Latest news with #UniversityofPortsmouth
BBC News
2 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
World Drowning Prevention Day: How just floating can save lives
Over 40 people floated together off the coast of North Tyneside, England this week to bring attention to the Float to Live is a technique that can help prevent serious injuries or drowning in the group gathered ahead of World Drowning Prevention Day on July what is World Drowning Prevention Day? And why can floating in water help save the lives of even inexperienced swimmers?Find out here. What is World Drowning Prevention Day? The day was declared by the United Nations in 2021 to bring attention to the importance of water can happen if a swimmer is inexperienced or if they make unsafe accidents also happen in outdoor swimming locations like beaches, rivers and lakes.A number of organisations including safety charities the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) say one of the best ways to prevent accidents in the water is the Float to Live technique. Float to Live: What do you need to do? The Float to Live technique was developed with the University of Portsmouth and the say if you are in a situation where you feel unsafe in the water, you can use the following steps to float and wait for help:Tilt your head back - your ears should be underwater, but your nose and mouth above water to allow you to breatheRelax - Try and control your breathingGentle movements - Move your arms and legs gently to stay afloatLegs - Your legs might sink lower than your torso in the water but that's ok, everyone floats differentlyThe RNLI also recommends practicing floating in local pools with supervision from an experienced trusted adult like a lifeguard. Top tips for being safe around water In the summer, lots of us love a dip in the local pool or at the beach to cool there are some important things you should know if you want to stay safe in the spoke to some water safety experts to get their advice on what you can do to keep yourself and others safe. What is cold water shock? Many swimmers are often shocked at the temperature of water, even in warm summer to research from the University of Portsmouth, the average temperature of UK and Irish waters is 12⁰C. While this might not sound very low, the RNLI say any water temperature below 15⁰C is considered inland bodies of water like lakes and rivers can often be colder than the water can cause swimmers to panic, which is why staying calm and floating on the water can help keep you safe.
Irish Times
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
A Marshall Plan is needed for loyalist communities, and so much more
The Twelfth of July passed off mostly peacefully, even if the effigy of mannequins dressed up as immigrants burned on a loyalist bonfire in Moygashel near Dungannon will leave a lingering bad taste in the mouth. The hostility towards outsiders displayed by the bonfire, however, holds important messages not about those who have come to Northern Ireland for a better life, but, rather, about some of those who never left. For some loyalists, outsiders threaten to dilute identity and a way of life, with feelings most acute where they feel most neglected, or most affected by the changes that have taken place around them. The offensiveness of the bonfire in the Tyrone village is an expression of hopelessness and desperation, attempting by way of a tribal display to declare who they are, rather than who they are not. Moygashel provokes two observations about loyalism, one where identity exists in a cycle of hopelessness and despair and another that demands urgent attention because of that hopelessness and despair. One should not, and must not, assume that the feelings represented by the bonfire speak for all loyalism, but they do point to a sickness at the heart of loyalist culture. too often dismissive, isolating and extreme. This is not just about emotion, but something buried deep in the heart of loyalist communities, supported by the continued existence of loyalist paramilitary groups. The formal process of engagement with loyalist paramilitaries now being mooted by the Irish and British governments offers hope that extreme elements can be confronted, or, better again, disbanded. The independent 'expert' body – announced, but not yet set up – that will get a year to report on the disbandment of paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland raises the prospect that serious action might follow. Importantly, though, the disbandment case must be so overwhelming that it exposes the futility of the argument made so often that paramilitary groups are needed to maintain communal safety and order in loyalist communities. Effigies of migrants in a boat burn atop a bonfire at Moygashel, Co Tyrone. Photograph Niall Carson/PA Everyone must see the benefits of such change, especially loyalist communities themselves and those within them who would most object, and resist efforts to bring about disbandment. For that to happen, the conversation must move far beyond condemnation and calls for tougher policing. Instead, real action is needed with deadlines and objectives that will be honoured, not just promised. Graham Spencer, University of Portsmouth Better policing is required to stop the criminality and exploitation that continues to blight poor loyalist districts and both remain the most obvious signs of the reach of paramilitaries in those communities. The report that ensues from whoever is chosen by Dublin and London to lead the scoping work should be clear on what is demanded of the paramilitaries, but, also, Stormont and London. So, what is needed? First, a group that brings together loyalist AND unionist leaders, along with a business and enterprise group involving loyalists and key business figure to drive economic progress in long-forgotten communities. Equally, efforts should be made to attract significant US/European investment in technology, manufacturing, sports and creative industries into loyalist areas, backed by assistance from Stormont and the Northern Ireland Office Loyalist communities should drive efforts to tackle sectarianism, while a civic forum should be established, too – along with a body whose job it should be to gather oral testimony from those who have lived in these communities for generations. Politicians, business, both local and international business, unionist politicians must also step up to the plate, using the 2018 transformation statement made by the three loyalist paramilitary groups as a template to lay out who should do what, and when. Importantly, loyalist paramilitaries must look honestly at their own histories, and, with help, give an honest and serious account of what they, The Troubles and the subsequent peace process did to their communities. Critical self-reflection is key. If change is to come, the focus must be on the lives that can in future be led in loyalist communities, rather than people seeking to win arguments about the disappearance of the paramilitaries themselves, if that can be brought about. Since the Belfast Agreement, loyalist leaders have claimed their role has shifted from paramilitarism to work in the community, but that 'transition' has come to mean a process without end. Good work on education and community programmes does exist within loyalist communities, but the contradictory and never-ending problem of transition is heightened when they continue to recruit new members. Significantly, the notion of transition is itself problematic in loyalist communities – or in unionism more generally – where there is no tradition or appetite for it. Here, transition means change and change means loss. The emphasis has always been on preservation and holding ground and the idea of transition risks being dangerous precisely because it is a criticism about what one has and so what one is. Change presented as 'transition' may be liked by conflict resolution theorists, but life is more complicated in a society where the architecture built up in conflict stubbornly continues to exist long after the guns have fallen silent. Yet without a structured and planned change loyalist communities will remain stuck in a cycle of hopelessness and despair. In such an environment the expression of identity as increasingly confrontational and hostile should come as no surprise. Graham Spencer is emeritus professor of social and political conflict at the University of Portsmouth
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Scientists make surprising discoveries in fight against emerging public health threat: 'The goal now should be to make their efforts count'
Scientists make surprising discoveries in fight against emerging public health threat: 'The goal now should be to make their efforts count' Microplastics are everywhere. They're in our oceans, our food, and even our bodies. According to a new University of Portsmouth study highlighted how public volunteers can help combat this invisible threat. What's happening? Researchers at the University of Portsmouth in the U.K. published a study examining the effectiveness of different protocols to capture plastic pollution on coastlines and whether volunteers can help fill crucial data gaps, like those reported by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. The research compared three leading microplastic and mesoplastic sampling methods across southern England, including two citizen science protocols and one used by European researchers. The goal was to determine which approaches are the most accurate, efficient, and easy to use. The findings revealed that while there's no one-size-fits-all method, public participation is a powerful tool. One technique, the Big Microplastic Survey, often detected more plastic than others, while AUSMAP was the fastest and most accessible. The EU's MSFD method provided the most accurate lab results but isn't practical without lab access or formal training. "In a perfect world, yes, we'd all be using the same protocol," Dr. David Jones, lead author of the study, said, per the University of Portsmouth. "But the variations in coastal geomorphology around the world make this challenging. We are not going to stop volunteers from getting involved — nor should we. The goal now should be to make their efforts count, even if their methods differ." Why are microplastics important to study? Plastic pollution is one of the most widespread environmental issues and is increasingly becoming a human health crisis. According to the study, up to 13 million tons of plastic enter our oceans every year. Larger plastics break down into smaller pieces called microplastics and mesoplastics, which can be easily ingested by marine life and passed on to humans through the food chain. Recent studies have detected plastic particles in human blood, lungs, and even the placenta. While we're just beginning to understand the long-term health impacts, early research suggests potential links to inflammation, hormone disruption, and increased toxicity. Better data collection leads to better chances to address the issue and protect our long-term health. "When it comes to understanding our plastic-choked coastlines, every piece of data counts — no matter how it's collected," Dr. Michelle Hale, co-author of the study, said, per the University of Portsmouth. What's being done about plastic pollution? While international organizations work toward global protocols, this research highlights the role of everyday people in tracking and combating pollution. Volunteer-based methods may not be perfect, but they are valuable, especially as researchers work to bridge the gap between different tools and environments. Do you think America has a plastic waste problem? Definitely Only in some areas Not really I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. The study advocates for improved systems that allow for more effective comparison of data from various methods. In the meantime, individual action still matters. Reducing reliance on single-use plastics, choosing reusable alternatives, and supporting policies to limit plastic pollution can all contribute to the solution. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Sound of The Big Bang Suggests Our Galaxy Floats Inside a Void
Sound waves 'fossilized' in the arrangements of galaxies across the Universe support the theory that the Milky Way galaxy floats adrift in a giant void in space. If this is the case, we could be teetering at the brink of solving one of the biggest problems in cosmology: the Hubble tension, a heretofore irresolvable discrepancy between measurements of the rate at which the Universe is expanding. The Hubble tension exists because different ways of measuring how fast the Universe is expanding – a rate known as the Hubble constant – give us different results. Measurements based on features of the early Universe, including the cosmic microwave background and baryon acoustic oscillations, tell us that the Hubble constant is around 67 kilometers per second per megaparsec. Measurements based on things closer, like Type Ia supernovae and Cepheid variable stars, give us a Hubble constant of around 73 kilometers per second per megaparsec. Related: This Is The Most Exciting Crisis in Cosmology "A potential solution to this inconsistency is that our galaxy is close to the center of a large, local void," says cosmologist Indranil Banik of the University of Portsmouth in the UK. "It would cause matter to be pulled by gravity toward the higher-density exterior of the void, leading to the void becoming emptier with time. As the void is emptying out, the velocity of objects away from us would be larger than if the void were not there. This therefore gives the appearance of a faster local expansion rate." A void in intergalactic space is pretty much what it sounds like. Matter isn't completely evenly distributed in the Universe; it tends to clump together, creating regions of higher and lower density. Astrophysicists have put forward the idea that the Milky Way is in just such a void as an explanation for the Hubble tension, with measurements of local space suggesting that our galaxy exists in a bubble about 2 billion light-years across that is 20 percent less dense than the average volume of space. However, this explanation is far from proven. To investigate the possibility of a local void, Banik and his colleagues turned to baryon acoustic oscillations, or BAO. When the Universe was just a wee baby, full of nothing but sloshing plasma, gravity and radiation combined to form waves of pressure that could shake their way through the compressed material. When space grew too diffuse for vibrations to propogate, the pressure waves remained preserved as vast spherical arrangements of cosmic structures, with higher densities of matter at their edges. This is the 'sound of the Big Bang', a buzz trapped in time across the Universe that is visible to us as ring shapes we call BAO. Because these rings froze at the same size – about 1 billion light-years in diameter – we can determine pretty much exactly how far away they should be. According to the researchers' calculations, the presence of a local void should distort BAO in a way that ought to be measurable, especially since that distortion would increase at greater distances. They carefully reexamined 20 years' worth of BAO observations, and found a deviation from what we would expect from the standard model of cosmology, consistent with the distortion invoked by a local void. Related: "A local void slightly distorts the relation between the BAO angular scale and the redshift, because the velocities induced by a local void and its gravitational effect slightly increase the redshift on top of that due to cosmic expansion," Banik explains. "By considering all available BAO measurements over the last 20 years, we showed that a void model is about one hundred million times more likely than a void-free model with parameters designed to fit the CMB observations taken by the Planck satellite, the so-called homogeneous Planck cosmology." The researchers say their void model results in a reduction in the Hubble tension from 3.3 sigma to 1.1 to 1.4 sigma. It's going to require some rigorous testing, but it suggests that at least part of the solution to this burning problem may at least partially be found in nothingness. The team plans to embark on this testing regime, looking at objects in local space to see if these observations hold up to the notion of a local void. The research has been published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, and presented at the Royal Astronomical Society National Astronomy Meeting 2025. Dying Star's Strangled Jets Solve 50-Year-Old X-Ray Mystery Alien World Discovered Provoking Its Own Hellish Apocalypse Impact That Gave Us a Moon Could Explain Why Earth Now Has Life
NDTV
09-07-2025
- Science
- NDTV
Is Earth In A Giant Cosmic Void? Why New Research Could Change Everything
In a discovery that could upend our understanding of the cosmos, scientists believe that Earth, along with the entire Milky Way, may be drifting near the centre of a massive cosmic void, an area unusually empty of galaxies and matter. Presented at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting, new research led by Dr Indranil Banik from the University of Portsmouth proposes that this "void", also known as an underdensity, could help solve one of astrophysics' biggest puzzles: the Hubble Tension, a long-standing discrepancy in measurements of the universe's rate of expansion. 'We showed that a void model is about one hundred million times more likely than a void-free model,' Dr Banik said, explaining that their data was based on 20 years of measurements of baryon acoustic oscillations – faint, frozen ripples in matter left over from the Big Bang, often described as the "sound" of the early universe. If true, this theory means we're sitting inside a cosmic bubble roughly a billion light-years wide and about 20% less dense than the average universe. This sparsity of matter could distort our view of how quickly galaxies are racing away, essentially tricking us into thinking the universe is expanding faster than it actually is. The idea of a local void is not new; scientists have debated it for decades, but it has remained controversial because it challenges the principle that the universe should be evenly spread out at large scales. However, Dr Banik's model, which incorporates redshift measurements and the latest Planck satellite data, offers compelling evidence that could shift mainstream scientific opinion. If confirmed, the implications are profound: not only would it reshape our understanding of cosmology, but it could also suggest that the "heat death" of the universe, when all energy is evenly spread and nothing happens anymore, might be much further in the future than previously believed. The research team plans to compare their void model with other measurements to further test its validity.
