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The late George Carlin, a man who knew well the subtle trickery of language, used to do a routine based on the shifting terms used to describe the same condition. The easily understandable shell shock gave way to the slightly vaguer battle fatigue, ending up with today's post-traumatic stress disorder. One now hears of the term PTSD applied to all manner of life's shocks – everything from a nasty divorce to the loss of one's job; or you know, the...

GMB has called for action after new statistics show average wages have fallen once again. According to ONS figures, the value of earnings fell by 0.5 per cent in the three months to June. They previously fell 0.6 per cent in the three months prior to that. GMB calls on the Government to step in and implement a real living wage and an end to the public sector pay cap. Tim Roache, GMB General Secretary, said: “Yet again, the Government's...

New glass blocks that convert the sun’s energy into electricity could soon be used to build houses thanks to innovative new technology. Renewable Energy experts from the University of Exeter are developing a pioneering new technique that could accelerate the widespread introduction of net-zero energy buildings through the latest Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV). These products, similar to the solar tile created by Tesla, can become a part of a building’s architecture to generate electricity. The team have created an innovative glass block, which...

A new species of damselfly dating back more than 70 million years has become the latest creature to be named after veteran TV naturalist Sir David Attenborough. The discovery was made in the Hukawng Valley of Kachin Province in Myanmar. The fossil was found in a piece of mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. A new species of damselfly dating back more than 70 million years has become the latest creature to be named after veteran TV naturalist Sir David Attenborough. The discovery...

Oil giant BP will use a coral-killing chemical in the event of an oil spill near a unique coral reef in the mouth of the Amazon river. The company is planning to drill in the region in from this time next year, but according to an environmental impact assessment (EIA) unearthed by Greenpeace it will use Corexit 9500 to clean up potential spills. Corexit is a chemical dispersant which was used extensively during the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010, when 11 workers died...

There are these peak learning moments in all our lives that don't necessarily happen in classrooms, or from reading books, not even from sitting on your grandfather's knee while he teaches you the good rules of living. Certainly all those can all apply, yet sometimes true learning moments come out of nowhere, unexpected from their sources and as such those become the vivid ones, the ones where some important aspect of the world reveals itself with the shocking vividness of...

It is a story that few will be surprised at. I was lucky enough to pay over £130 for a return to Newcastle, from London, last week. One train was so busy I had waited for the next one, as standing for three hours, and paying that much money for the privilege, just wasn’t for me. The next train wasn’t much better. Anyway, commuters have just been told, from analysis by the RMT, that the price of a rail journey...

Almost three-quarters of bets in the next Conservative leader market are now being placed on Jacob Ress-Mogg as rumours circulate that the MP is planning to launch a leadership bid. According to betting data Rees-Mogg's odds of becoming the next Conservative leader have been cut to 6/1 as the market starts to heat up. You can also find odds as short as 7/1 for him to be the next Prime Minister. Reports this weekend have suggested Mr Rees-Mogg was looking to launch a bid...

Stunning photos of the Perseid meteor shower have been released as the solar phenomenon graced our skies over the weekend. Pictures taken from Tintern Abbey in Monmouthshire show the moon perfectly captured in the top window of the remains. The Abbey was founded by Walter de Clare, Lord of Chepstow, on 9 May 1131, but provided a perfect vantage point for this spectacular display. Check out some of the best photos below: Perseid meteor shower seen over the Gargunnock Hills, Stirlingshire....