Cockrow Bridge in Surrey will open in the coming weeks to provide wildlife, including lizards and insects, with the ability to move between fragmented habitats

When James Herd moved near to Wisley Common 17 years ago, the heathland nature reserve was teeming with wildlife. “I’d take the dog around the common in spring and summer, and every few hundred metres I’d hear the rustle of a...

Decades-long campaign powered by patient perspectives results in switch from PCOS – a name that caused confusion and undue suffering – to PMOS

• What is PCOS, what are the symptoms and treatment, and why is it being renamed PMOS?• ‘I still want to scream’: the loneliness and confusion of living with PMOS

After more than a decade of global consultation, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) – a...

Last month President Trump signed an executive order designed to fast track both research and access to psychedelic drugs as treatments for mental health illnesses. The most prominent in the order was ibogaine, a drug derived from the root bark of a West African shrub, that has shown some promise in relieving the long term effects of traumatic brain injury. Madeleine Finlay talks to journalist...

After a series of deaths on the beaches of Brittany, one bereaved family set out to prove the foul-smelling bloom was to blame

When her phone rang at around 5pm on 8 September 2016, Rosy Auffray was still at work. It was one of her daughters, distressed, calling to tell her that their father, Jean-René, had not come back from his daily run. Only the family dog had returned, alone and...

Research from UCL suggests visiting art galleries or museums, singing and painting can help improve health outcomes

Singing, painting or visiting a gallery or museum helps people age more slowly, according to the latest study to link taking an active interest in art and culture with improved health.

The findings are the first to show that both participating in arts activities and attending...

The answers to today’s pronunciation puzzles

Earlier today I set you these two word puzzles. Here they are again with solutions.

1: Pronounced the same, spelt differently.

(Second option) (Switch back and forth)

(Suitable) (Commandeer)

(Satisfied) (Components)

(Conference attendee) (Assign)

(Price reduction) (Disregard)

(Way in) (Enrapture)

(Incorrect) (Disabled)

(60 seconds) (Tiny)

(In...

Pronunciation puzzles

A homonym is a word that has the same pronunciation as, or is spelt identical to, another word with a different meaning.

For example, the letter “a” has the homonym “eh”.

(Second option) (Switch back and forth)

(Suitable) (Commandeer)

(Satisfied) (Components)

(Conference attendee) (Assign)

(Price reduction) (Disregard)

(Way in) (Enrapture)

(Incorrect) (Disabled)

(60...

Situated between the much brighter Leo and Libra, Virgo is well placed for observation in the northern spring months

The constellation of Virgo, the virgin, is particularly well placed for observation during the northern spring months. Virgo is one of the fainter zodiacal constellations, meaning it sits on the imaginary line in the sky that is followed by the sun, moon and planets.

It is...

After five years of deliberation the global south has forced the question that defined the Covid crisis: who will get the vaccines?

The Covid-19 pandemic did deep and lasting damage to the international political system. Countries in the global south are keenly aware that the established order let them down. They received vaccines later, in smaller numbers and often at a higher price than rich...

With the help of citizen scientists, researchers studying rare humpback ‘jaw-gaping’ believe the move could be a social display

On the coast of Western Australia, a humpback whale is “pirouetting”, sweeping its pectoral fins through the water, its massive jaw hanging wide open. Surrounded by companions, the animal isn’t lunging for a meal: rather, it is putting on a mysterious behavioural...

After embarking on a trial of CAR T-cell therapy, actor Sam Neill announced he is cancer-free. Researchers are enthusiastic the therapies could be a major weapon in the battle against cancer

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“Game-changer.” That’s how Prof Misty Jenkins, an immunologist at the Walter and...

With the war on Iran, Ukraine, AI and climate breakdown increasing the likelihood of a nuclear war, the clock stands closer to midnight than ever before. So who decides how many seconds we have left – and can we buy ourselves more time?

The Earth is getting hotter. Conflicts are raging, in the Middle East and Ukraine, each increasing the chance of nuclear war. AI is infiltrating almost every...