Royal Navy warship destroys supersonic missile in weapons test
HMS Dragon, a Type 45 destroyer, launched a specially modified Sea Viper missile at an incoming high-speed target.
It marks the first time the Royal Navy has faced down such a target — one that is challenging due to its speed and its ability to carry out corkscrew and weave manoeuvres.
The Sea Viper launched was a specially modified telemetry version, designed to record measurements and valuable data to inform future operations.
The missile firing took place as part of Exercise Formidable Shield, the largest annual live-firing exercise in Europe. The Portsmouth-based ship showcased its ability to defend itself and other
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
'Forever toxins' found in everything from cosmetics to waterproof clothing linked to weight struggle
Toxins found in everything from cosmetics to waterproof clothing could hinder weight loss, a study has shown. Researchers have discovered that levels of so-called 'forever' chemicals in the blood may, in the long term, lead to people piling the pounds back on after shedding them. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are in hundreds of everyday products because of their durability. But last year a review of 500 studies found they were linked to 'serious health implications', including weakening the immune system and cancer. The Government is set to receive recommendations from a panel of experts later this year on how levels of PFAS can be reduced. Now researchers say the chemicals may also affect the body's metabolic process – which is how it converts food into nutrients. In the study, published in the Journal Of Obesity this week, researchers assessed 186 teenagers who had bariatric surgery – which works by making the stomach smaller and the patient feel fuller quicker. After the surgery, patients are at risk of slowly putting weight back on, and the researchers found people with high levels of PFAS were at a greater risk. They tested the participants' blood for levels of PFAS before the surgery and found that those with the highest levels of the chemicals put on twice as much weight in the five years after the surgery compared to those with the lowest levels. 'With the growing use of weight loss interventions around the world, it's critical for us to understand the association between PFAS and successful weight loss management, including what this means for long-term outcomes,' said Dr Brittney Baumert, a researcher at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine who led the study. 'PFAS are a modifiable risk, which is why protective policies are so important to reduce exposure and safeguard public health – especially for vulnerable populations.' Experts say that while their research looked specifically at bariatric surgery, the findings may also be relevant for people on fat jabs. 'We're also interested in exploring whether PFAS exposure is relevant to other weight loss interventions, including GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic,' said Dr Baumert.
Daily Mail
19 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Scientists pinpoint the personality type which is most likely to have mental health problems
Up to one in three people may be what psychologists call a 'highly sensitive person' (HSP)—often dismissed as 'thin-skinned' or even a 'drama queen.' But HSPs could actually be wired differently, according to British scientists. In world-first research involving more than 12,000 people, experts found those with high sensitivity were more likely to experience mental health issues, including anxiety and depression, than their less sensitive counterparts. Experts labelled the discovery 'important' but stressed further research is needed to explore how sensitivity affects the success of different mental health treatments. Tom Falkenstein, a psychotherapist at Queen Mary University of London and study co-author, said: 'We found positive and moderate correlations between sensitivity and various mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, agoraphobia and avoidant personality disorder. 'Our findings suggest that sensitivity should be considered more in clinical practice which could be used to improve diagnosis of conditions. In addition, our findings could help improve treatment for these individuals. 'HSPs are more likely to respond better to some psychological interventions than less sensitive individuals. 'Therefore, sensitivity should be considered when thinking about treatment plans for mental health conditions.' An HSP is clinically defined as someone with 'increased central nervous system sensitivity to physical, emotional or social stimuli.' The term was coined in the mid-1990s by psychologist Elaine Aron, who published The Highly Sensitive Person. She theorised that HSPs may have a hyper-evolved sense of danger, likely the result of inherited genes, allowing them to 'read' other human emotions to an extraordinary degree. Later research suggested HSPs may have higher levels of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, contributing to heightened responsiveness to stimuli, while other studies have cited childhood trauma as a potential cause. Several high-profile figures, including actors Nicole Kidman and Miranda Hart, and most recently David Bowie's artist daughter Lexi Jones, have spoken publicly about identifying as HSPs. In the new research, scientists analysed 33 studies involving 12,697 adults and children over 12 years of age, with an average participant age of 25. They found HSPs were most likely to suffer depression and anxiety. Writing in the journal Clinical Psychological Science, the researchers said: 'Sensitivity is significantly correlated with common mental-health outcomes. 'It is also noticeable that we found moderate and positive correlations with agoraphobia and avoidant personality disorder,' the researchers said. One explanation for the higher likelihood of HSPs experiencing anxiety may be their 'depth of processing or their tendency to respond with overstimulation', they added. 'Depth of processing might reflect a tendency to worry about future outcomes or could lead to imagining possible future scenarios in a given situation that could account for some anxiety. 'Depression, on the other hand, might be more dependent on the environmental factors.' Professor Michael Pluess, an expert in developmental psychology at the University of Surrey and Queen Mary University of London and study co-author, said: 'It is important to remember that highly sensitive people are also more responsive to positive experiences, including psychological treatment. 'Our results provide further evidence that sensitive people are more affected by both negative and positive experiences and that the quality of their environment is particularly important for their well-being.' The researchers, however, acknowledged the study had 'several limitations' including the fact the average age of study participants was 25 and most were 'highly education young women'. This 'overrepresentation of women' may make it 'difficult to predict whether the correlations observed could apply to a more diverse population', they added. Heightened sensitivity may also be a 'consequence of mental health problems', researchers noted, which requires further research. Finally, all studies analysed relied on participants self-reporting their feelings which could skew results, given they may have been 'influenced by the participant's specific level of introspection'. Latest statistics show that the number of people seeking help for mental illness has surged by two fifths since before the pandemic, reaching almost 4million. Meanwhile, the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show almost a quarter of children in England now have a 'probable mental disorder' — up from one in the five in the previous year. Last year, NHS England said it was treating 55 per cent more under-18s than before the pandemic. Dozens of studies have also recently highlighted how the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have hindered children's development and may have exacerbated mental health issues.
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Natural conception nearly 50% more likely after weight loss, study
Obese women who participate in weight loss programmes before starting in vitro fertilisation (IVF) are 47% more likely to conceive naturally than those receiving minimal or no weight loss support, according to a recent University of Oxford-led research, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, analysed 12 international trials involving 1,921 study also found the interventions increased the odds of any pregnancy - naturally or by IVF by 21%.But research lead, associate professor Nerys Astbury, said there was a need for "larger, high-quality trials to confirm the effect on live births". The researchers said the findings were particularly significant as NHS commissioning bodies across England restrict access to NHS-funded IVF for women with a Body Mass Index (BMI) over from a wide range of interventions were used, including diet programmes, exercise and weight loss average, women in the intervention groups lost 4kg (9lbs) more than those in the comparison the researchers stressed that while the review provided "the clearest picture yet of the benefits for conception", the effect on the ultimate goal – a healthy baby - "is still unclear".Prof Astbury said the evidence on live birth rates "was of very low certainty because many studies did not follow the pregnancies through to birth and report this outcome"."It was also interesting that when we restricted the analysis to low-energy diet replacement programmes, which lead to greater weight loss, there was an increase in live births, but this needs to be confirmed in larger trials," she said."Policymakers should consider whether integrating structured weight loss support into fertility services could improve outcomes for patients, while potentially reducing overall costs by increasing the number of women who conceive naturally."Dr Moscho Michalopoulou, lead author from Oxford's Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, said the findings "suggest that offering structured weight loss support could improve the chance of conceiving naturally, which may avoid the need for IVF treatment"."Programmes that help women achieve greater weight losses have the potential to help more women achieve a successful outcome, and should be tested in larger high-quality trials." You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
