Win against the wasps! There are more than ever, so here world-leading experts reveal what really works against them - from a trick with tights to the sure-fire way to make them leave your picnic alone
Professor Seirian Sumner, Professor of Behavioural Ecology at University College, London, and author of Endless Forms: The Secret World Of Wasps, says: 'That double combination of the spring weather being perfect for wasps and the summer being good for insects in general with lots of prey around for the wasps means it's a really good wasp year.'
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Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
We'll use AI to spot more prostate cancer, says Science Secretary
Artificial Intelligence will be harnessed to find hidden cases of prostate cancer, the Science Secretary has said. Peter Kyle told The Telegraph that the Government is investing £168m on initiatives to use public data better and one major goal is to improve cancer screening on the NHS. A world-leading initiative led by Cancer Research UK has been given £10m in funding to improve cancer screening methods by identifying the most at-risk people and offering them personalised tests. The funding will 'develop AI-powered tools that can predict cancer risk', Mr Kyle said, and could save thousands of lives a year. The Telegraph has launched a campaign calling for a targeted national screening programme for prostate cancer, which focusses on men who are at the greatest risk. This includes men over 50, black men, whose risk is twice that of white men, and those with a family history of prostate cancer. Steve McQueen, Bob Willis and Chris Hoy are some of the high-profile British men to be recently diagnosed with the condition. Around 55,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer annually in England and around 33 men a day die from the condition. Writing for The Telegraph alongside Stian Westlake, the executive chairman of the Economic and Social Research Council, Mr Kyle said: 'This funding will support work on a project linking health records to demographics, family history and behaviour to identify those at higher risk of this devastating illness, so that it can be treated early – potentially saving thousands of lives every year.' The plan is to create flexible national screening programmes which can pick up more cases in individuals who may otherwise be missed and diagnosed only when the cancer was incurable. Officials are hoping to replicate the success of BRCA1 genetic screening. Around one in 400 people has faulty BRCA genes, which give women a 60 per cent chance of developing breast cancer. This received widespread attention and became known as the 'Angelina Jolie gene' after the Hollywood actress underwent a double mastectomy after finding out she was a carrier in 2013. The NHS now offers genetic tests to high-risk groups, such as Jewish women, to catch as many cases early as possible. Mr Kyle said: 'Just as BRCA gene screening, heroically brought to the fore by campaigners including Angelina Jolie, revolutionised how we understand and manage the risk of hereditary breast cancer, this next generation of data-driven screening could do the same for more cancers, including prostate cancer.' Scientists running the scheme hope it can enable the NHS to offer more frequent cancer screening sessions or screening at a younger age to those at higher risk, while those at lower risk could be spared unnecessary tests. People identified as higher risk could also be sent for cancer testing faster when they go to their GP with possible symptoms. The wider Administrative Data Partnership will last until 2031 and try to repurpose data that already exists to make improvements to the judicial service, education, health and other public sectors. Combining, standardising and interpreting different datasets simultaneously is a daunting challenge for scientists owing to decades of independent data collection and little crossover. However, the Government believes that vast data reserves, combined with the power of AI computing, could transform healthcare. The cancer screening project will build new models over the next five years to merge relevant data as well as creating algorithms which will process it and ensure the results are accurate and reliable. Antonis Antoniou, the programme director and professor of cancer risk prediction at the University of Cambridge, said: 'The UK's strengths in population-scale data resources, combined with advanced analytical tools like AI, offer tremendous opportunities to link disparate datasets and uncover clues that could lead to earlier detection, diagnosis, and prevention of more cancers.' Dr David Crosby, the head of prevention and early detection research at Cancer Research UK, told The Telegraph: 'The single most important thing we can do to beat cancer is to find it earlier, when treatment is more likely to be successful. 'With half a million cancer cases per year expected in the UK by 2040, we need a major shift towards more accurate diagnosis and detection of early cancer. 'The Cancer Data Driven Detection programme will link health data sources together and build the powerful new tools doctors need to identify those at highest risk of cancer and prioritise resources towards them. 'Moving towards a preventative approach to healthcare will not be easy and will take time. Cancer Research UK's investment in the programme is an investment in the future of cancer care.' Data is the key to changing lives for the better By Peter Kyle and Stian Westlake For much of our everyday lives, data is king – from digital maps getting us from A to B, to health apps keeping our fitness and sleep in check, to even streaming platforms suggesting the next drama we might want to get stuck into. For this government, making good use of data is the difference between successful policies that are rooted in evidence, and those that rely on hope, luck or intuition, which no minister, legislator or council leader wants to rely on. Ultimately data is the bedrock of decision-making, ensuring policies, programmes and funding are doing what they are intended to do – changing lives for the better. Linking data from across government to the national pupil database for example can help to really dig into the source of inequalities that trap too many Brits from childhood through to the labour market – helping us to take targeted action in boosting social mobility and shattering glass ceilings. Or by better applying it in the justice system, we can understand patterns of reoffending, stopping career criminals from inflicting more misery on the law-abiding majority. And it can forecast the impact that this government extending the national living wage has on younger workers, so that millions more who put the hours in take home the pay they deserve. What unites all of these examples is that they were all made possible by UKRI's administrative data research UK partnership. It works to connect, and make sense of, the huge wealth of data that is generated by government services, bringing it to our world class researchers securely and with the public's privacy at heart since 2018. In short it has been demonstrating the role data can play in improving lives in as many ways as we can imagine and more. But we know we can go further and too many social and economic researchers – many of the very best of whom are right here in the UK – simply can't access the data they need. It is fragmented and siloed, held in different datasets by different public organisations. That means too many rely instead on insights from abroad, which while offering much, simply can't tell the full story of life in Britain in 2025. Accessing the raw resource of all that data and translating it into a form that researchers can use is no easy task, and while we need to grow our data science expertise, we also need to build relationships and make the case to other organisations that secure data sharing has the power to change lives. That is why UKRI is investing a further £168m to continue ADR UK's programme of work through to 2031. This includes continuing our partnership with Cancer Research UK to develop AI-powered tools that can predict cancer risk based on health records, family history and behaviour. Just as BRCA gene screening, heroically brought to the fore by campaigners including Angelina Jolie, revolutionised how we understand and manage the risk of hereditary breast cancer, this next generation of data-driven screening could do the same for more cancers, including prostate cancer. This funding will support work with organisations and charities like Cancer Research UK for example, on a project linking health records to demographics, family history, and behaviour to identify those at higher risk of this devastating illness, so that it can be treated early – potentially saving thousands of lives every year. The ADR will also offer learnings for and help us shape our new national data library, a central government resource designed to bring together existing research programmes and make it easier for policymakers and public bodies to access and use data securely to improve public services. As the incredible opportunities and challenges of technology like AI advance at unprecedented speeds and as we grapple with the fate of our planet as our climate changes, using data to drive policy for the generations to come has never been more important. This government is driven by a plan for change that will transform the lives of the British people, from growing our economy so that our payslips go further, to unlocking opportunity for everyone regardless of background, and building an NHS that is fit for the future and makes the most of the opportunities in new technology. Data can play a huge part in getting that right and targeting government support where it is needed most.
BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
Hundreds set to graduate from University of Wolverhampton
The University of Wolverhampton is gearing up to celebrate its class of 2025, with more than 2,600 students being recognised for their university's eight graduation ceremonies take place at the University of Wolverhampton at The Halls from Monday until Thursday. The students will join a community of more than 155,000 graduates in 130 countries across the world, becoming part of the university's global alumni individuals have also been nominated for an honorary award for exceptional contributions to their fields. This year's list includes astronaut Jannicke Mikkelsen, a graduate from the university, who has been awarded an Honorary Doctor of Mikkelsen made history earlier this year by launching into space aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule from NASA's Kennedy Space served as the vehicle commander for the four-crew mission, which was a first-of-its-kind astronaut flight over Earth's poles. The space explorer has also worked in virtual reality filmmaking and extreme expedition a severe childhood accident that left her temporarily quadriplegic, she channelled her passion for technology and exploration into a thriving career in film and cinematography. Ms Mikkelsen directed the first live-concert film in virtual reality for Queen and produced documentaries with Sir David Attenborough. She also contributed to NASA projects, including a VR exhibit commemorating the Apollo 11 50th anniversary, and led a Guinness record-breaking circumnavigation of the Earth in under 48 gained a BA Hons Video and Film Production at the University of Wolverhampton. Another honorary award will go to Jai Herbert, a Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter born in fighter, known as The Black Country Banger, will be awarded an Honorary Fellowship. Professor Ebrahim Adia, vice chancellor at the university, said: "We are an ambitious university that is proudly rooted in our communities. "We offer opportunity to all, regardless of background and that spirit of social mobility and aspiration to equip people with the skills they need to succeed in life and work runs through the heart of what we do." Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
Sellafield robotic arms to decommission nuclear gloveboxes
A development in robotic technology could be the answer to cleaning up hundreds of nuclear devices collected over in Cumbria, Europe's largest nuclear plant, has built up a stack of 700 gloveboxes - sealed containers with built in gloves that allow operators to handle radioactive are up to 60 years old, vary in size and shape and still contain contaminated materials like pipework and valves.A team of robotics experts has developed a dextrous mechanised arm that can be fitted inside an active nuclear glovebox to help tackle the challenging task of cleaning up and disposing of these devices. Known as the Risk Reduction of Glovebox Operations (RrOBO) project, it was developed in partnership with AtkinsRéalis, Cavendish Nuclear and Taylor Kightley Engineering."Removing hands from gloveboxes is a key challenge for the nuclear industry and we're proud to be helping to drive change and improve safety," said Robert Marwood, from AtkinsRé proved the robotic arm could successfully carry out a complex series of tasks safely, meaning the technology can now be deployed to legacy gloveboxes to accelerate decommissioning. A spokesman for Sellafield, which opened in 1947 and has the largest stockpile of radioactive plutonium in the world, said some of its older labs contained gloveboxes dating back decades, taking up space and posing "a potential hazard to workers and the environment"It started running a glovebox training facility this year to help meet demand for the spokesman said: "We'll need a pipeline of skilled glovebox operators for many years to come, but it's difficult work requiring high levels of dexterity and consistent standards."They added the nuclear industry nationally needed thousands of new gloveboxes to support "current and future missions in the decommissioning and defence sectors." Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
