Seasickness, spotting icebergs and keeping the crew fed: Life on board an Antarctic expedition
The British research ship the RRS Sir David Attenborough has travelled through an area of Antarctica that would have been impassable 30 years ago at this time of year.
That's because the area the ship navigates with ease would have been solid ice.
No other British ship has made the journey since the explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated Endurance expedition, when his ship became trapped in the pack ice and sank in 1915.
Fast forward 110 years - after global warming has caused the ice to melt - and ITV News Science Correspondent Martin Stew is the only journalist on board the British ship.
From the chef keeping crew members fed to the captain keeping a lookout for icebergs, he speaks to those on board about what life is like on an Antarctic expedition.
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NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
The pandemic aged our brains, whether we got Covid or not, study finds
Brain aging may have sped up during the pandemic, even in people who didn't get sick from Covid, a new study suggests. Using brain scans from a very large database, British researchers determined that during the pandemic years of 2021 and 2022, people's brains showed signs of aging, including shrinkage, according to the report published in Nature Communications. People who got infected with the virus also showed deficits in certain cognitive abilities, such as processing speed and mental flexibility. The aging effect 'was most pronounced in males and those from more socioeconomically deprived backgrounds,' said the study's first author, Ali-Reza Mohammadi-Nejad, a neuroimaging researcher at the University of Nottingham, via email. 'It highlights that brain health is not shaped solely by illness, but also by broader life experiences.' Overall, the researchers found a 5.5-month acceleration in aging associated with the pandemic. On average, the difference in brain aging between men and women was small, about 2.5 months. 'We don't yet know exactly why, but this fits with other research suggesting that men may be more affected by certain types of stress or health challenges,' Mohammadi-Nejad said. Brains shrink as people age. When gray matter shrinks prematurely, it can lead to memory loss or judgment problems, although the pandemic study doesn't show whether people with structural changes will eventually develop cognitive deficits. The study wasn't designed to pinpoint specific causes. 'But it is likely that the cumulative experience of the pandemic—including psychological stress, social isolation, disruptions in daily life, reduced activity and wellness—contributed to the observed changes,' Mohammadi-Nejad said. 'In this sense, the pandemic period itself appears to have left a mark on our brains, even in the absence of infection.' An earlier study on how teenagers' brains were affected by the pandemic discovered a similar result. The 2024 research from the University of Washington found that boys' brains had aged the equivalent of 1.4 years extra during the pandemic, while girls aged an extra 4.2 years. In the new study, Mohammadi-Nejad and his team turned to the UK Biobank, a massive database which launched in 2006, to determine whether the pandemic had any impact on people's brains. The database has been keeping track of anonymous health data from 500,000 volunteers who were recruited between 2006 and 2010, when the participants were between 40 to 69 years old. Thus far, the biobank has collected 100,000 whole body scans. To develop a baseline model of normal aging, to compare with what might have occurred during the pandemic years, the researchers used imaging data from 15,334 healthy individuals that had been collected prior to the pandemic. 'We used this large dataset to teach our model what typical, healthy brain ageing looks like across the adult lifespan,' Mohammadi-Nejad explained. Next the researchers turned to a group of 996 participants who had two scans, the second taking place on average 2.3 years after the first. Of these participants, 564 had both scans prior to the pandemic, which helped the artificial intelligence learn how the brain changes when there is no pandemic. The other 432 had a second scan after the start of the pandemic, mostly between 2021 and 2022, allowing the researchers to investigate how the pandemic might have affected brain aging. Although these second scans were done later in the pandemic, 'they reflect brain changes that likely happened during the height of the pandemic, when people experienced the most disruption,' Mohammadi-Nejad said. Other research has suggested that environmental factors might cause a person's brain to age prematurely. One study conducted in the Antarctic tied living in relative isolation to brain shrinkage. 'The most intriguing finding in this study is that only those who were infected with SARS-CoV-2 showed any cognitive deficits, despite structural aging,' said Jacqueline Becker, a clinical neuropsychologist and assistant professor of medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. 'This speaks a little to the effects of the virus itself.' And that may eventually help explain syndromes, such as long Covid and chronic fatigue, she said. What we don't know from this study is whether the structural brain changes observed in people who didn't get Covid will amount to any observable changes in brain function, Becker said. Adam Brickman, a professor of neuropsychology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, said the study is a compelling narrative, but 'still a hypothesis.' It doesn't show whether the accelerated aging seen in people who didn't get Covid will persist long term, said Brickman, who was not involved with the study. If the brain indeed was changed by the pandemic in meaningful ways, then people might counter those changes by doing things that are healthy for the brain, he said. 'We know that exercise is good for the brain and keeping blood pressure at a healthy level, for example. We know that sleep and social interactions are important.'
Daily Mirror
9 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Coldplay kiss cam joke branded 'tone deaf' as Stroke Association issues apology
American tech company, Astronomer, made headlines worldwide after former executive Andy Byron was caught canoodling his colleague, Kristin Cabot, at a Coldplay concert in Boston The Stroke Association has apologised for making an 'offensive joke' following the Coldplay kiss cam scandal. American tech company, Astronomer, made headlines worldwide on the weekend after former executive Andy Byron was caught canoodling his colleague, Kristin Cabot, at the British band's gig in Boston. Andy, who is married to someone else - as is Kristin - has now resigned from his role. However, the memes and jokes, poking fun at the scandal are still all over the internet. Getting in on the action, the Stroke Association made its own joke when the clip went viral, sharing a snap of the canoodling colleagues with the caption: "Us: 'Nothing destroys live and families quicker than a stroke.' *Viva La Vida plays softly in the distance*. *Coldplay has entered the chat.*" READ MORE: Coldplay kiss cam scandal: CEO's wife 'hiding' at $2.4m mansion 100 miles from marital home Responding to the post on Threads, many were appalled, with Sector Communications Consultant Tom Fishenden telling the Civil Society: 'I wouldn't be surprised if this one post has turned off some donors from the organisation." However, the Stroke Association has now deleted the post and apologised for its "huge lapse in judgement". Taking to LinkedIn, Juliet Bouverie, Chief Executive of the Stroke Association said: "On Friday we shared a post on Threads that used a viral moment to highlight the devastating impact of stroke. Whilst typically we would try to raise awareness of stroke in a way that aligns with the style and tone of the relevant social platform, capitalising on someone else's misfortune, in a way which also caused offence amongst some stroke survivors, was ill-informed and a huge lapse in judgment, for which we are extremely sorry." Conceding that the post was "short-sighted", Bouverie continued: "This isn't how we usually speak about stroke — a condition that changes lives in an instant and leaves a deep impact on survivors, families and carers. The post was shortsighted and undermined the severity of the condition which we deeply regret. "We're also sorry for how we initially responded to criticism. It didn't show the empathy or thoughtfulness that our community rightly deserves from us and that we pride ourselves on. We removed the post from Threads and are taking action to guarantee this can never happen again." Following the furore, which is now global news, cheating multi-millioanire Byron 's wife is reportedly hiding out at the family's $2.4million Maine mansion while holding crisis talks over the future of their marriage. Megan Byron, 50, is said to be laying low at their luxury property in Kennebunk, 106 miles away from their $1.4million marital home in Northborough, Massachusetts after her husband was caught looking cosy with his colleague. Byron and the company's HR boss Cabot were caught "all over each other" at the British band's gig before their secret was revealed to the world. The former CEO was captured with his arms wrapped around Ms Cabot as they snuggled up before Coldplay frontman Chris Martin accidentally exposed their extra-marital romance. The clip has now racked up millions of views online, but fresh footage has allegedly shown the pair snogging before their public outing. As the scandal continues to rumble on, with Mr Byron resigning from his position at Astronomer, his wife is thought to be surrounded by loved ones in the wake of her husband's misdemeanour.
Powys County Times
5 days ago
- Powys County Times
Heart issues among endurance athletes studied by scientists
Older male endurance athletes may be at higher risk of heart scarring and related complications, according to a new study. Sudden cardiac death is a 'leading cause of mortality' in athletes, experts said as they set out to investigate whether endurance athletes had heart scarring and linked heart rhythm problems. Academics studied 106 former competitive cyclists and triathletes who exercise for more than 10 hours a week for at least 15 years. Experts from the University of Leeds scanned their hearts and had an implantable loop recorder fitted to assess their heart rhythms. They found that 50 of the 106 athletes (47%) had scarring on their hearts, particularly in the left ventricle – the main pumping chamber of the heart. This compares to 11% of 27 non endurance athletes studied for comparison. During a two-year follow up period they found that 22% of the athletes had an abnormal heart rhythm, according to the study which was funded by the the British Heart Foundation and published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging. They concluded that the athletes who had heart scarring were over 4.5 times more likely to experience an abnormal heart rhythm episode – which is linked with an increased risk of sudden cardiac arrest – compared to those without scarring. It is thought that among endurance athletes scarring could be caused by levels of exercise when the heart has to work even harder to pump blood. Dr Sonya Babu-Narayan, clinical director at the British Heart Foundation and consultant cardiologist, said: 'There's no doubt that exercise is good for our hearts – it helps to reduce blood pressure and cholesterol, manage our weight, and it boosts our mental health. 'But in some veteran male athletes, this early research suggests that intense exercise over many years may have affected their heart health. 'More research in veteran endurance athletes – both in men and women – will be needed to identify the small number of people who have the kind of heart scarring, together with other risk factors, that mean their life could be saved by having an implantable defibrillator.' One of the athletes who took part in the trial was Brian Cookson, keen cyclist and former president of British Cycling and Union Cycliste Internationale – cycling's world governing body. The 74-year-old grandfather from Whalley, Lancashire, said the trial could have saved his life. While training at the Manchester Velodrome he started feeling unwell and his sports watch recorded his heart rate had reached 238 beats per minute (bpm), and stayed that way for around 15 minutes. 'I was pushing it a little bit on the track, but not absolutely full gas, as we say in cycling,' Mr Cookson said. He contacted the team involved with the study who reviewed data from his implanted device to record his heart rhythm. They were able to see he had suffered an episode of ventricular tachycardia – an abnormally fast heartbeat where the heart's ventricles contract too quickly and do not pump blood around the body effectively. 'The next day, I got a call. They said, 'Stop riding your bike, don't do anything more strenuous than walking until we can get you in here because we think you need an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD)',' he said. He was fitted with one of the devices in August last year which shocks the heart if it goes into an abnormal rhythm. Mr Cookson, who is still cycling, said: 'I keep a closer eye on my heart rate now and if I'm getting to 150bpm I'll start backing off. 'I'm so grateful to have been part of this study. It might well have saved my life. 'Without it, I might have carried on pushing myself until something more serious happened.' Dr Peter Swoboda, associate professor in cardiology and consultant cardiologist at the University of Leeds, who led the study, said: 'In our study, the athletes who experienced dangerous heart rhythms often had symptoms first. 'I'd encourage anyone who experiences blackouts, dizziness, chest pain or breathlessness, whether during sport or at rest, to speak to their doctor and get it checked out. 'These results shouldn't put people off regular exercise. 'Our study focused on a very select group, and not all the athletes involved were found to have scarring in their hearts. We can all benefit from being more active, and this study is an important step towards helping people take part in sport as safely as possible.'
