‘Irreplaceable' Cornish coral beds could be killed by sewage
Irreplaceable 4,000-year-old coral beds off the Cornish coast could be killed after being smothered in algae caused by sewage pollution and run-off from farms.
Marine scientists and conservationists were left shocked by the state of the ancient beds of rare pink calcified seaweeds, known as maerl, which are crucial to supporting fragile underwater ecosystems and act as a nursery for commercial fish and shellfish.
The rose pink of a maerl bed is a very rare sight in English waters, with few thought to exist outside Cornwall, where it particularly thrives in clear waters, estuaries and tide-swept bays.
The maerl beds of the Fal and Helford estuaries in Cornwall were designated as a Marine Protected Area in 2005 but a recent dive revealed a 'worrying deterioration'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Rate of women being hired into top jobs falls for third year running
The rate of women being hired into UK leadership roles has fallen for the third year in a row, with increasing barriers to top jobs as they advance through their careers, according to figures from LinkedIn. The professional networking site revealed that women were hired into just more than a third – 36.8% – of leadership positions in the year to March 1, down 2.1% year-on-year. This has left the rate of female hires into senior roles back where it was in 2020, according to the figures. The data also showed that while more UK women are now in top management roles than they were in 2019 – at 30.9% last year versus 27.6% in 2019 – the progress has slowed significantly in the past two years, rising by just 0.3 percentage points. The figures suggest it becomes more difficult for older generations to reach senior management, with 19.4% of so-called baby boomers – those born between 1946 and 1964 – in these roles compared with 28.9% for gen X, 36.7% for millennials and 39.3% for gen Z. The statistics, compiled by analysing the group's 43 million-strong membership base across the UK, also show that, as of March, women made up 45.8% of hires in the UK, down 4.6% year-on-year. Globally, the figures paint a similar picture, revealing that less than a third of senior leadership roles are held by women (30.9%) despite making up almost half (43.2%) of the worldwide workforce. This 'drop to the top' is most pronounced in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem) sector, where only around one in eight (12%) of leadership positions are held by women, according to LinkedIn. It is calling for the Government and businesses to promote hiring based on skills rather than qualifications to help ensure women do not get left behind, in particular amid the shift towards artificial intelligence (AI). Janine Chamberlin, head of LinkedIn UK, said: 'Just as AI is reshaping the workplace and demanding more adaptable, collaborative leadership, we're seeing women's progress into senior roles stall for the third year running. 'Women are 20% more likely to have that multi-domain experience, working across different industries and functions, which creates exactly the kind of flexible, agile leaders businesses need for AI transformation. 'Yet we're locking them out of leadership precisely when we need those skills most.' The online giant believes that a skills-based approach to hiring – through prioritising skills over qualifications in recruitment – could broaden the talent pool for women by 6.3 times globally.
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
EPA says power plant carbon emissions aren't dangerous. We asked 30 scientists: Here's what they say
The Trump administration's Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday proposed a new ruling that heat-trapping carbon gas "emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants do not contribute significantly to dangerous air pollution.'' The Associated Press asked 30 different scientists, experts in climate, health and economics, about the scientific reality behind this proposal. Nineteen of them responded, all saying that the proposal was scientifically wrong and many of them called it disinformation. Here's what eight of them said. 'This is the scientific equivalent to saying that smoking doesn't cause lung cancer,' said climate scientist Zeke Hausfather of the tech firm Stripe and the temperature monitoring group Berkeley Earth. 'The relationship between CO2 emissions and global temperatures has been well established since the late 1800s, and coal burning is the single biggest driver of global CO2 emissions, followed by oil and gas. It is utterly nonsensical to say that carbon emissions from power plants do not contribute significantly to climate change.' "It's about as valid as saying that arsenic is not a dangerous substance to consume," said University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann. "The world is round, the sun rises in the east, coal-and gas-fired power plants contribute significantly to climate change, and climate change increases the risk of heat waves, catastrophic storms, infectious diseases, and many other health threats. These are indisputable facts," said Dr. Howard Frumkin, former director of the National Center for Environmental Health and a retired public health professor at the University of Washington. Climate economist R. Daniel Bressler of Columbia University, said: 'We can use tools from climate economics, including the mortality cost of carbon and the social cost of carbon, to estimate the climate impacts of these emissions. For instance, in my past work, I found that adding just one year's worth of emissions from an average-sized coal-fired plant in the U.S. causes 904 expected temperature-related deaths and over $1 billion in total climate damages.' University of Arizona climate scientist Kathy Jacobs said: "Their statement is in direct conflict with evidence that has been presented by thousands of scientists from almost 200 countries for decades. 'It's basic chemistry that burning coal and natural gas releases carbon dioxide and it's basic physics that CO2 warms the planet. We've known these simple facts since the mid-19th century,' said Oregon State's Phil Mote. Andrew Weaver, a professor at the University of Victoria and former member of parliament in British Columbia, said: 'President Trump is setting himself up for international court charges against him for crimes against humanity. To proclaim you don't want to deal with climate change is one thing, but denying the basic science can only be taken as a wanton betrayal of future generations for which there should be consequences.' Stanford climate scientist Chris Field, who coordinated an international report linking climate change to increasingly deadly extreme weather, summed it up this way: "It is hard to imagine a decision dumber than putting the short-term interests of oil and gas companies ahead of the long-term inters of our children and grandchildren." ___ Matthew Daly and Michael Phillis contributed from Washington. The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Experts pinpoint exactly how long you need to use a contraceptive pill to increase your risk of a brain tumour
Millions of women taking the mini-pill could be at increased risk of developing a brain tumour, new research suggests. Experts found that women taking the progestogen-only pill—often dubbed 'the mini-pill' continuously for more than five years were more likely to develop a meningioma. Meningiomas accounts for a third of all brain tumours diagnosed in the UK each year. While usually non-cancerous they can still cause problems they grow larger inside the brain. In the new study, French researchers analysed data from over 8,000 women, with an average age of 60, who had surgery for this form of tumour. They found women who did were more likely to have been taking the mini pill—medically called desogestrel for at least five years. However, independent experts have said women on the medication shouldn't panic, as the increased risk is relatively small. Desogestrel, in contrast to the more famous Pill, only contains one sex hormone progestogen. It is primarily taken by women with underlying health conditions that makes taking other contraceptives dangerous, or who suffer adverse side effects when doing so. The NHS says natural family planning can be up to 99 per cent effective when done correctly and around 75 per cent if not used according to instructions. By comparison, the Pill, implant, IUS and IUD are 99 per cent effective with perfect use, while condoms are 98 per cent While the increased risk of a meningioma was observed, the authors—who published their findings in the British Medical Journal —said it was relatively minor. They outlined that only one out of 67,000 women taking desogestrel will develop a meningioma requiring surgery. The scientists also found that there was no increased risk when the mini pill was used for less than five years. They also found that the increased risk disappeared a year after coming off the mini pill. Meningiomas are a tumour of the membrane that surrounds the brain, with more than 90 per cent of these are not cancerous. While not at risk of spreading elsewhere in the body like a cancerous growth they can still cause patients problems. Every year proportion of meningioma patients will need surgery to remove the tumour due to it causing increased internal pressure on the brain. Common symptoms of a meningioma include a persistent headache as well as constant nausea which is often accompanied with drowsiness. Dr Mangesh Thorat, an expert in population health at Queen Mary University of London, who was not involved in the study, said women on the medication shouldn't be alarmed. 'The magnitude of increase in the risk is small, and short-term use is not associated with increased risk and that the excess risk ceases to exist once the use is stopped for more than a year,' he said. He advised women who may be concerned about their risk to contact their GP. 'Talk to your healthcare provider regarding the drug you are using. If it is associated with an increased risk of meningioma, this can be changed to a safer alternative,' he said. Experts say that a limitation of the study is that the researchers only looked at one type of progestogen pill—desogestrel and not other drugs that also include the hormone. Dr Thorat said: 'the study cannot provide information on the formulations not commonly used in France but used in other countries.' He has called on further studies to be undertaken in different countries. Figures currently suggest around 6 per cent of women aged 16 to 49 use the mini pill in the UK—roughly 3.1 million patients. Taken every day, it works by thickening cervical mucus and thinning the womb lining which helps stop sperm reaching an egg and from a fertilised egg attaching itself in the womb. In some cases, the mini pill can also stop ovulation from occurring. It is 99.7 per cent effective with perfect use but if used incorrectly—such as missing a pill or experiencing nausea and diarrhoea while on it—around one in ten women (9 per cent) may get pregnant. Known side effects of the mini pill—proven to be over 99 per cent effective at stopping pregnancy—include nausea, breast tenderness, mood swings and headaches. Others claim they pile on pounds while taking the drug because of increased fluid retention and appetite. However, the NHS says there is no evidence it leads to weight gain. The latest study comes just a month after British scientists found that women with asthma who are taking the mini pill were a third more likely to suffer an attack.
