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Exclusive: research finds Jackdaw field would provide only about 2% of current demand, and Rosebank only 1%
Opening major new fields in the North Sea would make almost no difference to the UK’s reliance on gas imports, research has shown.
The Jackdaw field, one of the largest unexploited gasfields in the North Sea, would displace only 2% of the UK’s current imports of gas, which would leave the UK still almost entirely dependent on supplies from Norway and a few other sources.
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Citizen science data reveals early flowering, nesting and insect activity as global heating accelerate seasonal change
Bluebells are flowering, swallows are returning and orange-tip butterflies are flying in what could become Britain’s earliest recorded spring.
Records for early spring occurrences are being smashed as 2026 looks to be the earliest this century for frogspawn laying, blackbirds nesting, brimstone butterflies emerging and hazel flowering, according to Nature’s Calendar, which has logged citizen science records of seasonal change since 2000.
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Former government adviser Polly Billington urges bigger steps to shield people in UK from effects of Iran war
Keir Starmer should convene a global energy summit of the same order as Gordon Brown’s response to the 2008 financial crisis and put Britain on a “war footing” to reduce its exposure to fossil fuels, a Labour MP and former government adviser has said.
Polly Billington, who was an aide in Brown’s government, warned that economic pain was “hurtling down the tracks” and a bigger response was needed to protect the British people from the consequences of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
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Sgòr Gaoith, Cairngorms: Our rucksacks are heavy with crampons and ice axe, and the wind is a menace, but it’s all worth it for the views
The weather app shows wall-to-wall spiky yellow suns. We haven’t had a day like this in over a month, nor is one foretold in the weeks to come, so I abandon the desk and, with a friend and a dog, head for the hills.
We choose Sgòr Gaoith, the high point of the ridge above the River Feshie which forms the western edge of the Cairngorms. Our path starts in Scots Pine forest, where we walk in dappled light and can hear the soft chuckle of Allt Ruadh, the Red Burn. The trees thin as we gain height, but everywhere, new saplings are appearing across this once bare landscape and you can almost feel the rising of life. Our rucksacks are heavy with crampons and ice axe – just in case – but the air is fresh and spangling as the sun pours down the brown slopes and into our winter-dull eyes.
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Vibrant seagrass meadows once flourished around the UK but most have been destroyed. Now, communities and scientists are working to restore them
“There’s not many jobs where you get to be a sea gardener,” says Dr Oliver Thomas, senior science officer at Project Seagrass. He’s looking for flashes of eel grass that have survived the winter in the wide golden sand of Penrhyn beach on Ynys Môn (Anglesey), in north Wales.
But growing a meadow in the sea is not an easy job. Vast swathes of the gorgeous underwater swards, vital nurseries for fish such as cod, have been wiped out around the UK in the past century. Up to 92% have been lost. Restoring them – and their water-cleaning, carbon-storing, coast-protecting benefits – is a colossal challenge.
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Study shows reducing vulnerability to pollution, including by expanding healthcare access, saves millions of lives
Reductions in vulnerability to air pollution since 1990 saved the lives of about 1.7 million people in 2019, according to new research.
Particle pollution improved in 139 out of 193 countries. The greatest gains were achieved in Europe and North America, with smaller reductions across Africa and Asia.
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In this week’s newsletter: From pollution in the upper atmosphere to mounting debris, experts warn the rapid expansion in space could threaten our planet
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Our relationship with space is changing rapidly.
For almost all of human history, the space above us was an unreachable frontier. Yet in a single human lifetime, Earth’s orbit has gone from largely empty to congested with satellites.
Rubbish and recycling in England: what’s changing
Drive slower, work from home: the world responds to Iran war energy crisis
Exclusive: UK looks to relax planning rules for factory farms after lobbying
Lunar prospectors: the businesses looking to mine the moon
‘This feels fragile’: how a satellite-smashing chain reaction could spiral out of control
‘This was the real thing’: Meet the woman who alerts the world when an asteroid could hit
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In turbulent times, experts recommend building up a store of food if possible – focusing on long-life, no-cook items
People should have an emergency stockpile of food in their homes in case conflicts, extreme weather or cyber-attacks shut down supplies, leading UK experts have told the Guardian.
In an ever more turbulent world, they say it is essential to choose long-life items that can be eaten without cooking – think tinned beans, vegetables and fish, rice crackers, and oats that can be soaked. But it is also important to choose items you actually like to eat, and some treats such as chocolate or crisps to keep your spirits up. You will also need water – lots of it – not just to drink but for washing too.
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It was a slow ascent: I needed to check for wasps, snakes and scorpions
I was born in Tawau, a Malaysian city on the island of Borneo, and grew up around logging camps – my dad worked in the industry. In the early 90s, a lot of the forest here started being cleared for commercial use. At the time, I just thought that was the way things were.
That changed when I began working in conservation as a teenager at the South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership in the nearby Danum Valley. My job was to plant seedlings in places where the forest had been cut down. I began to learn about the importance of keeping the forest safe.
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US states from California to Georgia are promoting induction stoves for climate, health and cost benefits
Marcos Ramos hasn’t been able to cook a full meal at home in nearly four years, after a gas leak resulted in a lengthy supply cut off for his New York City apartment building.
Now, though, Ramos will be able to cook again thanks to a technology that is gradually advancing in the US after being embroiled in an unlikely culture war – the electric induction stove.
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Novo istraživanje pokazuje da osobe koje žive s opstruktivnom apnejom u snu imaju 71% veći rizik od kardiovaskularnih događaja ili smrti od bilo kojeg uzroka u usporedbi s osobama koje nemaju sleep apneju.
Istraživanje provedeno u SAD-u pokazuje da tjelesna težina, san, pušenje i tjelesna aktivnost mogu biti važniji za hipertenziju od samog ukupnog rezultata prehrane, pri čemu se natrij i dalje ističe kao važan prehrambeni čimbenik.
Multidisciplinarni stručni panel tvrdi da se obični, nezaslađeni jogurt može kod djece uvesti od 6 mjeseci kao dio dopunske prehrane, nudeći korisne hranjive tvari i žive mikroorganizme, a istovremeno pomaže u razbijanju uobičajenih mitova o mliječnim proizvodima kod dojenčadi.
Viša razina vitamina D u krvi u srednjoj životnoj dobi povezana je s nižim razinama tau proteina u mozgu, što je znak demencije, godinama kasnije, pokazuje nova studija. Studija ne dokazuje da razina vitamina D smanjuje razinu tau proteina i rizik od demencije; samo pokazuje povezanost.
Nemogućnost priuštiti si dentalnu skrb može povećati rizik od razvoja kardiovaskularnih bolesti ili demencije, tvrdi nova studija. Naime, pokazalo se, da starije osobe koje odustaju od potrebnih stomatoloških zahvata zbog financijskih prepreka mogu imati veću vjerojatnost da će doživjeti zatajenje srca, srčani udar, moždani udarili demenciju.
Prema rezultatima nove studije, jednostavan dodatak vlakana mogao bi preoblikovati crijevni mikrobiom, stabilizirati skokove šećera u krvi, pa čak i spriječiti prijevremeni porod u trudnoćama visokog rizika, nudeći obećavajući novi put za preciznu prenatalnu skrb.
Test krvi mogao bi pomoći u identificiranju osoba s većim rizikom od kognitivnog pada godinama prije nego što je moguća tradicionalna dijagnoza, tvrde znanstvenici s University of East Anglia. Naime, oni su otkrili da suptilne promjene u krvi mogu otkriti najranije znakove kognitivnog pada mnogo prije nego što simptomi postanu očiti. Te promjene uzrokuju kemikalije koje proizvode crijevne bakterije - što pojačava tezu da veza crijeva i mozga igra važnu ulogu u ranim promjenama pamćenja.
Mnogim ljudima s celijakijom savjetuje se da jedu više vlakana kako bi podržali probavu i upravljali simptomima, bilo putem prehrane ili propisanih dodataka prehrani s vlaknima. Sada novo istraživanje pokazuje da koristi tih vlakana mogu ovisiti o tome jesu li u crijevima prisutne prave bakterije koje ih razgrađuju.
Neredovito vrijeme spavanja u srednjim godinama može signalizirati povećani rizik od kardiovaskularnih bolesti, sugerira nova studija. Naime, velike promjene u vremenu odlaska u krevet mogu udvostručiti rizik od ozbiljnih srčanih događaja - posebno među onima koji spavaju manje od osam sati.
Rezultati nove studije pokazali su da odrasle osobe s većim ukupnim unosom šećera imaju veću vjerojatnost razvoja žučnih kamenaca, što dodaje nove dokaze da svakodnevna prehrana može igrati značajnu ulogu u zdravlju žučnog mjehura. Naime, svako povećanje ukupnog unosa šećera od 100 g/dan povezano je s 41% većim rizikom od žučnih kamenaca, čak i nakon prilagodbe s demografskim, kliničkim, načinom života i prehrambenim čimbenicima.
