Up to three in every 1,000 children are born deaf. There have been several promising treatments for deafness in recent years but they tend to be invasive — and, crucially, they can’t fully replicate natural hearing.

However, a new study has shown that a form of gene therapy can restore hearing in toddlers and young adults born with a type of genetic deafness. This therapy was delivered by a modified virus directly to the ear — and resulted in rapid and significant hearing improvements. Here, one of the authors of the study explains how the treatment works and why he thinks it’s a milestone.

Keir Starmer was forced to withdraw key parts of his government’s welfare reforms this week after blowback from some Labour MPs. But this wasn’t just a result of unpopular policy. Here’s why Starmer ended up in such a mess – and how he can avoid such a mortifying debacle in the future.

Also today, we hear how Iran may actually be in a geopolitically stronger place after the US and Israel’s recent airstrikes against it.