Environment
X-rays reveal the incredible truth about parrotfish teeth
X-Rays have revealed the source of the destructive power behind parrotfish teeth. Researchers have found an Interwoven crystal structure is the key to their coral-crunching ability. The hardy gnashers of the parrotfish allow it to chomp on coral all day long, ultimately chewing and grinding it up through digestion into fine sand. A single parrotfish can produce hundreds of pounds of sand each year. Now, a study has revealed a chain mail-like woven microstructure that gives parrotfish teeth their remarkable...
Surgeons and medical staff at struggling hospitals told to bring in their own MUGS to save cash
A cash-strapped NHS Trust has told surgeons and theatre staff to bring their own MUGS and drinks to work - in a bid to cut costs. Health chiefs have even withdrawn polystyrene cups from water dispensers which has sparked outrage from workers claiming even patients are going thirsty. The move comes as Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust aims to cut £5.5 million from its £29 million deficit. Theatre staff at Alexandra Hospital, Kidderminster Hospital, and Worcestershire Royal Hospital, have now...
Scientists warned that artificially cooling the planet could have “devastating impact”
Proposals to reduce the effects of global warming by imitating volcanic eruptions could have a devastating effect on global regions prone to either tumultuous storms or prolonged drought, new research has shown. Geoengineering – the intentional manipulation of the climate to counter the effect of global warming by injecting aerosols artificially into the atmosphere – has been mooted as a potential way to deal with climate change. However new research led by climate experts from the University of Exeter suggests...
Last remaining mud-horse fisherman slams EDF for destroying his old way of living
Britain's last remaining mud-horse fisherman says his business is sinking - because of building work on a new nuclear power station. Dedicated Adrian Sellick, 59, is the fifth generation of his family to use the method - which sees him push a wooden sledge across the treacherous mudflats. The age-old technique allows him to get to the tide's edge where he sticks stakes into the mud and hangs nets between them to catch shrimp and fish in Bridgwater Bay. He...
This is the first picture of a SECOND lynx to die at a British zoo
This is the first picture of a SECOND lynx to die at a British zoo - after it was strangled to death in a freak accident. Bosses at Borth Wild Animal Kingdom confirmed that a second lynx from the zoo had died - a week after another was shot dead after making an escape. Nilly, an adult female Lynx, died from asphyxiation after she became twisted in a catch-pole a keeper was using. The employee in question is apparently devastated...
Only six per cent of the UK has been built on, according to new software
Only six per cent of UK land is built on while five out of six people now live in towns and cities, according to a new atlas. And more than half the land is in agricultural use. The state of the art maps show England is the most urban of the home nations, yet still, only nine per cent of the land is built on. The new maps come from Professor Alasdair Rae, an academic in Sheffield University's Urban Studies...
19 shocking facts about the homelessness epidemic in the UK
Channel 4’s 999: What’s Your Emergency?, which examines the challenging work of the police, paramedics and fire service in Wiltshire. Through their research they have revealed 18 shocking facts about the homeless crisis in the UK. 1.More than 4,000 people are sleeping rough on the Nation’s Streets 2.The need for social housing is now vastly outstripping supply with 1.24 million households on local authority waiting list 3.Over the last 7 years the number of people sleeping on the streets has...
Very rare copy of the first map to name America has emerged
An extraordinarily rare copy of the first map to name America has emerged - and it is expected to sell for almost £1 MILLION. The 1507 map, by Martin Waldseemüller, is being described as a "significant cartographic discovery". It names American for the first time and is also the first map to illustrate separate South and North American continent. The map, by the most important cartographer of the early 16th century, is one of five copies in existence and was...
One in 200 without a home after “decades of failure to build affordable homes & welfare cuts”
As winter closes in life for people on the streets becomes even worse, with an increase chance of death due to the plummeting temperature. With this is mind new research, released today, has indicated that one in 200 people in England is homeless. The report, by Shelter, has found that homelessness has increased 13 per cent this year, with over 307,000 people either in temporary accommodation or literally living out on the streets. Even more worrying is that Shelter believe...