Scientists sequence million-year-old mammoth DNA An international team of geneticists has managed to recover and sequence the oldest DNA to date. The researchers extracted severely degraded DNA from the teeth of three ancient mammoths that are believed to have roamed Siberia between 700,000 and 1.2 million years ago. They pieced the DNA together to reveal…
Spiritual renewal is available right under our noses this Lent, writes Jason Osborne Lent may pose a challenge for us this year – what more is there to give up? We’re already devoid of so much, it may seem that giving up more is the last thing that God could be asking of us. However,…
Lent has begun and yet it all feels somehow out of kilter. I usually look forward to Lent, to the sense of pause, of a change in rhythm, a re-tuning of life. This year I have felt differently. I mentioned this to a friend recently and her comment was, “Sure haven’t we been living Lent…
Personal Profile In the year that Pope St John Paul II came to Ireland, Fr Seamus Kelly MSC (Missionary of the Sacred Heart) took a plane in a different direction. Two years to the day that he was ordained to the priesthood – 17 December 1979 – Fr Kelly travelled to spread the word in…
Everyday Philosophy Imagine two firefighters. Lynda regularly puts herself in danger, entering burning buildings to perform difficult rescues that others are too afraid to. Lynda isn’t reckless: she’s extremely competent and only tries rescues that she thinks have a good chance of success. But she is fearless, or close to it: fear for her is…
Recently I received a letter from a woman whose life, in effect, had imploded. Within the course of a few months, her husband divorced her, she lost her job, was forced to move from the house she had lived in for many years, was locked down in her new place by Covid restrictions, and was…
This third lockdown has been particularly challenging for our relationship, not only does every day feel like Groundhog Day but our relationship is beginning to feel like that too. So you’re at the stage now like so many other couples where perhaps doing the weekly date night at home just isn’t cutting it any more.…
Coronavirus: Bat scientists find new evidence The BBC reported that coronaviruses related to Sars-CoV-2 may be circulating in bats across many parts of Asia. Scientists have discovered a virus that is a close match to the virus that causes Covid-19 in bats at a sanctuary in Thailand. They predict that similar coronaviruses may be present…
Restrictions may make romance more difficult, but it’s certainly not impossible, writes Jason Osborne Last year’s St Valentine’s Day probably would have been a little more ostentatious if we’d known the kind of year we were in for. Perhaps we’d have made an effort to go on a trip we’d always wanted to, somewhere suitably…
Living Laudato Si’ Our New Year resolutions this year may simply have been to get through lockdown as best we can. And that’s ok! Pope Francis does gives us a nudge however, in the address he gave on the World Day of Peace, January 1. He asks us to focus on one thing, to create…
Bairbre Cahill
Ruadhán Jones
Ben Conroy
Fr Ronald Rolheiser
Wendy Grace