Science & Earth

A super moon coinciding with unusually high tides produced higher-than-normal water levels across the San Francisco Bay Area, flooding streets and prompting flood warnings; bay advisories were extended through Monday afternoon.

Hundreds of UK schools have announced closures for Monday amid yellow and amber Met Office warnings for snow and ice; the closures affect schools in Scotland, North Wales, Northern Ireland and parts of Devon.

Feral horse numbers in Kosciuszko National Park have fallen from about 17,000 to roughly 3,000 after culling and legal changes; early field observations report small patches of vegetation regrowth, softer creek edges and fewer horses on roads.

Cold weather and snow warnings in the UK increase window condensation, and experts say dehumidifiers control indoor moisture more effectively than opening windows.

A car expert told The Mirror that spreading non-clumping clay cat litter can provide traction on icy driveways, and a 10-litre bag is sold for about £2.18 at Aldi.

Researchers at Glasgow Caledonian University have developed an AI-powered headset that analyses brainwaves and heart signals to warn of seizures, with reported accuracy of up to 95%; the team says wider availability will take several years because of further testing and regulatory approvals.

A 1983 accident on the Byford Dolphin rig in the North Sea resulted in five deaths and one survivor after a rapid loss of chamber pressure; an official inquiry attributed the incident to human error.

Researchers engineered an attenuated Salmonella typhimurium strain (CNC018pCH) to secrete cytolysin A and hyaluronidase; in mouse tumor models this modified bacterium reduced tumor growth and metastasis and generated protective memory responses.

The Met Office reported 2025 was the warmest and sunniest year on record in the UK, and four of the five hottest UK years have occurred this decade. Scientific consensus identifies fossil fuel pollution as the main cause.

Today’s Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Manx, Welsh, Cornish and Breton come from older Celtic languages once spoken across Britain and Ireland. New finds — ancient inscriptions, place names and DNA studies — are giving scholars fresh clues about how those languages arrived and spread.

The US Geological Survey issued a ShakeAlert after a 4.9-magnitude quake struck near Susanville, California, and phones across parts of California, western Nevada and southern Oregon received warnings. Officials reported no injuries or damage and the USGS gave probabilities for additional aftershocks; next steps are undetermined at this time.

Researchers analysed bones from the Goyet cave and report that six Neanderthal individuals — mainly women and children — show marks interpreted as consistent with cannibalism around 45,000 years ago.

The National Museum in central Tripoli reopened on December 23, 2025, after about 14 years of closure, and Libyans visited to view ancient, Roman and Ottoman-era collections that staff say were safeguarded during the unrest. Renovations took six years, involved international partners and more than five million dollars in investment, and the museum now features modern displays and interactive tools.

On November 5, 1983, a rapid decompression event aboard the Byford Dolphin in the North Sea killed five men and left one survivor; investigators cited a premature unlatching of the diving bell and shortcomings in the rig's diving equipment.