Rings discovered on a tiny planet past Neptune
A tiny planet that orbits the Sun beyond Neptune has a Saturn-style ring, it has been revealed. Astronomers say the discovery suggests the stunning bands made up of dust, rocks and ice are not as rare in our solar system as previously thought. They used observations from 12 ground-based telescopes across Europe to measure Haumea's size, shape and density with unprecedented accuracy. The mysterious icy world was only discovered in 2004. It's the first time a ring has been spotted...
Binge Watch: The Good Place
Where Can I Find It?: Netflix (UK), NBC (USA) When Is It On?: New episodes uploaded on Netflix weekly; Thursdays at 8:30PM (NBC) Who Stars?: Ted Danson, Kristen Bell Of all the sitcoms that have ever been presented on television, The Good Place has the biggest, juiciest, best of all plot swerves. This creates a wee bit of a problem in reviewing it. Because this is a recommended Binge Watch we'll be looking at the entire story arc of the show which is now in...
Monarch is BHS all over again
Worrying signs have emerged that the BHS saga is set to repeat itself after the chair of the Work and Pension select committee said mega-rich individuals are set to walk away again from a collapsed company as ordinary people face pension woes. Monarch Airlines ceased trading earlier this month after running into financial issues. Its administration resulted in 110,000 passengers left stranded overseas and 300,000 future bookings cancelled, with 2,100 employees out of work. And now an influential group of MPs has...
Woman died falling from the Whispering Gallery inside St Paul’s Cathedral
A woman has died after falling 100ft from the Whispering Gallery at St Paul's Cathedral. She fell from the first level of the viewing gallery to the floor and was pronounced dead at 10.30am on Wednesday. Her death is not being treated as suspicious, but the cathedral remained closed for the rest of the day. The Whispering Gallery sits in the cathedral's iconic dome, and is 30 metres above the cathedral floor. A St Paul's Cathedral spokesperson said: "The Cathedral...
Lab grown intestines takes gut transplant step closer
Human intestines have been grown in the lab and transplanted into rats - offering hope of new treatments for serious gut disorders, scientists have revealed. The breakthrough could combat the organ donor shortage crisis, leading to better therapies for Crohn's disease and even cancer. It opens the door to creating tissues for patients "on demand" with no risk of rejection - ending the need for drugs, says the team. The technique involves creating a three-dimensional biological scaffold made with human...
New heart implant grows as child does
A medical implant to correct congenital heart defects has been developed that grows with the child. The use of such devices has been thwarted because they are a fixed size - and cannot expand as young patients get bigger. Scientists said the new growth-accommodating implant inspired by a toy could revolutionise cardiac repair - and also be adapted to correct diseases in other parts of the body. Co senior author Professor Pedro del Nido, chief of cardiac surgery at Boston...
Elderly tea-lady forcibly moved from her month-long post set up at a controversial fracking site by police
These pictures show the moment an elderly tea-lady was forcibly moved from her month-long post set up at a controversial fracking site by police. Great grandma Jackie Brookes, 79, set up shop at the Kirby Misperton site in Yorkshire where she provided provisions of tea and home-made cake to both protesters and police. According to North Yorkshire Police, she and other people were moved this morning because of fears that a nearby ten-foot high tower made of wooden pallets might...
Major study claims global childhood obesity has increased ten fold since 1975
There has been a ten-fold increase in global childhood obesity over the past four decades and now 20 per cent of American children are obese. Leading scientists called for a sugar tax, cheaper fruit and veg and a curb on processed food as it was revealed girls in the USA had the 15th highest obesity rate in the world, and boys had the 12th highest obesity in the world. Although figures have levelled off there is a ticking fat time...
Mammal that lived through the biggest extinction in Earth’s history may hold the key to saving the planet
A tubby, tusked mammal that survived the biggest extinction in Earth's history may hold the key to saving the planet, according to new research. Lystrosaurus lived through the 'Great Dying' at the end of the Permian about 252 million years ago which wiped out 70 per cent of land living vertebrates. This drastic loss of biodiversity led to global 'disaster faunas' dominated by a small number of species, say scientists. One of those still standing was Lystrosaurus, an early relative...