Irina Aksenova

Irina Aksenova The new series of the blockbuster Netflix show is a fun, albeit terrifying adventure

The effect is like pouring water at high speed on to concrete, Dr Rob Thompson, a meteorologist at the University of Rea...
16/08/2022

The effect is like pouring water at high speed on to concrete, Dr Rob Thompson, a meteorologist at the University of Reading, told BBC News.

"Grounds of our gardens, parks and farmlands are now all potentially as dry as tarmac and concrete gets. Areas that aren't tarmac will behave like tarmac when rain hits them," he says.

The major effect drought has on soil is something called hydrophobicity, explains soil scientist Prof John Quinton, at the University of Lancaster.

Why are large parts of England in drought?
'Every day it doesn't rain, the pressure mounts'
Driest July in England since 1935
When water hits a waterproof jacket, it is repelled - making it form droplets on top and eventually run off.

Chalk streams and rivers rise from springs in chalk bedrock - a layer of spongy rock found beneath much of southern and ...
10/08/2022

Chalk streams and rivers rise from springs in chalk bedrock - a layer of spongy rock found beneath much of southern and eastern England, that can hold vast quantities of water.

This layer of white limestone is composed of the same material that makes up the white cliffs of Dover and supplies water for rivers and taps in much of the south east of England.

Water is pumped out of the ground or taken directly from rivers, to the tune of millions of litres a day.

Southern Water, which supplies water to Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, said the decision to introduce a hosepipe ban was a "vital step" to protect the habitats of the River Test and the River Itchen, where it extracts water.

The climate crisis is making our food systems vulnerable, and scientists expect it to get worse.Extreme weather and long...
03/08/2022

The climate crisis is making our food systems vulnerable, and scientists expect it to get worse.

Extreme weather and long-term environmental changes harm crops, livestock, and fisheries.

Researchers and scientific reports answer key questions about food and the climate crisis.

See all of the stories in this package here.

In Kansas, more than 2,000 cattle died in a record heat wave. In Tunisia, fires razed fields of grain to the ground. In southern China, historic flooding damaged almost 100,000 hectares of crops. In northern Italy, a farm lobby warned that drought could claim half the region's agricultural output.

That was just June.

While cybersickness symptoms may initially appear benign, they can have enduring effects lasting up to 24 hours after de...
26/07/2022

While cybersickness symptoms may initially appear benign, they can have enduring effects lasting up to 24 hours after device use. This may not seem like a big deal at first. But these lingering symptoms could affect your ability to function in ways that could prove dangerous.

For instance, symptoms like severe headache, eye strain or dizziness could affect your coordination and attention. If these side effects persist while you’re operating a vehicle, it could lead to a car accident. It’s unclear whether the user, software company or some other party would be responsible for injuries potentially caused by device use and cybersickness symptoms.

One study in the UK found that children who had pets at home were more likely to have higher levels of belief about anim...
11/07/2022

One study in the UK found that children who had pets at home were more likely to have higher levels of belief about animals' minds, that is, thinking that animals have thoughts and feelings of their own.

"You can have all sorts of imaginary stories in your head about a lion, but until somebody takes you to Africa, you'll never meet one in the wild," he says. "But a dog or a cat is there and can teach you about what it's actually like to be an animal, that animals are not human, they have very special lives that belong to them and not to us."

Even young babies are watching and learning about the animals they live with. Research by Karinna Hurley and Lisa Oakes at the University of California, Davis, US, found that infants in households with a pet were better at recognising animal faces by the time they were 10 months old than those without.

What's more, a child's relationship with their pet could provide a much-needed link with nature. "To have a real living, breathing, slightly messy animal running around the house is a good way of making those connections," says Bradshaw.

Many top culinary masters are abandoning the French capital in favour of greener pastures, where they can have a hand no...
04/07/2022

Many top culinary masters are abandoning the French capital in favour of greener pastures, where they can have a hand not just in choosing, but in growing their ingredients.
I
It began before the pandemic: an exodus of chefs abandoning Paris for the French countryside.

James Henry's 2017 departure was perhaps the most publicised. The Australian chef, who first skyrocketed to fame at small-plates trendsetters Au Passage and the former Bones, left the Parisian cityscape to work alongside chef Shaun Kelly (ex-Au Passage) on a passion project: opening a restaurant and inn in the small town of Saint-Vrain 30km south of Paris. The result – Le Doyenné – is set to debut later this year. And, as the pair plant their orchard and renovate the 19th-Century greenhouse and stables, they've also been supplying some of Paris' top restaurants with produce from their three-acre vegetable garden.

But Henry and Kelly are far from the only chefs to step out of Paris in recent years.

"I think it started before Covid, but it was discreet," said Daniela Lavadenz, owner of Le Saint-Sébastien restaurant in Paris' trendy 11th arrondissement. "There was already an explosion of people buying country homes before Covid. But everything was multiplied with the pandemic."

Further research suggests these weather shifts, combined with the breakdown of the hydraulic system and increasing attac...
27/06/2022

Further research suggests these weather shifts, combined with the breakdown of the hydraulic system and increasing attacks from the neighbouring Siamese, caused the capital to shift south to Oudong.

"The history books tell you the end of Angkor is because the Siamese overran it in 1431," said Dr Damian. "I don't think that happened. The evidence we have indicates it was more long-term. The pressure of huge droughts, the water management system breaking down, constant attacks from the Siamese and the expansion of maritime routes all contributed."

Regardless, once Angkor was abandoned, it was reclaimed by nature. While locals were aware of the ancient monuments, they were shrouded by jungle from the rest of the world until 1860, when they were "rediscovered" by French explorer Henri Mouhot. This sparked a series of huge restoration projects that continue today.

In the last two decades, Cambodia has seen a huge increase in tourists flocking to Angkor Wat Archaeological Park to stand in the shadows of Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm and Bayon temples. In 2019, 2.2 million people explored the site. The surge in hotels, eateries and visitors put huge pressure on water demand, causing drastic shortages. As the temples rely on a constant g oundwater supply to remain standing, this sparked concern over the preservation of the Unesco-listed site.

We can see, hear and even feel the action as it happens on screen, but odour is still missing from the list of senses th...
15/06/2022

We can see, hear and even feel the action as it happens on screen, but odour is still missing from the list of senses that are stimulated for entertainment.
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Frederik Duerinck isn't a jeweller, but his next project is a necklace. This piece, though, doesn't feature a precious stone as a pendant, but rather a small box. Right now, it measures a slightly unwieldy 5cm by 5cm (2in x 2in), but Duerinck is determined to shrink it down to the size of a die. It is no simple ornament either.

Inside the cube is a battery and scenting system designed to deliver a puff of fragrance on demand that Duerinck describes as a "scent bubble". The Netherlands-based entrepreneur is the co-founder of startup Scentronix, which already operates a perfume printing machine. That device uses an algorithm to build a bespoke scent based on a customer's answers in a questionnaire. But now Deurinck wants to deploy the same technology in miniature so that digital scenting can be mobile.

Wear one to the movies, for example, and you could use an app on your phone to program it to play along, dispensing discreet scents at key moments. The ultimate device is nowhere near ready, Duerinck acknowledges – its current size and battery life are hurdles, as is the quality of the scent and the projection. But he remains optimistic. "We have proof of concept with our prototype, and there's nothing out there right now which works that way, so we're applying for a patent." The next step, he hopes, is to finesse it enough to win over investors and secure funding for further development on a wearable version.

When Taiwan's capital discovered an active volcano on its doorstep, it found itself hastily setting up a system to monit...
13/06/2022

When Taiwan's capital discovered an active volcano on its doorstep, it found itself hastily setting up a system to monitor it for dangerous signs.
S
Steam billows from cracks in rocks stained a sickly yellow-green. Pools of cloudy water bubble like a pan on the boil. The sharp stench of sulphur laces the air.

This smouldering moonscape is Xiaoyoukeng, an impressive collection of steam vents in Yangmingshan National Park, an 11,000-hectare (42 sq-mile) expanse of hiking trails lying within Taipei's city limits.

Xiaoyoukeng is the best place to get up close to the park's geothermal activity – it is pitted with fumaroles (natural vents in the Earth's surface that allow gases to escape like steam from a kettle's spout) and hot springs, some just a metre (39in) or so from the paths.

For decades, most residents of the Taiwanese capital simply thought they were lucky to have such a striking national park on their doorstep. Geologists knew about the Datun (sometimes spelt Tatun) Volcano Group, a body of around 20 peaks, in the park, but they largely thought that the fumaroles and hot springs were simply remnants of its fiery past. With no historical records of an eruption, the accepted view was that the group was extinct and no longer posed a risk.

She's racing against time, development and the island's natural elements to save Gullah homes and cemeteries.Sallie Ann ...
10/06/2022

She's racing against time, development and the island's natural elements to save Gullah homes and cemeteries.

Sallie Ann Robinson wasn't supposed to be born on Daufuskie. But it was almost like the island had a pull on her from the very beginning.

Robinson is the sixth generation of her family to live on this remote South Carolina isle off the east coast of the United States. Daufuskie is credited with the beginnings of Gullah culture – the customs and traditions shaped in the 18th Century by African American enslaved people along the coast and sea islands of South Carolina. Today, their descendants celebrate the unique culture through food, art, music, spirituality and language.

When she was pregnant and visiting her parents on the island, Robinson's mother unexpectedly went into labour while making dinner at the wood-burning stove. A midwife came to help, ushering baby Sallie Ann into the world. After the birth, mother and daughter were stuck on Daufuskie until they could safely travel. Drawn in by the coastal beauty and comforted by the presence of family, Robinson's mother decided to stay in their Gullah cottage – small homes constructed by the first freed slaves able to own land.

Just as minimalism found its moment, now it's the turn of the tiny house movement. Beverley D'Silva explores why, when i...
07/06/2022

Just as minimalism found its moment, now it's the turn of the tiny house movement. Beverley D'Silva explores why, when it comes to dwellings, small is beautiful.

In the world of home design, a revolution is taking place – and its future is tiny. The buzz around the tiny house trend – an architectural and social movement that advocates for downsizing living spaces – is increasing. Witness the nearly 2.5 million Instagram posts with a "tinyhouse" hashtag; a massive internet following and burgeoning number of documentaries and TV series, such as the Netflix show Tiny House Nation, and a series on the subject by UK architect and TV presenter George Clarke.

Boasting one of the world's highest vaccination rates, Malta is now welcoming back visitors safely with cash incentives ...
06/06/2022

Boasting one of the world's highest vaccination rates, Malta is now welcoming back visitors safely with cash incentives and a recently launched Nomad Residence Permit.

The Mediterranean island-nation of Malta may be small but its response to the pandemic has been mighty. Once enforcing some of the strictest restrictions in Europe, the country has finally been able to open its borders and welcome back visitors safely, boasting one of the world's highest vaccination rates.

Nearly 81% of all Malta residents are fully vaccinated. In fact, Malta and Portugal are the only two nations in Europe that have reached a more than 80% vaccination rate across their total population (including teenagers age 12 to 17, who have been eligible to get the vaccine since summer 2021), according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). This make them two of the only places likely to avoid a winter resurgence says the ECDC director, and among the safest places to travel in 2021. Visitors to Malta must be vaccinated themselves if they want to skip a 14-day quarantine.

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