Small Australian shrub with delicate pink and purple flowers was found thanks to a popular plant ID app

Errors in measuring microplastic pollution can be corrected. Public trust in science also needs to be shored up

It is true that science is self-correcting. Over the long term this means that we can generally trust its results – but up close, correction can be a messy process. The Guardian reported last week that 20 recent studies measuring the amount of micro- and nanoplastics in the human body have been criticised in the scientific literature for methodological issues, calling their results into question. In one sense this is the usual process playing out as it should. However, the scale of the potential error – one scientist estimates that half the high-impact papers in the field are affected – suggests a systemic problem that should have been prevented.

The risk is that in a febrile political atmosphere in which trust in science is being actively eroded on issues from climate change to vaccinations, even minor scientific conflicts can be used to sow further doubt. Given that there is immense public and media interest in plastic pollution, it is unfortunate that scientists working in this area did not show more caution.

Exclusive: DNA test means patients could be offered most effective treatment first, boosting their chances of beating the disease

Scientists have developed a simple DNA blood test that can predict how well patients with breast cancer will respond to treatment.

More than 2 million people globally each year are diagnosed with the disease, which is the world’s most prevalent cancer. Although treatments have improved in recent decades, it is not easy to know which ones will work best for which patients.

These microscopic mites, which burrow under your skin and cause ferocious itching, are incredibly hard to get rid of – and cases in the UK have soared. What is causing the outbreak, and is there anything we can do about it?

Louise (not her real name) is listing the contents of a bin liner she has packed with fresh essentials in case of emergency. Clothes, toothbrushes, hairbrushes, a teddy … “Although it should be two teddies,” she re-evaluates, quickly. I can hear her trying to quell her panic.

A diehard survivalist preparing for catastrophe? Actually, a beleaguered 44-year-old mother recovering from scabies – an itchy rash caused by microscopic mites that burrow under human skin. Far-fetched as it sounds, emergency evacuation is exactly what she, her partner and children (six and four) resorted to in November in a desperate bid to beat the bugs. She is now on tenterhooks in case they return.

Des chercheurs britanniques proposent d’adopter une unité de mesure standardisée pour évaluer la puissance du cannabis, à l’image des verres d’alcool utilisés pour quantifier la consommation éthylique. Développée par l’Université de Bath, cette approche vise à aider les usagers à maîtriser leur consommation tout en identifiant les personnes présentant un risque accru de développer un ... Lire plus

Chaque jour, des millions de personnes saisissent leur gobelet de café à emporter sans imaginer qu’il pourrait libérer des milliers de fragments microscopiques dans leur boisson. Pourtant, une nouvelle étude révèle que les contenants en plastique ou dotés d’un revêtement plastique fin dispersent massivement des microplastiques lorsqu’ils entrent en contact avec des liquides chauds. Avec ... Lire plus

Vieillir sans voir sa mémoire décliner reste l’un des grands défis de la recherche en neurosciences. Pourtant, certaines personnes âgées déjouent les statistiques. Passé un certain âge, leurs capacités cognitives rivalisent avec celles d’adultes bien plus jeunes. Une vaste étude scientifique vient d’apporter un éclairage nouveau sur ce phénomène rare. Elle révèle que ces individus, ... Lire plus

Park workers excavated 3,000 pounds of fossil and rock

Study shows ‘how closely connected animals and humans are’, researchers say, as animals startle more easily after smelling fear in people