logo
How Times readers debated the morality of the Hiroshima bomb

How Times readers debated the morality of the Hiroshima bomb

Times06-08-2025
The letters page of The Times on August 8, 1945 was, as ever, eclectic. There was a letter praising midwives. There was another discussing which clergy should sit in the House of Lords. Then, just before resuming a long-running correspondence about postwar forestry, the editor found space to moot the possibility of the apocalypse.
Sir Henry Dale, a winner of the Nobel prize for physiology and medicine, confessed that he was worried about whether the bomb just dropped on Hiroshima was a portent of the end of humanity.
'Science, an unwilling conscript, has become the direct agent of undiscriminating devastation at long range,' wrote Dale, the president of the Royal Society. With atomic power, he said, came tremendous opportunities, but also 'the threat of final disaster to civilisation '.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

The pioneering therapy that could roll back the rigours of ageing
The pioneering therapy that could roll back the rigours of ageing

Telegraph

time28 minutes ago

  • Telegraph

The pioneering therapy that could roll back the rigours of ageing

The clock could be turned back on ageing with a groundbreaking new therapy that aims to recharge cells with 'batteries' from the placenta of newborns. Israel-based Minovia Therapeutics is the first company in the world to start testing mitochondrial transplantation in humans, which could treat incurable diseases and keep bodies younger for longer. Mitochondria are tiny compartments within cells that act like batteries, supplying the cell with the energy it needs to function. In ageing and certain diseases, the mitochondria stop working efficiently, starving the cells of energy, similar to the batteries running down in a machine. But scientists have now shown that it is possible to 'augment' cells with supercharged mitochondria from the placenta. Minovia has already completed clinical trials of the new therapy for patients with Pearson's Syndrome - a mitochondrial disease - and is planning to trial the treatment in elderly people next year. Dr Natalie Yivgi-Ohana, CEO and co-founder of Minovia, said: 'It's actually a very natural process for cells to take up mitochondria when they come in contact with them, but it was usually only one in 1000 cells that would do it. 'In the past 13 years, we've developed a method to maximise cellular take up without harming the cells or the mitochondria, so now more than 50 per cent of cells take up a significant amount of mitochondria. 'We take it from the youngest and healthiest organ, which is the placenta and which is full of super mitochondria and yet it's normally thrown away like garbage. We could find it to be the fountain of youth.' To make the therapy, scientists take the mitochondria from a healthy donated placenta and mix them with blood stem cells, which are then infused back into the patient's bloodstream. Not only do the super mitochondria help to produce more energy in cells, but they also reactivate natural quality control functions inside cells, which keep failing mitochondria at bay. So over time, the level of the body's healthy mitochondria also goes up. Last month, the company released phase 2 results for Pearson Syndrome, which can cause a range of problems in children, including failure to thrive, diabetes and neurological issues. There are currently no approved therapies for the condition, and care is only palliative, with patients dying during childhood. But the new therapy has led to marked improvements. 'Severe energy failure' 'These were all paediatric patients and they suffer severe energy failure, so they are not growing,' added Dr Yivgi-Ohana. 'It took a few months, but we have started observing improvement in their energy and less fatigue, more waking hours. We observed improvement in renal function, improvement in appetite, in growth.' Now the company is turning its attention towards ageing, and is hoping that growing older may one day be seen as a treatable disease. The company is planning to start trials of the treatment for elderly people in Israel next year and is developing biomarkers so they can test whether older people are experiencing mitochondrial dysfunction. It could even help diseases of ageing, such as Parkinson's, which is strongly linked to mitochondrial dysfunction. 'Significant in almost every disease' 'We are all going to suffer mitochondrial disease as we age,' added Dr Yivgi-Ohana. 'Ageing is not considered a disease, but if we have a way to demonstrate that actually, as we age, we become mitochondrially dysfunctional, then that would be the trigger to propose a treatment. 'We want to start next year treating elderly people with mitochondrial dysfunction in longevity clinics and demonstrate that it really helps. ' She added: 'The scalability in terms of the mitochondria is unlimited, there are no limitations of placentas and the amount of mitochondria that we can harvest and cryopreserve.' 'Mitochondria are such powerful organelles, and they can transfer between cells, so their sensing and their information transfer is so significant in almost every disease that you will look at.'

Flight test of Chinese start-up LandSpace's rocket fails
Flight test of Chinese start-up LandSpace's rocket fails

Reuters

timea day ago

  • Reuters

Flight test of Chinese start-up LandSpace's rocket fails

BEIJING, Aug 15 (Reuters) - A flight test of one of Chinese commercial rocket developer LandSpace Technology's methane-powered rockets failed on Friday after the carrier rocket experienced an "anomaly", the company said, adding that it is investigating the cause. Interest has grown in recent years in using rockets fuelled by methane to launch satellites: the fuel is deemed less polluting, safer and cheaper than more commonly used hydrocarbon fuels, and can power a reusable rocket. The Beijing-based start-up became the world's first company to launch a methane-liquid oxygen rocket with the successful launch of Zhuque-2 in July 2023, ahead of U.S. rivals including Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin. LandSpace has since tested various versions of its Zhuque-2 series, including the Zhuque-2E Y2, whose flight test succeeded in May. A Zhuque-2E Y3 carrier rocket "experienced an anomaly" after taking off from a commercial space launch site in northwestern China on Friday morning, LandSpace said in a statement published on WeChat. It gave no further details of the issue, which it said the company was looking into. LandSpace is committed to the research, manufacturing and launch of liquid oxygen and methane rockets, the statement said.

Would YOU use a robot surrogate? China develops the world's first 'pregnancy humanoid' that's capable of giving birth to a live baby
Would YOU use a robot surrogate? China develops the world's first 'pregnancy humanoid' that's capable of giving birth to a live baby

Daily Mail​

timea day ago

  • Daily Mail​

Would YOU use a robot surrogate? China develops the world's first 'pregnancy humanoid' that's capable of giving birth to a live baby

It's a concept that currently only exists in sci–fi movies. But scientists in China are developing the world's first 'pregnancy robot' capable of carrying a baby to term and giving birth. The humanoid will be equipped with an artificial womb that receives nutrients through a hose, experts said. A prototype is expected to be released next year, with a selling price of around 100,000 yuan (£10,000). Dr Zhang Qifeng, who founded the company Kaiwa Technology, is developing the machine. The device he envisions is not simply an incubator but a humanoid that can replicate the entire process from conception to delivery, Asian media outlets report. He said the artificial womb technology is already in a 'mature stage' and now needs to be implanted in the robot's abdomen, 'so that a real person and the robot can interact to achieve pregnancy'. With regards to ethical and legal issues, he said: 'We have held discussion forums with authorities in Guangdong Province and submitted related proposals while discussing policy and legislation.' Experts have not yet provided any specifics on how the egg and sperm are fertilised and implanted in the artificial womb. Dr Zhang's revelations were made during an interview shared on Duoyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. News of the development sparked intense discussion across Chinese social media, with critics condemning the technology as ethically problematic and unnatural. Many argued that depriving a foetus of maternal connection was cruel, while questions were raised about how eggs would be sourced for the process. However, many showed support for the innovation, viewing it as a means to spare women from pregnancy–related suffering. One wrote: 'Many families pay significant expenses for artificial insemination only to fail, so the development of the pregnancy robot contributes to society.' Previously, scientists have successfully kept premature lambs alive for weeks using an artificial womb that looks like a plastic bag. The 'biobag' provided everything the foetus needed to continue growing and maturing, including a nutrient–rich blood supply and a protective sac of amniotic fluid. After 28 days of being in the bag, the lambs – which otherwise would likely have died – had put on weight and grown wool. While the biobag acts like an incubator, allowing premature individuals to grow in an environment similar to the womb, scientists hope the pregnancy robot will be able to support the foetus from conception to delivery. Since the 1970s, feminist activists such as Andrea Dworkin have been strongly opposed to the use of artificial wombs on the grounds that it could lead to the 'end of women'. In 2012, Ms Dworkin wrote: 'Women already have the power to eliminate men and in their collective wisdom have decided to keep them. 'The real question now is, will men, once the artificial womb is perfected, want to keep women around?' In 2022 a group of researchers from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia – who have been developing artificial wombs – published an article on the ethical considerations of technology. The researchers wrote: 'A concern is that it could lead to the devaluation or even pathologizing of pregnancy, and may diminish women's experience of deriving meaning, empowerment, and self–fulfillment from this unique aspect of female biology.' Earlier this year, however, a survey showed that 42 per cent of people aged 18–24 said they would support 'growing a foetus entirely out of woman's body'. The development is reminiscent of the 2023 film The Pod Generation, where a tech giant offers couples the option of using detachable artificial wombs or 'pods' to share pregnancy. If it comes to fruition, the humanoid pregnancy could be seen as a tool to help tackle rising rates of infertility in China. Reports suggest the rates of infertility in China rose from 11.9 per cent in 2007 to 18 per cent in 2020. In response, local governments in China are including artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization treatments in medical insurance coverage to support childbirth for infertile couples. EXPLAINED: PREMATURE BIRTH AND ITS RISKS TO BABIES Around 10 per cent of all pregnancies worldwide result in premature labour - defined as a delivery before 37 weeks. When this happens, not all of the baby's organs, including the heart and lungs, will have developed. They can also be underweight and smaller. Tommy's, a charity in the UK, says this can mean so-called preemies 'are not ready for life outside the womb'. Premature birth is the largest cause of neonatal mortality in the US and the UK, according to figures. Babies born early account for around 1,500 deaths each year in the UK. In the US, premature birth and its complications account for 17 per cent of infant deaths. Babies born prematurely are often whisked away to neonatal intensive care units, where they are looked after around the clock. What are the chances of survival?

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store