TUESDAY, 20 JANUARY 2026, 23:19
Scientists argue ape-like Sahelanthropus tchadensis that lived in Africa 7m years ago is best contender but more fossils are needed
In the murky first chapters of the human story is an unknown ancestor that made the profound transition from walking on all fours to standing up tall, an act that came to define us.
The odds of stumbling on the fossilised evidence of such an evolutionary prize are...
The BBC has seen several examples of it undressing women and putting them in sexual situations without their consent.
As the largest maker of electric vehicles in the United States, Tesla suffered more than other carmakers from the elimination of federal incentives.
“When we came into the studio last year to record our resolutions, I had the best of intentions.”
After losing a year to havoc and job-slashing at Nasa, the pressure is on billionaire administrator Jared Isaacman
With astronauts set to fly around the moon for the first time in more than half a century when Artemis 2 makes its long-awaited ascent sometime this spring, 2026 was already destined to become a standout year in space.
It is also likely to be one of the most pivotal, with new...
Robyn Thomson immunised thousands of animals in Cambodia after shocking death of her mother this summer
It was just a scratch. Among all the feelings and thoughts that she has had to wrestle with since the summer, disbelief is the emotion that Robyn Thomson still struggles with the most. “You never think it would happen to you,” said Robyn. “You don’t really think it happens to...
New year plant hunt shows rising temperatures are shifting natural cycles of wildflowers such as daisies
Daisies and dandelions are among hundreds of native plant species blooming in the UK, in what scientists have called a “visible signal” of climate breakdown disrupting the natural world.
A Met Office analysis of data from the annual new year’s plant hunt over the past nine years found an...
9,500-year-old pyre uncovered in Malawi offers rare insight into rituals of ancient African hunter-gatherer groups
A cremation pyre built about 9,500 years ago has been discovered in Africa, offering a fresh glimpse into the complexity of ancient hunter-gatherer communities.
Researchers say the pyre, discovered in a rock shelter at the foot of Mount Hora in northern Malawi, is thought to be the...
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...
Some tech leaders are concerned that the artificial intelligence race will exhaust available land and energy. The solution might lie in orbit.
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...
As the war grinds on, sophisticated Russian defenses have pushed Ukraine to develop a frightening new weapon: semiautonomous killing machines.
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.
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...
Customs agents have broad authority to search the electronic devices of travelers entering and leaving the U.S. Here are tips for keeping your data safe.