Michael Le Page
New Scientist
United Kingdom
Contact Michael
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
| Recent: |
|
| Past: |
|
Past articles by Michael:
Mice have been born from eggs derived from male cells
A method for turning male cells into egg cells in mice could one day be used to help men in a same-sex couple have children who are genetically related to them both → Read More
Some of the earliest modern humans in Europe used bows and arrows
A site in France briefly occupied by modern humans is littered with stone points that were probably used as arrowheads, showing that bows and arrows were used in Europe much earlier than we thought → Read More
Third person 'cured' of HIV after receiving stem cell cancer treatment
A man has no signs of an active HIV infection after receiving stem cells from a donor who is resistant to the virus → Read More
How genetically engineered immune cells are beating some cancers
In some cases, it is now possible to genetically engineer the immune system to banish cancers like T-cell leukaemia that were previously unresponsive to treatments → Read More
Why gene variant impairing alcohol breakdown raises heart disease risk
A gene variant that causes the "alcohol flush" reaction increases the risk of heart disease by causing inflammation of blood vessels, especially in drinkers → Read More
Flame-resistant variety of cotton could cut need for toxic retardants
White cotton can normally only be made fire resistant by adding toxic flame retardants, but a new form could enable us to make inherently non-flammable cotton fabrics → Read More
The ozone layer was destroyed during Earth's biggest mass extinction
Fossils show plants were producing higher levels of sunscreen chemicals to protect against higher ultraviolet light levels at the end of the Permian period → Read More
Why we probably won't get new covid-19 vaccines in 2023
Any new covid-19 vaccine must be better than the ones we already have, setting a high bar for approval that is not expected to be met in 2023 → Read More
Sneaking drugs into the brain could treat conditions like Alzheimer's
A method of drug delivery that uses one of the body’s own systems to sneak mRNA molecules past the blood-brain barrier could help treat conditions such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and cancer → Read More
Strep A kills 500,000 people a year, so why isn’t there a vaccine?
A vaccine for strep A may not be very profitable for pharmaceutical companies and there are technical challenges that make such vaccines difficult to develop, but early-stage clinical trials are underway → Read More
Experimental CRISPR technique has promise against aggressive leukaemia
A 13-year-old girl whose leukaemia had not responded to other treatments now has no detectable cancer cells after receiving a dose of immune cells that were genetically edited to attack the cancer → Read More
Flying squirrels carve nuts to store them securely in tree branches
Buried nuts would quickly rot in the tropical rainforests of Hainan Island, so flying squirrels have taught themselves carpentry instead → Read More
A rat without a Y chromosome could be a glimpse of our genetic future
Researchers have figured out how the Amami spiny rat lost its Y chromosome, and some believe the same fate may be in store for humans → Read More
A 48,500-year-old virus has been revived from Siberian permafrost
Seven viruses from the Siberian permafrost have been revived and replicated themselves in the lab – including the oldest ever revived so far → Read More
Global fossil fuel emissions set to rise by 1 per cent in 2022
This year will see a smaller jump in carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels compared with 2021, driven partly by the continuing recovery of aviation following covid-19 travel restrictions → Read More
World’s largest plant for making methanol fuel from CO2 opens in China
The first commercial-scale plant for making methanol from carbon dioxide will save an estimated 500,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year compared with making methanol from coal → Read More
COP27: How the world is doing on climate targets and what to expect
The war in Ukraine has encouraged a rush to exploit more fossil fuels, but there are still positive signs of climate action ahead of the COP27 climate summit in Egypt → Read More
Bananas threatened by devastating fungus given temporary resistance
A way to make Cavendish banana plants temporarily resistant to Fusarium fungus could lead to new ways to protect them from Panama disease → Read More
Mosquitoes are being genetically modified so they can't spread malaria
Gene editing mosquitoes so they die before malaria parasites can develop inside them could stop the spread of the deadly parasite entirely, according to lab studies and computer models → Read More
Ant-slayer spider catches prey with acrobatic leap to wrap it in silk
High-speed cameras have revealed the extraordinary hunting technique of the Australian ant-slayer spider, which is highly successful and thought to be unique → Read More