Conchologists, and citizen scientists team up to seek out endangered mollusc species along River Thames

It is tiny, hairy and “German” – and it could be hiding underneath a piece of driftwood near you. Citizen scientists and expert conchologists are teaming up to conduct the first London-wide search for one of Britain’s most endangered molluscs.

The fingernail-sized German hairy snail (Pseudotrichia rubiginosa) is found in fragmented patches of habitat mostly along the tidal Thames.

However, its unpleasant taste maybe an issue

During the Roman period, much of what is now Hungary formed the province of Pannonia

New technologies can reduce our reliance on animal experiments. This isn’t just morally right, it could have scientific and economic benefits too

Science is a slaughterhouse. We rarely acknowledge the degree to which animal life underwrites the research that provides us with medicines, or the regulation that keeps us safe. Live animals were used in 2.64m officially sanctioned scientific procedures in the UK in 2024, many of them distressing or painful and many of them fatal. But the government’s new strategy to phase out animal testing – published earlier this month – suggests that in the near future emerging technologies can largely replace the use of animals in our scientific endeavours.

The UK previously banned cosmetics testing on animals, and has already taken steps to regulate and reduce their use in research. But some needlessly cruel experiments still take place: the forced swim test (FST) for example, in which a rodent is placed in a body of water it cannot escape and researchers measure whether antidepressants extend the time it struggles for life. The government says no new FST licences will be granted, in effect banning it. Similar targets are set over the next few years to end the testing of caustic chemicals on eyes and skin.

Multi-year studies announced after Cass review found ‘insufficient evidence’ about effects on children with gender dysphoria

Two studies to investigate the impact of puberty blockers in young people with gender incongruence have been announced by researchers in the UK after an expert view said gender medicine was “built on shaky foundations”.

Puberty blockers were originally used to treat early onset puberty in children but have also been used off-label in children with gender dysphoria or incongruence.

UK academics say latest chemicals are ‘wake-up call’ and urge global action to stop weaponisation of neuroscience

Sophisticated and deadly “brain weapons” that can attack or alter human consciousness, perception, memory or behaviour are no longer the stuff of science fiction, two British academics argue.

Michael Crowley and Malcolm Dando, of Bradford University, are about to publish a book that they believe should be a wake-up call to the world.

L’exploration du cosmos réserve parfois des surprises qui bousculent les modèles établis. C’est précisément ce qui vient de se produire avec l’analyse d’une galaxie étonnamment primitive, située à environ 11 milliards d’années-lumière, et dont la composition laisse penser qu’elle pourrait contenir les tout premiers types d’étoiles apparus après le Big Bang : les étoiles de ... Lire plus

Depuis longtemps, la recherche montre que bouger régulièrement n’est pas seulement bénéfique pour le corps : le cerveau en tire aussi de réels avantages. L’exercice améliore la circulation sanguine, réduit l’inflammation chronique et stimule la plasticité neuronale, trois mécanismes essentiels pour protéger la mémoire et ralentir le déclin cognitif. Mais un doute persistait : à ... Lire plus