OCTOBER 2004

This section features key science stories from The Daily Telegraph's online news service at www.telegraph.co.uk. Click on the links for the full story.

Mothers-to-be warned to stay off painkillers
Children exposed to painkillers such as aspirin and paracetamol while in the womb are four times more likely to develop schizophrenia as adults, a study of Danish patients has found.

31 Oct 2004

Extra drug 'cures half of bowel cancers'
Half of those suffering the early form of Britain's second biggest cancer killer can be cured when an extra drug is added to standard treatment, doctors have announced.

30 Oct 2004

Robert Matthews: Q&A
How big is the universe, and how fast is it expanding?
John Grimson, Ramsey, Isle of Man

28 Oct 2004

Blinded woman's sight restored
A totally blind woman has regained her sight after a pioneering transplant of retinal cells into one of her eyes, scientists have revealed.

28 Oct 2004

English elms 'cloned by Romans 2,000 years ago'
Every English elm may be a clone of a single tree originally introduced into Britain from Spain 2,000 years ago as a part of the Roman wine industry, according to a study published.

28 Oct 2004

'New piece in human puzzle'
The unearthing of homo floresiensis "is a simply stunning fossil discovery that provided a fascinating new piece in the puzzle of human evolutionary history," according to Prof Leslie Aiello, of the Department of Anthropology at University College London.

28 Oct 2004

Scientists find new species of 3ft humans
The remains of a 3ft human - nicknamed the Hobbit - have been unearthed in Indonesia in a find that could rewrite the story of human evolution.

28 Oct 2004

Villagers speak of the small, hairy Ebu Gogo
Richard Roberts, discoverer of the Hobbit, says local tales suggest the species could still exist

28 Oct 2004

Cave dig unearths world of the 'Hobbit'
When the skeleton of the "Hobbit" was first found in a cave on the isolated island of Flores by Thomas Sutikna and colleagues from the Indonesian Research Centre for Archaeology, they thought they had found the remains of a child.

28 Oct 2004

Blinded woman's sight restored
A totally blind woman has regained her sight after a pioneering transplant of retinal cells into one of her eyes, scientists have revealed.

28 Oct 2004

Spacecraft takes a peek beneath Titan's hazy veil
The US-European Cassini-Huygens probe has passed by Saturn's moon Titan, the only moon in our solar system with an atmosphere.

28 Oct 2004

Cancer funding reform 'is hitting treatment'
Cancer services in England have been left in a "shambles" following recent reforms to the way they are organised and funded, MPs have said in a report.

27 Oct 2004

 

View from the lab: Great Britons rule the snails
Prof Steve Jones pleas for Alan Titchmarsh to give up the novels and the makeovers and dedicate himself to the pursuit of useful and elevating knowledge instead.

27 Oct 2004

'Derek tastes of ear wax, Russell Square of celery'
James Wannerton, 45, a pub landlord, is bombarded with flavours during everyday conversation. "I have trouble with certain names. I have a problem with the word Derek, for instance. It tastes of ear wax." For him, "Covent Garden" is chocolate, "Edgware Road" tastes of sausage and "Russell Square" makes him think of celery with toffee. Intriguingly, his synaesthetic tastes originate from his childhood: there are no associations with foods from later in his life, such as curry.

27 Oct 2004

Why Miles Davis saw the blues
Auras exist, but inside our brains because of a mix-up between the different senses, says Roger Highfield .

27 Oct 2004

Nip 'n' tuck may not be key to joy, say surgeons
Cosmetic surgery will not save a marriage or mend an unhappy life, plastic surgeons have said in guidelines for potential patients.

26 Oct 2004

Super tea could help to prevent Alzheimer's
Drinking regular cups of tea may help to prevent Alzheimer's disease, a study has found.

26 Oct 2004

Museum visitors get the chance to watch live brain surgery
The spirit of Victorian medicine, in which pioneering and often gruesome operations were demonstrated in front of eager public audiences, is being recreated this week for Britain's first "live" brain surgery.

25 Oct 2004

QED: and this year's backstabbing prize goes to...
Robert Matthews may be the winner of the 1996 Ig Nobel Prize for Physics, but he knows his limitations.

21 Oct 2004

The cuttlefish makes a killing with colour
Survival has been put down to optical illusions, says Lewis Dartnell .

21 Oct 2004

How cancer could be hidden in a transplant
Ovary transplants designed to restore fertility to women after cancer treatment could return the disease to their bodies, say researchers.

21 Oct 2004

Scientists seeking to create embryos with three parents
British scientists have applied for a licence to create human embryos with three genetic parents in an experiment that could lead to new cures for hereditary diseases.

21 Oct 2004

Bush's stance attacked
President George W Bush's opposition to cloning is making it easier for maverick scientists to try to clone babies, says Britain's leading scientist.

21 Oct 2004

The hard cell question
The death of Christopher Reeve has re-ignited the debate over stem-cell research - two of our columnists contest the issue.

21 Oct 2004

Could this fix a damaged brain?
Cloned nerve stem cells and the use of viruses as micro-surgeons could soon help people with serious illnesses. Science Editor Roger Highfield reports.

21 Oct 2004

British team takes first step to cloning human embryos
As the United Nations discusses a ban on cloning human embryos a team in Newcastle has conducted experiments that mark the start of its human cloning effort.

20 Oct 2004

Bush aide condemns stem cell work
President George Bush's chief adviser on ethics has accused Britain of taking the first step towards the genetic engineering of babies by allowing scientists to clone human embryos.

20 Oct 2004

Are we down to our last drop of oil?
Doomsters say we're running out, but the petroleum age is 'far from over', reports Roger Highfield.

13 Oct 2004

Making a meal of oil reserves
A study of the organisms that "eat" about half the world's reserves of oil provides another intriguing contribution to understanding of the extent of global resources.

13 Oct 2004

France silences cinema mobiles
France will soon be the place to go to see a film, watch a play or listen to a symphony orchestra without having to endure ringing cellphones.

12 Oct 2004

Hydrogen fuel 'has high price'
Replacing gas guzzling cars and lorries with "environmentally friendly" hydrogen would require 100,000 new wind turbines or 100 new nuclear power plants.

07 Oct 2004

How the ferocious T rex revealed its fluffy side
The image of the fearsome Tyrannosaurus rex may never be the same again after a study suggests that it was probably fluffy.

07 Oct 2004

When Gretar met Sigga - an avian love story
Bird couples meet up to breed at the same time, in the same place, for year after year - despite spending winter 600 miles apart. Roger Highfield reports.

07 Oct 2004

QED: particle physics
When the wrangling that led up to the Good Friday Agreement was at its height, one commentator wearily declared that the two most boring words in the English language were "Northern Ireland". Clearly he knew little about science, writes Robert Matthews.

06 Oct 2004

Images for lasting impressions
Because I am a science writer, you might think that I prefer words to pictures. However, I was a television director before I was a writer and I am still convinced that a picture is worth a thousand words, which is why I was delighted to be on the judging panel for this year's Visions of Science photographic awards.

06 Oct 2004

Science reveals its glorious hidden beauty
Intriguing images from photography competition reveal a normally unseen world of beautiful colour, pattern and symmetry.

04 Oct 2004

'Idiotic' EU directive accused of threat to medical research
Vital medical research is faltering across the European Union as the result of a poorly drafted law that has infuriated scientists.

04 Oct 2004

Fast-learning fish have memories that put their owners to shame
If you thought fish were wet creatures who forget everything in seconds, think again. Scientists have found they are fast learners, carry mental maps around in their heads - and can retain memories for months.

03 Oct 2004

Household plastics to blame for asthma, say scientists
Chemicals found in clingfilm and plastic bottles are to blame for the increased prevalence of childhood allergies, a study reports.

03 Oct 2004

Britain pledges £5m to join missions to Mars
Nine months after Beagle 2 vanished on Mars, the Government has announced that Britain would return to the Red Planet by the end of the decade.

03 Oct 2004