Science & technology | Hidden in plain sightA routine test for fetal abnormalities could improve a mother’s healthStudies show these can help detect pre-eclampsia and predict preterm births Illustration: Anna Kövecses Jun 11th 2025WHEN NON-INVASIVE prenatal testingarrived in 2011, it transformed pregnancy. With a simple blood test, scientists could now sweep a mother’s bloodstream for scraps of placental DNA, uncovering fetal genetic defects and shedding light on the health of the unborn baby. But the potential to monitor the mother’s health went largely unappreciated.Explore moreThis article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Testing time”From the June 14th 2025 editionDiscover stories from this section and more in the list of contents⇒Explore the editionReuse this content #routine #test #fetal #abnormalities #could

If it is, it is nothing like the menopause #manopause #real

Otherwise it cannot protect them properly #world #needs #understand #deep #oceans

Unless you are older or want bigger muscles, you’re probably getting enough #how #much #protein #you #really

Science & technology | ScrollytellingHow old are the Dead Sea Scrolls? An AI model can help Scientists are using it to estimate the age of ancient handwriting Sensitive subjectPhotograph: Israel Antiquities Authority/Shai Halevi Jun 5th 2025EVER SINCE the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered by Bedouin shepherds in the 1940s, debate has raged over their exact age. The scrolls, which contain the earliest surviving copies of books from the Hebrew Bible and other religious texts, mostly written in Aramaic and Hebrew, are thought to have been compiled sometime between 300BC and 200AD. Dating each of the 1,000-odd individual scrolls would help historians understand how literacy spread among ancient Jewish populations and the first Christians, and offer a valuable window into the genesis of the sacred texts. But scholars hoping to do so have had little but their own intuition to rely on.Explore moreThis article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Scrollytelling”From the June 7th 2025 editionDiscover stories from this section and more in the list of contents⇒Explore the editionReuse this content #how #old #are #dead #sea

It reflects a more nuanced understanding of the disease #alzheimers #drug #pipeline #healthier #than

More than 40 science missions would be cancelled if Donald Trump’s budget goes through #leaderless #nasa #faces #its #biggestever

Studies suggest moderate consumption is harmless. It may even be beneficial #how #much #coffee #too

Science & technology | Blemish treatmentOld oil paintings are suffering from chemical “acne” Conservators are scrambling to rescue them Desperate for a spa dayPhotograph: Børre Høstland/The National Museum May 28th 2025WHEN AN OIL painting is dried and finished, it is supposed to stay that way. Yet when Ida Bronken, an art conservator, began to prepare Jean-Paul Riopelle’s “Composition 1952” for display in 2006, she noticed drops of wet paint were trickling down the canvas from deep within the masterpiece’s layers. Equally odd were the tiny, hard, white lumps poking through the painting’s surface, as if it had a case of adolescent acne. Other sections seemed soft and moist; some paint layers were coming apart “like two pieces of buttered bread”, Ms Bronken says.Explore moreScience & technologyThis article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Spot treatment”From the May 31st 2025 editionDiscover stories from this section and more in the list of contents⇒Explore the editionReuse this content #old #oil #paintings #are #suffering

Science & technology | Digital archaeologyThe decoding of ancient Roman scrolls is speeding upMore data, and a more powerful particle accelerator, should pay dividendsPhotograph: ESRF/Vuedici May 28th 2025|HerculaneumIF YOU WANTED to read an ancient Roman scroll, you might reach for a dictionary, and perhaps a magnifying glass. You would probably not think of using a particle accelerator. But that is what is required to unravel the papyrus scrolls found in Herculaneum, a Roman town buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD. Even then, success is far from guaranteed: since 2023 researchers attempting to unravel the scrolls have been stuck on the first few. Now, armed with more data and a more powerful particle accelerator, they expect to make more rapid headway.Explore moreScience & technologyThis article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Hitting the accelerator”From the May 31st 2025 editionDiscover stories from this section and more in the list of contents⇒Explore the editionReuse this content #decoding #ancient #roman #scrolls #speeding

Science & technology | Third time unluckyElon Musk’s plans to go to Mars next year are toastSpaceX’s Starship fails for a third time in a rowPhotograph: Reuters May 28th 2025SPACEX’S NINTH test flight of its Starship launch system could be counted as an advance over the previous two, which lit up the Caribbean skies a couple of thousand kilometres down-range of their Texas launch site like spectacular fireworks. A second stage successfully turned off its engines after reaching space intact, but by the time it re-entered the atmosphere on the other side of the world it was clear that this was a third failure in a row.Explore moreThis article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Starship fails again”From the May 31st 2025 editionDiscover stories from this section and more in the list of contents⇒Explore the editionReuse this content #elon #musks #plans #mars #next

The answer is less obvious than you might think #should #men #screened #prostate #cancer

The president of the Enhanced Games wants to push forward human evolution #aron #dsouza #brash #brain #behind

Science & technology | Your lossAmerica is in danger of experiencing an academic brain drain Other countries may benefit. Science will sufferIllustration: Ben Hickey May 21st 2025Matthias Doepke was impressed when he moved to America as a graduate student in the 1990s. Academic pay was better than in his native Germany and university departments were slick and organised. But what he appreciated most was the attitude. “You come to the US and you have this feeling that you are totally welcome and you’re totally part of the local community,” he says. In 2012 he became a professor of economics at Northwestern University in Illinois, and in 2014 became a naturalised citizen.Explore moreThis article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Your loss is our loss ”From the May 24th 2025 editionDiscover stories from this section and more in the list of contents⇒Explore the editionReuse this content #america #danger #experiencing #academic #brain

It started as a crackdown on DEI. Now all types of research are being cancelled #trumps #attack #science #growing #fiercer

Other countries may benefit. Science will suffer #america #precipice #academic #brain #drain

Federal agencies are struggling to predict the weather and monitor disease  #how #cuts #science #funding #will

The Enhanced Games will set records and attract controversy #prodoping #sporting #contest #coming #las

Modifying rules and grouping players by size rather than age can limit the risks #contact #sports #can #cause #brain

Science & technology | One of a kindFor the first time, a CRISPR drug treats a child’s unique mutationScientists hope more children will benefitPhotograph: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia May 15th 2025WITHIN DAYS after KJ was born in Philadelphia in August 2024 it was clear that something was wrong. He was not eating and slept too much. Blood tests revealed sky-high levels of ammonia, a toxic substance the body usually expels. Genome sequencing confirmed that he had a rare genetic disease called carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase 1deficiency, which often kills in infancy, and for which no good neonatal treatment exists. Then one of his doctors suggested something radical: a gene-editing drug designed specifically for him.Explore moreThis article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “One of a kind”From the May 17th 2025 editionDiscover stories from this section and more in the list of contents⇒Explore the editionReuse this content #first #time #crispr #drug #treats