<p>Experimental tablet produces encouraging results in patients with world’s most common forms of disease</p><p>• <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jun/01/cancer-patient-hope-after-smart-drug-trial-success">‘I was getting ready to say goodbye’: patient’s hope after smart drug success</a></p><p>A smart drug that stops cancer cells “hiding” from treatment can shrink tumours by at least 30% in six of the world’s most common forms of the disease, early trial results show.</p><p>While immunotherapy treatments have improved survival rates for many patients, their effectiveness can stall or fail when tumour cells hide and then spread.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jun/01/cancer-smart-drug-cells-invisibility-cloak-shrink-tumours-trial">Continue reading...</a>
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<p>Pat Brogan preparing to walk his daughter down the aisle after trial of treatment designed to stop disease from hiding</p><p>• <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jun/01/cancer-drug-cells-invisibility-cloak-shrink-tumours-trial">Smart drug that strips cancer cells of ‘invisibility cloak’ can shrink tumours by 30%, trial shows</a></p><p>One of the first patients to benefit from a pioneering smart drug that appears to melt away the “invisibility cloak” that can shield cancer cells from treatment is Pat Brogan, from Cowdenbeath, Scotland.</p><p>The 68-year-old, whose tumours have shrunk by almost a third, is preparing to walk his daughter down the aisle this month and holiday in Spain with his wife, Linda – milestones he once feared he would never reach.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jun/01/cancer-patient-hope-after-smart-drug-trial-success">Continue reading...</a>
<p>People from Delaware to Montreal reported either hearing loud booms or seeing the fireball in the sky over weekend</p><p>A <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/may/31/meteor-explodes-over-massachusetts-setting-off-loud-booms">meteor over Massachusetts</a> during the weekend ultimately prompted reports of booms and sightings across New England into Canada.</p><p>The American Meteor Society said that the meteor in question was about 3ft (1 meter) wide as it entered the atmosphere around the New Hampshire border with Massachusetts, north of Boston.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jun/01/meteor-massachusetts-sonic-boom">Continue reading...</a>
<p>Seasonal wardens and netted fences are helping protect the rare ground-nesting birds that arrive each spring on the UK’s shores</p><p>On Ross Sands in Northumberland, a little tern has caught sight of a group of people and is sprinting across the beach. “It wants us to follow it,” says Andrew Craggs, senior manager at <a href="https://www.lindisfarne.org.uk/general/pdf/NNRLindisfarneLeaflet.pdf">Lindisfarne national nature reserve</a>. “It’s a diversionary thing – it’s got a scrape and it wants to take us away because it thinks we’re predators.”</p><p>Craggs is no predator, and he’s not after the scrape – a small pit the ground-nesting bird has dug into the sand to lay its eggs. He is a guardian of these little birds, as well as more than 3,500 hectares (8,600 acres) of sand dunes, saltmarsh and mudflats that make up this tranquil nature reserve perched on the tip of England’s north-east coast.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/01/lindisfarne-holy-island-terns-plovers-protecting-shorebirds-aoe">Continue reading...</a>
<p>Bonnie has two days to get from south London to her grandparents’ house in Cornwall before lockdown in this super low budget British comedy</p><p>No offence to any Clives reading, but the intentionally naff title of this film does not inspire confidence – and turns out to be indicative of the cheerful ridiculousness of this super low budget British comedy. It is about a trio of twentysomethings on a road trip to Cornwall at the start of one of the Covid lockdowns; from the outtakes and behind the scenes clips that run over the end credits, everyone involved clearly had a blast making it. But that enjoyment doesn’t spill on to the screen – and the whimsical songs accompanied by a ukulele wear thin in less than half a minute.</p><p>Eleanor May Blackburn is Bonnie, who has two days to get to her grandparents’ house in Cornwall from south London before lockdown. Just as she is about to hit the road, Bonnie meets homeless busker Clive (Michael Kodi Farrow) and offers to buy him a kebab. But when her credit card is declined at the till, she rushes out without paying, leaving Clive to perform a stickup with his ukulele case to the bemusement of the kebab shop owner.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/jun/01/bonnie-clive-review-cheerfully-ridiculous-covid-road-trip">Continue reading...</a>
<p>Scientific dating proves streaks on walls of Bacon Hole, near the Mumbles in south Wales, is Palaeolithic rock art</p><p>In 1912, the Guardian reported on the discovery of Palaeolithic rock art on the walls of Bacon Hole, a cave near the Mumbles in south Wales – only for the painted panel’s authenticity to be dismissed by 1928.</p><p>A series of horizontal bands in red pigment were subsequently deemed no more than a natural phenomenon and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/oct/16/first-specimen-of-prehistoric-painting-bacon-hole-cave-archive-1912">the newspaper added an updated statement</a>: “It was later established that the red streaks … turned out to be red oxide mineral seeping through the rock and not prehistoric art.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jun/01/striped-rock-dismissed-as-natural-reclassified-uk-oldest-cave-art-mumbles-south-wales">Continue reading...</a>
<p>With no recorded sightings before 1885, noctilucent clouds have been linked to volcanoes, pollution or climate change</p><p>As summer arrives in the northern hemisphere, so do the noctilucent clouds – hopefully. These high-altitude formations are as enigmatic as they are beautiful. Their name derives from Latin, meaning “night shining”.</p><p>They appear during the summer months and glow with an electric-blue intensity against the darkening western sky. Look for them about half an hour after sunset.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2026/jun/01/enigmatic-summer-phenomenon-noctilucent-clouds">Continue reading...</a>
<p>Study finds activity is not harmful or caused by stress of captivity – and is in fact more common in wild birds</p><p>An investigation into acts of self-pleasure among parrots and other birds has reached a climax, with the results providing welcome relief for vets and researchers, not to mention the birds themselves.</p><p>Bird keepers are often advised to discourage and even punish birds for masturbating, but the study found the activity was more common in the wild than in captivity, with researchers concluding it is part of a bird’s natural behaviour.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jun/01/masturbation-birds-natural-healthy-behaviour-study">Continue reading...</a>
<p>The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts</p><p>If an alien landed and asked you: “What is this thing you call music?” what would you play for them? And why? <strong>Heather, Kent</strong></p><p><em>Post your answers (and new questions) below or send them to <strong><a href="mailto:nq@theguardian.com">nq@theguardian.com</a></strong>. A selection will be published next Sunday.</em></p><p>Due to a production error, a new Notes & Queries question was not published on 24 May.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/may/31/if-an-alien-landed-and-asked-you-what-is-music-what-would-you-play-for-them">Continue reading...</a>
<p>Experts hail daraxonrasib as ‘gamechanger’ for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer</p><p>A daily pill can double survival time in patients with the world’s deadliest cancer, according to the results of a clinical trial that experts are saying is a “gamechanger” and one of the biggest breakthroughs in decades.</p><p>Currently, there are few treatments for pancreatic cancer, and most do little or nothing to help. For decades, scientists have worked relentlessly trying to find clever solutions for a form of cancer that is often found late. More than half of patients are only diagnosed after it has spread.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/31/daily-pill-daraxonrasib-double-survival-time-pancreatic-pancreas-cancer-clinical-trial">Continue reading...</a>
<p>Meteor was travelling at 75,000 miles per hour (more than 120,000 km/h) at an altitude of 40 miles when it broke apart</p><p>A meteor crashing toward Earth exploded over the north-eastern United States on Saturday, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/nasa">Nasa</a> said, setting off booms that echoed over the region with a blast equivalent to 300 tons of TNT.</p><p>The fireball broke up over northeastern Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire just after 2pm (1806 GMT), the US space agency’s deputy news chief Jennifer Dooren told AFP in a statement.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/may/31/meteor-explodes-over-massachusetts-setting-off-loud-booms">Continue reading...</a>
<p>Jab brought ‘unprecedentedly strong responses’ in patients whose disease had become resistant to chemotherapy and immunotherapy</p><p>Doctors have hailed “unprecedented” trial results that show a triple-action cancer jab can eradicate entire tumours in patients.</p><p>In an international trial spanning 11 countries, the injection was offered to patients whose cancer had spread or come back and whose disease had failed to respond to other treatments.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/may/30/cancer-jab-can-eradicate-entire-tumours-in-patients-trial-shows">Continue reading...</a>
<p>Results presented at oncology conference in Chicago show Galleri test failed to reduce late-stage cancer diagnoses</p><p>A blood test for more than 50 types of cancer that was billed as the holy grail of oncology has failed to achieve its main objective in a major clinical trial, according to data presented at the world’s largest cancer conference.</p><p>The goal of the study involving 142,000 NHS patients in the UK was to assess whether adding the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/sep/11/galleri-blood-test-multiple-cancers-before-clear-symptoms-study">multi-cancer early detection test Galleri</a> to standard screening could shift diagnoses to earlier, more treatable stages.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/may/30/trial-of-multi-cancer-blood-test-among-142000-nhs-patients-fails-to-meet-main-aim">Continue reading...</a>
<p>A blue micromoon is a rare spectacle, though it’s not as blue or as micro as you might imagine</p><p>This weekend the night skies will feature a rare spectacle – a blue micromoon. We take a look at what the phrase means and how to catch a glimpse of the event.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/may/30/what-is-rare-blue-micromoon">Continue reading...</a>
<p>The Canadian entrepreneur has always pushed the boundaries of gene editing, once attempting to turn horses into unicorns. Now she is set on modifying human embryos – something her controversial ex-husband was jailed for doing</p><p>On a Friday evening in late April, Cathy Tie, the Canadian serial entrepreneur and self-styled “Biotech Barbie”, is centre stage at New York City’s famous Carnegie Hall, performing Saint-Saens’ Piano Concerto No 2 on a gleaming Steinway grand piano, accompanied by an orchestra. Her floor-length pink tulle gown shimmers with gold sequins; her dark hair cascades in waves over her caped shoulders. The music is passionate, but Tie’s expression is impassive. Her eyes dart between the piano keys and the sheet music in a flurry of concentration, but the rest of her face is totally still. She isn’t lost in the music; she’s focused on the job.</p><p>After the last notes ring out, Tie stands up and breaks into a tight smile and a brief bow before walking off stage, only to immediately return to receive the slightly awkward Happy Birthday sung by everyone in the orchestra and auditorium. This is Tie’s 30th birthday party. She has hired Carnegie Hall to mark the occasion. And, as I discover at the cocktail afterparty, most of the people invited to this performance – including me – have either only just met Tie or don’t know her at all.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/may/30/there-is-no-way-to-stop-this-biotech-barbie-cathy-tie-on-her-mission-to-genetically-modify-babies">Continue reading...</a>
<p>Findings add to growing efforts to explain why cancer rates are increasing among younger adults worldwide</p><p>Poor sleep may be fuelling the global rise in under-50s being diagnosed with cancer, two large studies suggest.</p><p>The number of younger people diagnosed with the disease has risen by almost 80% in three decades. Worldwide cases of early-onset cancer increased from 1.82m in 1990 to 3.26m in 2019, while cancer deaths among people in their 40s, 30s or younger rose by 27%.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/30/poor-sleep-linked-rising-cancer-risk-under-50s">Continue reading...</a>
<p>Trial suggests patients with a low test score could be treated with hormone therapy alone with near-identical outcomes</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/29/breast-cancer-chemotherapy-genomic-test-case-study">‘Like Christmas’: woman’s relief after test finds she can skip chemotherapy</a> </p></li></ul><p>Millions of women with breast cancer could be spared chemotherapy with a groundbreaking genomic test, according to the results of a trial that could transform healthcare guidelines worldwide.</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/jan/18/simple-blood-test-can-predict-which-breast-cancer-treatment-will-work-best-study-finds">Treatment for breast cancer</a>, the world’s most prevalent form of the disease, involves surgery to remove tumours. Chemotherapy is then usually recommended when doctors believe there is a risk the disease will return.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/29/groundbreaking-genomic-test-spare-breast-cancer-patients-chemotherapy-hormone-therapy">Continue reading...</a>
<p>Karen Bonham was part of successful trial for genomic test that determines which women with breast cancer can safely avoid chemotherapy</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/29/groundbreaking-genomic-test-spare-breast-cancer-patients-chemotherapy-hormone-therapy">Groundbreaking genomic test could spare millions of breast cancer patients chemotherapy</a></p></li></ul><p>A landmark study shows millions of women with breast cancer could skip chemotherapy thanks to a genomic test that determines who needs the treatment and who doesn’t.</p><p>The randomised international trial specifically looked at whether the test could identify those patients who would not benefit from chemotherapy, and then see if they could safely avoid it.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/29/breast-cancer-chemotherapy-genomic-test-case-study">Continue reading...</a>
<p>Model created by researchers shows better outcomes are often more likely when people are not too ambitious</p><p>It is the end of an idiom for motivational speakers. Instead of shooting for the moon when pursuing life’s goals, researchers say people should be advised to aim a little lower if they want the best outcome.</p><p>The tip may lack the punch of uncompromising drive, but aiming for merely above average tends to work out better, according to a mathematical model the team created to explore how ambition pans out.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/may/29/dont-shoot-for-the-moon-aiming-for-above-average-is-key-to-success-maths-suggests">Continue reading...</a>
<p>Ian Hughes is boosting one of Europe’s most at-risk species with science, his sons and some homemade T-shirts</p><p>Ian Hughes and his son, Ben, are driving through the hills of north Wales with an array of homemade animal artefacts rattling around their car: diagrams, plaster casts, hand-printed T-shirts. They finally reach Llyn Tegid – Bala Lake in English – where, knee-deep in the water, Ian brandishes two glutinous snails.</p><p>It is a mollusc the size of a fingertip. It is also one of Europe’s most endangered species, which Ian has dedicated himself to protecting. “It’s beyond passion,” he says. “It’s an obsession.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/may/29/ian-hughes-conservation-glutinous-snail">Continue reading...</a>
<p>This week’s best wildlife photographs from around the world</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2026/may/29/week-in-wildlife-a-baby-pangolin-a-gorilla-super-mum-and-formula-one-geese">Continue reading...</a>
<p>No personnel were harmed in the incident, the company said on social media, calling the explosion an ‘anomaly’</p><p>A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded during a test in Florida on Thursday, an incident which the aerospace company called an “anomaly.”</p><p>“All personnel have been accounted for. We will provide updates as we learn more,” the company wrote on social media.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2026/may/29/blue-origin-rocket-explodes">Continue reading...</a>
<p>The insect may learn to associate the chemical Deet with a ‘blood meal’, researchers say</p><p>It is a spray used worldwide to protect humans from mosquito bites, but now <a href="https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article-abstract/229/10/jeb251935/371741/Associative-learning-switches-DEET-valence-from?redirectedFrom=fulltext">research suggests</a> Deet can become attractive to the insects if they associate it with feeding.</p><p>Deet – which has the chemical name N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide – is widely used in insect repellants, with the UK Health Security Agency <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mosquito-bite-avoidance-for-travellers/mosquito-bite-avoidance-advice-for-travellers--2">recommending products with 50% Deet</a> as the first choice to protect against mosquito bites.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/may/28/deet-mosquito-spray-attract-insects-study-malaria-zika">Continue reading...</a>
<p>Government will consider committee’s guidance that says mass screening ‘likely to cause more harm than good’</p><p>Most men in the UK will not be offered prostate cancer screening if the government accepts the final recommendation of an expert committee.</p><p>Prostate cancer is the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jan/20/prostate-cancer-is-most-commonly-diagnosed-cancer-across-uk-study-finds">most common cancer in the UK</a>, with more than 64,000 men diagnosed every year. There is, however, no national screening programme for the disease.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/28/prostate-cancer-screening-committee-government">Continue reading...</a>
<p>Last month at Beijing’s half marathon, a robot named Lightning beat the human world record by nearly seven minutes. It’s the latest in a string of AI-powered milestones that have got people wondering whether robots are about to enter our everyday lives, just as chatbots have. And the country leading the charge is China, where the government has pledged to invest more than £100bn in robotics over the next 20 years. To find out how robots are already entering the workforce, and what needs to happen to get them cleaning our homes and weeding our gardens, Ian Sample hears from the Guardian’s senior China correspondent, Amy Hawkins, and from Nathan Lepora, professor of robotics and AI at Bristol University, who researches how robots can achieve human-like dexterity</p><p><em>Clips:</em> <em>Global News, BBC, CGTN</em></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/audio/2026/may/28/are-robots-nearing-their-chatgpt-moment-podcast">Continue reading...</a>