• How solar farms benefit bees and butterflies
• UK: New electric conversion rules ''helping to keep classic cars on the road''
• Restoration is possible: the hunt for Scotland's ancient wild pinewoods

• An Antidote to Violence: New book shows meditation can aid governmental efforts to bring peace and heal divisions
• UK art expert Geraldine Norman: Transcendental Meditation helped with grief - 'It felt so good, I was amazed'
• UK: Transcendental Meditation featured in Daily Star's recommendations to reduce blood pressure

• What are PFAS, how toxic are they and how do you become exposed?
• Hospital admissions for waterborne diseases in England up 60%, report shows
• 'Brain fog' from long COVID has measurable impact, study suggests

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Positive Trends
Short Summaries of Top Stories

How solar farms benefit bees and butterflies
23 April 2024 - Research shows pollinating insects thrive in solar parks, particularly where a variety of plants are flourishing. Perhaps a surprising finding was that solar parks set among fields where hedgerows and other habitats had been destroyed by farmers were the most beneficial for insects, providing an oasis of food and nectar unobtainable elsewhere. (more)

UK: New electric conversion rules ''helping to keep classic cars on the road''
13 April 2024 - In an era where sustainability intersects with tradition, the latest electric conversion regulations for classic cars are not just a nod to environmental consciousness but a lifeline for the cherished relics of automotive history. Now the UK's Historic and Classic Vehicle Alliance (HCVA) has introduced new Minimum Professional Standards guidance aimed at demystifying the process of converting vintage vehicles to electric drivetrains. This initiative promises to safeguard the legacy of classic cars, ensuring they remain a vibrant part of our cultural landscape while embracing the future of motoring. (more)

Restoration is possible: the hunt for Scotland's ancient wild pinewoods
6 April 2024 - Trees for Life and Woodland Trust Scotland hope to revive remote pockets of forgotten forest before they vanish. ...Trees for Life and Woodland Trust Scotland have become aware of up to 50 other hitherto uncharted wild pinewoods, both from historical documents and anecdotal contemporary reports. The charities have turned tree detectives as they embark on the painstaking process of mapping -- and hopefully reviving --these remote pockets of forgotten forest before they vanish for ever. ...There are cultural clues too, such as Gaelic place names referring to pine or woodlands. (more)

'They're at the forefront': the women leading the way through Britain's farming crisis
17 March 2024 - Though British farming is arguably at the most precarious point in its long history -- thanks to changes caused by Brexit and food industry subsidies, lack of clear food production policies, and increased concern over environmental issues -- more women than ever are choosing a career in agriculture and, more importantly, moving into leadership roles. (more)

How solar farms benefit bees and butterflies
6 March 2024 - Field data from 15 sites in 2021 showed that pollinating insects thrived in solar parks, particularly where a variety of plants have been allowed to flourish or been planted underneath and around the panels. Perhaps a surprising finding was that solar parks set among fields where hedgerows and other habitats had been destroyed by farmers were the most beneficial for insects, providing an oasis of food and nectar unobtainable elsewhere. (more)

Playing a musical instrument good for brain health in later life - study
25 February 2024 - Playing a musical instrument or singing could help keep the brain healthy in older age, UK researchers suggest. Practicing and reading music may help sustain good memory and the ability to solve complex tasks, their study says. (more)

Research finds that playing an instrument or singing helps keep your brain healthy
25 February 2024 - A study out of the UK, recently published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, found that playing music (rather than just listening to it) helped older adults without a dementia diagnosis stay sharp across a variety of mental skills. (more)

Botanical gardens 'most effective' green space at cooling streets in heatwaves
23 February 2024 - A comprehensive review of research into the heat-mitigating effects of green spaces during heatwaves has found that botanical gardens are the most effective. It is a finding the team at the Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCCAR) hope will inform policymakers planning cities for a warming world. ...This particular research found that sites such as the Chelsea Physic Garden and Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London, or the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore, reduced air temperatures during heatwaves in the city streets around them by an average 5C. (more)

Research finds that playing an instrument or singing helps keep your brain healthy
12 February 2024 - A study out of the UK, recently published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, found that playing music (rather than just listening to it) helped older adults without a dementia diagnosis stay sharp across a variety of mental skills. The research is a new argument for encouraging broad, accessible music programs as a public health initiative. (more)

Napping polar bear image wins top wildlife photography prize
7 February 2024 - An image of a napping polar bear curled up on an iceberg has captured the hearts of voters to become the winner of this year's Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice Award. British amateur photographer Nima Sarikhani called it an honor to win the award for the dreamy scene 'Ice Bed,. captured off Norway's Svalbard archipelago. (more)

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Success of Maharishi's Programmes
Short Summaries of Top Stories

An Antidote to Violence: New book shows meditation can aid governmental efforts to bring peace and heal divisions
19 June 2020 - Author to present new book - An Antidote to Violence - at All Party Parliamentary Group on Indian Traditional Sciences during International Day of Yoga 2020 in the UK, 21 June. It's accepted that Transcendental Meditation (TM) can create peace for the individual, but can it do the same for society, and if so, what is the mechanism? In An Antidote to Violence, Barry Spivack and Patricia Saunders examine peer-reviewed research suggesting that Transcendental Meditation can influence the collective consciousness of society, leading to decreases in violent crime and war fatalities, and increases in quality of life and cooperation between nations. (more)

UK art expert Geraldine Norman: Transcendental Meditation helped with grief - 'It felt so good, I was amazed'
15 October 2019 - Over her 20 years writing for The Times of London, Geraldine Norman became best known for exposing art forgeries in front-page stories. Later she started a second career, as founder and director of the Hermitage Foundation UK, supporting the famous Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 1981 Geraldine learned Transcendental Meditation, after a devastating personal loss. 'I suddenly realized that the extreme pain I'd been experiencing for the past year was leaving me. And it felt so good that I was amazed. I have continued meditating regularly all these years, and have been extremely happy with it,' she says. 'I think TM is also useful while growing old. It's helped me to think about things that no one understands, like life and death and consciousness and so on. And that is a marvelous gift.' (more)

UK: Transcendental Meditation featured in Daily Star's recommendations to reduce blood pressure
17 September 2018 - One in four Brits suffers with high blood pressure, according to the UK's National Health Service. The Daily Star reports that a study led by Dr Robert Schneider, director of the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention at Maharishi University of Management in Iowa, USA, found that Transcendental Meditation reduces high blood pressure. TM is featured first in a discussion of research on lifestyle approaches to reducing blood pressure including meditation, yoga, exercise, and diet. (more)

Head of worldwide Transcendental Meditation organisation addresses International Yoga Day celebration, UK Parliament
26 June 2018 - Dr Tony Nader, MD, PhD, MARR, addressed this week's celebration of International Yoga Day held in the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster, London. Dr Nader is a distinguished neuroscientist and the leader of the worldwide Transcendental Meditation organisation founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The celebration was hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Indian Traditional Sciences. Dr Nader spoke on 'Yoga, consciousness and prevention' and presented the scientific basis of yoga, including scientific research on the benefits of yoga, of which Transcendental Meditation is a central aspect; and how the principles of yoga are found reflected in physics, physiology, and other areas of modern science. He presented published research showing the relevance of yoga for promoting health and preventing disease. (more)

UK: Dr Charlotte Bech shares the secrets of stress-free living
27 May 2018 - Dr Charlotte Bech, a Danish doctor, surgeon and expert on natural medicine - lecturing in the UK for National Stress Awareness Month - said that simple procedures, such as the right light, diet, oils, spices, mental and emotional training, yoga and meditation, have been shown to reduce stress, despite the demands of our frenetic, modern lives. 'The most important advice is to practise Transcendental Meditation (TM), which is probably the most effective method against stress as it is time-tested, is the most extensively researched and most widely-practised and is the simplest and most natural procedure for meditation,' she said. 'In just a few minutes, this technique activates the parasympathetic nervous system and transforms the physiology to a settled and stress-free state.' (more)

First ever neuroimaging study of people in the midst of Transcendental Meditation - British Psychological Society review
21 April 2018 - It is possible to pay attention effortlessly, your mind 'pulled by the inherent nature of the object of experience'. In fact, with practice, doing so can 'lead you to experience inner silence, tranquility, peace and transcendence'. That's according to a research team led by Michelle Mahone at the California School of Professional Psychology, who have published in Brain and Cognition what they describe as the first neuroimaging study of people in the midst of Transcendental Meditation (TM). (more)

Scotland: Transcendental Meditation for caregivers - 'The dynamic in the family has changed'
14 April 2018 - Caring for elderly relatives can be exhausting. Leaving the Scottish Civil Service to take care of his mother left Owen feeling tired and stressed. 'As a carer, Transcendental Meditation seemed like a good fit. It would help deal with the stress of the caring combined with the isolation.' He had tried other forms of meditation which required a bit of effort. 'TM was surprisingly easy,' he said. 'I was able to do it right away and I felt the benefits almost immediately. . . . When I meditate I feel calm and restful but not sleepy. [Afterward] I feel very refreshed and more alert and focused.' During the day Owen feels more aware and understanding of his mother's needs, and that his increased calm has had a relaxing and reassuring effect on both of his parents: 'The dynamic in the family has changed.' (more)

UK Parliament marks International Yoga Day - Prof Tony Nader, MD, PhD honoured with special award
16 July 2017 - The third International Yoga Day was celebrated in the House of Commons, Palace of Westminster, hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Indian Traditional Sciences, its Secretariat Amarjeet S Bhamra and the High Commission of India. The event on 10 July was designed to explore the value of introducing Yoga in the NHS (National Health Service). Chief Guest of the event, H.E. High Commissioner Y K Sinha paid tribute to the work of the APPG in introducing Yoga, Ayurveda and other disciplines into the mainstream of public life. Prof Tony Nader, MD, PhD, MARR, head of the worldwide Transcendental Meditation organization, was honoured with a special award, and presented five volumes of Scientific Research on the Transcendental Meditation Programme to Members of Parliament. In his keynote address Prof Nader explained that 'every one of us has within us, built into our very physiology, the essential quality of Yoga, which is unifying.' (more)

UK: Could Ayurveda be the cure for ailing National Health System?
1 July 2017 - As the UK's National Health Service (NHS) shoulders a growing financial burden, the ancient Indian tradition of Ayurveda is being promoted as a way to take the pressure off doctors while helping people keep good health. At the recent Second International Ayurveda Congress in London, Dr Rainer Picha, chairman of the International Maharishi Ayurveda Foundation in the Netherlands (one of three organizations that hosted the Congress), said: 'Modern medicine has become hugely expensive to support. Rather, we should be focused on the prevention of disease, which is much cheaper than curing diseases.' (more)

UK: SuperMind Peak Performance Programme - Transcendental Meditation for professionals
20 June 2017 - The SuperMind Peak Performance Programme, a division of the David Lynch Foundation UK, offers Transcendental Meditation to companies and organisations to help executives and employees overcome stress, promote health, and attain high levels of performance. (more)

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Flops
Short Summaries of Top Stories

What are PFAS, how toxic are they and how do you become exposed?
14 April 2024 - Everything you need to know about 'forever chemicals' detected in air, water, soils, sediments, and rain. ...PFAS stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, it's an umbrella term for a family of thousands of chemicals -- about 12,000 at the last count -- that are prized for their indestructible and non-stick properties. ...It was DuPont that introduced PFAS to the world in the 1940s as Teflon and it was DuPont that revealed how harmful they could be. (more)

Hospital admissions for waterborne diseases in England up 60%, report shows
29 March 2024 - Waterborne diseases such as dysentery and Weil's disease have risen by 60% since 2010 in England, new figures reveal. ...The analysis follows widespread anger after record sewage spills were revealed this week. Environment Agency data showed that raw sewage was discharged for more than 3.6m hours into rivers and seas last year -- a 129% increase on the previous 12 months. (more)

'Brain fog' from long COVID has measurable impact, study suggests
7 March 2024 - People experiencing long COVID have measurable memory and cognitive deficits equivalent to a difference of about six IQ points, a study suggests. The study, which assessed more than 140,000 people in summer 2022, revealed that COVID-19 may have an impact on cognitive and memory abilities that lasts a year or more after infection. People with unresolved symptoms that had persisted for more than 12 weeks had more significant deficits in performance on tasks involving memory, reasoning, and executive function. Scientist said this showed that 'brain fog' had a quantifiable impact. (more)

London is most exposed city in world to air pollution from aviation, study finds
27 February 2024 - Six airports put UK capital ahead of Tokyo and Dubai, with Heathrow second-worst global airport for climate impact. The planes taking off and landing at London's six airports expose the city's inhabitants to the equivalent of 3.23m cars' worth of harmful nitrogen oxides and particulate matter emissions every year. In Tokyo and Dubai, residents are exposed to 2.78m cars' worth of emissions from air traffic. (more)

83% of English rivers have evidence of high pollution from sewage and agriculture
1 February 2024 - Eighty-three per cent of English rivers contain evidence of high pollution caused by sewage and agricultural waste, according to the largest citizen science water testing project ever to take place in the UK. (more)

UK: Millions borrowing to pay essential bills at Christmas, charities warn
15 December 2023 - Millions of people are borrowing to pay essential bills at Christmas, charities warn, with energy debts a key concern as prices are set to rise again. Citizens Advice said it was seeing more people falling behind on energy bills as winter began, owing an average of [British pounds] 1,841 to their supplier. ...Debt charity StepChange estimated that 2.6 million UK adults used credit to pay for essential household bills in the last three months. Nearly half of those with existing debt faced difficulty keeping up with household bills and credit commitments (more)

Pioneering wind-powered cargo ship sets sail
4 September 2023 - A cargo ship fitted with giant, rigid British-designed sails has set out on its maiden voyage. Shipping firm Cargill, which has chartered the vessel, hopes the technology will help the industry chart a course towards a greener future. (more)

UK bees in danger as Asian hornet sightings rise
4 September 2023 - Record sightings of Asian hornets are raising fears of catastrophic consequences for the UK's bee populations for years to come. The invasive hornets are wreaking havoc in mainland Europe and threaten to get a foothold in the UK ... The insects feed on native bees and wasps, damaging biodiversity. (more)

Hottest June ever recorded in the UK had huge impacts on the environment
4 July 2023 - The UK has just had its hottest June ever. This is according to the country's weather service called the Met Office, it has said that while weather patterns do change naturally, climate change has made these extreme heatwaves more likely in recent years. The warm weather has had significant impacts on our environment, experts have warned. (more)

'Unheard of' marine heatwave off UK and Irish coasts poses serious threat
19 June 2023 - An 'unheard of' marine heatwave off the coasts of the UK and Ireland poses a serious threat to species, scientists have warned. Sea temperatures, particularly off the north-east coast of England and the west of Ireland, are several degrees above normal, smashing records for late spring and early summer. The North Sea and north Atlantic are experiencing higher temperatures, data shows. (more)