Author: Andrew Rogers

Researchers say parts of the Moon will be set aside as graveyards for defunct satellites.Lunar orbit is expected to become increasingly crowded as space agencies plan bases and missions. Unlike Earth, the Moon has no atmosphere to burn up old spacecraft.Most dead satellites will eventually need to be crash-landed on the surface. Scientists warn uncontrolled impacts could damage instruments or historic landing sites.Designated impact zones would limit debris and protect sensitive areas. More than 400 lunar missions are planned, including projects led by NASA and the European Space Agency.International bodies, including the UK Space Agency, are working on disposal guidelines.…

Plans to stage a Serie A match in Australia have been abandoned after late complications.The fixture between AC Milan and Como was scheduled for February in Perth. Serie A said financial risks and “unacceptable requests” made the proposal unworkable.Those conditions were imposed by the Asian Football Confederation. Italian authorities had approved the move due to San Siro’s unavailability during the Winter Olympics.Serie A also viewed the match as a chance to grow its global profile. The cancellation follows a similar reversal by La Liga last year.Plans to stage a game between Barcelona and Villarreal in Miami were also dropped.

Morgan Rogers scored twice as Aston Villa beat Manchester United at Villa Park.The win kept Villa firmly in the Premier League title race. Unai Emery’s side claimed a seventh straight league victory and a tenth in all competitions.Villa sit third, three points behind leaders Arsenal, approaching the season’s halfway mark. Rogers opened the scoring with a curling finish before half-time.Manchester United responded through Matheus Cunha, who equalised in stoppage time. Villa regained control early in the second half with another composed Rogers strike.Unai Emery celebrated wildly as Villa restored their lead. United struggled with injuries, losing captain Bruno Fernandes at…

Kylian Mbappé matched Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid scoring record during a 2-0 win over Sevilla.The French striker scored a late penalty to reach 59 goals in the calendar year.Jude Bellingham’s first-half header put Real ahead before Sevilla went down to ten men.Key saves from Thibaut Courtois secured the victory.Real remain second in La Liga, one point behind leaders Barcelona. Juventus also boosted their title hopes with a 2-1 home win over Roma.The result kept Roma fourth while Juventus closed the gap behind them. In Germany, Bayer Leverkusen earned a 3-1 comeback win at RB Leipzig.Two quick goals turned the match…

High in the Peloponnese mountains, Greece’s native fir forests are dying in alarming numbers – even in areas untouched by fire. Researchers say a combination of climate-driven stresses is pushing these once-hardy trees beyond their limits. Dimitrios Avtzis, a senior researcher at Greece’s Forest Research Institute, first noticed the scale of the problem while surveying a spring wildfire. Beyond the burn zone, vast swathes of fir trees were already dead or dying. “There were hundreds of hectares of lost trees,” he said, prompting him to alert the environment ministry. Wildfires have long been part of Mediterranean ecosystems, but scientists say…

About one in 10 people in the UK aged 70 and over may have brain changes linked to Alzheimer’s disease, according to a large population-based study published in Nature. The findings are not a diagnosis but suggest that more than 1 million people could meet NHS criteria for anti-amyloid treatment, far more than current estimates. Researchers analysed blood samples from nearly 11,500 randomly selected participants using a p-tau217 biomarker test, which can detect Alzheimer’s-related changes early. The prevalence rose with age, from under 8% in people in their 50s and 60s to around two-thirds of those over 90. Experts say…

A carnivorous pitcher plant has been found to drug its prey with a chemical nerve agent before digesting it, researchers have discovered. The plant, Nepenthes khasiana, produces a sweet nectar along the rim of its pitcher-shaped traps to attract insects, especially ants. While the liquid appears harmless, it is laced with a toxic compound called isoshinanolone that interferes with the insects’ nervous systems. After feeding on the nectar, ants become sluggish, lose muscle control and begin excessive grooming. Many eventually fall into spasms, sometimes dying before tumbling into the pitcher, where they are broken down by digestive fluids. The nectar…

The first new treatments for gonorrhoea in decades have been approved in the US, offering hope in the fight against rapidly rising drug-resistant strains of the infection. Gonorrhoea infects more than 82 million people worldwide each year, with cases at record levels in England and tripling across Europe since 2014. Health officials are increasingly alarmed by resistance to existing antibiotics, with the World Health Organization classifying the disease as a priority pathogen. Two new antibiotics have now received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration. Zoliflodacin, approved on 12 December, cured more than 90% of genital gonorrhoea cases in…

The US company behind the Roomba robot vacuum cleaner has filed for bankruptcy protection and agreed to be taken over by one of its Chinese suppliers, Picea Robotics. iRobot said it had entered Chapter 11 proceedings in Delaware as part of a restructuring deal that will see the company acquired by a Picea subsidiary. The company has struggled in recent years with declining profits, supply chain disruption and growing competition from cheaper rivals, and warned earlier this month that bankruptcy was a possibility. Chief executive Gary Cohen said the takeover would strengthen iRobot’s financial position by combining its design and…

A new review suggests psychedelic treatments, particularly psilocybin, may help reduce symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), while cannabis shows little lasting benefit. The review, led by Dr Michael Van Ameringen of McMaster University and published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, examined alternative treatments for OCD, a condition in which up to 60% of patients see limited improvement from standard therapies. After analysing published studies, conference data and early trial results, the researchers found stronger evidence supporting psychedelics than cannabinoids such as THC and CBD. Van Ameringen said the difference may lie in how the substances affect the brain. Cannabinoids…