In hot water: what happens to marine life during heatwaves
Robert Harding Video/Shutterstock A dip in the sea can provide welcome relief after long stretches of hot weather – especially when the water is an inviting 20°C or more, as it has been recently across southern parts of the UK. But such sea temperatures are unusually warm, with UK waters being hit by the third […]
Do patients who suffer heart attack have more micro and nanoplastic in their blood? New study assessed
Microplastics are a big environmental issue. They’ve been found in oceans, drinking water, seafood, the air we breathe, and increasingly throughout the human body, from the placenta to the brain. A new study by researchers in Italy, published in the European Heart Journal, adds another organ to that growing list: the heart’s own blood supply. […]
The Large Hadron Collider is being upgraded so that it can unlock the secrets of the Higgs boson
Deep beneath the French-Swiss border, the world’s largest scientific instrument has fallen silent. After years of smashing proton particles together at nearly the speed of light, Cern’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has stopped operations and entered a long shutdown. While no particle collisions are taking place at the LHC, thousands of scientists, engineers and technicians […]
Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem, but solutions do exist – expert Q&A
Julien-images-videos-93/Shutterstock.com Bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics are linked to millions of deaths a year – a number set to grow dramatically. From hospital wards to farms, resistance is being driven by how, and how often, we use antibiotics. Dr Sam Willcocks, director of the Antimicrobial Innovations Centre at Brunel University London, answers key questions […]
Manchester – the city powering Andy Burnham, the UK’s incoming prime minister
Three months ago, Andy Burnham’s desk was filled with the business of running Greater Manchester. Buses. Housing. Policing. This mayoral region in the north of England is home to 3 million people and Burnham, a former minister in the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, has been its mayor for nearly a decade. […]
New climate film triggers debate – here’s how to make those conversations constructive
Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock A new independent film called the People’s Emergency Briefing has been screened more than 1,400 times across the country in recent months. The 50-minute documentary, hosted by TV presenter and environmentalist Chris Packham, reviews and critiques the UK’s handling of the climate and nature crisis. After screenings, prompts given by the local screening host […]
First House: a visceral story about the collapse of a ‘perfect’ life and the imagining of a new one
Set in a suburban America, Avni Doshi’s new novel centres around an unnamed protagonist who thinks her world and her sense of self are stable. She knows herself and all that is to come in her life. She’s followed the pre-determined path of being a wife and a mother. She believes she has a marriage […]
How the trend for turning front gardens into driveways is adding to night-time heat
Thousands of front gardens have been paved over. 1000 Words/Shutterstock Warm sticky nights are becoming more and more common in the UK. Climate change is raising temperatures, but one factor that adds to that is often ignored. Walk down a city street and you see what would have been front gardens a decade or so […]
Andy Burnham promised to change Greater Manchester. Almost ten years on, how did he do?
Almost ten years ago – just weeks before he was elected as Greater Manchester’s first metro-mayor – I sat down with Andy Burnham and interviewed him for The Conversation. Back then he was making the transition from Westminster cabinet minister to regional politician, swapping the shadow front bench for a role that most people at […]
Could Count Binface actually win?
Pollsters recently asked a sample of adults in Britain who they would prefer to win the byelection in Clacton. The rather surprising answers showed that 33% favoured “comedy” candidate Count Binface, compared to just 21% who would back Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. The resignation earlier this month of Farage as MP for the Essex […]