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Science

The latest published reporting in this category.

Science

‘Ferritin face’: what you need to know about low iron - podcast

Social media is awash with claims iron deficiency can be identified in the mirror by dark circles, breaking hair and dry skin. But is ‘ferritin face’ real? Madeleine Finlay tells Ian Sample why so many of us struggle to keep our iron levels up, how we can actually diagnose low iron and the best way to correct a deficiency, with help from Hal Drakesmith, a professor of iron biology at Oxford University, and advice from Dr Sue Pavord, a consultant haematologist at Oxford university hospitals and associate senior lecturer in clinical medicine at St Edmund Hall ‘Ferritin face’: are social media cl

The Guardian
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Science

Historians say King Verica persuaded Rome to invade Britain. But could Verica actually have been a queen?

Controversial theory that Verica, who incited Emperor Claudius’s AD43 landing, was a woman could put a new spin on British history if true It was a moment that changed the course of British history: in AD43, Roman troops under the emperor Claudius landed in Kent. Now, an archaeologist has claimed the British ruler who persuaded Claudius to invade was not a king but a queen. The controversial conclusion, made by Dr Miles Russell, the director of archaeological fieldwork at Bournemouth University, could throw new light on Britain’s history. Continue reading...

The Guardian
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Science

Swapping from dairy to plant-based milk, cheese and yoghurt ‘could lead to micronutrient deficiencies’

Young people and women most at risk, study finds, as researchers call for vegan products to be fortified with iodine in particular Switching from dairy products to plant-based alternatives could lead to deficiencies in vital micronutrients, especially among young people and women, a study has found. Even moving partly to vegan alternatives to milk, cheese and yoghurt could lead to falls in iodine, calcium, riboflavin and vitamin B12 if the substitutes, often based on soya, almonds or oats, are not fortified, scientists said. Continue reading...

The Guardian
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Science

US prosecutors drop criminal charges against scientist detained over frog embryos

Kseniia Petrova was detained for four months after arrest with research samples, and feared deportation to Russia Federal prosecutors have dropped all criminal charges against a Russian scientist who spent four months in immigration detention after flying into Boston with frog embryos intended for cancer research at Harvard Medical School. Kseniia Petrova, 31, was arrested in March 2025 after returning from a vacation in France, where she had visited a laboratory specializing in cutting extremely thin sections of frog embryos. During her visit, she obtained a package of samples for her researc

The Guardian
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