Month: January 2025

A protective blanket surrounding Earth, it does the business and more when it comes to protecting life from nasty storms heading towards the planet.

Most of that comes from the Sun in the form of solar wind. If we didn’t have the magnetic field, we’d suffer a fate similar to what Mars looks like nowadays. Cold, barren, and ultimately all the telltale signs of a planet that used to have life.

It is this magnetic field that has recently got NASA scientists on high alert following the identification of a ‘dent’ in the protective cover; an area known as the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA).

Central to the planet’s magnetic field is the magnetic poles, which are two spots at the top and bottom of the planet that act as a continuous loop through which invisible magnetic field lines travel in an ongoing loop. The video below provides a visual explanation:

This is a phenomenon that happens, on average, every hundred thousand years or so in Earth’s lifecycle.

Flipping the magnetic field

Since the beginning of Earth as we know it, scientists reckon there has been at least 183 occasions where the planet’s magnetic poles have flipped.

When they flip is random, with the event happening between 10,000 years and 50 million years. Talk about a broad timescale.

The last time the poles flipped was 780,000 years ago in an event called the Brunhes – Matuyama reversal.

Will it flip again soon?

The South Atlantic Anomaly has got some worried we’re heading to this point again.

First discovered in 1958, the SAA is an area of the magnetic field that is significantly weaker than the rest of it around Earth.

And stretching from South America across the southern Atlantic Ocean to Africa, it’s a big area of the planet. Effectively, it means this part of the planet has less protection from cosmic nasties than the rest of it (that goes for satellites flying through over this patch in orbit, too).

According to one study from 2018, the next flip isn’t happening any time soon.

“There has been speculation that we are about to experience a magnetic polar reversal or excursion,” Richard Holme from the University of Liverpool said.

“However, by studying the two most recent excursion events [from 31,400 and 34,000 years ago], we show that neither bear resemblance to current changes in the geomagnetic field and therefore it is probably unlikely that such an event is about to happen.

“Our research suggests instead that the current weakened field will recover without such an extreme event, and therefore is unlikely to reverse.”

Could north become south? (Getty Stock Images)

What would happen if the magnetic field flipped?

It would not be very good news at all, with life as we know it changing in a number of ways.

Jean-Pierre Valet, a researcher on geomagnetic reversals at the Institute of Earth Physics of Paris, said: “The most dramatic changes that occur when the poles reverse is a very large decrease of the total field intensity.”

In other words, we would experience a massive drop off in overall protection from the magnetic field.

And given that the flip takes between 1,000 and 10,000 years to fully reverse, it’s a time period that would see significant loss for a long time.

Earth’s magnetic field (Getty Stock Images / NASA)

“It’s not a sudden flip, but a slow process, during which the field strength becomes weak, very probably the field becomes more complex and might show more than two poles for a while, and then builds up in strength and aligns in the opposite direction,” said Monika Korte, scientific director of the Niemegk Geomagnetic Observatory at GFZ Potsdam in Germany.

It is this 1,000 to 10,000-year window in which humans would be at their most vulnerable, potentially more open to the effects of solar storms which could now hurt us on the planet in ways such as an increase skin cancer cases.

As for it being an extinction level event? Scientists aren’t sure, with many unconvinced. Korte explained: “Even if the field becomes very weak, at the Earth’s surface we are shielded from radiation by the atmosphere. Similarly as we cannot see or feel the presence of the geomagnetic field now, we most likely would not notice any significant change from a reversal.”

But while we might not go extinct from the dangers of space, our kit would be in huge trouble. Satellites would be knocked out, GPS offline, and power outages across the globe.

From Squid Game season two to Missing You and the Avicii documentary to the first live WWE Raw show on the platform, we’ve had all sorts to choose from.

But they might not quite hit the spot for people looking for something properly scary.

However, Netflix has quietly added a ‘disturbing’ horror movie that viewers label as the ‘scariest in the world’.

With a decent 88 percent on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer, the horror follows three Detroit thieves who target the homes of wealthy people. And when word gets around about a blind veteran winning a major cash settlement following his only child’s death, the trio figure he’s an easy target.

But of course, this is a horror film, so it’s not as easy as they think.

The man lives in a secluded home in an abandoned neighbourhood and they find themselves trapped.

They then must fight for their lives after ‘making a shocking discovery about their supposedly helpless victim’. Sounds intriguing, right?

Don’t Breathe did pretty well when it first came out, leading to a sequel in 2021 and a respectable 79 percent from viewers on the Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter.

One called it a ‘really cool, original movie’ as another said it’s ‘by far’ their favourite horror.

“I wasn’t expecting much from this movie and damn I was very much wrong, one of the best movies I saw,” a third wrote.

When it initially landed, many labelled it as the ‘scariest’ film about and a Rotten Tomatoes user said they ‘could not stop gasping’ throughout.

Some say it’s the scariest about. (Sony Pictures Entertainment)

“Edge of your seat thriller. I had to stop it a few times to prepare myself for the absolute rollercoaster of scares it takes you on. And the denouement is truly frightening. A triumph of a horror thriller,” another said.

Although, some did say the characters ‘suck’ as others found it ‘highly predictable’.

You can stream Don’t Breathe on Netflix.

Bryan Johnson, 47, from Utah, US, is a venture capitalist who refers to himself as ‘the world’s most measured human’.

In 2013, he sold his payment gateway company Braintree Venmo to PayPal for a whopping $800 million (£642 million).

But after becoming a very rich man, Johnson said his health took a dip in 2020.

It’s a rigorous daily routine which consists of dozens of pills and a strict diet of the same daily foods, with a team of doctors monitoring his progress.

Having shared his progress on social media, Netflix has recently made a documentary about him called Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever.

“It began when I was 21 years old. I was a missionary, and I lived among extreme poverty in Ecuador,” he told People.

“I felt really compelled to want to do something that would improve the world. I didn’t know what.

“So the goal became make a whole bunch of money by age 30, and then with that money, find something interesting to do.”

Once he sold Braintree, it ‘coincided with having to rebuild myself from a decade of depression, leave my religion [Mormonism], having divorce, like just try to rebuild myself from scratch — and then this bigger question, what do I do?’

Johnson then put $100 million (£81 million) in ‘synthetic biology, genomics, nanotech’ and built a brain interface, which he calls ‘the world’s best way to easily and robustly measure the brain … and then I started Blueprint to measure myself. And it all kind of came together into this one simple thesis, which is, don’t die.’

Netflix has recently made a documentary about him called Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever (Netflix)

But since not everyone can spend millions a year on their health, the businessman has provided a cost-free way normal people can improve their chances of living for longer.

“Sleep is a professional activity,” he said. “Take sleep as seriously as you do your job.

“You show up on time, you respect it, you’re very rigorous about it, you’re disciplined, you take pride in it.”

He added: “If I eat late or too much food, [it] will decimate my sleep.”

The doc is on Netflix now (Netflix)

The health-enthusiast recommends to try out a ‘wind-down routine’ which is a ’30 to 60-minute window to wind down from work, not be on your screen, not doing work, to reconcile what you’re happy about, what you’re sad about, what you’re anxious about. You need some kind of calming mechanism’.

“Sleep is the most powerful drug in existence for anybody,” he insisted.

And let’s be honest, shivering outside while you defrost your windscreen is f**king annoying. So, plenty of us try out different hacks to speed things up.

But while one simple method is widely recommended, another is completely warned against as it could instead cause damage to your car.

Whacking the heating on and hoping for the best doesn’t always cut it (especially in this current cold weather) and we all know pouring hot water right onto the window is a big no no.

It’s just so annoying coming out to this in the morning. (Getty Stock)

However, that hasn’t put people off still using steamy water for defrosting with it often going viral on TikTok whenever temperatures drop in the UK.

Dorry Potter, an expert at National Scrap Car, urged motorists to be wary of falling for the hack where people fill a ziplock bag or sandwich bag with hot or boiling water, before rubbing it over the windscreen.

You may think the plastic bag offers protection but it still has the potential to harm your car. Speaking to The Express, Potter said that this also causes ‘cracks’ in the glass, which can get worse over time.

“A hack that circulates every year is using warm water in a zip lock bag and rubbing it on the windscreen,” she said.

“Motorists are advised to be cautious when applying anything heated to their windscreen as the dramatic change in temperature can cause small cracks to appear in the glass which can cause the screen to shatter when another bout of frost arrives.”

Using a cover is a much better trick. (Getty Stock)

Potter warned against another method, too, continuing: “Drivers should never use boiling water either. Similarly, homemade concoctions should be used with care too.

“Using items such as a potato or onion to clear frost could leave smears or a residue on the screen which in turn could reduce the driver’s visibility, making it just as dangerous as frost to drive. It may be more sensible to stick with a de-icing spray instead.”

One of the best ways to minimise the need for defrosting your windscreen is to get on top of it the night before.

Using a windscreen cover will protect it from frost in the first place and you can even use an old towel to do this.

“Something that could also help is making sure your car is parked out of the shade and ideally facing the East, this means that when the sun rises in the morning it will begin to naturally defrost your car,” Potter added.

But obviously, this would rely on the sun actually appearing and doing so before you need to leave.

Back in June last year, NASA astronauts Barry ‘Butch’ Wilmore and Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams set off on an eight-day mission that ended up being far longer than they planned.

The space explorers discovered some technical issues with their Boeing Starliner spacecraft when docking at the ISS, which was sent back to Earth in September without them in it.

The pair have been waiting for their chance to rotate off the station, and with the way the crew handover works, they have now been stationed there for over half a year.

They’ve made the most of a bad situation though, sharing some snaps onboard of the crew celebrating Christmas in orbit, leaving many to wonder where they got the decorations from.

An update was provided before then, though, as NASA revealed that the rescue mission, which was slated for February, has been delayed by at least a month.

This is due to the SpaceX Dragon capsule, which was meant to pick up the astronauts, not being on schedule.

NASA’s Steve Sitch said: “Fabrication, assembly, testing, and final integration of a new spacecraft is a painstaking endeavour that requires great attention to detail,

“We appreciate the hard work by the SpaceX team to expand the Dragon fleet in support of our missions and the flexibility of the station programme and expedition crews as we work together to complete the new capsule’s readiness for flight.”

Now, the astronauts have given us a fresh update on their situation, while speaking to NASA leaders in a live video event last night (8 January) with two other astronauts.

As per Sky News, Wilmore, 61, and Williams, 59, answered a question asking if they felt like ‘castaways’, similar to Tom Hanks’ 2000 film Cast Away, where he is stranded on a desert island for a long period of time before being rescued.

The latter said that they ‘do not feel like castaways’ but admitted: “Eventually we wanna go home, we left our families a little while ago.

“But we have a lot to do up here and we have to get that stuff done before we go.”

They have now missed the US election, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s in the station, also revealing that they couldn’t see the wildfires spreading in California yet.

The pair have been waiting for a safe way home (MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO/AFP via Getty Images)

Wilmore and Williams are now patiently waiting for their rocket home, as well as fellow NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov.

When new photos emerged of the astronauts back in November, many were concerned for the two, particularly Williams, who’d appeared to have lost some weight, however, she responded to the concerns, adding that ‘a lot of changes that go on up here’.

Last month, they stated: “The resupply spacecraft also carried special items for the crew to celebrate the holidays aboard the orbital platform.”

Amy Ironside Wood, 38, became unwell in 2017 after her daughter Willow came home from nursery with glandular fever.

While Willow got better in a week, Amy’s symptoms ‘haven’t lifted since’, though at first she thought she ‘had a little cold’, according to the Mirror.

However, she soon felt ‘weak’ and ‘faint’, and ended up having to crawl to her daughter’s bedroom if she woke up during the night, and she ‘would feel like I was passing out repeatedly’ too.

Amy thought she caught a cold after her daughter came back sick from nursery in 2017, the reality was so much worse (Collect/PA Real Life)

She said: “I felt a level of fatigue that I could never have imagined as a healthy person – my heart would race when I would roll over in bed as if I’d just run up a flight of stairs.

“My legs were so weak that I felt my knees would buckle after standing for just a few minutes.”

After six months and a series of blood tests, the Nottingham woman’s doctor diagnosed her with ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis).

“I spent every waking minute researching my condition – if I could work out what was actually happening in my body then maybe I could find a way to treat it,” Amy said.

She explained that she’d tried ‘every diet, supplement and medication’ she could find that was supposed to help with ME until she saw a talk from American filmmaker Jennifer Brea, who claimed her ME had gone into remission after neurosurgery.

“I cannot explain the excitement I felt when I thought that there was a cure – even if it meant going through major surgery, I would have done anything at that point to get my life back.”

In 2022, she was given the diagnosis that her skull was not securely attached to her spine (Collect/PA Real Life)

In her search for answers, Amy got help from a specialist in Barcelona, who in 2022, diagnosed her with craniocervical instability (CCI), a rare medical condition where the skull is not securely attached to the spine.

Treatments for the condition are expensive and range from ‘brutal’ surgeries to stem cell injections, and Amy is hoping to raise the money as she feel like her life has been ‘put on hold’ for almost a decade now.

In an effort to raise the money she launched a clothing brand called Not Dead Apparel in 2023, which sell items daubed in slogans such as ‘Tired Girl’s Club’, ‘Wish you weren’t here’ and ‘Live. Laugh. Lie Down’, where all the profits go towards paying for her treatments.

While she runs the business, someone else does the embroidery as Amy said her ‘body just isn’t in a place to do anything physical right now’, and sales picked up last year after an influencer was spotted promoting one of her hats.

The treatments she needs are expensive, so she launched her own fashion brand Not Dead Apparel to raise money (Collect/PA Real Life)

In October 2024, Amy also received a diagnosis of a tethered spinal cord, which is where the spinal cord is attached to the tissue around the spinal canal and can’t freely move.

The operation to free her spinal cord could cost between £17,000 and £20,000, and she is hoping to get that done this year, while she also needs to consider which treatment she would want for her CCI.

One treatment would take stem cells from bone marrow and inject them through the throat into the ligaments at the back of the skull, while the other procedure would fuse her skull and her cervical spine, which would cost her between £80,000 and £200,000.

She said that ‘people barely remember the true me’ and she feels like ‘I grieve for her most days’, on some days she can barely get out of bed while on others she has enough energy for an hour or two.

“I can’t take my daughter to the park or for days out, I can’t be in restaurants or cafes because the ambient noise worsens my symptoms a lot,” Amy explained of her situation, saying the ‘social isolation’ was the hardest thing about it.

In addition to the profits from Not Dead Apparel, there is also a GoFundMe set up to help cover the costs of the treatments Amy needs, which you can donate to here.

Instead they were shown a ‘gigantic check’ from the lottery, and although Jayden didn’t really understand what the lottery was or how much the money was going to change their lives, his parents were excited and that made him excited.

His dad had always put the same lottery numbers up and this lucky time had earned his family millions.

“Overnight we went from pretty decently poor to multi-millionaires and life obviously changed from there,” Jayden explained in a TikTok video where he talked about the impact the winnings had on his family.

As for what the money did to their family, Jayden said that since he was young, he at first didn’t really understand how much money it was but felt like winners ‘have no option to be a normal person’.

Jayden said his parents took the kids out of school for a couple of weeks to ‘plan how to do life’ because they had nobody to guide them through this newfound wealth.

However, there are some downsides to growing up in the wake of a lottery win, besides the obvious cases where some winners come to sorely regret their prize, as he explained that ‘you have this weird mentality on work and the value of money’.

He said: “Even though we grew up still very structured in a way that if we wanted something we had to have a reason to get it or work towards it in a way, I feel like the experience of winning the lottery makes you feel you have no option to be a normal person.

“Normal life never felt natural, it wasn’t because we had crazy money and we’d go and be lavish because we’d remain pretty normal, but it was more like my life is very different.

His family became multi-millionaires after the numbers his dad always put on the ticket came up (Getty Stock Photo)

“Growing up, at least in Australia, it felt like when I did become aware of it we would always make it very clear that we didn’t deserve because we didn’t work hard.

“Even growing up we had the most beautiful house, like it was a blueprint for a reality show.

“Very often we’d feel out of place, in between these two realities and just not fitting in anywhere.”

He added that his parents carried ‘guilt for having the money’ and he often felt like an ‘outcast’, like the winnings weren’t anything to be proud of, but things have got better since he’d moved to LA.

Despite it all, he is still ‘grateful to this day’ for the impact the winnings had on his family as there were certainly lots of positives to go along with it.

The 44-year-old Brit is best known for presenting Russell Howard’s Good News (2009-2015), The Russell Howard Hour (2017-2022), and for being a panellist on Mock the Week (2006-2010).

He was known for his satirical humour around politics, which was geared towards young adults, on his TV shows.

After spending years split across BBC, Sky and even Comedy Central, it sounds like Howard is done with presenting for good.

Russell Howard has been a prominent figure on British TV for almost two decades (BBC)

After 19 successful years, Howard has admitted that he actually prefers doing stand-up comedy instead of structured television, as well as hosting his podcasts, Five Brilliant Things and GoalLess.

Having presented Good News on the BBC for 10 series, followed by six series of The Russell Howard Hour after that, the comedian opened up on his decision to step back from filming.

Speaking on the Have A Word Podcast, Howard explained: “I don’t do TV anymore, I just do stand-up and my podcast.

“I had a pretty good run, I just prefer doing stand-up. I was all over the world and it was just fun.”

Further highlighting how much he loves stand-up, Howard said that there’s ‘nothing else he would rather do’ than touring his own comedy set across the UK.

He added: “TV is fun but it’s not as fun. Writing a book I couldn’t do because I don’t want to sit and entertain myself but doing stand-up is what I love doing.”

Howard then went to compare comedy to a courtroom, explaining: “It’s not entertainment for committee, it’s your dictatorship… The audience are like this brilliant jury that let you know through laughter whether it works or not.”

Howard confirmed that his time on TV is over (YouTube/Have A Word Pod)

Another reason that may have encouraged Howard to call time on his TV career is the fact that he became a father last year.

In August, the comic announced that he and his wife, Cerys Morgan, became parents.

After 15 years together, the pair made it official in the summer of 2019 and he explained how his life changed in a 2024 interview with The Times.

“Six months ago my evenings would have been spent getting ready to go out and perform in front of a thousand people, but now evenings find me sitting on the sofa watching TV with my son on my chest,” Howard said.

“I’m tired a lot. It’s funny, when you become a parent everybody compliments you on your baby, but they will freely turn to you and say that you look like s**t, that your face should be on a government watch list or something.”

He concluded by saying that he sleeps when he can, as with a child, he ‘needs it’.

Experts recently warned that people need to be aware of the illness that can be a ‘severe disease’ for people who are most at risk after growing cases of HMPV were confirmed in China India, Kazakhstan, and Malaysia.

Half a decade since the worldwide outbreak of Covid-19 has passed, and it’s only normal that people would be wary of another pandemic after hearing out this little known illness.

However, the human metapneumovirus, aka HMPV, first surfaced 24 years ago in 2001, and comes and goes throughout the year.

It can develop into pneumonia and even exacerbate asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as per The Telegraph.

Professor Paul Griffin, director of infectious diseases at Mater Health Services in Brisbane, told the Guardian: “It certainly can and does cause severe disease, that’s why I think it’s important that people know it’s out there.”

He said: “The challenge is at the moment there’s not much we can do except educate people [that] it’s around to reduce transmission. There’s no vaccine or antivirals, although there are some vaccines in development.”

This is why if you notice the signs and you fall under the above categories, taking precautions and taking care of yourself is key.

But apart from the usual sneezing, coughing, and wheezing, there’s something else you could be missing that signifies that you are ill before the overt signs.

It could begin as a rash.

Paul Hunter, who is a professor at the University of East Anglia, told The Telegraph: “It’s a totally different virus from flu, which mutates faster. All viruses mutate and evolve, but flu is the quickest to do so and the symptoms of flu are far more severe.”

A rash could be a sign (Getty Stock Image)

In 2013, a study found that around five to ten percent of kids with HMPV presented with a rash, which could be a separate issue, but if you are tested, you could know for sure whether it’s HMPV.

According to Hunter, if you think you have HMPV, you should get medical help immediately, particularly if you experience a high fever a blue hue on your skin, nails or lips or breathing difficulties.

It’s important to note that’s there’s no cure per se, but you can be treated in hospital if your symptoms become severe.

The good news? There are so many children that get HMPV before they turn five and onwards.

Hunter told the BBC: “Almost every child will have at least one infection with HMPV by their fifth birthday and we can expect to go onto to have multiple reinfections throughout life.

“So overall, I don’t think there is currently any signs of a more serious global issue.”

If you notice any strange rash and feel under the weather, it’s best to speak to your GP about possible causes, even if it isn’t HMPV.

The Grand Tour and Top Gear star took to X to share a statement from the pair today (9 January), explaining they will ‘always be in each other’s lives’ and asked for privacy.

Richard and Amanda (‘Mindy’) married back in 2002 and share two daughters together, Izzy, 24, and Willow, 22.

“A little update from us; this Christmas we were together as a family and this year we will still be a family but just structured a bit differently,” the TV presenter and columnist couple wrote.

The couple have been together for 28 years. (Dave Benett/BAFTA/Getty Images for BAFTA)

“Our marriage is coming to end, but we’ve had an amazing 28 years together and two incredible daughters.

“We will always be in each other’s lives and are proud of the family we created.

“We won’t be commenting further and sincerely hope that our privacy and that of our children will be respected at this time. With Love, Richard and Mindy.”

The family live in an impressive mock castle out in Herefordshire and also have an apartment in London. It’s also rumoured that the TV host bought a large place in Oxfordshire.

Fans may remember the Hammonds adopted the official Top Gear dog back in the day, a labradoodle named TG, after it became clear it was afraid of cars.

The couple share two daughters. (David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Longines)

A source told The Sun of the split after nearly three decades: “Richard is very upset about all this. It seems he has tried hard to rekindle the relationship but to no avail.

“There is no speculation that any third party is involved.”

It has also been speculated that Mindy ‘demanded’ the split and ‘wanted him gone’. No reason however has been given by the couple for their separation.

After being on our screens for quite some time, Hammond’s long-running time as a trio with James May and Jeremy Clarkson came to an end last year.

The stars had spent 22 years working together across Top Gear and The Grand Tour before the Amazon Prime finale aired and they confirmed on their press tour that it was the end of their time on TV as we know it.

When asked if he would miss working on the show with his co-stars, Hammond said: “Yeah absolutely, but we wanted to end it at a time, place and in a manner of our choosing and that’s what we’ve done.”