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Madeleine Finlay sits down with her co-host and Guardian science editor, Ian Sample, to discuss three science stories from the week, including a study that offers a clue in the age-old debate about whether sex differences are present from birth or a product of socialisation. Also on the agenda is the super El Niño, which is predicted to lead to 450,000 deaths in the next six months, and an answer to why the UK’s meningitis outbreak earlier this year was so big.

An overcrowded migrant reception centre, where a man died, raises “very serious questions” for ministers in the former Conservative government, including two home secretaries and former prime ministers, an inquiry has heard.The Manston centre in Kent became overwhelmed in November 2022 at the height of the small boats crisis, with around 4,000 people held there.Home Office officials knew conditions were unlawful and children were at risk of harm, but had no alternative plan for where to accommodate them, the inquiry heard on Friday.Former Home Secretaries Dame Priti Patel and Suella Braverman shared in preliminary evidence that Number 10 was involved…

A rapid new test for brain tumours can diagnose patients while they are still on the operating table.Scientists have called the development “gamechanging” and said it could secure early treatment for those who “do not have time on their side”.The test was developed by the Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at the University of Nottingham and can diagnose forms of cancer while the patient is still undergoing surgery.The NHS has begun using the diagnostic tool, which can cut waiting times for a diagnosis from up to eight weeks to two hours. It could also secure early access for clinical…

Director General of the Gambia Tourism Board, Mrs. Ida Jeng Njie, speaks about tourism in Africa, efforts to get more Nigerians visit Gambia for leisure, businesses, among others. Charles Ajunwa brings excerpts: Can you tell us what Gambian Tourism is all about? We’re the mandated institution to market and promote destination Gambia to its rightful target markets and beyond. The reason for that is to ensure that we place Gambia at its rightful position in the tourism map, in terms of visibility, and also in terms of bringing numbers to the Gambia. That is why when we had that engagement with Nigerian…

Organisers of the pro-Imran Khan protests have postponed their rallies to test the Pakistani government’s resolve in keeping the capital blockaded. Shipping containers have been placed in Islamabad’s streets to stop protests calling for the former PM’s release from prison.Published On 26 Sep 202626 Sep 2026Share Pro-Imran Khan rally delayed amid government closures on social mediashare-nodesSharegoogleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo

From tracking criminals to sniffing out drugs, dogs have long helped police crack cases. Now experts are hoping a database of canine DNA could offer vital leads.While hair, saliva and other canine material may be found at crime scenes, or on individuals connected to incidents, scientists say they are often not fully investigated.Yet such traces could provide valuable clues, from the identity of a canine perpetrator to evidence a dog’s owner was present at a crime scene.“You might have a human case, kidnapping, for example,” said Prof Denise Syndercombe Court, a forensics expert at King’s College London who is leading…

Charles Odibo In the often-opaque theatre of Nigerian politics, few things expose the true posture of a ruling party faster than an independent attempt to protect the integrity of the ballot. The recent warning issued by the pro-All Progressives Congress group, Renewed Hope for Greater Nigeria (RHGN), against plans by the associated groups of Nigeria Democratic Congress and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to deploy independent polling-unit result monitoring and protection ahead of the 2027 general elections, has done precisely that. What the group presented as a defence of institutional order has instead revealed a deeper anxiety: a transparent, citizens-driven…

The retreat of Papua’s glaciers is driven by the same forces affecting ice around the world, Šabacká notes, a warming atmosphere caused by human activity, including the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.As temperatures rise, the freezing point moves higher up mountains, so more precipitation falls as rain instead of snow, even in places that once saw regular snowfall.El Niño events can accelerate this process, while local factors such as cloud cover, snowfall and mountain topography influence its pace.The mountains in Papua are just 450km (280 miles) south of the equator, where “permanent ice can survive only…

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He was later asked by BBC East Midlands political editor Peter Saull if there would be a general election next May, alongside council elections in the area.The PM replied “no” before adding: “Not having a general election.”Burnham also said he wanted to use the conference to say more about “the direction I want to take the country in”, adding: “The focus is on that, helping people with the cost of living, helping businesses with the cost of running a business.”These have got to be the priorities right now, rather than throwing the country into a backward-looking process where we’re arguing…