• Unsung observatory worker was UK's first professional female astronomer, experts say
• Best Scottish Standing Stones 2025: Here are 8 ancient stone circles in Scotland ideal for celebrating the Summer Solstice
• What you need to know ahead of solstice celebrations

• An Antidote to Violence: New book shows meditation can aid governmental efforts to bring peace and heal divisions
• UK art expert Geraldine Norman: Transcendental Meditation helped with grief - 'It felt so good, I was amazed'
• UK: Transcendental Meditation featured in Daily Star's recommendations to reduce blood pressure

• UK bumblebee numbers fell to lowest on record in 2024, shows data
• Songbirds being killed by pesticides found in pet fur flea treatments
• Pollution exposure linked to mental health hospital admissions, says study

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Positive Trends
Short Summaries of Top Stories

Unsung observatory worker was UK's first professional female astronomer, experts say
30 June 2025 - For more than a century, astronomers assumed she had simply 'computed' complex calculations for the Victorian men who had exclusive use of Cambridge Observatory telescopes. But researchers now say that Annie Walker - a Victorian woman who began working at the observatory in 1879, when she was only 15 - actually observed thousands of stars herself. (more)

Best Scottish Standing Stones 2025: Here are 8 ancient stone circles in Scotland ideal for celebrating the Summer Solstice
11 June 2025 - With the Summer Solstice just around the corner on June 21, many are searching for meaningful ways to mark the longest day of the year. While Stonehenge may draw thousands, Scotland's ancient standing stones offer a more peaceful alternative, set against breathtaking landscapes and with fewer crowds. (more)

What you need to know ahead of solstice celebrations
11 June 2025 - Thousands of people are set to mark the summer solstice, which signifies the end of spring, and for many is a spiritual celebration at dawn. Each year, people journey to Stonehenge in Wiltshire to witness the first rays of sunlight piercing through the ancient stone archways. (more)

More than a long face: horses use 'rich repertoire' of expressions to interact
28 May 2025 - Horses pull a variety of expressions when interacting with each other, researchers have found. ...In horses, ear movements have long been viewed as important indicators of their internal state. However, the new work suggests there are many more signals to look out for. (more)

Bringing back the birds: the 'ghost woodlands' transforming England's barren sheep fells
27 May 2025 - A groundbreaking tree-planting program is uniting farmers and rewilders, as portions of common ground in the Yorkshire Dales national park are being restored to their ancient glory. (more)

UK: Beehives installed at 17th Century walled garden
21 May 2025 - A new collection of beehives has been installed at a 17th Century walled garden to celebrate World Bee Day. The installation at County Durham's Auckland Palace features three hives and forms part of a wider network buzzing across Bishop Auckland, including several at nearby Binchester Roman Fort. By the end of summer, the total number of hives will house an estimated 540,000 bees. (more)

UK: Beekeeper helping kids get a buzz from nature
21 May 2025 - A beekeeper from Leeds is inspiring a generation of schoolchildren from urban parts of the city to love the winged insects. Kate Turner took up beekeeping during lockdown and began cultivating her own 30,000-strong hive after taking an online course. Ms Turner set up Bee Inspired Eco Education, a community interest company which aims to educate young people about the natural world, last year. (more)

UK: Bronte country to become protected national nature reserve
13 May 2025 - The sweeping landscapes of the Pennines inspired the Bronte sisters, and now those lands are being protected as one of England's biggest nature reserves. (more)

Cinderella partying: why young women no longer dance until dawn
16 April 2025 - In a new survey, just 5 percent of British women claimed their perfect night involves dancing with friends -- and 65 percent would rather not go out at all. Yes. According to research by skincare brand No7, 51 percent of women like to go to bed early after a night out, 65 percent would rather have an evening at home and just 5 percent claimed that their perfect night involves going dancing with friends. ...In fact, last year the Wall Street Journal declared that 9pm was the hot new bedtime for people in their 20s. (more)

UK: Beavers back in river for first time in 400 years
9 April 2025 - Beavers have returned to a Shropshire river for the first time in 400 years. The Severn Rivers Trust introduce a pair to the River Clun in the south of the county on Monday afternoon [31 March]. It hopes the pair will have offspring and can help transform the natural environment through their dam building. Another pair of beavers was introduced to an area in Shrewsbury earlier in the month and the trust said they have settled in well. (more)

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Success of Maharishi's Programmes
Short Summaries of Top Stories

An Antidote to Violence: New book shows meditation can aid governmental efforts to bring peace and heal divisions
19 June 2020 - Author to present new book - An Antidote to Violence - at All Party Parliamentary Group on Indian Traditional Sciences during International Day of Yoga 2020 in the UK, 21 June. It's accepted that Transcendental Meditation (TM) can create peace for the individual, but can it do the same for society, and if so, what is the mechanism? In An Antidote to Violence, Barry Spivack and Patricia Saunders examine peer-reviewed research suggesting that Transcendental Meditation can influence the collective consciousness of society, leading to decreases in violent crime and war fatalities, and increases in quality of life and cooperation between nations. (more)

UK art expert Geraldine Norman: Transcendental Meditation helped with grief - 'It felt so good, I was amazed'
15 October 2019 - Over her 20 years writing for The Times of London, Geraldine Norman became best known for exposing art forgeries in front-page stories. Later she started a second career, as founder and director of the Hermitage Foundation UK, supporting the famous Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 1981 Geraldine learned Transcendental Meditation, after a devastating personal loss. 'I suddenly realized that the extreme pain I'd been experiencing for the past year was leaving me. And it felt so good that I was amazed. I have continued meditating regularly all these years, and have been extremely happy with it,' she says. 'I think TM is also useful while growing old. It's helped me to think about things that no one understands, like life and death and consciousness and so on. And that is a marvelous gift.' (more)

UK: Transcendental Meditation featured in Daily Star's recommendations to reduce blood pressure
17 September 2018 - One in four Brits suffers with high blood pressure, according to the UK's National Health Service. The Daily Star reports that a study led by Dr Robert Schneider, director of the Institute for Natural Medicine and Prevention at Maharishi University of Management in Iowa, USA, found that Transcendental Meditation reduces high blood pressure. TM is featured first in a discussion of research on lifestyle approaches to reducing blood pressure including meditation, yoga, exercise, and diet. (more)

Head of worldwide Transcendental Meditation organisation addresses International Yoga Day celebration, UK Parliament
26 June 2018 - Dr Tony Nader, MD, PhD, MARR, addressed this week's celebration of International Yoga Day held in the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster, London. Dr Nader is a distinguished neuroscientist and the leader of the worldwide Transcendental Meditation organisation founded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The celebration was hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Indian Traditional Sciences. Dr Nader spoke on 'Yoga, consciousness and prevention' and presented the scientific basis of yoga, including scientific research on the benefits of yoga, of which Transcendental Meditation is a central aspect; and how the principles of yoga are found reflected in physics, physiology, and other areas of modern science. He presented published research showing the relevance of yoga for promoting health and preventing disease. (more)

UK: Dr Charlotte Bech shares the secrets of stress-free living
27 May 2018 - Dr Charlotte Bech, a Danish doctor, surgeon and expert on natural medicine - lecturing in the UK for National Stress Awareness Month - said that simple procedures, such as the right light, diet, oils, spices, mental and emotional training, yoga and meditation, have been shown to reduce stress, despite the demands of our frenetic, modern lives. 'The most important advice is to practise Transcendental Meditation (TM), which is probably the most effective method against stress as it is time-tested, is the most extensively researched and most widely-practised and is the simplest and most natural procedure for meditation,' she said. 'In just a few minutes, this technique activates the parasympathetic nervous system and transforms the physiology to a settled and stress-free state.' (more)

First ever neuroimaging study of people in the midst of Transcendental Meditation - British Psychological Society review
21 April 2018 - It is possible to pay attention effortlessly, your mind 'pulled by the inherent nature of the object of experience'. In fact, with practice, doing so can 'lead you to experience inner silence, tranquility, peace and transcendence'. That's according to a research team led by Michelle Mahone at the California School of Professional Psychology, who have published in Brain and Cognition what they describe as the first neuroimaging study of people in the midst of Transcendental Meditation (TM). (more)

Scotland: Transcendental Meditation for caregivers - 'The dynamic in the family has changed'
14 April 2018 - Caring for elderly relatives can be exhausting. Leaving the Scottish Civil Service to take care of his mother left Owen feeling tired and stressed. 'As a carer, Transcendental Meditation seemed like a good fit. It would help deal with the stress of the caring combined with the isolation.' He had tried other forms of meditation which required a bit of effort. 'TM was surprisingly easy,' he said. 'I was able to do it right away and I felt the benefits almost immediately. . . . When I meditate I feel calm and restful but not sleepy. [Afterward] I feel very refreshed and more alert and focused.' During the day Owen feels more aware and understanding of his mother's needs, and that his increased calm has had a relaxing and reassuring effect on both of his parents: 'The dynamic in the family has changed.' (more)

UK Parliament marks International Yoga Day - Prof Tony Nader, MD, PhD honoured with special award
16 July 2017 - The third International Yoga Day was celebrated in the House of Commons, Palace of Westminster, hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Indian Traditional Sciences, its Secretariat Amarjeet S Bhamra and the High Commission of India. The event on 10 July was designed to explore the value of introducing Yoga in the NHS (National Health Service). Chief Guest of the event, H.E. High Commissioner Y K Sinha paid tribute to the work of the APPG in introducing Yoga, Ayurveda and other disciplines into the mainstream of public life. Prof Tony Nader, MD, PhD, MARR, head of the worldwide Transcendental Meditation organization, was honoured with a special award, and presented five volumes of Scientific Research on the Transcendental Meditation Programme to Members of Parliament. In his keynote address Prof Nader explained that 'every one of us has within us, built into our very physiology, the essential quality of Yoga, which is unifying.' (more)

UK: Could Ayurveda be the cure for ailing National Health System?
1 July 2017 - As the UK's National Health Service (NHS) shoulders a growing financial burden, the ancient Indian tradition of Ayurveda is being promoted as a way to take the pressure off doctors while helping people keep good health. At the recent Second International Ayurveda Congress in London, Dr Rainer Picha, chairman of the International Maharishi Ayurveda Foundation in the Netherlands (one of three organizations that hosted the Congress), said: 'Modern medicine has become hugely expensive to support. Rather, we should be focused on the prevention of disease, which is much cheaper than curing diseases.' (more)

UK: SuperMind Peak Performance Programme - Transcendental Meditation for professionals
20 June 2017 - The SuperMind Peak Performance Programme, a division of the David Lynch Foundation UK, offers Transcendental Meditation to companies and organisations to help executives and employees overcome stress, promote health, and attain high levels of performance. (more)

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Flops
Short Summaries of Top Stories

UK bumblebee numbers fell to lowest on record in 2024, shows data
27 February 2025 - Figures show 2024 was the worst year for bumblebees in the UK since records began. Bumblebee numbers declined by almost a quarter compared with the 2010-2023 average, according to data from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. The researchers said the drop was probably due to the cold and wet conditions in the UK last spring. (more)

Songbirds being killed by pesticides found in pet fur flea treatments
10 February 2025 - Songbird chicks are being killed by high levels of pesticides in the pet fur used by their parents to line their nests, a study has found. ...Cats and dogs are widely treated with insecticides to prevent against fleas. Vets often recommend regular flea treatments as a preventive measure, even when dogs and cats do not have the pest. But scientists now recommend animals should not be treated for fleas unless they actually have them. (more)

Pollution exposure linked to mental health hospital admissions, says study
22 January 2025 - Exposure to air pollution is linked to an increased risk of hospital admission for mental illness, according to the most comprehensive study of its kind. The research, involving more than 200,000 people in Scotland, found an increase in exposure to nitrogen dioxide in particular was associated with a higher number of people being admitted to hospital for behavior disorders and mental illnesses. (more)

'My right side was paralyzed, I was so sick': the pesticide poisonings in Brazil that lead back to the UK
8 December 2024 - Investigation uncovers how chemicals like diquat, banned in the UK but legal to export, are causing health problems in the global south. Records obtained under freedom of information laws by Unearthed, Greenpeace's investigative unit, and the NGO Public Eye reveal that despite a ban on their use in the UK, diquat and other toxic pesticides are being legally exported around the world -- with large volumes going to developing countries. (more)

Sewage in Scotland's rivers and beaches far more widespread than realized
14 September 2024 - Sewage pollution of Scotland's rivers and beaches is far more widespread than realized because ministers have failed to take the problem seriously, an environment watchdog has found. Environmental Standards Scotland (ESS) said there were thousands of sewage overflow incidents last year, and that nearly half of the country's storm overflows released sewage more than 50 times. (more)

'It stains your brain': How social media algorithms show violence to boys
2 September 2024 - It was 2022 and Cai, then 16, was scrolling on his phone. He says one of the first videos he saw on his social media feeds was of a cute dog. But then, it all took a turn. (more)

Toxic PFAS absorbed through skin at levels higher than previously thought
30 June 2024 - Absorption through skin could be 'significant source of exposure'' to toxic forever chemicals, study shows. New research 'for the first time proves' toxic PFAS forever chemicals are absorbed through human skin, and at levels much higher than previously thought. (more)

Fish deaths in England's rivers rise tenfold in four years
20 May 2024 - Mass deaths of fish in England's rivers have increased almost tenfold since 2020, with fears sewage pollution is exterminating life in the country's waterways. (more)

Swallow, swift, and house martin populations have nearly halved, finds UK bird survey
16 May 2024 - Reduction in insect numbers contributes to drop, and there are declines across more than a third of bird species surveyed. Swallows, swifts, and house martins were once a common sight over UK towns and cities, dextrously catching insects on the wing. But these spring and summer visitors are becoming increasingly rare, according to the definitive survey of the country's birds. Populations of these insect-eating birds have dropped by 40% or more in the past decade, according to the latest Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) report. (more)

'Pesticides by stealth': garden soil conditioners killing worms, experts fear
4 May 2024 - Even products marketed as 'organic' may be toxic, say campaigners, with risks for the wider ecosystem. Gardeners are inadvertently killing scores of earthworms with soil conditioners marketed as 'organic', experts fear, as they call for tighter regulation on products that poison the invertebrates. Earthworms may appear humble, but Charles Darwin thought their work in improving soil structure and fertility was so important he devoted his final book to them. (more)