Author: Andrew Rogers

This Sunday, September 7, Europe will witness a striking natural spectacle: a total lunar eclipse, popularly known as the blood moon. For 82 minutes, the Earth will cast its shadow fully over the moon, leaving it glowing a deep red as only refracted sunlight passes through the atmosphere. It will be the longest eclipse since 2022. Throughout history, such events have carried powerful symbolic meaning. In ancient Babylon, China, and Central America, the blood moon was feared as a warning of war, death, or divine punishment. In parts of Africa, however, it was embraced as a symbol of renewal. Among…

Max Verstappen stormed to pole position for the Italian Grand Prix with a record-breaking lap, edging out McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri in a fiercely contested qualifying session at Monza. The Red Bull driver set a blistering 1:18.792, the fastest lap in Formula 1 history, averaging more than 164mph. It marked a dramatic turnaround after last year’s struggles at the same circuit, where Verstappen had called his car “undriveable.” Ferrari, racing at home, showed renewed pace, with Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc finishing fourth and fifth. Hamilton, competing in his first Monza weekend as a Ferrari driver, described the…

A new ultrasound “helmet” could transform the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions by offering a non-invasive alternative to deep brain stimulation (DBS). The device, developed over a decade by teams at Oxford University and UCL, can target brain regions 1,000 times smaller than standard ultrasound and 30 times smaller than previous deep-brain devices. Unlike DBS, which requires electrodes to be surgically implanted, the helmet delivers precise mechanical pulses to specific brain areas while patients lie in an MRI scanner. In early tests with seven volunteers, researchers successfully targeted a grain-of-rice-sized region in the lateral geniculate nucleus, showing…

Labour’s pledge to halt badger culling by 2029 can succeed, but only if the government adopts a Covid-style focus on testing and vaccination, according to a new report. The review, led by Sir Charles Godfray, warned that current investment in controlling bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is too low, giving ministers only a “small chance” of meeting the target to eradicate the disease in England by 2038. bTB costs taxpayers and the cattle industry around £150m a year, and more than 210,000 badgers have been killed since the cull began in 2013. Godfray said evidence showed badgers do transmit bTB to cattle,…

The Lancashire Wildlife Trust (LWT) has launched a campaign to reintroduce the large heath butterfly, bog bush cricket and white-faced darter dragonfly, once common across Lancashire and Greater Manchester’s peat bogs. Around 96% of the region’s lowland peatlands have been lost to human activity, but the LWT has been restoring habitats by rebuilding water systems and replanting specialist vegetation. The charity is now appealing for £20,000 to complete the work. “These insects play vital roles in the peatland ecosystem,” the LWT said, highlighting pollination, decomposition and natural pest control. Senior nature recovery officer Dr Matt McMullen added: “These species would…

New Zealand’s fight to protect its most vulnerable bird species has entered a critical stage as scientists prepare for the potential arrival of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1), a virus that has devastated bird populations worldwide. Among the species at greatest risk is the kākāpō, a critically endangered, nocturnal, flightless parrot sometimes dubbed the world’s fattest bird. With fewer than 250 individuals left, the species could be pushed to extinction if the virus reaches New Zealand’s shores. So far, Oceania has remained free from H5N1, but conservationists fear this could change as spring migration season brings thousands of seabirds from…

A simple cheek swab may soon transform the way doctors detect arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), a genetic heart condition responsible for more than 10% of sudden cardiac deaths in children. Researchers from Great Ormond Street Hospital and St George’s, University of London unveiled findings at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Madrid, showing that the two-minute swab can reveal signs of ACM up to five years before current diagnostic methods. The condition, caused by protein abnormalities between heart cells, disrupts both the structure and electrical activity of the heart. These microscopic changes can also be observed in the lining of…

Oscar Piastri strengthened his grip on the Formula 1 title race with a commanding victory at the Dutch Grand Prix, while his McLaren teammate and closest rival Lando Norris suffered a devastating retirement just seven laps from the finish. The 24-year-old Australian was flawless from pole to flag at Zandvoort, surviving light rain and three safety-car restarts to take a dominant win. His victory, combined with Norris’s misfortune, opens up a 34-point lead in the drivers’ standings with nine races remaining. Norris had looked set to finish second and limit the damage in the championship battle when disaster struck. An…

A new US study has found that paediatricians are frequently prescribing ADHD medication to 4- and 5-year-olds immediately after diagnosis, despite guidelines recommending six months of behavioural therapy first. The analysis, published in JAMA Network Open and covering more than 9,700 children, showed that 42.2% of young patients received drugs such as Ritalin or Concerta within one month of diagnosis. Only 14.1% began medication after the recommended six-month therapy period. Lead author Dr Yair Bannett of Stanford University called the trend “concerning,” stressing that behavioural approaches have a strong positive impact on both children and families. Experts say early detection…

A major new study suggests that the shingles vaccine may do more than protect against painful rashes—it could also reduce the risk of serious cardiovascular events. The world’s first global systematic review and meta-analysis found that adults who received the herpes zoster vaccine had an 18% lower risk of heart attack or stroke, with a 16% reduction observed in people over 50. Researchers analyzed 19 studies, including observational research and one randomized controlled trial, and the findings will be presented at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Madrid. While the results are promising, experts caution that most of the…