A pill for couples struggling to conceive with IVF treatment has been found to increase the chances of pregnancy, scientists say.

Researchers said initial trials of the drug – known as OXO-001 and created by Spanish biotech company Oxolife – showed “promising” results.

It acts directly on the inner lining of the womb to improve the embryo implantation process during fertility treatment.

Around 96 infertile women who were aged 40 or under and were receiving fertility treatment – either IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with donor eggs – at 28 centres across Europe took part in the new study, between September 2021 and January 2023.

They were either given a placebo or OXO-001 – taken twice daily, one menstrual cycle before the embryo transfer and five weeks after.

Researchers found “ongoing pregnancy rates” measured 10 weeks after embryo transfer were 46.3% for patients treated with OXO-001 – compared with 35.7% for those given a placebo.

This is a “clinically significant finding”, they said, presenting their study to the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology’s (ESHRE) 40th annual meeting in Amsterdam.

They said there was also a clinically meaningful increase in the number of women who went on to have a live birth.

The live birth rate was 42.6% for women who took the new pill compared with 35.7% among those who took the placebo, according to the study – also being published in the journal Human Reproduction.

Women in both groups suffered similar side-effects including headaches, nausea, vomiting, gastrointestinal issues and dizziness – most of which were mild to moderate.

The drug had already gone through safety checks in early studies – known as pre-clinical trials.

It is now to be tested on a larger group of women, including those who are using their own eggs.

Oxolife chief executive Dr Agnes Arbat said: “Most rounds of IVF or ICSI still end in failure – many because a viable embryo does not implant.

“A simple-to-take pill that materially improves the chance of success would therefore be of huge benefit to those who want a baby. This proof-of-concept phase two study shows that hope is now a step closer.”

She added: “This study was purposefully designed to include only women who used donor eggs so it could single out the true effect of OXO-001 on the endometrium.

“However, we believe OXO-001 has the potential to work equally well in those using their own eggs, and we are already planning a pivotal phase three clinical trial in this more extensive group to support product registration.”

NASA volunteers who spent over a year in a simulated Mars bunker have completed their mission.

After 378 days in a 3D-printed, Mars-imitation bunker in Texas, Kelly Haston, Anca Selariu, Ross Brockwell and Nathan Jones were set free Saturday around 10pm UK time.

Speaking at a news conference after they were allowed back into the world, Ms Selariu said bringing life to Mars was the “one thing dearest to my heart”.

She said her “beloved friends and family have always been there when I needed them” and she will “always have them in my heart and in my memory wherever I go”.

The volunteers were a part of NASA’s Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog (CHAPEA) mission, which began on 25 June last year.

Over that time, they simulated Mars mission operations, including “Marswalks”, grew and ate their own vegetables including tomatoes, peppers, and leafy greens, maintained their equipment and lived under realistic Mars circumstances, NASA said.

This included a communication delay with Earth, limited resources and isolation.

The crew is the first of three to undertake such missions at the Johnson Space Center, in Houston, Texas.

The 3D-printed structure, known as the Mars Dune Alpha, has been described as “an isolated 1,700 square foot habitat”.

This marks the end of the first planned programme, attempting to help prepare the US space agency for the real thing.

NASA is still planning for a return to the Moon – which they hope will act as a springboard for Mars exploration.

What they may have missed:

While they had delayed communication with NASA, those taking part in the mission may not have been kept up to date with what has been going on around the world.

Here are some of the events they may have missed since they were locked away:

• Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October, killing around 1,200 people and taking some 240 hostages, Israel said. Israeli forces responded by invading Gaza, and so far more than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed, the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza has said.
• While climate change won’t be anything new to the imitation-Mars inhabitants, global temperature records were quite emphatically shattered while they were completing their mission.
• Donald Trump became the first former US president to be criminally convicted after a New York jury found him guilty of falsifying business records to commit election fraud.
• When the volunteers went into the programme, South Koreans were a year or two older than they now are after the country dropped its traditional age counting system to move it in line with the rest of the world.
• While they missed a lot of music, movies and popular culture, the biggest moment they may have missed could have been the premiere of Barbie and Oppenheimer in cinemas.
• The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after a tanker ran into it.
• They spent more time locked up than Lord David Cameron did in his role as foreign secretary after his shock return to UK politics.
• Wikileaks founder Julian Assange entered a plea deal with the US to be found guilty of one federal charge in exchange for his release back to Australia. He was freed the next day.

Tiny fragments of glass fibre widely used to make small boats around the world have been found in the marine food chain for the first time.

Scientists at the universities of Portsmouth and Brighton found the glass shards, just a fraction of a millimetre long, in shellfish caught off the south coast of England.

The needle-shaped fragments of fibreglass, or glass reinforced plastic, were so sharp that some had speared biological tissue.

Professor Faye Couceiro, lead researcher and an expert in environmental pollution, told Sky News more research was urgently needed to understand the risk to people who consume oysters and mussels.

“The glass fibre is causing inflammation in all of the areas it is found (in the shellfish tissue),” she said.

“We don’t know what that means for human health yet. But it’s likely something similar will be happening, so the question is at what concentration does that become a problem.”

Fibreglass is a mesh of glass filaments that is embedded in plastic resin. The material is strong, light and easily shaped to make boats.

But when it is cut or sanded, or it degrades with age, it creates a fine dust of fibres which are easily washed into the sea.

The researchers studied oysters and mussels caught near an active boatyard in Chichester Harbour, a popular sailing destination in southern England.

Using a high-powered microscope they found up to 11,220 fibreglass particles per kilogram of oysters, and 2,740 per kilogram of mussels.

The vast majority were in the stomachs of the shellfish and would be expelled if they were put in clean water before being sold to consumers.

But several hundred glass fragments were found in the flesh and would have been consumed by anyone eating the mussel or oyster.

“I was surprised by the number,” Prof Couceiro said. “I don’t think it’s panic stage. Don’t stop eating them.”

But she added that the shellfish industry must now look at ways of cleaning out as many of the fragments as possible prior to consumption.

Oysters and mussels are already known to accumulate microplastic in their body tissues.

They are filter feeders, sucking in several litres of seawater every minute to extract particles of food.

But they also trap fibres and other fragments polluting coastal waters.

Gordon Watson, professor of marine zoology at the University of Portsmouth, said the fibres have a significant impact.

“These mussels grow more slowly,” he said.

“But they are also eaten by other organisms, like fish, and could pass the particles on, so they accumulate in the food chain.”

Although the research focused on shellfish near an active boatyard, the scientists said the problem was likely to be more widespread.

Prof Couceiro said fibreglass boats should be disposed of in landfill if they can’t be recycled at the end of their life.

“Landfill is expensive, so people drill a hole and the boat sinks to the bottom,” she said.

“If there was registration of vessels we would know who they belonged to and we would be able to make sure that they were disposed of properly,” she said.

“We need to prevent these particles getting into the environment.”

The cow flu virus that has spread through US dairy herds may have taken a “dangerous” step towards being able to infect humans through respiratory infections, scientists have warned.

The H5N1 virus, more commonly found in birds, has so far been confirmed in cattle on more than 100 farms in 12 states, with inactivated fragments of the strain being found in pasteurised milk on supermarket shelves.

Four people working with animals have so far been infected, though symptoms were mild and they did not pass the virus on to anyone else.

Now detailed analysis by scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the US shows viral samples taken from cows were able to attach to receptors found on cells in the human respiratory tract.

The version of H5N1 found in birds is unable to do that, suggesting the bovine virus has mutated.

Further tests on ferrets, which are commonly used in flu research, found the cow virus could not spread easily by breathing.

However, Dr Ed Hutchinson, from the Medical Research Council and University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, said there were still “reasons to be concerned”.

‘Urgent’ action needed

“When they compared their cow flu isolate to bird flu they found that it had already begun to gain some of the properties that would be associated with the ability to spread effectively through respiratory infections in humans,” Dr Hutchinson, who was not involved in the study, said.

“To be clear, it does not appear to be doing this yet, and none of the four human cases so far reported have shown signs of onward transmission.

“However, this new H5N1 influenza virus would be even harder to control, and even more dangerous to humans, if it gained the ability for effective respiratory spread.

“Although it is good news that cow flu cannot yet do this, these findings reinforce the need for urgent and determined action to closely monitor this outbreak and to try and bring it under control as soon as possible.”

Unlike normal human flu, which is contained within the respiratory tract, H5N1 is able to spread to other organs in the body, with as-yet unknown effects.

The US government recently gave COVID vaccine manufacturer Moderna £139m to develop an H5N1 jab.

The company’s mRNA technology can be easily tweaked to match evolving viruses and then rapidly rolled out if there is an outbreak in humans.

The World Health Organisation says the current risk to people is low.

But scientists were astonished by the sudden appearance of the virus in cattle, a species not previously recognised as at risk, adding to fears that it could in future cause a human pandemic.

The research is published in the scientific journal Nature.

An asteroid is whipping past Earth today, travelling at more than 40,000 miles per hour.

NASA says the asteroid will pass just 936,000 miles away from Earth, a relatively close-shave in space terms.

It’s the closest the asteroid, known as 2024 MT-1, will come to the planet during its orbit around the sun – however, it poses no risk to life on Earth.

2024 MT-1 takes around 1.2 years to orbit the sun and is just over 79 metres wide. For context, Westminster Abbey’s tower height is about 68m.

An asteroid is a relatively small rock that orbits the sun, usually made up of dusty, metallic and rocky materials.

Most of them orbit within the main asteroid belt which is between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, but some follow paths that circulate into the inner solar system, including 2024 MT-1.

NASA’s Planetary Defence office watches asteroids and meteors that may pose a threat to life on Earth.

An object larger than about 150 metres that can approach the Earth within 4.6 million miles is deemed “a potentially hazardous object” by the agency.

2024 MT-1 does not meet that criteria as it is too small.

In June, NASA tracked five small asteroids came closer to Earth than the moon and said around 100 tonnes of dust and sand-sized particles bombard our planet every day.

Scientists in China have discovered a ‘super moss’ that could help sustain life on Mars.

The super resilient Syntrichia Caninervis moss was found in the desert in the western region of Xinjiang and could help sustain colonies on the red planet, according to experts at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Moss is a very absorbent plant and can hold more than its own body weight in water.

When the scientists dried out this particular species of moss and then rehydrated it, it sprang back to life within seconds.

They also froze it and zapped it with radiation, trying to recreate conditions on Mars, and the moss still came back to life, photosynthesising and growing as normal.

Once on Mars, the scientists say it could help to make oxygen, suck up CO2 and keep soil fertile.

They found that even after losing more than 98% of its water content, the moss was able to recover within seconds when it was rehydrated.

It can also regenerate after being stored in a freezer at -80C (-112F) for five years or in liquid nitrogen for a month.

The moss is found in Xinjiang, Tibet, a Californian desert, the Middle East and polar regions.

Racing to Mars

The race to outer space has spurred China and the United States to launch exploration plans in recent years.

Last month, China retrieved samples from the far side of the moon and brought them back to Earth in a world first.

Read more:
Why moon’s south pole is chequered flag of space race 2.0

Those samples may tell them what can be built on the far side of the moon to help them get to Mars more easily.

In the US, NASA has formulated a 20-year plan for Mars, seeking answers as to whether the red planet is habitable for humans.

Europe’s newest rocket Ariane 6 has launched from French Guiana on the northern coast of South America.

If the full launch is a success, it will give the European Space Agency (ESA) the ability to launch satellites again by itself.

Ariane 6 took off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana, just after 8pm BST after having a four-hour launch window from 7pm to 11pm.

Its inaugural flight is expected to take just under three hours.

Just before 9pm BST ESA director general Josef Aschbacher posted on X to say the rocket was in circular orbit.

A short while later, he posted a video of celebrations from headquarters, with the caption: “We have made history for Europe.”

“Everything is nominal, everything is going so well and this is such a beautiful moment,” he said.

Once in operation, Ariane 6 will become the space agency’s newest taxi to low orbit, able to carry satellites and equipment up out of the atmosphere.

It is the latest in a long line of Ariane satellite launchers, with the most recent, Ariane 5, taking the James Webb Space Telescope and the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer into space.

Ariane 5 was retired last year and since then the European Space Agency has had to rely on the commercial sector to launch its satellites.

Making an impact on European history

“Standing next to the massive Ariane 6 is indescribable,” Mr Aschbacher posted on X, before the launch.

“I feel a wide range of emotions as we get ready to make an impact on European history, for Europe’s future, for generations of Europeans.”

The rocket is carrying several new satellites and experiments into orbit, including a smart-farming satellite, a radio beacon demonstrator and even capsules destined to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere to test new materials.

Its upper stage can reignite multiple times during flight, meaning it can take a wide range of spacecraft into orbit and then save a final boost to return and burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.

Ariane 6 is 63 metres tall but it’s less powerful than other NASA, SpaceX and Chinese rockets.

Its big benefit, however, is its simplicity.

Ariane 6 is designed to be cheaper and easier to build – it cost an estimated €4bn (£3.4bn) – which should give the ESA the ability to launch once a month if needed.

Toxic metals have been found in tampons, scientists say, which could put women at greater risk of potentially fatal health conditions.

Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley examined 30 tampons from 14 different brands and found all 16 metals they were testing for in each type.

The metals found included arsenic, lead, mercury, nickel, copper, and iron, among others.

Findings of metal levels varied depending on whether the tampons were sold in the US, UK, or EU, whether they were organic or not, and whether they were branded or supermarket lines.

According to the study, between 52% and 86% of women in the US use tampons during their period.

They are particularly dangerous if contaminated with harmful substances as they come into direct contact with the vagina, where they are more easily absorbed.

Metal absorption has been found to increase the risk of dementia, cancer, infertility, and diabetes – creating issues in the liver, kidneys and brain, as well as the cardiovascular, nervous and endocrine systems.

It can also be harmful to unborn babies.

Jenni Shearston, lead author of the study, said: “Despite this large potential for public health concern, very little research has been done to measure chemicals in tampons.

“To our knowledge, this is the first paper to measure metals in tampons. Concerningly, we found concentrations of all metals we tested for, including toxic metals like arsenic and lead.”

No ‘safe’ level of metal

Organic tampons were found to have higher levels of arsenic, while non-organic ones had more lead in them, according to the study.

Metals can make their way into tampons through various means – by the cotton absorbing contaminated water, air or soil, or through manufacturers intentionally adding it as part of a pigment.

There is no “safe” level of any of the metals tested for, the researchers warned.

Ms Shearston added: “I really hope that manufacturers are required to test their products for metals, especially for toxic metals.

“It would be exciting to see the public call for this, or to ask for better labelling on tampons and other menstrual products.”

We all have difficult neighbours – even the Earth.

Now scientists have found that a planet close to our own world stinks of rotten eggs.

The research, from scientists at the Johns Hopkins University in the US, suggests that the atmosphere of the planet HD 189733 b, a Jupiter-sized gas giant, has trace amounts of hydrogen sulphide.

HD 189733 b is an exoplanet – meaning it is outside our solar system.

The discovery of hydrogen sulphide on the exoplanet offers scientists new clues about how sulphur, a building block of planets, might influence the insides and atmospheres of exoplanets.

At only 64 light-years from Earth, HD 189733 b is the nearest “hot Jupiter” astronomers can observe passing in front of its star.

The planet also has extremely high temperatures of about 927C and is known for vicious weather, including raining glass that blows sideways on winds of 5,000mph.

Guangwei Fu, an astrophysicist at Johns Hopkins University, said: “Hydrogen sulphide is a major molecule that we didn’t know was there.

“We predicted it would be, and we know it’s in Jupiter, but we hadn’t really detected it outside the solar system.

“We’re not looking for life on this planet because it’s way too hot, but finding hydrogen sulphide is a stepping stone for finding this molecule on other planets and gaining more understanding of how different types of planets form.”

The planet was discovered in 2005, and since then has been important for detailed studies of exoplanetary atmospheres.

The new data is from the James Webb Space Telescope and was published in the journal Nature. The research also ruled out the presence of methane in HD 189733 b.

“We had been thinking this planet was too hot to have high concentrations of methane, and now we know that it doesn’t,” Mr Fu said.

The researchers hope to track sulphur in more exoplanets and determine how high levels of that compound might influence how close they form near their parent stars.