• Great Britain on track to generate record levels of summer solar power
• Northern Scotland's Flow Country becomes World Heritage site
• Physicist, 98, honored with doctorate 75 years after groundbreaking discovery

• 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

• 'It stains your brain': How social media algorithms show violence to boys
• Toxic PFAS absorbed through skin at levels higher than previously thought
• Fish deaths in England's rivers rise tenfold in four years

---

Positive Trends
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Great Britain on track to generate record levels of summer solar power
4 September 2024 - Great Britain is on track to generate record levels of solar power this summer, according to expert forecasts, as the government pushes forward plans to triple the country's solar energy capacity by the end of the decade. Solar power output between June and August is likely to climb by almost a quarter compared with the same period last year. (more)

Northern Scotland's Flow Country becomes World Heritage site
26 July 2024 - The Flow Country, a vast and unspoiled blanket bog that carpets the far north of Scotland, has been made a World Heritage site by UNESCO. The planet's largest blanket bog, the Flow Country covers about 1,500 sq miles of Caithness and Sutherland, and is the first peatland in the world to be designated by UNESCO, after a 40-year campaign by environmentalists. (more)

Physicist, 98, honored with doctorate 75 years after groundbreaking discovery
22 July 2024 - A trailblazing physicist who gave up her PhD 75 years ago to have a family has received an honorary doctorate from her former university. Rosemary Fowler, 98, discovered the kaon particle during her doctoral research under Cecil Powell at the University of Bristol in 1948, which contributed to his Nobel Prize for physics in 1950. Fowler's discovery helped lead to a revolution in the theory of particle physics, and it continues to be proven correct -- predicting particles such as the Higgs boson, discovered at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland. (more)

UK: Spoonbills return to Cambridgeshire for first time since 17th century
18 July 2024 - Driven out by hunting and habitat loss, the birds are now nesting and breeding in a few pockets in England. With their long, spoon-shaped beaks, it is perhaps little surprise that the RSPB [Royal Society for the Protection of Birds] has nicknamed the offspring of a spoonbill a 'teaspoon'. It has been a bumper year for the snow-white wading birds, which have been found nesting and breeding in Cambridgeshire for the first time since the 17th century. (more)

National Trust's wildflower meadow project flourishes on England's north Devon coast
9 July 2024 - When the sowing began on the coastline of south-west England, conservationists warned it may take a little while for the new wildflower meadows to flourish fully. But 18 months on, a vibrant display of blooms has popped up in north Devon, a joy for human visitors and a draw for precious birds, insects, and mammals. (more)

Green, green seagrass of home: Welsh nursery growing to save marine habitat
2 June 2024 - Between Dylan Thomas's boathouse home at Laugharne and the natural fast track of Pendine Sands in south-west Wales, an ambitious project is under way to try to help restore one of the world's most important and threatened habitats: seagrass meadows. Two species of seagrass, flowering plants that live in shallow, sheltered bays and provide a vital habitat for species including seahorses, octopuses, and cuttlefish and are an important carbon sink, are being grown in ponds fed with seawater pumped in from Carmarthen Bay. (more)

Scotland's remote land of bogs and bugs in line for world heritage status
2 June 2024 - t is a land of mire, mist ,and midges that could soon be awarded a special status among the planet's wild habitats. In a few weeks, UNESCO is set to announce its decision on an application to allow the Flow Country in north Scotland to become a world heritage site. ...The Flow Country straddles Caithness and Sutherland in the most northerly part of the British mainland and is the largest area of blanket bog in the world. (more)

UK: Beckham swaps beekeeping tips with the King
2 June 2024 - David Beckham has said he swapped 'beekeeping tips' with King Charles at a recent meeting. Beckham's passion for beekeeping was shown in the recent Netflix documentary about the footballer, which shows him walking in full apiarist attire to his beehives. The former England captain said the pair met at the monarch's Highgrove home in Gloucestershire to discuss the work of the King's Foundation. The foundation runs educational programs and training, while also aiming to revitalize communities through urban regeneration and planning and supporting sustainability. (more)

UK: Extinct 'mountain jewel' plant returned to wild -- in secret location
24 May 2024 - A plant that went extinct in the wild has been re-introduced to the UK mainland in a secret location to keep it safe. It's just one small plant but with one in six species in the UK endangered, you've got to start somewhere. The BBC was there the moment pioneering horticulturist Robbie Blackhall-Miles returned it to its native soil. (more)

Webb Space Telescope rewrites the rules of galactic evolution
23 May 2024 - Advanced observations by the JWST indicate that early galaxies matured faster and were less chaotic, challenging previous theories of galaxy evolution. New research has revealed that the Universe's early galaxies were less turbulent and developed more rapidly than previously believed. This research, led by an international team from Durham University [Durham, England], utilized the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to find evidence of bar formation when the Universe was only a few billion years old. (more)

---

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)

---

Flops
Short Summaries of Top Stories

'It stains your brain': How social media algorithms show violence to boys
2 September 2024 - It was 2022 and Cai, then 16, was scrolling on his phone. He says one of the first videos he saw on his social media feeds was of a cute dog. But then, it all took a turn. (more)

Toxic PFAS absorbed through skin at levels higher than previously thought
30 June 2024 - Absorption through skin could be 'significant source of exposure'' to toxic forever chemicals, study shows. New research 'for the first time proves' toxic PFAS forever chemicals are absorbed through human skin, and at levels much higher than previously thought. (more)

Fish deaths in England's rivers rise tenfold in four years
20 May 2024 - Mass deaths of fish in England's rivers have increased almost tenfold since 2020, with fears sewage pollution is exterminating life in the country's waterways. (more)

Swallow, swift, and house martin populations have nearly halved, finds UK bird survey
16 May 2024 - Reduction in insect numbers contributes to drop, and there are declines across more than a third of bird species surveyed. Swallows, swifts, and house martins were once a common sight over UK towns and cities, dextrously catching insects on the wing. But these spring and summer visitors are becoming increasingly rare, according to the definitive survey of the country's birds. Populations of these insect-eating birds have dropped by 40% or more in the past decade, according to the latest Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) report. (more)

'Pesticides by stealth': garden soil conditioners killing worms, experts fear
4 May 2024 - Even products marketed as 'organic' may be toxic, say campaigners, with risks for the wider ecosystem. Gardeners are inadvertently killing scores of earthworms with soil conditioners marketed as 'organic', experts fear, as they call for tighter regulation on products that poison the invertebrates. Earthworms may appear humble, but Charles Darwin thought their work in improving soil structure and fertility was so important he devoted his final book to them. (more)

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)