Strawberry Moon 2025 captured across Wales
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Hundreds set to graduate from University of Wolverhampton
The University of Wolverhampton is gearing up to celebrate its class of 2025, with more than 2,600 students being recognised for their university's eight graduation ceremonies take place at the University of Wolverhampton at The Halls from Monday until Thursday. The students will join a community of more than 155,000 graduates in 130 countries across the world, becoming part of the university's global alumni individuals have also been nominated for an honorary award for exceptional contributions to their fields. This year's list includes astronaut Jannicke Mikkelsen, a graduate from the university, who has been awarded an Honorary Doctor of Mikkelsen made history earlier this year by launching into space aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule from NASA's Kennedy Space served as the vehicle commander for the four-crew mission, which was a first-of-its-kind astronaut flight over Earth's poles. The space explorer has also worked in virtual reality filmmaking and extreme expedition a severe childhood accident that left her temporarily quadriplegic, she channelled her passion for technology and exploration into a thriving career in film and cinematography. Ms Mikkelsen directed the first live-concert film in virtual reality for Queen and produced documentaries with Sir David Attenborough. She also contributed to NASA projects, including a VR exhibit commemorating the Apollo 11 50th anniversary, and led a Guinness record-breaking circumnavigation of the Earth in under 48 gained a BA Hons Video and Film Production at the University of Wolverhampton. Another honorary award will go to Jai Herbert, a Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter born in fighter, known as The Black Country Banger, will be awarded an Honorary Fellowship. Professor Ebrahim Adia, vice chancellor at the university, said: "We are an ambitious university that is proudly rooted in our communities. "We offer opportunity to all, regardless of background and that spirit of social mobility and aspiration to equip people with the skills they need to succeed in life and work runs through the heart of what we do." Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Sellafield robotic arms to decommission nuclear gloveboxes
A development in robotic technology could be the answer to cleaning up hundreds of nuclear devices collected over in Cumbria, Europe's largest nuclear plant, has built up a stack of 700 gloveboxes - sealed containers with built in gloves that allow operators to handle radioactive are up to 60 years old, vary in size and shape and still contain contaminated materials like pipework and valves.A team of robotics experts has developed a dextrous mechanised arm that can be fitted inside an active nuclear glovebox to help tackle the challenging task of cleaning up and disposing of these devices. Known as the Risk Reduction of Glovebox Operations (RrOBO) project, it was developed in partnership with AtkinsRéalis, Cavendish Nuclear and Taylor Kightley Engineering."Removing hands from gloveboxes is a key challenge for the nuclear industry and we're proud to be helping to drive change and improve safety," said Robert Marwood, from AtkinsRé proved the robotic arm could successfully carry out a complex series of tasks safely, meaning the technology can now be deployed to legacy gloveboxes to accelerate decommissioning. A spokesman for Sellafield, which opened in 1947 and has the largest stockpile of radioactive plutonium in the world, said some of its older labs contained gloveboxes dating back decades, taking up space and posing "a potential hazard to workers and the environment"It started running a glovebox training facility this year to help meet demand for the spokesman said: "We'll need a pipeline of skilled glovebox operators for many years to come, but it's difficult work requiring high levels of dexterity and consistent standards."They added the nuclear industry nationally needed thousands of new gloveboxes to support "current and future missions in the decommissioning and defence sectors." Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
New contraceptive pill for men is safe, study suggests
A new male contraceptive pill tested on British men in a world first is safe for use, a study suggests. Oral female contraceptive tablets have been available for 60 years but there has never been an authorised male version. Female tablets work by altering hormone levels to reduce the risk of conception but this approach has proven difficult in men because of severe side effects such as infertility and mood swings. These side effects are common in female versions. A third of men say they would take a contraceptive pill if one was available to them. YourChoice Therapeutics has developed the first non-hormonal contraceptive for men which works by blocking the production of a protein, which is needed to produce sperm, and not meddling with hormones. The drug stops production of retinoic acid receptor alpha (RAR-alpha) in the body and this prevents it binding to vitamin A compounds and subsequently prevents sperm production. Animal studies showed this mechanism to be 99 per cent effective and also found that sperm levels returned to normal after the medication was stopped, showing the contraceptive to be temporary and reversible. Human trials began in 2023 when 16 healthy men who had already had a vasectomy were recruited to test the safety of the drug in people. Data, published this week, show it to be safe and well-tolerated with no clinically relevant side effects in a significant step forward for the prospects of the drug, known as YCT-529. The trial of 16 British men gave participants either the tablet or a placebo and conducted analysis on the participants to measure their blood, urine, mood and overall health. Four different dosages were tested and all were found to be well-tolerated. The highest dose was the same as what was shown to be effective as a contraceptive in animal trials. 'Positive results' There was no reduction in testosterone levels, sex drive or any other hormonal imbalance, the scientists found. 'The positive results from this first clinical trial laid the groundwork for a second trial, where men receive YCT-529 for 28 days and 90 days, to study safety and changes in sperm parameters,' the study authors write in their peer-reviewed study in the journal Communications Medicine. Further trials will now gather more data on the long-term safety profile of the drugs and if this is found to be acceptable, the next stage of clinical trials will begin to determine its precise effectiveness in humans. The data are needed before regulators can make a decision on whether a drug is safe and effective enough to be approved for human use. The study authors add that the safety bar for contraceptives is much higher and harder to reach than it is for drugs designed to cure or treat a disease because it is preventative and used by healthy people daily for a long period of time. 'More attractive to men' Akash Bakshi, a co-founder and the chief executive of YourChoice, has previously suggested the medicine, if approved, could be sent out alongside at-home testing kits for men to check their sperm levels are too low to cause pregnancy. He said: 'YCT-529 blocks a protein – not hormones – to prevent sperm production. We believe this will be more attractive to men, most of whom view pregnancy prevention as a shared responsibility even despite today's limited contraceptive options, which are permanent or only moderately effective. 'The dearth of options reinforces the centuries-old view that pregnancy prevention is 'a woman's responsibility'. It's not, and we're committed to advancing the first hormone-free birth control pill for men that's effective, convenient, and temporary.' While non-hormonal male contraceptives are in trials and at the early stage of development and testing, other hormone-powered alternatives are also in the works. A gel which is rubbed into the shoulders of a man every day is one such medicine and contains Nestorone (segesterone acetate) and testosterone. This lowers sperm counts in around eight weeks and is in testing currently on more than 200 men in the US. The gel is rubbed into the shoulders or shoulder blades because it is easy to reach for the user and it is also unlikely a child or woman would come into direct contact with the gel in this location. The hormones soak into the skin and are absorbed by the bloodstream. But accidental exposure to the gel could cause premature puberty in children and acne or excessive hair growth in women.
