Medetomidine: the dangerous animal sedative turning up in Scotland’s street drugs
Tinnakorn jorruang/Shutterstock.com A sedative developed for cats and dogs is turning up in Scotland’s illicit drug supply. Medetomidine has been found in a fifth of heroin samples in Scotland, and there is no proven antidote if someone overdoses. Often called a new street drug, medetomidine was actually first developed as a sedative more than 50 […]
Eat well to age better at a biological level – new research
Following a good-quality diet for many years can have measurable impacts on ageing. Rawpixel.com/ Shutterstock When it comes to healthy ageing, the overall quality of a person’s diet matters more than eating any one “superfood” or nutrient. From the Mediterranean diet to the Nordic diet, specific eating patterns have been shown to reduce the risk […]
Secret chambers in Tutankhamun’s tomb could hold the burial of a lost Egyptian queen – we may get answers soon
A growing body of research is generating renewed interest in potential hidden spaces beyond the decorated walls of Tutankhamun’s burial chamber in Egypt. Some researchers have raised the possibility that these concealed chambers – if they exist – could contain the burial place of Nefertiti, Tutankhamun’s stepmother and mother-in-law. Nefertiti was made famous by a […]
Burnham has said the unsayable on Brexit. What happens now?
Loredana Sangiuliano/Shutterstock Andy Burnham’s revelation that he was prepared “to go all the way” in terms of the UK’s relationship with the EU came as a shock to many. While a commitment to rejoining the EU in the next Labour manifesto is far from a given – and the prime minister’s language was non-committal – […]
Plans to tamper with the pension triple lock might not be as dangerous for Labour as some believe
When Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the Labour conference that he is going to change the state pension’s triple lock mechanism, the backlash was immediate. For 15 years, the triple lock has been one of the few genuinely untouchable policies in British politics. Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, warned that Burnham’s plans […]
Seaweed strandings cause a stink – here’s why they harm your health
Workers remove massive accumulations of _Sargassum_ seaweed from a Caribbean beach in the Riviera Maya near Cancun, Mexico, in June 2025. elena.tres/Shutterstock Seaweed piling up on a beach might look harmless, but as quantities begin to rot, they can release gases that are toxic to people. In recent years, two people and several animals (including […]
Mangrove restoration is becoming big business, but benefits don’t always reach local people
On Pakistan’s Indus delta coast, a 350,000-hectare mangrove project is turning a growing forest into something that can be sold to companies thousands of miles away: carbon credits. Carbon credits allow companies to pay for projects that store carbon or prevent further emissions, with each credit equalling a certain amount of carbon. Restoring mangroves can […]
Renoir and Love is a wonderful celebration of the fleeting joys of life
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841 to 1919) is popularly misunderstood as a slightly dodgy painter of kitsch nudes. Renoir and Love at the National Gallery in London sets the record straight. As Chiara di Stefano, co-curator for the exhibition admits, she grew up “hating Renoir somehow”. She says it can “be troubling for some, especially women viewers, […]
National Year of Reading: linguistic diversity should be central to reading for pleasure intiatives
The UK’s National Year of Reading is asking people across the country to “go all in” on reading. But this invitation raises questions for many families: reading what, in which language and in what form? These questions matter because nearly one in four pupils in English primary schools (23.8%) is recorded as having a first […]
Women in architecture: the damaging workplace culture pushing talented professionals out
It’s been more than 20 years since the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba) and the the Fawcett Society published a landmark 2003 study, Why Do Women Leave Architecture? And one thing is unmistakably clear: the profession has not moved far enough or fast enough to support women. Build It Together, commissioned by Riba in […]