NewsFeed Israelis rushed into bomb shelters as Iranian projectiles started fires and caused scattered damage in several areas of the country. Interceptors attempting to block further incoming fire were also seen detonating in the skies over Tel Aviv and other cities. Published On 28 Feb 202628 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share plus2googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Source link
A false-colour X-ray showing a large neural tube defect (red) on both sides of the lower back in someone with spina bifida SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY A patch made of stem cells from donor placentas has been used to treat fetuses in the womb with a severe form of spina bifida as part of a world-first trial. The novel approach seems to have reversed a brain complication associated with the congenital condition at least as effectively as the go-to treatment, but is expected to enable more children to walk over the long term. The mother of one of the babies, who is now 4 years old, says she expected that her son Toby would require a wheelchair when he was diagnosed with the condition in the womb. “But Toby is healthy [and] has hit all of his milestones – he’s walking, running and jumping – and has no problems with bladder control, which is rare for people with the condition,” she says. Spina bifida – which affects about 1 in every 2800 births in the US …
Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech In early November, Chinese astronauts on board the country’s Tiangong space station made a terrifying discovery. According to state news reports at the time, they found “tiny cracks” in their Shenzhou return spacecraft’s viewport window that were most likely the result of a collision with space debris. The alarming finding forced China’s space agency to delay the affected crew’s return, triggering a convoluted game of musical chairs as the cracked spacecraft was deemed not safe enough for crewed flight. Fortunately, a replacement spacecraft that was sent to the station without a crew on board allowed the astronauts to safely return to the ground. Now, new details about the incident have emerged, revealing that the situation was even more serious than initially reported, with some cracks penetrating the spacecraft’s window. “My first thought was whether a small leaf had somehow stuck to the outside of the window,” said Shenzhou-20 crew member Chen Dong during a recent interview aired by …
Tell most hair-care enthusiasts you want to upgrade your hair dryer, and I’d bet good money you’ll be asked, “Will you buy a Dyson?” That would have been a ludicrous question more than a decade ago when the brand specialised in vacuum cleaners, but not since it took the luxury hair-care market by storm in 2016 with its Supersonic hair dryer. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. The Supersonic ripped up the hair-dryer rulebook, with its distinctive design, lightweight feel and quiet operation. Eight years after the original, Dyson launched the Supersonic Nural: an upgraded version with new tricks up its sleeve. Upgrading to one of the best hair dryers is still one of my top beauty tips: they’re better at controlling heat levels and dry hair faster. All the same, is there really any need to spend up to £400? Having put the Supersonic Nural hair dryer through its paces and compared it with 19 other hair dryers that I tested, …
More than a century after the RMS Titanic slipped beneath the Atlantic, engineers still chase the dream of ships that refuse to sink. At the University of Rochester’s Institute of Optics, that goal now looks less like fantasy and more like physics. Chunlei Guo, a professor of optics and physics and a senior scientist at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, leads a team that has found a way to make ordinary aluminum tubes float no matter what. Their study, published in Advanced Functional Materials, describes a method that turns simple metal into a powerful water-repelling structure. The idea sounds simple. The science behind it is not. By using lasers to etch the inner surface of aluminum tubes, the researchers create tiny pits at the micro and nano scale. Those pits change how water interacts with the metal. HOLEY MOLY: “If you severely damage the tubes with as many holes as you can punch, they still float,” says Guo. (CREDIT: University of Rochester / J. Adam Fenster) Instead of soaking in, water beads up and rolls …
Media moguls do not necessarily have the same story; it depends on the choices they make. After making his fortune in the garment industry in Hong Kong, Jimmy Lai created the raucous, sensationalist tabloid Apple Daily two years before the former British colony was handed back to China in 1997. Refusing to accept the silent disappearance of Hong Kong’s democracy, Lai made his newspaper the mouthpiece of that resistance, following the rhythm of each new uprising sparked by Beijing’s tightening grip, which ultimately strangled the paper. In the end, Lai’s choice led him to prison. At 78 years old, he has languished there since 2020, and his 20-year sentence for “collusion with foreign forces” and “seditious publication,” which was handed down on Monday, February 9, amounts to a death sentence. That is the price he has paid for standing up to the Chinese juggernaut. Beijing has crushed the commitment it made in 1984 to preserve for half a century the “way of life” then prevailing in Hong Kong: freedom. Former US vice president Mike Pence …
Since Reform UK took in several high-profile Conservative defectors in the space of a few weeks, a debate has arisen about whether these new recruits benefit or harm Nigel Farage’s party. Some suggest that the loss of Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick, among others, hastens the demise of the Conservative party, to Reform’s benefit. But there’s also the risk that in embracing high-profile Conservatives, Reform is tying its image to the unpopular government they once represented. Apparently there is danger for Farage in becoming “Tory party 2.0” – a new version of the same party the electorate roundly rejected in 2024. Polling since the defections should indeed give Farage some pause here. Recent figures from YouGov show that significantly fewer people now see Reform and the Conservatives as all that different from each other. The proportion who see the parties as different has fallen by ten percentage points since September. Polling also shows that 63% of Labour voters 67% of Liberal Democrat voters and 64% of Green voters didn’t like Reform anyway and therefore haven’t …
Floridians were once again warned this week to watch out for falling iguanas as an ultra-rare cold blast sent temperatures plunging to record lows of 22F in Jacksonville and 24F in Orlando. Whenever Arctic air pours into The Sunshine State, its citrus industry inevitably takes a hit, and this deep freeze comes on top of years of damage from greening disease and repeated blows from tropical cyclones that have already decimated the crop. It’s so cold in Florida that iguanas started falling from trees. 🦎🥶 When temperatures fall into the 40s or below, iguanas can become cold-stunned, temporarily losing muscle control. They recover as conditions warm. pic.twitter.com/FjDrT7mLmz — AccuWeather (@accuweather) February 1, 2026 “There was significant damage to the remaining oranges to be picked in central Florida,” said Jim Roemer, a meteorologist who publishes the WeatherWealth newsletter, quoted by Bloomberg. Roemer added, “Many key areas were well below 28 degrees for over four hours between Sunday and this morning.” Here’s a sight you don’t see every day. Frozen orange trees in Central Florida. The irrigation …
Sign up to our free Living Well email for advice on living a happier, healthier and longer life Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter For many, a gel manicure is now as routine as a haircut, celebrated for its hardwearing, chip-free perfection lasting up to three weeks. But beneath the mirror-shine finish and sturdy exterior, a pressing question persists: are these popular treatments actually damaging our nails? Margaret Dabbs OBE, a podiatrist and founder of Margaret Dabbs London says the truth sits somewhere in between the gels themselves and how we treat them once they’re on our nails. “There are a lot of horror stories surrounding gel manicures,” she says, “[including] experiences from both salon and home treatments, which [could have caused] inflammation and extra sensitivity around the nail and the cuticle, nail infections and damaged nails.” Crucially, “this can be due to the application and removal process of the gel treatment, quality of the …
Speculation has been mounting about Donald Trump’s health as commentators analyse every visible change and medical disclosure for clues about the 79-year-old’s wellbeing. The US president has been formally diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, where leg veins struggle to send blood back to the heart. However, some experts have suggested he is also showing signs of cognitive deterioration or dementia. Recent analysis of his often speech patterns have added fuel to the fire. Analysis by the New York Times (NYT) found Mr Trump has been “speaking far more words” in public in his second term than during the first year of his first stint in office. But while critics argue that his rambling, repetitive style as a sign of decline, others argue it is a natural habit and clever rhetorical strategy. The NYT found Mr Trump had publicly uttered almost two million words in 2025, compared with just over 800,000 in 2017. And he had delivered fewer scheduled speeches but given more interviews and unscheduled remarks to the press. The analysis showed his most frequently used …
