Could ash dieback kill the wood wide web?
In the firing line are 150 million mature ash trees in the UK, along with 1.8 billion seedlings and saplings, which account for 12 per cent of all of Britain's broadleaved woodland. These trees support 955 species of lichens, mosses, insects, fungi, birds and mammals, some of which are dependent on them, and are part of our national ecosystem. So what is ash dieback, how serious could it be — and could areas of devastation caused by the disease prevent other nearby trees from flourishing by destroying their ecosystem?
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BBC News
10 minutes ago
- BBC News
Shetland space port founder diagnosed with terminal cancer
The driving force behind Shetland's space port is taking a "step back" from the project after being diagnosed with terminal throat Strang bought a former RAF radar station on Unst about 17 years ago and there was an intention to turn it into an eco-tourism the plan changed when the UK government was looking for potential sites for vertical launches of small rockets carrying Strang told BBC Scotland News he was not stepping down completely and was determined to see his vision through to the first launch, which is expected later this year. SaxaVord UK Space Port is the first fully licensed vertical launch space port in Strang, who was diagnosed about four weeks ago, said he had been given a life expectancy of six months to two 67-year-old, who lives in Grantown-on-Spey in the Highlands, said: "I feel a bit like I've been hit by a steam train."But he added: "We've all seen stories of people who have been diagnosed with a few months and five or six years later they are still going."The bottom line is we don't know what the end result will be."Mr Strang said his "incredible team" would continue his legacy. He also said Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen - Scotland's richest man who owns large areas of land in the Highlands - had pledged to support the project through to its Holch Povlsen had previously supported the space Strang said: "One of the reasons for our success is the incredible support I have been afforded by Anders Povlsen. "His team is very much part of the DNA and success of the project."Last year, the project secured £10m of UK government funding. Engine exploded A number of companies plan to use February, Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), from Germany, were thought to have the most advanced plans and it is officially licensed for an RFA launch test, a rocket engine exploded at the spaceport last August. The company said no one was injured and the launch pad had been "saved and is secured".RFA's Jorn Spurmann described it at the time as a "big and wonderful image" which had resulted in "a lot of learning".Another company Orbex, based in Forres in north-east Scotland, announced in December last year it had switched its first launch from Sutherland Spaceport to SaxaVord.
The Independent
11 minutes ago
- The Independent
Doctors set for crunch talks with government to halt five-day strike
Doctors are set for crunch talks with the government on Thursday to halt strike action. Resident doctors are willing to 'discuss all options' in the talks to prevent the five-day walkout due to start next week, the co-chair of the Resident Doctors Committee (RDC) has said. The RDC – part of the British Medical Association (BMA) – is meeting with Health Secretary Wes Streeting on Thursday afternoon. Discussions could be tense after Mr Streeting told MPs on Monday that he did not see a 'reasonable trade union partner' in the RDC 'at this time'. The Cabinet minister has insisted the government will not budge on pay, but said discussions could focus on improving working lives of resident doctors. RDC co-chairs were asked if they would accept an offer on working conditions as they arrived for talks at Portcullis House shortly before 3pm. Dr Melissa Ryan told reporters: 'We're willing to be here and discuss all options with Mr Streeting, we're very flexible – we're just interested to hear what he has to say.' It was put to the RDC co-chairs that the public was 'broadly on-side' for the previous round of strikes but support is now 'waning'. Dr Ryan responded: 'I think that the public is behind us in the sense that they want to see doctors paid fairly, they want doctors to be in the NHS, doctors retained, because ultimately they want good care and that's what we're here to talk to Wes Streeting about today.' Dr Ryan's co-chair Dr Ross Nieuwoudt said: 'We're hopeful and we're confident that Wes Streeting is going to come to us with a credible offer to avert these strikes, that's what we're here for today, that's what we're looking to achieve. 'So now it's up to him, the ball's in his court, we're here to talk – hopefully those conversations will go somewhere.' On Tuesday, NHS leaders said there was no extra money to cover industrial action by resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors. The last round of strikes, which also included walkouts by other health workers, came at an estimated cost of £1.5 billion to the NHS in England. Some 1.5 million appointments, procedures and operations were postponed as a result of the stoppages. On Thursday, The Times reported that it had seen an audit which found that five patients died as a result of disruption linked to strikes by junior doctors in 2023 and 2024. One prevention of future death report detailed how 71-year-old Daphne Austin, who had a kidney injury, died after getting 'no medical input' on one of the strike days because the consultant who was covering was in charge of 25 patients. Another states that 60-year-old John Doyle died of 'natural causes against a background of missed opportunities to diagnose and treat cytomegalovirus infection, together with the impact of the resident (formerly junior) doctors' strike on the provision of consistent patient care'. The strikes ended last September when resident doctor members voted to accept a government pay deal worth 22.3 per cent on average over two years. The 2025/26 pay deal saw resident doctors given a four per cent increase plus £750 'on a consolidated basis', working out as an average rise of 5.4 per cent. Government officials said these two increases equate to a 28.9 per cent pay rise. But the BMA said resident doctors need 29.2 per cent to reverse 'pay erosion' since 2008/09. Earlier this month, the union announced that resident doctors in England would strike for five days from 7am on July 25.
Daily Mail
12 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Working age people make up majority of NHS waiting list while women are more likely to face long waits
Working age adults make up the majority of NHS waiting lists with their numbers rising in recent years, official new data reveals. Long waits among this age group are fuelling Britain's worklessness crisis and stifling the economy, with many signed off sick until they receive treatment, experts say. They described the figures as 'deeply worrying' for the Government's growth agenda and said it is 'now clear' more must be done to get these people 'back to work'. Data tables published for the first time by NHS England also show more women than men are waiting for hospital care and a greater proportion of them are waiting too long. It comes after charities claimed the NHS has a culture of 'medical misogyny', with women's health issues often dismissed or deprioritised. Some 56.1 per cent of patients on hospital waiting lists at the end of June this year were of working age, which is defined as 19 to 64 years. This is up from 55.8 per cent a year ago and 55.0 per cent in June 2022. At the same time, the proportion of people on the waiting list under the age of 19 fell to 10.8 per cent in June, down from 11.2 per cent a year earlier and 11.9 per cent in June 2022. The proportion who are over 65 has remained broadly unchanged at around 33.1 per cent. People of working age are also more likely to have to wait more than a year to start treatment than those over 65, with rates of 3.0 per cent and 2.5 per cent, respectively. However, the proportion is the same for working age adults as those under 19. The largest specialty for those on the waiting list aged 18 to 64 is gynaecology, while it is ophthalmology for older adults. Siva Anandaciva, director of policy at The King's Fund, a health think tank, said: 'While there is often a focus on the pressures an increasingly aging population can place on the NHS, patients over the age of 65 are the least likely to be waiting over a year to be seen. 'And it will be deeply worrying for the government's economic growth agenda that such a large share of people on hospital waiting lists, and those waiting over a year for care, are working-age adults.' Tim Mitchell, president of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, said: 'It is now clear that more needs to be done to get working-age people off NHS waiting lists and back to work. 'For the communities that have the longest waiting lists, we hope that this detailed breakdown improves local planning and goes some way towards tailoring services better to the local community, particularly around access to surgical treatment. Long waits for NHS care are fuelling Britain's worklessness crisis and stifling the economy 'We know that long waits for surgery can be devastating, particularly for patients from more deprived communities who may already face poorer health outcomes.' For data where sex is recorded, women make up a higher percentage of the overall waiting list than men - 57 per cent versus 43 per cent. Furthermore, women are more likely than men to be waiting more than the 18-week target to start treatment and more likely to be waiting more than a year. Meanwhile, people in the most deprived parts of England also face long waits for treatment when compared with those in the wealthiest areas. And patients in some ethnic groups are more likely to have to wait more than a year to start hospital treatment than in others. Janet Lindsay, chief executive of Wellbeing of Women, described the figures showing differences between men and women's waits as 'alarming and unacceptable'. She added: 'Waiting over a year for treatment is not just an inconvenience — it's a denial of timely, essential care that disproportionately affects women's lives.' Stella Vig, NHS national clinical director for elective care at NHS England, said: 'Understanding patient demographics is vital if we are to identify and tackle the way different groups are treated. 'As well as allowing patients and the public to see the makeup of local lists, NHS teams will be able to analyse the latest data, understand where there is unwarranted variation in waiting times, and work with their communities to take action to reduce it.' The latest aggregate monthly figures, published last week, show there were 6.2million patients waiting for 7.4million treatments as of the end of May. Dr Sean Phillips, head of health and social care at the Policy Exchange think tank, said: 'To get Britain back to health, the NHS will have to be creative, offering more appointments nearer to places of work and fitting around working lives. 'All patients nearing treatment should be on 'standby' lists so they can be called up at short notice.' The Government today announced that patients with long-term conditions will be automatically referred to specialist charities at the point of diagnosis from next year. Diagnosis Connect will ensure patients are referred directly to charities and support organisations in a move the Government says will 'complement, not replace', NHS care.
