Science

It sounds like the title of a disaster movie, but a “Hothouse Earth” is what a group of climate scientists say we could be heading for – even if current carbon reduction targets are met.  

There may be a short respite from the unrelenting heat tomorrow when at least one half of the country might get rain and thunder. But today was the hottest of the year so far in many places. Paul McNamara has been in Hampshire with a business which can’t keep up with current demand. We are…

There’s a lake on Mars, it’s been revealed today. It’s not very big, but it is described as a proper body of liquid water probably around 20 kilometres wide and at least a metre deep. Scientists from the National Institute for Astrophysics say it’s the first conclusive proof that H2O exists there currently, even though…

Up to 76 people are feared to have died and scores are missing amid unprecedented floods in western Japan. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says rescue efforts are a “race against time”.

It’s got kids obsessed, parents tearing their hair out and some schools calling for it to be banned. Fortnite is the video game of the year. It’s an astonishing success, but sparking lots of debate about gaming addiction, as the NHS opens its first clinic specialising in the condition. As a parent myself, I know…

It’s not just the big cities that suffer from air pollution – new data from the World Health Organisation has revealed that the steel town of Port Talbot is the most polluted place in the country. The WHO has a safety limit of 10 micrograms per cubic metre of fine particle emissions. In Port Talbot…

Carlo Rovelli’s first book ‘Seven Brief Lessons on Physics’ was one of the fastest-selling science books on record. Now, he’s back to explore the mysteries of time.

The most detailed study yet of a major cancer type has revealed that genetic damage can begin years, or even decades, before symptoms appear and diagnosis is possible. The study also suggests that many patients could avoid unnecessary surgery and chemotherapy.

In the 1990s campaigns to tackle cot deaths were amazingly successful – reducing the tragedy of sudden infant deaths by 81 per cent in the UK. But since then the number of cases has remained constant at around 300 a year. Now scientists have identified a particular gene that could be a factor in some…

A week after the nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in Salisbury, hundreds of people who went to the city’s Zizzi restaurant or the Mill pub have been told to wash their clothes and possessions. The risk is very low, but some members of the public want to know why the advice wasn’t issued earlier.

At least four people have died in car crashes as heavy snow sweeps across the country. Forecasters are predicting up to 10 centimetres of snow for many places, with hundreds of schools closed down, trains disrupted and flights cancelled and flights disrupted. And there’s more snow on the way – plus for parts of the…