Exclusive: Tests showing dogs swallowed contaminated substances triggered action against trainers

Events

Why did we succeeded when other hominins didn’t, and can lessons from our evolutionary past help rein in our destructive impulses?In an institute in Germany, scientists are growing “Neanderthalised” human brain cells in a dish. These cells form synapses and spark as they would have done in a living Neanderthal as she (they are female cells) foraged or breastfed or gazed out of a cave mouth at dusk. That is the spine-tingling opening gambit of a book co-authored by one of the directors of the institute, Johannes Krause, and the information that sets it apart from a host of popular science books that attempt to predict humanity’s future based on our evolutionary past.A mere 90 genetic differences distinguish modern humans, Homo sapiens, from Neanderthals, Homo neanderthalensis. That’s paltry, given the roughly 20,000 genes that make up the human blueprint, and not all of them affect the brain. Yet those 90 differences could explain why Neanderthals died out, s...

Politics

The big day is over for another year but the festive spirit is still in full swing. In fact, many claim the best bit of the festive season is this in-between period - but what is it actually called?

Politics

Think the seaside is just for summer? Think again as the coast is full of charm on a crisp winter's day

Politics

Analysis shows fossil fuels are supercharging heatwaves, leaving millions prone to deadly temperaturesThe climate crisis caused an additional six weeks of dangerously hot days in 2024 for the average person, supercharging the fatal impact of heatwaves around the world.The effects of human-caused global heating were far worse for some people, an analysis by World Weather Attribution (WWA) and Climate Central has shown. Those in Caribbean and Pacific island states were the hardest hit. Many endured about 150 more days of dangerous heat than they would have done without global heating, almost half the year. Continue reading...

Society

Mutations are rare but have been reported in some cases in other countries and most often in extreme infectionsThe US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday its analysis of samples from the first severe case of bird flu in the country last week showed mutations not seen in samples from an infected backyard flock on the patient’s property.The CDC said the patient’s sample showed mutations in the hemagglutinin (HA) gene, the part of the virus that plays a key role in it attaching to host cells. Continue reading...

Science

I stayed in London’s top tech hotel with £30,000 massage bed and superfast Wi-Fi – but best bit was in the...  The Sun

Economics

The human remains were found just a day after two fishermen went missing after setting sail from a nearby beach, but it’s not yet clear if the incidents are related

Politics

Researchers say drugs may be able to increase lifespan by extending health and thus shortening the rate of ageingNot for nothing are dogs called man’s best friend: they are good for their owners’ mental and physical health, and some studies have shown that if you’re looking for a date and want to seem more attractive, it might be time to get a canine companion.So what would it be like if dogs could live for ever – and what if that secret could help their owners live longer, healthier lives too? Continue reading...

Events

Information on alcohol consumption, rabies, and bites – both animal and human – were among the top of the list for NHS advice being sought on Christmas and Boxing Day last year

Sport

Brain processes signals from sensory organs at only about 10 bits per second, researchers say

Politics

The world’s richest man has clashed with incoming Health and Human Services chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over the role weight-loss medications should play in making Americans healthier and thinner.

Events

Security personnel and three armed men killed in clashes in Tartus province, a former Assad stronghold, say monitorsFourteen security personnel from Syria’s new authorities and three armed men were killed in clashes in Tartus province after forces tried to arrest an officer linked to the notorious Sednaya prison, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.The monitoring group said the clash broke out in Tartus, a stronghold of the ousted president, Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite minority, on Wednesday, and was sparked by the attempted arrest of the former prison official. Continue reading...

Events

Security personnel and three armed men killed in Tartous province after forces sought to arrest officer linked to Sednaya prison, says Syrian Observatory for Human RightsHello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza and developments in the Middle East more widely.Fourteen security personnel from Syria’s new authorities and three armed men were killed in clashes in Tartous province when forces attempted to arrest an officer linked to the notorious Sednaya prison, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.Five journalists were killed when their vehicle was struck in the vicinity of Al-Awda hospital in Nuseirat in central Gaza, health authorities said. Palestinian media and local reporters said the vehicle was marked as a media van and was used by journalists to report from inside the hospital and Nuseirat camp. The journalists worked for the Al-Quds Al-Youm television channel. The Israeli army said its air force attacked the vehicle in a “targete...

Events

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the fighters were from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, which led the stunning offensive that toppled Mr Assad with the fall of Damascus

Events

Taliban say access to climate funds is the right of their people. But experts tell Stuti Mishra that giving them a seat at the table might be seen as legitimising their human rights abuse

Politics

Prince Harry delighted his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II one Christmas when she unwrapped his humorous gift, with the late monarch having been fond of a bit of festive silliness

Politics

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has demanded to see the transgender policies of hundreds of public bodies after concerns about them were dismissed by ministers.

Politics