
Rare lesser emperor dragonfly spotted in Leicestershire
Ian Merrill, a dragonfly recorder and member of the British Dragonfly society, said the sighting was an "unusual occurrence".He also said that the presence of the species in the UK was "linked to climate change".The lesser emperor has been regularly migrating to the UK from Europe since about 2000.According to the British Dragonfly Society, most species of dragonfly are tropical and prefer warmer weather.But habitat loss and climate change are threatening many species.And as the UK's weather is expected to get warmer because of climate change, we might see different species of animals migrating to our shores.
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19 minutes ago
- BBC News
Fast MRI breast screening hopes to find cancers earlier
A new breast cancer study is looking at whether a fast MRI scan might help find "hard to spot" tumours Fast MRI Dyamond study is being led by North Bristol NHS Trust and will scan about 1,000 women, aged 50 to 52, across six NHS sites, including Cheltenham, Swindon and is hoped the MRI scan – which is carried out in around three minutes - will detect breast cancers that may not be picked up routinely by mammograms in women with average breast Lyn Jones, consultant radiologist and the study lead, believes lives could be saved, adding: "We know that Fast MRI can find cancers earlier than mammograms for women with dense breasts." One of those joining the three and a half year study is Diana Dalgliesh, whose sister Alison died in 2023 from breast cancer in her Dalgliesh, who works at Southmead Hospital, said: "Her breast cancer was not picked up on a mammogram which she'd had only a few months before her diagnosis."Perhaps if there had been a different way of screening it might have been [picked up], so I thought if I am able to have an MRI scan, it may detect things earlier than if I just had a mammogram alone."Ms Dalgliesh said she has "little doubt" her sister's cancer would have been picked up earlier, if she had the option of an MRI."I know the type of cancer she had is more easily seen on an MRI than a mammogram, whether it would have changed the outcome I don't know," she added. At age 50 to 52, breasts can look both completely white or dark on appearances are normal, as are all the different combinations of white and dark in between. These differences are called mammographic density or breast breast density can make a small cancer difficult to spot on a Fast MRI is a shortened form of a breast MRI scan that has already been proven to find aggressive cancers smaller than a centimetre for women with dense benefits of Fast MRI include there being no need to flatten the breast – which can cause discomfort and no need for radiation (X-rays).Jointly funded by grants of £1.36m from the Medical Research Council and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), it will be the first time in the UK that breast MRI scans will be offered to women with average breast density at their routine screening mammogram. Janice Rose, from Independent Cancer Patients' Voice, a patient advocate group, said the Fast MRI technology "could have a huge benefit to women entering the screening programme"."Early diagnosis for breast cancer gives women the best possible outcome," she NHS Breast Screening Programme offers women aged 50 to 70 years old a mammogram every three detecting breast cancers before they can be seen or felt, breast screening already saves around 1,300 lives each year in the UK.


BBC News
19 minutes ago
- BBC News
Nightjar numbers tracked in major heathland bird survey
The mysterious nightjar is among the species being tracked as part of the largest survey of heathland birds for more than 20 study, organised by the British Trust for Ornithology, will also focus on woodlarks and Dartford nightjar, which is surrounded by myth and folklore, journeys to the UK to breed, before flying back to the Democratic Republic of Congo at the end of the is most numerous in southern England, and the work hopes to establish if it has continued its recovery and extended its range. "I absolutely love a nightjar. They are by far my favourite bird," says Mya Bambrick, Youth Representative with the British Trust for are standing in the middle of nowhere on heathland in the north of the New Forest. The light is fading fast and we have set off in search of the nightjar."They're such a unique species that we have here in the UK," Mya says."They are corpuscular, hence why we're out here at this time, so they're active at dusk and dawn."And they make an absolutely fascinating sound."They are also experts at camouflage and only active in poor light, so trying to spot one, let along film one, is going to prove a challenge. But while the nightjar can be hard to see, its strange call is instantly recognisable. "The males make what we call a churr," explains Mya."Almost like an insect. I would say there's nothing else that looks and sounds like a Nightjar."Mya encourages me to cup my ears as we both scan the horizons for the first sounds and glimpses of the bird. A faint insect-like noise gradually starts to drift across the heath, before a sharp "peep" of a flight call rings excitedly points behind me as I spin round to catch my first glimpse of one."Flying now - flying just above the tree line to the right of that big tree." It is not long before we see the distinctive silhouettes of nightjars, with their pointed wings and long tails, circling one point two males dart after a female disappearing in and out of trees on the edge of the faint churring has increased in volume, with flight calls ringing out around us."You can see why they're my favourite bird - I mean they're absolutely stunning," Mya says."We've had all the vocalisations. We had the churring, we had the 'kwik, kwik' flight call. "And then we also had that whirring down call, so we know there's a female definitely on a nest very nearby." In 2004 the Nightjar population was recorded as 4,600 territories across the UK. This year's survey hopes to confirm anecdotal evidence of increasing continued conservation work to restore heathland has undoubtedly had a positive effect, the decline of our insect population may be a factor in the the meantime this is one bird that has just gained another fan. You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.


BBC News
19 minutes ago
- BBC News
Rare white-clawed crayfish rescued from drying beck in Bradford
A previously unknown population of critically endangered crayfish has been rescued from a drying watercourse in West Davies, from Burley in Wharfedale, alerted the Environment Agency (EA) after spotting the native white-clawed crayfish struggling in a section of a nearby beck, affected by ongoing drought conditions.A total of 32 adults, including 21 egg-carrying females, were successfully relocated to a licensed quarantine facility, where they will undergo health Davies told the BBC: "I love the fact that they were saved and hopefully can be used to potentially introduce them into other areas where they would have been found before but have now been wiped out." The crayfish were rescued by the EA's fisheries team by hand - a difficult job as the crustaceans often hide under rocks or bury into the rescued crayfish have been moved to the EA's facility hosted by York Gate Gardens near Leeds, until they pass a health agency hopes to return them to their original habitat once water levels stabilise. Periods of dry weather and low rivers can have serious consequences for the environment and wildlife, the agency said."Rivers that usually flow with water have become a disconnected series of pools, and those pools have become isolated then wildlife can't move as freely within the water as they are used to," said manager Martin Christmas."We've had two or three heat waves and that's meant that the water temperature is a lot warmer than it usually is and warm water doesn't dissolve oxygen as well as cooler water. "So we've seen a number of examples where fish have got into trouble because there's a lack of oxygen in the water." According to the EA, white-clawed crayfish are the UK's only native freshwater play a vital role in keeping waterways clean and as a source of food for other native species used to be common across Yorkshire but is now critically endangered, largely due to being out-competed by the larger, more aggressive American signal who sees fish or wildlife in distress is asked to contact the agency. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.