Aquariums 'deliver significant health benefits'

People who spend time in aquariums could improve their physical and mental wellbeing, a study has suggested. As well as improving people's mood, the experiment showed "significant" reductions in participants' heart rates and blood pressure, the authors added. Previous studies have linked contact with nature and improved wellbeing but this study is believed to be the first controlled experiment of its kind. The findings appear in the journal Environment and Behavior. "There have been a few studies that have looked at things like the number of bird or butterfly species in parks and researchers have asked people in those parks about how they felt," explained co-author Mathew White from the University of Exeter's European Centre for Environment and Human Health (ECEHH). "Generally, people felt happier in parks that had more birds or more butterflies, although people did not really appreciate the levels of biodiversity." Dr White told BBC News that there were a number of reasons why the team of researchers from the ECEHH, Plymouth University and the National Marine Aquarium were interested in the potential impact of aquariums on people's wellbeing. "Firstly, we were particularly interested in aquatic environments," he said. "Obviously most people cannot see different kinds of fish because they do not dive etc, so aquariums are a nice way to make the invisible marine environment just outside our doors visible and accessible. "More fundamentally, we were interested in how natural environments could be brought to urban populations and to people who might not be able to access nature -READ MORE -http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33716589

Call for more protection for seagrass meadows

Seagrasses - the underwater plants that act as nursery grounds for young fish - need more protection, say scientists. Monitoring of seagrass meadows off the North Wales coast found areas damaged by the likes of boat moorings, anchors and vehicles crossing at low tide had reduced value to the ecosystem. Fewer species of fish were found where seagrass was degraded, according to research published in PeerJ journal. The seagrass studied was near the village of Porthdinllaen, in Gwynned. Researchers at Swansea University studied areas with both high and low cover over a 28-hectare stretch of sea bed. They also sampled fish living in the underwater meadows of flowering plants. There was a three-fold reduction in the diversity of fish species and invertebrates, such as prawns, shrimp, juvenile cod and juvenile plaice, in areas of low cover, said lead researcher Dr Richard Unsworth. He said that in the areas that had become damaged, there was "a reduction in diversity of the species and in the value of the habitat for juvenile fish". The seagrass is in a special area of conservation, which is a strictly protected site under the European Habitats Directive.READ MORE-http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33244000

Scientists in South Asia struggle to understand heatwave

Scientists in India and Pakistan say higher temperatures were just one factor behind the recent heatwaves and other causes have yet to be established.

They say low air pressure, high humidity and an unusually absent wind played key roles in making the heat unbearable but they do not know why such conditions prevailed at this time of the year.

The temperature forecast for the heatwave peak in Karachi last week was 43C, according to meteorologists in Pakistan.

The prediction was accurate but other factors made the heat feel unbearable, they say.

More than 1,000 people have died in Pakistan in the worst heatwave in three decades.

In neighbouring India, the official death figure exceeded 2,000, although reported cases were put at more than 3,000.READ MORE-http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33288311

Drastic action to save endangered tortoise

In a desperate bid to save one of the world's most endangered animals, conservationists are taking the controversial step of defacing the last survivors. Ploughshare tortoises are highly prized for their distinctive gold and black shells and fetch exceptionally high prices on the international black market. Efforts to steal the animals from their native Madagascar are so relentless that there may only be less than 500 left. So the tortoises are now having their shells permanently engraved with a large serial number together with the initials "MG" for Madagascar. The hope is that deliberately making the animals less attractive will reduce or even eliminate demand for them. When the idea was first raised, it faced vigorous opposition from many in the conservation movement, the Madagascar government and also staff within the charity involved, the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust-READ MORE AND SEE VIDEO-http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33096261

Earth 'entering new extinction phase' - US study

The Earth has entered a new period of extinction, a study by three US universities has concluded, and humans could be among the first casualties. The report, led by the universities of Stanford, Princeton and Berkeley, said vertebrates were disappearing at a rate 114 times faster than normal. The findings echo those in a report published by Duke University last year. One of the new study's authors said: "We are now entering the sixth great mass extinction event." The last such event was 65 million years ago, when dinosaurs were wiped out, in all likelihood by a large meteor hitting Earth. "If it is allowed to continue, life would take many millions of years to recover and our species itself would likely disappear early on," said the lead author, Gerardo Ceballos.-READ MORE-http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-33209548

THE CLANGERS ARE BACK

Four decades after they first appeared on our TV screens, the pink, knitted, whistling space creatures known as the Clangers are back.

With a new narrator in Michael Palin, the programme has undergone a £5m revamp - in the hope it will charm a whole new generation of children.MY  FAV  WAS THE SOUP DRAGON HOPE THEY DON'T RUIN IT-FOLLOW LINK TO SEE VIDEO.

Herpes treatment for skin cancer

The herpes virus could help to treat the advanced stages of the most serious form of skin cancer, researchers have discovered. Herpes simplex is the virus that causes cold sores. Previous laboratory research has shown that a mutant form of the virus has improved the survival times of animals with malignant melanoma tumours. The virus is also known to reproduce itself more rapidly in human cancer cells, rather than in healthy cells, leading to their death. A team from the University of Glasgow carried out a preliminary study to discover whether a safe, genetically modified version of the virus could be safely used on patients. I would hope that herpes simplex might be included in non-surgical therapy for this disease in the future Professor Rona MacKie, Glasgow University Five patients with advanced skin cancer that has spread to-READ MORE -http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1171667.stm-HPOEFULLY THIS ARTICLE IS TRUE EN D WILL HELP END CANCER