Over the holiday period, the Guardian leader column is looking ahead at the themes of 2026. Today we examine how the White House’s war on vaccines has left the future of a key technology uncertain and up for grabs

The late scientist and thinker Donald Braben argued that 20th-century breakthroughs arose from scientists being free to pursue bold ideas without pressure for quick results or rigid...

Peter Foreshaw Brookes says worry about falling sperm counts is misplaced

The Italian “demographic winter” has a number of causes, but rising male biological infertility is not one (A child is born: Italians celebrate village’s first baby in 30 years, 26 December).

A lot of worry about falling sperm counts has been generated by some studies, but a more recent meta‑analysis found, through...

Exclusive: Identifying teenagers at risk could help prevent organ damage, strokes and heart attacks in early adulthood, doctors say

Leading doctors have called for a national UK programme to monitor schoolchildren for high blood pressure amid concerns that rising rates in adolescents will increase cases of organ damage, strokes and heart attacks.

Rates of high blood pressure have nearly doubled...

Hyperliquid experienced an explosive run this year, pushing its token price to record levels above $59 in September. However, that momentum has sharply cooled as HYPE now trades around $26  as the broader market enters bear mode. For context, this drop represents a whopping 57% from its all-time high in just three months.  What once […]

Kevin Hall spent 21 years at the US National Institutes of Health and became known globally for his pioneering work on ultra-processed foods. In April he unexpectedly took early retirement, citing censorship under the Trump administration.

Now he has co-authored a book with the journalist Julia Belluz that aims to bust myths and challenge wellness orthodoxy on everything from weight loss and...

While GLP-1 drugs promise an easy fix, our bodies still need what they have always needed: healthy food and regular exercise

Prof Devi Sridhar is chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh

If there has been a hot topic in health in 2025, it’s definitely been GLP-1s, colloquially referred to as “anti-obesity” jabs. These medications, taken weekly as an injection into the...

Next head of Cern backs massive replacement for world’s largest machine to investigate mysteries of the universe

Mark Thomson, a professor of experimental particle physics at the University of Cambridge, has landed one of the most coveted jobs in global science. But it is hard not to wonder, when looked at from a certain angle, whether he has taken one for the team.

On 1 January, Thomson takes...

The rand ended 2025 nearly 13% stronger against the US dollar, marking its biggest annual gain in 16 years.

By 2026, liquidity has become one of the most decisive factors separating amateur crypto traders from professionals. While retail users often focus on promotions or headline fees, experienced traders prioritize something far more fundamental: the ability to enter and exit positions efficiently, consistently, and at scale. In fast-moving crypto markets, liquidity isn’t just about convenience […]

Groupe Canal+ and Warner Bros Discovery have struck a last-minute agreement to keep channels like CNN on DStv.

The bioscience startup has attracted billions in investment – and a flurry of criticism, but founder tells the Guardian plans to bring back the woolly mammoth will not be derailed

Death and taxes are supposed to be the things we can depend on in this life. But in 2025, the American entrepreneur Ben Lamm sold much of the world on the idea that death did not, after all, need to be for ever.

This...

Analysis shows obscure and barely-used choices, drawn from online slang, do not stand the test of time

If you have seen a news story declaring 2025’s chosen “word of the year” in recent weeks, you might be forgiven for asking yourself: what, another one?

Depending on which dictionary you turn to, the chosen term this year was either Collins’ “vibe coding”, “parasocial” from Cambridge...

Recently, several cryptocurrency analysts have expressed an increasingly optimistic outlook on XRP’s future performance. As market expectations surrounding the potential launch of an XRP ETF continue to grow, some observers believe that XRP could experience a short-term price increase of up to 210%. In the medium to long term, more ambitious projections have even discussed […]

Dan Richards, 37, from Swansea was injured in a freak accident on New Year’s Eve in 2023.

The cryptocurrency market experienced another uneasy episode after Christmas, with most tokens sliding. At the end of every year, liquidity is thin, the risk appetite is weak, and investor confidence is tested considerably. The situation was worsened by the Trust Wallet breach, which resulted in $7 million in user losses.   Market downturns may cause panic […]

Xgram.io, a leading non-custodial multichain cryptocurrency exchange platform specializing in instant and private swaps, today highlighted its robust support for secure exchanges between Monero (XMR) and Tether (USDT). As demand grows for privacy-focused digital asset transactions in the fintech sector, Xgram.io continues to deliver reliable, user-controlled solutions that prioritize security...

We bring you Tech Life highlights from a fascinating year in global tech.

Live casino has evolved from a niche add‑on to a core revenue driver for many online casinos. Industry research suggests that the global live casino segment is already worth well over ten billion US dollars in annual revenue and is forecast to grow at a double‑digit compound annual rate over the coming years, outpacing many […]