also takes to task Hollywood elites jumping in to hawk cryptocurrencies they don’t understand, and offers empathy, mixed with a little confusion, to ordinary people who lost big on crypto investments yet still seem convinced it’s the money of the fut…