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Category Archives: Wellness Live
BBC investigation finds 50,000 people waited over 24 hours in A&E corridor care
Known as “corridor care”, patients are lining up on trolleys or sitting on chairs due to a lack of beds.
Keir Starmer Gives United States Permission To Use UK Bases To Strike Iran
Keir Starmer has given the United States permission to use UK military bases to attack targets in Iran.
The prime minister said he was “protecting British interests and British lives” after Iran launched missile attacks on countries across the Middle East.
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That came after the US and Israel bombed Iran in a wave of strikes which killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei as well as other senior regime officials.
In a statement from Downing Street, Starmer insisted the UK was not involved in the initial attacks on Iran – and that its actions did not break international law.
He said: “We all remember the mistakes of Iraq. And we have learned those lessons.
“We were not involved in the initial strikes on Iran, and we will not join offensive action now.
“But Iran is pursuing a scorched earth strategy. So we are supporting the collective self-defence of our allies and our people in the region, because that is our duty to the British people.
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“It is the best way to eliminate the urgent threat and prevent the situation spiralling further.
“This is the British government protecting British interests and British lives.”
It is understood the US will use British bases at RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia to carry out their strikes.
Starmer said there are around 200,000 British citizens in the Gulf region, and that Iran’s actions were putting their lives at risk.
“Over the last two days, Iran has launched sustained attacks across the region at countries who did not attack them,” he said.
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“They have hit airports and hotels where British citizens are staying. This is clearly a dangerous situation.”
Iran also hit a military base in Bahrain on Saturday, “narrowly missing British personnel”, the PM said.
British jets are already taking part in “defensive” operations in the region, Starmer said.
But he said the only way to stop the Iranian attacks was to target storage depots and the launchers use to fire missiles.
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The PM said: “The US has requested permission to use British bases for that specific and limited defensive purpose.
“We have taken the decision to accept this request, to prevent Iran firing missiles across the region, killing innocent civilians, putting British lives at risk and hitting countries that have not been involved.
“The basis of our decision is the collective self-defence of longstanding friends and allies, and protecting British lives. This is in line with international law.”
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Green Party leader Zack Polanski criticised Starmer’s decision.
Posting on X, he said: “It took just one phone call from Donald Trump for Starmer to jump into yet another Middle East illegal war, failing to learn the lessons of the tragedies of Iraq, Libya and Syria.”
BBC Expert Demolishes Trump And Netanyahu’s Case For Bombing Iran: ‘A War Of Choice’
A BBC expert has demolished Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu’s case for bombing Iran.
Israel said the attacks were “pre-emptive” to stop Iran acquiring nuclear weapons and firing at them.
In his statement announcing the bombing, Trump said: “Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”
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But Jeremy Bowen, the BBC’s international affairs editor, dismissed those arguments.
He said: “Israel used the word ‘pre-emptive’ to justify its attack – the largest in the Israeli Air Force’s history, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
“The evidence is that this is not a response to an imminent threat, which the word pre-emption implies. Instead, it is a war of choice.”
The military action, Bowen said, was “another blow to the tottering system of international law”.
He added: “In their statements, both Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran was a danger to their countries – Trump said it was a global danger.
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“The Islamic regime is certainly their bitter enemy. But it is hard to see how the legal justification of self-defence applies given the huge disparity of power between the US and Israel on one side and Iran on the other.”
Bowen also warned that Trump’s stated objective of regime change in Iran will be far from straightforward – and could lead to a wider conflict in the Middle East.
He said: “There is no precedent for regime change happening just because of air strikes.
“Even if this becomes the first case of air power alone collapsing a regime, the Islamic regime will not be replaced by a liberal democracy that upholds human rights. There is no credible alternative government in exile waiting in the wings.”
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The Middle East expert went on: “Iran’s remaining leaders will now be calculating how to ride out the war, how to survive and how to manage its consequences.
“Their neighbours, led by Saudi Arabia, will be dismayed by the huge uncertainty and potential consequences of today’s events.
“Given the capacity of the Middle East to export trouble, the eruption of renewed and intensified war deepens the instability of a region and wider world that is already turbulent, violent and dangerous.”
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Massive asteroid impact 6.3 million years ago left giant glass field in Brazil
Scientists have identified Brazil’s first known field of tektites, the glassy material created when an asteroid or other extraterrestrial object strikes Earth with extreme force. These newly recognized specimens, called geraisites after the state of Minas Gerais where they were first found, form a previously unknown strewn field. The discovery helps fill gaps in South America’s incomplete record of ancient impact events.
The findings were detailed in the journal Geology by a research team led by Álvaro Penteado Crósta, a geologist and senior professor at the Institute of Geosciences at the State University of Campinas (IG-UNICAMP). The project involved collaborators from Brazil, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia.
Before this discovery, only five major tektite fields were known worldwide, located in Australasia, Central Europe, the Ivory Coast, North America, and Belize. The Brazilian field now joins this rare group.
A 900 Kilometer Strewn Field of Impact Glass
The geraisites were first documented in three municipalities in northern Minas Gerais — Taiobeiras, Curral de Dentro, and São João do Paraíso — across an area about 90 kilometers long. After the study was submitted, additional finds were reported in Bahia and later in Piauí. As a result, the total known distribution now stretches more than 900 kilometers.
“This growth in the area of occurrence is entirely consistent with what is observed in other tektite fields around the world. The size of the field depends directly on the energy of the impact, among other factors,” Crósta explains.
By July 2025, researchers had collected about 500 pieces. With more recent discoveries, that total now exceeds 600. The fragments vary widely in size, from less than 1 gram to 85.4 grams, and can measure up to 5 centimeters along their longest dimension. Their forms match the aerodynamic shapes typical of tektites, including spheres, ellipsoids, droplets, disks, dumbbells, and twisted shapes.
What the Geraisites Look Like
At first glance, the geraisites appear black and opaque. Under strong light, however, they become translucent with a grayish green hue. This shade differs from the brighter green moldavites of Europe, which have been used in jewelry since the Middle Ages. The surfaces of the Brazilian specimens are pitted with small cavities.
“These small cavities are traces of gas bubbles that escaped during the rapid cooling of the molten material as it traveled through the atmosphere, a process also observed in volcanic lava but especially characteristic of tektites,” says Crósta.
Chemical Clues Confirm Impact Origin
Laboratory analysis shows that the geraisites contain high levels of silica (SiO2), ranging from 70.3% to 73.7%. Sodium (Na2O) and potassium (K2O) oxides together account for 5.86% to 8.01%, slightly higher than what is seen in other tektite regions. Trace elements such as chromium (10-48 parts per million) and nickel (9-63 ppm) vary in small amounts, suggesting the original target rock was not uniform. Researchers also detected rare inclusions of lechatelierite, a high temperature glassy silica that forms during extreme heating, further confirming an impact origin.
“One of the decisive criteria for classifying the material as a tektite was its very low water content, as measured by infrared spectroscopy: between 71 and 107 ppm. For comparison, volcanic glasses, such as obsidian, usually contain from 700 ppm to 2% water, whereas tektites are notoriously much drier,” Crósta points out.
Dating the Ancient Asteroid Impact
Argon isotope dating (⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar) indicates the impact occurred around 6.3 million years ago, near the end of the Miocene epoch. Three closely grouped age results were obtained (6.78 ± 0.02 Ma, 6.40 ± 0.02 Ma, and 6.33 ± 0.02 Ma), supporting the conclusion that they came from a single event.
“The age of 6.3 million years should be interpreted as a maximum age since some of the argon may have been inherited from the ancient rocks targeted by the impact,” the researcher comments.
The Search for a Missing Crater
No crater linked to the impact has yet been identified. According to Crósta, this is not unusual. Only three of the six major classical tektite fields have confirmed craters. In the case of the vast Australasia field, the crater is thought to lie beneath the ocean.
Isotopic geochemistry suggests the molten material came from Archean continental crust dating between 3.0 and 3.3 billion years old. That evidence points to the São Francisco craton, one of the oldest and most stable regions of South America’s continental crust.
“The isotopic signature indicates a very ancient continental, granitic source rock. This greatly reduces the universe of candidate areas,” says Crósta.
Future surveys using magnetic and gravimetric techniques could detect circular underground structures that mark a buried or eroded crater.
Estimating the Size of the Impact
Researchers cannot yet determine the exact size of the object that struck Earth, but they believe it was not small. The volume of melted rock and the broad distribution of debris indicate a powerful event, though likely less intense than the impact that created the enormous Australasia field, which spans thousands of kilometers.
The team is developing mathematical models to estimate the impact’s energy, entry speed, trajectory angle, and total volume of melted material. These calculations will become more refined as additional data on the distribution of geraisites are gathered.
The discovery adds an important chapter to South America’s impact history. Only about nine large impact structures are currently known on the continent, most of them much older and located in Brazil. The findings also suggest that tektites may be more widespread than previously recognized, but are sometimes overlooked or mistaken for ordinary glass.
Separating Science From Speculation
To address exaggerated claims about asteroid threats, Crósta works with undergraduate students to manage the Instagram account @defesaplanetaria. The page focuses on science communication and aims to distinguish genuine risks from unfounded speculation about meteorites and asteroids.
Impacts were common in the early solar system, when debris was abundant and planetary orbits were unstable. Large bodies shifted positions, sending smaller objects in many directions. Today, the solar system is far more stable, and major impacts are much less frequent.
“Understanding these processes is essential to separating science from speculation,” the researcher concludes.
Crósta has studied meteorite impact structures since his master’s research project in 1978. Over the years, he has received several grants from FAPESP (08/53588-7, 12/50368-1, and 12/51318-8).
Scientists just created chocolate honey packed with surprising health perks
Researchers at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in São Paulo, Brazil, have created a new product that blends native bee honey with cocoa bean shells. The result can be eaten on its own or added to foods and cosmetic formulations. The findings were published in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, which highlighted the study on its cover.
To make the product, the team used honey from native bees as a natural, edible solvent to draw out beneficial compounds from cocoa shells, a byproduct typically discarded during chocolate production. These compounds include theobromine and caffeine, which are linked to heart health. The ultrasound-assisted process also boosted the honey’s levels of phenolic compounds, known for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
Researchers who sampled the mixture report a pronounced chocolate flavor that varies depending on the proportion of honey to cocoa shells. Additional testing is planned to further evaluate taste and other sensory characteristics.
“Of course, the biggest appeal to the public is the flavor, but our analyses have shown that it has a number of bioactive compounds that make it quite interesting from a nutritional and cosmetic point of view,” says Felipe Sanchez Bragagnolo, the study’s first author. He carried out the research during his postdoctoral work at the Faculty of Applied Sciences (FCA) at UNICAMP in Limeira with support from FAPESP.
Working with INOVA UNICAMP, the university’s innovation agency, the team is now seeking a commercial partner to license the patented method and bring the product to market (read more at agencia.fapesp.br/52969).
Native Bee Honey and Biodiversity
Beyond reducing food waste, the project highlights the sustainable use of local biodiversity. Honey from native Brazilian bees was selected because it generally contains more water and is less viscous than honey from European bees (Apis mellifera), making it more effective for extracting compounds.
The researchers tested honey from five Brazilian species: borá (Tetragona clavipes), jataí (Tetragonisca angustula), mandaçaia (Melipona quadrifasciata), mandaguari (Scaptotrigona postica), and moça-branca (Frieseomelitta varia). Cocoa shells were supplied by the São Paulo State Department of Agriculture and Supply’s Comprehensive Technical Assistance Coordination Office (CATI) unit in São José do Rio Preto.
Mandaguari honey was initially used to refine the extraction process because its water content and viscosity were moderate compared to the others. Once optimized, the same procedure was applied to the remaining honey varieties.
Bragagnolo notes that honey is sensitive to environmental factors such as climate, storage, and temperature. “Therefore, it’s possible to adapt the process to locally available honey, not necessarily mandaguari honey,” he says.
Green Chemistry and Ultrasound Extraction
The extraction method relies on ultrasound technology. A probe that resembles a metal pen is inserted into a container holding the honey and cocoa shells. Sound waves generated by the probe help release compounds from the plant material so they dissolve into the honey.
This approach works by forming microscopic bubbles that collapse and briefly raise the temperature, helping break down the shells. In the food industry, ultrasound-assisted extraction is viewed as an environmentally friendly technique because it is faster and more efficient than many conventional methods.
Sustainability was formally evaluated in the study using Path2Green software, developed by a team led by Professor Mauricio Ariel Rostagno of FCA-UNICAMP, who also supervised Bragagnolo’s postdoctoral research and coordinated the project. The analysis measured how well the process aligned with 12 principles of green chemistry, including transportation, post-treatment, purification, and application. The use of a local, edible, ready-to-use solvent was a major advantage. On a scale of -1 to +1, the product received a score of +0.118.
“We believe that with a device like this, in a cooperative or small business that already works with both cocoa and native bee honey, it’d be possible to increase the portfolio with a value-added product, including for haute cuisine,” Rostagno suggests.
Shelf Life and Future Applications
The team is also planning studies to examine how ultrasound affects honey microbiology. Just as it breaks down plant cells, ultrasound can disrupt the cell walls of microorganisms such as bacteria that may spoil the product.
“Honey from native bees usually needs to be refrigerated, matured, dehumidified, or pasteurized, unlike honey from European bees, which can be stored at room temperature. We suspect that, simply by being exposed to ultrasound, the microorganisms contained in the honey are eliminated, increasing the stability and shelf life of the product,” he explains.
Looking ahead, the researchers intend to explore other uses for native bee honey as a solvent in ultrasound-assisted extraction, including processing additional plant residues.
Along with postdoctoral fellowships and an international research internship for Bragagnolo, the project received multiple scholarships and grants from FAPESP (23/02064-8, 23/16744-0, 21/12264-9, 20/08421-9, 19/13496-0, and 18/14582-5.
Beyond amyloid plaques: AI reveals hidden chemical changes across the Alzheimer’s brain
Researchers at Rice University have produced the first comprehensive, label free molecular atlas of the Alzheimer’s brain in an animal model. The work offers a deeper look at how the disease begins and spreads. Alzheimer’s claims more lives each year than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined, underscoring the urgency of understanding what drives it.
Using an advanced light based imaging method combined with machine learning, the team examined brain tissue from both healthy and Alzheimer’s affected animals. Their results, published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, reveal that chemical changes linked to Alzheimer’s are not confined to amyloid plaques. Instead, these alterations appear throughout the brain in uneven and complex patterns.
Laser Imaging Reveals Brain Chemistry in Detail
To detect these subtle shifts, the scientists turned to hyperspectral Raman imaging. This sophisticated form of Raman spectroscopy uses a laser to detect the unique chemical fingerprints of molecules within tissue.
“Traditional Raman spectroscopy takes one measurement of chemical information per molecular site,” said Ziyang Wang, an electrical and computer engineering doctoral student at Rice who is a first author on the study. “Hyperspectral Raman imaging repeats this measurement thousands of times across an entire tissue slice to build a full map. The result is a detailed picture showing how chemical composition varies across different regions of the brain.”
The researchers scanned entire brains slice by slice, compiling thousands of overlapping measurements to build high resolution molecular maps of both healthy and diseased tissue. Because the imaging was label free, the samples were not treated with dyes, fluorescent proteins or molecular tags.
“This means we observed the brain as is, capturing a complete, unaltered portrait of its chemical makeup,” Wang said. “I think this makes the approach more unbiased and better suited for discovering new disease-related changes that might otherwise be missed.”
Machine Learning Maps Uneven Alzheimer’s Damage
The imaging process generated enormous amounts of data, which the team analyzed using machine learning (ML). They first applied unsupervised ML, allowing algorithms to detect natural patterns in the chemical signals without prior assumptions. These models sorted tissue based entirely on its molecular characteristics. The researchers then used supervised ML, training models to distinguish between Alzheimer’s and non Alzheimer’s samples. This step helped determine how strongly different brain regions reflected Alzheimer’s related chemistry.
“We found that the changes caused by Alzheimer’s disease are not spread evenly across the brain,” Wang said. “Some regions show strong chemical changes, while others are less affected. This uneven pattern helps explain why symptoms appear gradually and why treatments that focus on only one problem have had limited success.”
Metabolic Disruption in Memory Regions
Beyond protein buildup, the study identified broader metabolic differences between healthy and Alzheimer’s brains. Levels of cholesterol and glycogen varied across regions, with the most dramatic contrasts appearing in areas responsible for memory, particularly the hippocampus and cortex.
“Cholesterol is important for maintaining brain cell structure, and glycogen serves as a local energy reserve,” said Shengxi Huang, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and materials science and nanoengineering and corresponding author on the study. “Together, these findings support the idea that Alzheimer’s involves broader disruptions in brain structure and energy balance, not only protein buildup and misfolding,” added Huang, who is also a member of the Ken Kennedy Institute, the Rice Advanced Materials Institute and the Smalley-Curl Institute.
A Broader View of Alzheimer’s Progression
The project grew out of ongoing discussions about new ways to study the Alzheimer’s brain.
“At first, we were measuring only small areas of brain tissue,” Wang said. “Then I thought, what if we could map the entire brain and gain a much broader view? It took several rounds of testing and trial and error before the measurements and analysis worked well together.”
When the complete chemical map finally came together, the impact was immediate.
“Patterns emerged that had not been visible under regular imaging,” Wang said. “Seeing those results was deeply satisfying. It felt like revealing a hidden layer of information that had been there all along, waiting for the right way to be analyzed.”
By delivering the first detailed, dye free chemical maps of the Alzheimer’s brain, this research offers a more comprehensive view of the disease. The team hopes the findings will eventually support earlier diagnosis and more effective strategies to slow progression.
The research was supported by the National Science Foundation (2246564, 1934977), the National Institutes of Health (1R01AG077016) and the Welch Foundation (C2144).
The Questions Your Boomer Relatives Wish You’d Actually Ask
There have always been generational conflicts, but the chasm between baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) and other generations after them seems particularly hard to bridge.
Between changing values, hyper-polarised politics, and the radical shift in financial stability and opportunity, it doesn’t take a genius to see why some younger individuals find it challenging to relate to their elders.
As challenging as it may feel sometimes, there’s a simple solution for those wanting to experience more closeness with their boomer relatives and to understand them better: ask more questions.
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Simple curiosity, by way of a thoughtful question, can make people feel heard and respected – and can also help change your perspective on why someone you love thinks the way they do, why they are the way they are. That dialogue may prove to be one of the most rewarding ones you undertake.
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“In my work with families, I’ve noticed that older relatives are rarely waiting to be corrected,” Anna Marchenko, a licensed mental health counsellor and principal practitioner at Miami Hypnosis and Therapy, tells HuffPost.
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“What they tend to want is to be understood in the context of the world they grew up in. These questions often slow conversations down in a way that makes real understanding possible.”
HuffPost asked family therapists to suggest some starter questions boomer relatives wish they’d get asked more – and they may appreciate having these conversations more than you could ever know.
‘What do you wish people asked you about more?’
If you’re new to opening this kind of dialogue with an older relative, the best start is often… to ask what they want to be asked. Yes, it’s a little like cheating, but this question in itself can lead the way to so much understanding on both sides.
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This question “gets at what a parent may want to share more in their relationship with you,” Sarah Epstein, a marriage and family therapist who specialises in family dysfunction, told HuffPost. “Maybe they wish you asked about their health, their hobbies, their careers or their travels.”
For Epstein, this question can open the door to a new dynamic between your parent or older relative and you. “Asking shows an interest in not only having parents support you, but you to invest in them,” she said. “You can then lean into that more by asking about their current excitement and stressors.”
Remember: the point of asking questions in the first place is to allow your relative to feel heard, so open-ended and even apparently vague conversation starters work like a charm.
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‘What was your family like when you were growing up?’
Imagine you were meeting a new friend for coffee. You are likely to ask questions about their upbringing. While you may already know the basics about your relative, like where they grew up and how many siblings they have, asking them about their family of origin is an amazing way to get to know them better – and even forge a new kind of relationship with them.
As well as the more general, “What was your family like?” Epstein also recommends asking more specific questions, such as, “What were your parents like?” or “Who in your extended family were you closest with and who were you not close with?”
“As their child, you only see their adult relationships, not the ones they experienced as children themselves,” Epstein said. “Asking these kinds of questions humanises parents to their children and other younger relatives, and gives parents a chance to tell their children more about themselves. It opens up possible vulnerable topics, like what felt good and what felt difficult in their upbringing and how they managed that.”
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‘What did the world expect from you when you were young?’
This is an amazing question to get people to reflect on what the world’s expectations of them might have cost them – as well as any gifts they might have brought.
When asked this question, “people usually talk about pressure rather than nostalgia,” Marchenko said. “They describe growing up fast, being needed early, and making tradeoffs that were not optional. It helps younger relatives see that many values were shaped by necessity rather than preference.”
This line of questioning may also naturally lead into other similar revelations from your older relative, such as how systems of power worked in the environment they grew up in and what beliefs their upbringing created that they may have challenged later in life, says Marchenko.
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‘When you look at the world now, how does it feel to you?’
One of the greatest obstacles to creating mutually respectful relationships with our older relatives today is the stark difference in values and politics younger generations often have. But phrasing a question like this opens the door to curiosity rather than immediately creating defensiveness.
“This avoids debates about progress and invites reflection instead,” Marchenko said. “People speak about gains and losses at the same time, which allows disagreement without turning anyone into the problem.”
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‘Is there anything you still feel responsible for passing on?’
“This reframes older generations as caretakers rather than obstacles,” Marchenko said. “The answers are usually less about advice and more about values, restraint, and hard-earned perspective.”
This is a great question because they may have previously avoided sharing their thoughts on this subject for fear of how they might be received. For you, hearing about how your relative views their potential legacy may also be eye-opening and perspective-shifting.
‘What feels good in our relationship right now? What doesn’t?’
In the same way that you may find some aspects of your relationship with your older relative difficult, they might too. If you can ask this question and receive the answer without getting defensive, the two of you might be able to work together to deepen the relationship and smooth over areas of discontent.
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“When you ask straight out how the relationship feels, you can start to have open, honest discussions about how the relationship is going,” Epstein said. “It may turn out you each have things you love doing together, or discussing, that you can double down on. You may also identify things your relative has been feeling about the relationship that you can then work on together. The easiest route to clarity is gently, respectfully asking about the other person’s experience.”
Brit Awards 2026: Geese Star Max Bassin Censored During Political Speech
It’s fair to say that the censors had plenty to keep them busy during this year’s Brit Awards.
Saturday night’s Brits broadcast saw the sound being pulled on numerous occasions due to a variety of comments that were made over the course of the event.
One such moment came during musician Max Bassin’s acceptance speech, after he accepted the International Group Of The Year prize on behalf of his band Geese.
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Choosing to keep things short, he began his speech by stating simply: “What’s up, ‘the Brits’? I just want to say, free Palestine…”
However, after Max said the word “free”, the audio was pulled, resulting in the rest of what he had to say being cut from broadcast.
It later emerged that Max concluded his speech: “Fuck ICE, go Geese.”
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Many Brits viewers were quick to voice their upset at what appeared to be ITV censoring Max’s politically-charged speech right as the drummer was about to speak out in solidarity with Palestine.
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