Breaking Waves: Ocean News

Catnip lotion as effective as Deet at repelling mosquitoes, study finds

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 15:17:19 +0000

Researchers testing a cheap, homegrown oil in Uganda found what cats knew all along – it worked as well as the artificial chemical used globally

A homegrown catnip lotion has proven “just as effective as Deet” as a mosquito repellant in trials carried out in Uganda.

Catnip, or Nepeta cataria, is a common herb from the mint family. The chemical in the plant that causes feline euphoria – nepetalactone – also has insect-repelling properties but this has not previously been commercialised.

M&S invests in fridges that can cope with weather as hot as 45C

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 15:00:04 +0000

Retailer admits it struggled in June heatwave and also had to order more ice-cream to keep pace with demand

Marks & Spencer is investing in refrigeration equipment that can cope with weather as hot as 45C as the climate crisis is expected to drive regularly higher temperatures in the UK.

“There is no doubt we were struggling in the nine days of [recent] extreme heat,” Stuart Machin, the chief executive of the food, fashion, beauty and homewares retailer, told shareholders at the group’s annual meeting in London on Tuesday.

Washington records world’s worst air quality for a city after 850,000 Fourth of July fireworks

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 15:00:04 +0000

Hourly concentrations of particulate matter rose to 6.7 times their pre-fireworks levels, according to an analysis

Washington DC residents breathed in “unhealthy” air for hours after a 40-minute Independence Day fireworks show over the National Mall on Saturday night, with the country’s capital briefly recording the worst air quality of any major city in the world.

The highly emitting display, which the president called “spectacular”, came as the Trump administration rolls back an unprecedented number of pollution controls.

Lake Powell, a vital reservoir, plunges toward unprecedented low levels as water crisis deepens in US west

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 14:00:03 +0000

Experts say the critical reservoir system is careening toward a breaking point as the US west’s climate warms and dries

Lake Powell, the US’s second-largest reservoir, threatens to plunge to unprecedentedly low levels this year after a historically bleak snowpack failed to raise its water level, scientists and water experts have said, adding renewed urgency to stalled talks over how to conserve a water source depended on by tens of millions of people in the US south-west.

Low-cost loans for solar panels could save households hundreds on bills – thinktanks

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 09:00:36 +0000

New Economics Foundation and Finance Innovation Lab suggest loan scheme backed by Bank of England could benefit up to 8m homes

Millions of UK households could save hundreds of pounds a year on their energy bills if the government were to approve low-cost loans for solar panel installation, research has found.

Do animals experience time the same way humans do? Here's one way to find out | Ishan Singhal

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 07:00:33 +0000

Animals may inhabit the same world as us, but new research shows how their perceptions of what is around them differs

Imagine standing in your garden. A bumblebee whizzes overhead too quickly to follow, a sparrow darts from the fence to the trees, and a snail lugs itself across the garden stones. Assume for a moment that each of these animals has a stream of experience – that the world for them unfolds over time. How does the world appear from their perspective? In short, do they experience time in a similar way to us?

From fishers to sea rangers: a new wave in marine stewardship

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 04:00:00 +0000

npj Ocean Sustainability, Published online: 07 July 2026; doi:10.1038/s44183-026-00226-w

From fishers to sea rangers: a new wave in marine stewardship

What does China’s long-range missile test in the South Pacific mean for Australia? | David Vallance

admin — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:44:22 +0000

The timing – on the day the Ocean of Peace Alliance treaty was signed with Fiji – reads as provocation at best, coercion at worst

Chinese government tells critics not to ‘overinterpret’ missile test in Pacific as criticism grows

Air pollution linked to DNA changes in sperm, research shows

admin — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 23:01:23 +0000

Study of more than 2,000 men identifies epigenetic changes linked to exposure to common outdoor pollutants

Air pollution appears to alter how sperm genes function, one of the largest fertility studies of its kind has found.

Men exposed to common air pollutants while sperm were developing showed subtle DNA changes that affected whether genes were switched on or off, raising fresh concerns air pollution may harm male fertility.

Scotland could freeze datacentre projects in challenge to UK’s AI strategy

admin — Mon, 06 Jul 2026 23:01:23 +0000

Scottish government to consider SNP national council motion for moratorium on all new datacentres

The Scottish government is about to consider a sweeping moratorium on building new datacentres, putting a key plank of the UK’s AI strategy at risk.

Last Sunday the Scottish National party (SNP)’s national council passed a motion to freeze all new datacentres in Scotland. That motion has been sent to the Scottish government to consider.