• Study projects consequences for seabirds under a scenario of  2°C warming
• Species including the Puffin, Fulmar, and Arctic Tern could decrease by 70% 

World renowned seabird colonies around the British Isles are being driven to the brink of extinction, warns new research.

Species including the Puffin, Fulmar and Arctic Tern have already suffered ‘catastrophic’ losses as a result of avian flu over the last two years.

Now, a study led by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) suggests that the majority of seabird species in Britain and Ireland are also likely to suffer long-term impacts from climate change that may even surpass those recent losses.

The study projects that under a scenario of 3.6°F (2°C) warming by 2050, species such as the Puffin, Fulmar and Arctic Tern could see population declines of more than 70 per cent compared to their numbers at the turn of the millennium.

The results, published in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series, suggest that marine specialist species – including terns, auks and petrels – are at greater risk than more generalist and adaptable species such as gulls.

World renowned seabird colonies around the British Isles are being driven to the brink of extinction, warns new research. Pictured: a puffin

Species including the Puffin, Fulmar (pictured) and Arctic Tern have already suffered ‘catastrophic’ losses as a result of avian flu over the last two years

READ MORE: Two million species of plants and animals are now threatened with EXTINCTION

Some species may colonise new areas of Britain and Ireland, according to the team.

However, most conservationists warn that is not likely to compensate for declines in areas where they currently breed.

The study found that seabirds are generally present in lower numbers where the air temperature is higher during the breeding season, although each seabird species responded in its own way to different aspects of the marine and terrestrial climate.

But the report concludes that most seabird species in Britain and Ireland will ‘struggle’ due to impacts from warming air and sea temperatures, as well as changes in rainfall patterns and other aspects of the marine environment.

The changes could potentially reduce food availability for seabirds or increase the likelihood of death due to extreme weather events, say scientists.

Study lead author Dr Jacob Davies said: ‘Here in Britain and Ireland, we are fortunate to host internationally important breeding colonies of seabirds.

The study found that seabirds are generally present in lower numbers where the air temperature is higher during the breeding season, although each seabird species responded in its own way to different aspects of the marine and terrestrial climate. Pictured: an Arctic Tern

‘Our research suggests that many of our much-loved seabird species such as the Kittiwake and Puffin are particularly sensitive to the negative effects of warming and are seriously threatened by climate change.

‘Alongside the potential negative future effects of climate change, many of our seabirds are already in steep decline, due to a range of factors including overfishing and avian influenza. 

‘The better we understand the problems these iconic species face and how birds may respond to them, the better placed we will be to help them.’

Dr Rich Howells, Senior Marine Ornithologist, Marine Directorate, Scottish Government, who co-authored the study added: ‘Climate change is the greatest threat to our internationally important seabird populations. 

‘This study provides important information on potential climate change impacts over the long-term, which can be used to inform our conservation actions to increase resilience in seabird populations.’ 

WHAT ARE THE UK’S MOST ENDANGERED PLANTS?

The Ghost Orchid was last seen in 2009 in a Herefordshire wood

1. Ghost Orchid

Status: Critically Endangered 

Best time to see: Unknown

Habitat: Beech wood

Where? Herefordshire

This orchid was thought extinct until it was spotted in Herefordshire in 2009. It usually grows underground in deep leaf litter only rarely popping its white flower above the surface to attract pollinators.

The Red Helleborine grows in southern England and is best seen in May, June and July

2. Red Helleborine

Status: Critically Endangered

Best time to see: May, June and July

Habitat: Dark woodland

Where? Southern England

This orchid grows a stem up to 60cm in height that can carry up to 17 flowers that are a deep shade of pink. Plantlife UK said it may have become rare due to a decline in the population of its pollinators and the right habitat for them.

Spreading Bellflowers are only found in 37 places in the UK

3. Spreading Bellflower

Status: Endangered

Best time to see: July to November

Habitat: Woodland

Where? Welsh borders and west Midlands

The Spreading Bellflower is only found in 37 10-km square areas in the UK, but in very small numbers. It is threatened by changes in woodland management, such as the end of coppicing and other disturbances, and an increased use of herbicides on roadsides and railway banks.

The Crested Cow-wheat grows in East Anglia and other parts of the UK

4. Crested Cow-wheat

Status: Endangered

Best time to see: July and August

Habitat: Rocky Hillside meadows and roadsides

Where? East Anglia and other areas

The plant grows to 15 to 40cm high and produces pink flowers with yellow lips. It grows in meadows, competing with scores of other plants to attract insects.

5. Cotswold Pennycress

Status: Vulnerable and Near-Threatened

Best time to see: April and May

Habitat: Farmland

Where? Cotswolds

It sprouts mainly in the Cotswolds, and can be seen growing out of hedges, walls and banks.

Ploughing, the levelling of rough land, increased use of fertilisers and herbicides and neglecting marginal land have all led to the plants gradual demise. It is often choked by thicker smothering plants.

The Lady Orchid, which has stunning pink flowers, grows in Kent and Oxfordshire

6. Lady Orchid

Status: Critical

Best time to see: April, May, June

Habitat: Edges of woodland and grassland

Where? Kent and Oxfordshire

This purple-coloured orchid produces large stems of 200 flowers that grow up to 80cm in height. It can be seen growing on the edges of woodland, and sometimes in open grassland.

This meadow plant has been in decline since less land was used for grazing meaning it was smothered by others

7. Meadow Clary

Status: Vulnerable/Near Threatened

Best time to see: Spring and Summer

Habitat: Grassland

Where? Oxfordshire, Chilterns and north and south Downs

This plant declined before 1950 when less land was used for grazing and it was smothered by other coarser plants. It is now found in just 21 areas in the south of England, where it was probably re-introduced through ‘wild flower seed’ mixtures.

The sun loving plant grows in open grassland, and along south-facing hedge banks and the southern edges of woodland.

The One-flowered Wintergreen grows in damp, shaded pine forests

8. One-flowered Wintergreen

Status: Vulnerable/ Near Threatened

Best time to see: May, June and July

Habitat: Pine forests

Where? North-east Scotland

This single-flowered plant grows in damp, shaded areas of pine forests. It is clearly visible against the dark soil and rotting pine leaves. The white flower faces downwards from the end of a tall stem, looking a bit like an umbrella

The Twinflower is a relic from the ice age

9. Twinflower

Status: Unknown

Best time to see: Spring and Summer

Habitat: Woodland

Where? Scotland

An arctic-alpine plant that is a relic of the ice age, It has two pink bell-like flowers on a slender stem and a thicker stem below that creeps along the ground forming small mats. The Twinflower is considered one of our smallest and most delicate native flowers.

It now grows in just 50 unrelated sites following changes in woodland management.

The white-flower orchid has been lost from 75 per cent of the countryside

10. Lesser Butterfly-orchid

Status: Vulnerable/Near Threatened

Best time to see: June & July

Habitat: Woodland, grassland, heathland and wetland

Where? England, Cardiganshire in Wales, and parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland

This white-flower orchid has been lost from 75 per cent of the English countryside since records began. Growing a 30cm-high stem, the plant is now scattered across open areas and those with acidic soil. The best chance of seeing it is in the Cae Blaen Dyffryn Nature Reserve, Wales, which hosts a population that can exceed 3,000 in good years.

The orchids decline may be linked to a symbiotic fungus it depends on to grow, according to Plantlife UK, which is very sensitive to fertilisers and fungicides. Their use on open grassland may have played a part in the plants march towards extinction.

The plant prefers Beech and Hazel woods

11. Yellow Birds-nest

Status: Unknown

Best time to see: All year

Habitat: Beech and Hazel woodland

Where? UK-wide

The whole plant is a yellow-brown colour, and tends to grow in leaf litter in shaded woodland. However, it began to decline after 1930, possibly due to changes in woodland management, overgrazing and habitat fragmentation.

Source: Plantlife UK 

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Brazilian funk star MC Pipokinha, real name Doroth Helena de Sousa Alves, has become infamous in that part of the world due to her outrageous antics.

She previously landed herself in hot water after footage emerged of her allowing two cats to suck on her nipples. After that, MC Pipokinha was filmed allowing one of her fans to perform oral sex on her while on stage. On another occasion she entered the cockpit of a plane and flashed the pilot.

READ MORE: Controversial singer known for sex acts at wild shows 'pleasures alien' on stage

For the latest wild news from across the globe from the Daily Star, click here.

The latest videos shared on her X (formerly Twitter) account show MC Pipokinha with some writing on her lower back, with an arrow beneath it pointing down towards her behind. The text reads: "Acerte meu nóme que te dóu meu cú." That loosely translates to: "Get my name right and I'll give you my a**."

The videos and images were posted across December 18 and 20 – so it is unclear whether the writing is temporary or actually tattooed on. One video shows MC Pipokinha twerking, seemingly backstage at show. Another shows her on a boat.

This comes just days after the singer appeared to flash her privates at an audience.

Racy videos shared on social media showed MC Pipokinha dressed in a sexy Santa Claus costume while performing. She then proceeded to stop the show, bend over and spank herself with the mic, before lifting up her skirt at the front and flashing fans who were standing just feet away.

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• NASA says that one of the astronauts to walk on the Moon will be non-American
• The first mission to land on the moon is expected no earlier than 2027  

A British astronaut might be one of the first people to walk on the Moon in over 50 years. 

NASA has announced that one international astronaut will join an American mission to the moon by the end of the decade.

This decision would make the chosen crew member the first non-American to ever set foot on the Moon.  

However, there are no further clues on the identity or nationality of the astronaut. 

In a statement, NASA said that it will ‘make specific crew assignments closer to each mission as the mission parameters and crew criteria are defined.’ 

All 12 people to walk on the Moon have been American men, but this decision could open the door for the first British person to join this exclusive club

READ MORE: Tim Peake could end his retirement after just 9 MONTHS to lead the UK’s first team into space 

The agreement came as part of a meeting of the National Space Council convened by Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday. 

Speaking at the council, Ms Harris said: ‘Today in recognition of the essential role that our allies and partners play in the Artemis program, I’m proud to announce that, alongside American astronauts, we intend to land an international astronaut on the surface of the moon by the end of the decade.’ 

However, in November, NASA reportedly told the British Government that it was ‘incredibly possible’ that a British astronaut could be selected. 

If a British astronaut were selected, the most likely contenders would be Tim Peake or one of the three Brits recently selected for the European Space Agency’s 2023 astronaut programme. 

If a British astronaut were selected, the most likely contenders would be Tim Peake (pictured) or one of the three Brits recently selected for the European Space Agency’s 2023 astronaut programme.

Tim Peake, dubbed Britain’s first spaceman, has recently been focusing an ambassadorial work but has said he would like to walk on the Moon in his lifetime. 

The other three potential moonwalkers are John McFall, 42, a surgical trainee and Paralympic medallist; Meganne Christian, 35, a materials scientist originally from Kent; and Rosemary Coogan, 32, an astrophysicist from Northern Ireland. 

John McFall, who lost his leg below the knee in a motorbike accident, was recently filmed undergoing weightlessness training and has been called the first ‘parastronaut’.

Rosemary Coogan, 32, is from Belfast but went to school in Brighton and has two masters degrees in physics from the University of Durham. 

From a young age, she spent several weeks a year away from home onboard military training vessels and land bases as a Cadet Petty Officer with the Sea Cadets from 2002 to 2009. 

Rosemary Coogan (left) and Meganne Christian (middle) and John McFall (right) have been selected for the European Space Agency’s 2023 astronaut program and are strong contenders for the first British moonwalker

Meanwhile, Meganne Christian, 35, was born in Kent but moved to Australia at a young age and studied at the University of New South Wales. 

The materials scientist has worked at the National Research Council of Italy in Bologna and as a researcher at Concordia Station in Antarctica, one of the most remote places on Earth. 

This is not the first time that NASA has included international astronauts on trips to space. 

The space agency has partnered with the European, Japanese, and Russian space agencies for decades to send crews to the international space station. 

Vice President Kamala Harris announced that an international astronaut would join an American in landing on the Moon before the end of the decade

The Artemis II mission will see four lucky crew members take a 10-day journey around the moon in NASA’s deep space Orion capsule, gathering vital knowledge on the lunar surface 

READ MORE: Humans will be living on the MOON by 2030, NASA official claims

Recently, NASA announced that Artemis II, the second leg of the agency’s new Moon mission, would include a Canadian astronaut.

Canadian Jeremy Hansen will join American astronauts flying around the moon when the mission launches around November 2024.   

Hansen, who introduced Ms Harris at the council, said that including international partners ‘is not only sincerely appreciated, but it is urgently needed in the world today,’ Hansen told the council. 

However, Mr Hansen and the crew of Artemis II will not touchdown on the lunar surface. 

The crew will instead make a full orbit of the Moon in an Orion capsule, gathering data on the Moon’s surface and testing the spacecraft’s life support systems.

This will lay the groundwork for the first people to walk on the Moon since NASA closed the Apollo Program in 1972. 

An Orion capsule will take a crew of four astronauts into lunar orbit.

However, only two astronauts will actually get to walk on the moon while the others remain onboard the capsule or on a small space station called Gateway. 

One American and one international astronaut will join the elite club of ‘moon-walkers’, which currently consists of 12 American men. 

The mission is not anticipated until 2027 at the earliest. 

The Artemis II crew consists of Christina Koch (far left), Victor Glover (top middle), Jeremy Hansen (far right), and Reid Wiseman (bottom middle)

NASA has long stressed the need for global cooperation in space, establishing the Artemis Accords along with the U.S. State Department in 2020 to promote responsible behaviour not just on the moon but everywhere in space. 

Representatives from all 33 countries that have signed the accords so far were expected at the Space Council’s meeting in Washington.

‘We know from experience that collaboration on space delivers,’ said Secretary of State Antony Blinken, citing the Webb Space Telescope, a US, European and Canadian effort.

During Wednesday’s meeting, Harris also announced new policies to ensure the safe use of space as more and more private companies and countries aim skyward.

The issues that the US is looking to resolve include the climate crisis and the growing amount of space junk around Earth. 

A 2021 anti-satellite missile test by Russia added more than 1,500 pieces of potentially dangerous orbiting debris, and Blinken joined others at the meeting in calling for all nations to end such destructive testing.

Meet the astronauts tipped to fly into space with Tim Peake 

Three Britons – including the world’s first ever ‘parastronaut’ – are among the European Space Agency’s first new cohort of astronauts in almost 15 years.

In November 2022, John McFall, Rosemary Coogan and Meganne Christian were named in a class of 17 men and women chosen from a whopping 22,523 applicants. 

They will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of current British astronaut Tim Peake, who spent six months on the International Space Station (ISS) almost a decade ago.

Here’s a closer look at the three adventurers, who may be joined by Major Peake himself on a trip to the ISS. 

John McFall

Britain’s John McFall was named as the world’s first ‘parastronaut’ last November 

John McFall, 42, is a British father-of-three, surgical trainee and Paralympic medallist.

Originally from Frimley in Surrey, Mr McFall had his right leg amputated following a motorcycle accident in Thailand in 2000. 

He was fitted with a prosthesis and is now working with the European Space Agency (ESA) to investigate how such a disability could affect a stint in space.

He won a bronze medal at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing among other honours, before retiring to take up his medical studies at Cardiff University.

He has put his medical career on hold to work with ESA and follow his ‘passion for science and life’. 

Rosemary Theresa Coogan is an astrophysicist from Northern Ireland

Rosemary Coogan 

Rosemary Coogan, 32, is an astrophysicist originally from Belfast in Northern Ireland. 

She attended school in Brighton and gained two master’s degrees from the University of Durham. 

One of these focused on physics, mathematics, computer programming and astronomy, and the other on gamma-ray emission from black holes. 

Coogan moved to the University of Sussex as a doctoral researcher, studying galaxy evolution and the activity of active galactic nuclei.

From a young age, she spent several weeks a year away from home onboard military training vessels and land bases as a Cadet Petty Officer with the Sea Cadets from 2002 to 2009. 

Meganne studied at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia

Meganne Christian 

Meganne Christian, 35, is a materials scientist graduate from the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

She was born in Pembury in Kent but moved to Australia at a young age and attended Illawarra Grammar School in Wollongong. 

She said she was inspired to become an astronaut when one visited her school. 

The materials scientist has worked at the National Research Council of Italy in Bologna and as a researcher at Concordia Station in Antarctica, one of the most remote places on Earth. 

According to ESA, Meganne received several national awards for outstanding research in the field of engineering and industrial chemistry.

In addition to British and Italian citizenship, she also holds Australian and New Zealand citizenship.

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With Christmas just days away, what better way to let the festivities begin than by testing out your brain on this tricky festive puzzle? This brainteaser challenges players to spot Rudolph among loads of ordinary reindeer and those who can do so within 14 seconds are said to have 20/20 vision.

It sounds like a simple task with Rudolph’s bright red nose surely standing out, but other flashes of red make him tricky to spot.

Most players’ eyes are immediately drawn to the Santa hats rather than Rudolph’s nose, but eventually they should be able to spot it poking out.

One hint is that those who focus on the right-hand side of the image may need to look elsewhere.

READ MORE Only those with the sharpest minds can spot the matching snowflakes in under 30s

Other advice on how to solve the mystery includes to split the image up into quarters and trawl through each one.

He may even be hidden behind some of his reindeer friends.

For those still struggling, try looking in the top left corner of the image.

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Let us know in the comments how long it took to find Rudolph.

And for more festive fun, why not try out another brainteaser? Such as GCHQ’s latest Christmas Challenge which has been set by real spies.

Other puzzles include this challenge to find six festive items and one puzzle which requires players to find Father Christmas in less than 60 seconds.

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• A brainteaser asks people to find a matching snowflake in just 30 seconds
• People who can quickly match objects have better visual memory skills 
• READ MORE:  Is YOUR IQ high enough to solve this brain teaser?

The chances of finding two identical snowflakes are rare, but a Christmas brainteaser asks you to do it in 30 seconds. 

An image shows 25 snowflakes against a blue background, and while they are six-sided, hexagon shapes, only two are the same.

But to make things trickery, each snowflake is white – making them appear more similar than not. 

Scientists have shown that people who can quickly match objects have better concentration and visual memory.

Scroll down to see the matched snowflakes – but no cheating!

An image shows 25 snowflakes against a blue background, and while they are six-sided, hexagon shapes, only two are the same

The brain is a wonderful and weird organ that still baffles scientists to this day. 

When you look at the image filled with whimsical snowflakes, your brain breaks down each one individually, comparing the properties and then putting them back together. 

However, sometimes the brain sees what it wants to – and has likely determined no matching snowflakes in the image.

But focusing on each one individual, you will see the middle snowflake in the bottom row and the last one to the right in the second from the top row are the same.

Pictured are the matching snowflakes. Did you find them in under 30 seconds?

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• The video-gaming live-streamer updated its content guidelines last Wednesday
• Streamers are now employing ‘censored’ nudity while secretly wearing clothes
• READ MORE: Twitch streamer Ninja revealed earnings of over $140K per month

Since updating its ‘approach to sexual content’ Wednesday, online live-streaming platform Twitch has seen a new, eye-popping trend among its content creators.

Following the streamer’s loosened restrictions on ‘artistic nudity,’ some of the platform’s users have been chasing viewer traffic with a new tease: simulated, full nudity with fake ‘censor bars.’

Twitch, which rode to success on the popularity of its live streams of video-game players, revised its policy on December 13 — after the platform’s controversial ban of popular new streamer and OnlyFans model Morgpie.

Morgpie was banned after an apparently topless live-feed fundraiser went viral on December 8, only to be restored after Twitch revised its guidelines last week.

Now, a host of other users are pushing the bounds of Twitch’s new policy permitting ‘artistic depictions of nudity,’ including body painting and sexualized cartoons.

Twitch is no stranger to boundary-pushing content, often employing risqué gimmicks that its users have taken to calling ‘metas,’ short for ‘most effective tactic available.’ The acronym first emerged from the realm of ‘massively multiplayer online’ (MMO) games like World of Warcraft

Clips from Twitch streamer and OnlyFans model Firedancer’s Twitch streams, where the model appeared to be nude based on the clever placement of large black ‘censor bars,’ spread across social media, garnering over 100,000 views in one day for the original video on her page

Twitch is no stranger to boundary-pushing content, often employing risqué gimmicks that its users have called ‘metas,’ short for ‘most effective tactic available.’

The ‘metas’ — an acronym lifted from the realm of ‘massively multiplayer online’ games like World of Warcraft — have come to include self-explanatory titillating content like the ‘hot tub meta’ trend of 2021 and the more baffling ‘fart meta.’

The new ‘topless meta’ and its faux-‘censor bar’ variations are just the latest strategy that some Twitch users have deployed to monetize their streaming content on the platform. 

‘It is hilarious and shocking what black bars do to the imagination,’ Twitch streamer and OnlyFans model Firedancer posted to X after her own viral ‘nude’ appearance.

‘It is hilarious and shocking what black bars do to the imagination,’ Twitch streamer Firedancer posted to X after her own viral ‘nude’ appearance

While the tactic has surely drawn attention, some users voiced annoyance with Twitch’s confusing policies and marketing itself. ‘I’m just sick of them trying to have their cake and eat it too by advertising themselves as family-friendly,’ one user posted to Reddit 

Clips from Firedancer’s Twitch streams, where the model appeared nude based on the clever placement of large black ‘censor bars,’ spread across social media, garnering over 100,000 views in one day for the original video on her page.

The video includes a moment where a glitch dropped the censor bars, revealing that Firedancer had been wearing a bra the whole time. 

While the tactic undoubtedly drew attention, some users were annoyed with Twitch’s confusing policies and marketing.

‘Twitch either needs to embrace camgirls and make an adult section, or put an end to this clear softcore pornography,’ one user posted to Reddit.

‘I’m just sick of them trying to have their cake and eat it too by advertising themselves as family-friendly,’ they added. 

The live stream was removed from the website shortly after it was filmed, but other users posted clips that are now featured on her Twitch page

‘I’m not anti-sex work or women showing their bodies,’ another user chimed in, ‘but Twitch ain’t the site for that.’

Others were more critical of Twitch for the perceived reactionary turn that led first to the ban of streamer Morgpie and then the new content guidelines. 

The viral clip of Morgpie had been filmed as a live stream to raise money for the international nonprofit Doctors Without Borders.

While it is not yet public how much money Morgpie raised, the clip states that she at least surpassed her original fundraising goal of $1,800. 

‘Morgpie was doing this stunt for charity,’ one user posted to X. 

Twitch banned Morgpie from the website on December 11 and later unbanned her once the guidelines changed

‘She was planning on donating her ad revenue too, money which Twitch will just pocket if they decide to uphold the suspension,’ that user, who goes by Sunupu on the platform, continued. 

‘Congrats, prudes, you just robbed a charity.’

Twitch banned Morgpie from the website on December 11 and later unbanned her once the guidelines changed. 

READ MORE: Twitch streamer justfoxii’s car set ablaze by viewer who travelled 700 miles and torched it outside her home

Opening up in a YouTube video, Kylee Carter shared more details about the incident, which she said occurred whilst she was on holiday. 

Twitch’s new guidelines, published under the heading ‘Updating our Approach to Sexual Content and Content Classification Labels’ in a FAQ last week, hoped, first and foremost, to make its policies less ‘confusing’ for its streamers and viewers.

‘We want streamers to feel confident they understand our rules and viewers to feel confident they will get the experience they expect,’ the company said in its post.

‘The former Sexually Suggestive Content policy was out of line with industry standards and resulted in female-presenting streamers being disproportionately penalized,’ Twitch added. 

With the new changes, Twitch streamers will be permitted to broadcast content that ‘deliberately highlight[s] breasts, buttocks or pelvic region,’ even when fully clothed,’ so long as the content is appropriately labeled.

Among the content now allowed, Twitch will permit performers on the platform to engage in body painting and strip teases that include ‘twerking, grinding, and pole dancing,’ so long as the content bears the ‘sexual themes’ label. 

Here, too, the platform does have a limit, however: art of ‘fictionalized sexual acts or masturbation remain prohibited,’ the company said.

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• Several of Apple’s services have been hit with a worldwide outage
• There are more than 500 million people who rely on these services for payments
• READ MORE:  Apple has a plan to avoid smartwatch ban in the US 

Apple is having a nightmare before Christmas as several of its services have been hit with an outage just days after it announced a halt on smartwatch sales.

The tech giant’s system status dashboard shows Apple Card, Cash and Pay & Wallet are down.

Data shows an estimated 507 million Apple Pay users worldwide and over six million cardholders in the US.

The issues mean millions of people cannot purchase last minute gifts ahead of the holiday.

Apple is having a nightmare before Christmas as several of its services have been hit with an outage just days after it announced a halt on smartwatch sales

The outage appeared to strike at 6:15am ET, impacting ‘some users,’ Apple’s status pages shared.

It is unclear what caused the outage, but Apple shared: ‘We are investigating this issue.’

However, not all users report issues with purchasing items using Apple Pay. 

Apple Card is the tech giant’s credit card issued by Goldman Sachs and designed to be used with Apple Pay. 

Currently, the card is only available in the US and is owned by at least six million Americans. 

The tech giant’s system status dashboard shows Apple Card, Cash and Pay & Wallet are down. Data shows an estimated 507 million Apple Pay users worldwide and over six million cardholders in the US

Apple Cash rolled out with iOS 11 in 2017, allowing iPhone users to send money to others – similar to Venmo.

However, Apple Pay has become one of the most popular digital wallets in the world.

The feature lets users tap payment machines and use stored cards. 

In 2022, 18.1 percent of US shoppers used Apple Pay, and projections indicate that by 2026, 23.3 percent of Americans will use the service.

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• A video of Taters the cat playing with a laser was beamed to Earth from space 
• The transmission was sent by a near-infrared laser on NASA’s Psyche spacecraft 

Sending cat videos is something that humans have been doing ever since the first days of the internet. 

But now, NASA has taken one giant leap for feline kind and transmitted the first-ever cat video from space.

To test its state-of-the-art communications laser, the space agency transmitted a video of a fluffy orange tabby cat named Taters. 

The video was beamed from a laser on board NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, which is currently more than 19 million miles (30 million kilometres) from Earth.

While it might be a fun first step, NASA hopes the technology could one day allow astronauts on future missions to video call Earth from as far away as Mars.

Taters the ginger tabby has become the first cat to ever be live-streamed from space as NASA beams video from more than 19 million miles away from Earth 

READ MORE: See Uranus like never before: NASA releases a stunning photo of the planet 

The video shows a cat belonging to a Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) employee playing with a laser pointer.

The adorable video is overlaid with additional data such as technical details of the laser broadcast and Psyche’s orbital path.

Tater’s heart rate, colour, and breed are also displayed in the video. 

Joby Harris, an art director for JPL and the owner of Taters, says that he couldn’t be prouder of his cat.

Mr Harris says: ‘I’m celebrating his spotlight with him, but making sure he keeps his paws on the carpet.’

The video of Taters was loaded onto Psyche’s laser communications system before it embarked on its 2.2 billion-mile (3.6 billion-kilometre) trip to the asteroid 16 Psyche between Mars and Jupiter.

NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSCOC) team live streamed the first cat video ever broadcast from space to test future communications systems for space exploration

The DSOC array was fitted to NASA’s Psyche spacecraft (pictured) before it embarked on its journey to the 16 Psyche metal-rich asteroid 

The Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) system beamed the encoded video with a near-infrared laser to Caltech’s Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California, where it was downloaded. 

Each frame from the looping video was then sent live to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, where the video was played in real time.

This is not only the first ever cat video to be streamed from space, but also the greatest distance over which ultra-high-definition video has ever been streamed.

Despite the enormous distances involved, the video only took 101 seconds to reach Earth, using the test system’s maximum rate of 267 megabits per second.

According to Ryan Rogalin, the project’s receiver electronics lead at JPL, NASA was able to send the video faster than most broadband internet connections. 

‘In fact, after receiving the video at Palomar, it was sent to JPL over the internet, and that connection was slower than the signal coming from deep space,’ he explained.

READ MORE: Is NASA edging closer to finding life on Mars? Scientists discover 100-mile-wide craters are remnants of ancient river 

This comes after the NASA DSOC experiment made ‘first light’ in November as it beamed its first transmission between Earth and the spacecraft. 

This first test was beamed at 10 million miles (16 million kilometres) from Earth – just over half the distance of Tater’s broadcast.

For perspective, that’s more than 40 times the distance to the moon. 

The goal of these tests is to see whether NASA could eventually replace its existing radio communications system with an entirely optic relay. 

Lasers could be beamed from broadcast stations on Earth to satellites in orbit and beyond and then returned to collection arrays back on Earth. 

The advantage is that laser communications systems like this broadcast data at the speed of light, which is between 10 and 100 times faster than the radio communications systems currently used.

Not only will this reduce delays, but it will also vastly increase the amount of data that can be transmitted.

On December 4, DSOC was able to downlink 1.3 terabits of data – that’s more than NASA’s Magellan mission to Venus downlinked in its entire four-year journey.

NASA’s eventual goal is to build a laser communications network throughout space to transfer more scientific and communications data with less energy 

16 PSYCHE: KEY FACTS

Date of discovery: March 17, 1852

Average distance to the sun: 437 million km

Orbital period: 4.99 years

Surface area: 165,800km2 (about twice the surface of Ireland)

Mass: 2.3 x 1019kg

Estimated ore value: $10,000 quintillion

As humans prepare to return to the Moon and even travel to Mars, these faster communications speeds will be a vital link to Earth. 

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy says: ‘This accomplishment underscores our commitment to advancing optical communications as a key element to meeting our future data transmission needs.’

During its mission, Psyche will complete a ‘Mars fly-by’, giving NASA’s engineers an opportunity to see if future Mars missions could use lasers to stay in touch with Earth. 

However, even at light speeds, future Martian settlers would have a delay of about four minutes as their transmission travelled to Earth. 

Ms Melroy added: ‘Increasing our bandwidth is essential to achieving our future exploration and science goals, and we look forward to the continued advancement of this technology and the transformation of how we communicate during future interplanetary missions.’

More tests of the broadcast system are planned, but sadly NASA says that this will be Tater’s last appearance.  

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• The algorithm works like ChatGPT, making predictions based on sentences
• It can predict, with 78-percent accuracy, a person’s earnings and time of death
• READ MORE: The ‘startlingly accurate’ AI that can tell you when you’ll DIE

Scientists have developed an algorithm that uses the story of a person’s life to predict how they will live and when they will die.

According to a new study, the model called ‘life2vec,’ is accurate about 78 percent of the time which puts it on par with other algorithms designed to predict similar life outcomes.

But unlike other models, it works like a chatbot, using existing details to predict what comes next.

It was built by scientists in Denmark and the US who trained a machine learning algorithm on a massive pool of Danish data, feeding it all sorts of information on over six million real people, including income, profession, place of residence, injuries, and pregnancy history. 

Death clock? The new tool called life2vec can predict the likelihood that someone will die within a certain period of time, but don’t worry – its data are not available to the public

Their end result was a model that can process plain language and generate predictions about a person’s likelihood of dying early, or their income over the lifespan.

Some of the factors that can lead to earlier death include being male, having a mental health diagnosis, or being in a skilled profession. Things linked to longer life include higher income or being in a leadership role. 

Considering each part of your life as if they were words in a sentence, life2vec predicts where the story will go based on what has been written so far. 

Just like ChatGPT users ask it to write a song, poem, or essay, scientists can ask life2vec simple questions like ‘death within four years?’ for a certain person.

The model was trained on data from 2008 to 2016.

Based on their population data, it correctly predicted who had died by 2020 more than three-quarters of the time. 

The research appeared in Nature Computational Science. 

To protect the personal information of the people whose data were used to train the system, though, it is not available for the general public – or companies – to use, lead researcher Sune Lehmann told DailyMail.com.

Based on data on mi

‘We are actively working on ways to share some of the results more openly, but this requires further research to be done in a way that can guarantee the privacy of the people in the study,’ said Lehmann, professor of networks and complex systems at Technical University of Denmark.

Even when the model is finally available to the public, Danish privacy laws would make it illegal to use life2vec to make decisions about individuals – like writing insurance policies or making hiring decisions.

In much the same way that ChatGPT and other large language models have been trained on troves of existing written works, life2vec was taught by data from people’s lives, written out as a series of data-rich sentences. 

These include sentences like ‘In September 2012, Francisco received twenty thousand Danish kroner as a guard at a castle in Elsinore’ or ‘During her third year at secondary boarding school, Hermione followed five elective classes.’

Lehmann and his team assigned different tokens to each piece of information, and these pieces of data were all mapped out in relation to each other. 

Categories in people’s life stories run the whole range of human experiences: a forearm fracture is represented as S52; working in a tobacco shop is coded as IND4726, income is represented by 100 different digital tokens; and ‘pospartum hemorrhage’ is O72.

Many of these relationships are intuitive, like profession and income – certain jobs make more money.

But what life2vec does is map the huge constellation of factors that make up an individual’s life, allowing someone to ask it to make a prediction based on millions of other people and many many factors.

It can also make predictions about people’s personality.

To do this, Lehmann and his team trained the model to predict people’s answers to questions on a personality test.

The test asks respondents to rate 10 items based on how much they agree, items such as ‘The first thing that I always do in a new place is to make friends,’ or I rarely express my opinions in group meetings.’

It’s important to note, Lehmann said, that the data were all from Denmark, so these predictions may not hold true for people living in other places – besides the fact that most people probably don’t actually want to know when they will die. 

‘The model opens up important positive and negative perspectives to discuss and address politically,’ Lehmann told Newswise.

‘Similar technologies for predicting life events and human behavior are already used today inside tech companies that, for example, track our behavior on social networks, profile us extremely accurately, and use these profiles to predict our behavior and influence us.

‘This discussion needs to be part of the democratic conversation so that we consider where technology is taking us and whether this is a development we want.’  

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• Scientists say that a nearby town and power station are currently safe from lava
• There is no way of knowing how long the eruption will last or how it will change 
• Follow MailOnline’s liveblog on the Iceland volcano for all the latest updates

Following months of seismic activity, a volcano on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula finally erupted last night. 

At 22:17 local time, an earthquake swarm was followed by an eruption which tore open a 2.5-mile (4km) fissure of boiling lava. 

Experts have warned that huge lava flows could threaten the nearby town and power station.

However, scientists say that the town of Grindavik, less than two miles south of the eruption may yet avoid the worst of the damage. 

But just how bad could the eruption get? MailOnline spoke to experts to find out.  

At 22:17 local time, an earthquake swarm was followed by an eruption which tore open a 2.5-mile (4km) fissure of boiling lava

The eruption opened a 2.5-mile-long fissure which spewed hundreds of cubic meters of lava every second 

Iceland eruption: what we know so far

• At 10:17pm local time an earthquake storm was followed by initial reports of an eruption. 
• An initial 2.2 mile fissure has since grown to 2.5 miles.
• The fissure is producing around 250 cubic meters of lava per second.
• The lava is currently flowing North, away from the town of Grindavik.
• Experts say there is no risk of disruption to air travel.  
• The area remains closed off and authorities continue to monitor the situation.  

The Reykjanes peninsula has been on high alert for weeks after experiencing increased earthquake activity beginning in late October. 

Grindavik’s 4,000 residents were evacuated in November, when strong seismic activity raised fears of an imminent eruption. 

However, fears of an eruption had begun to abate by this weekend.

The popular Blue Lagoon tourist destination even reopened on Sunday despite experiencing 230 earthquakes overnight. 

But yesterday’s eruption threatens to destroy both the town and tourist attraction. 

When it first erupted, the fissure stretched about 2.2 miles (3.5km) and put out hundreds of cubic meters of lava every second.

The sheer explosive force of the early explosion caused the fissure to extend further south to its current length of 2.5 miles (4km). 

While the eruption has now slowed, Lovísa Mjöll Guðmundsdóttir, a specialist in natural hazards at the Icelandic Met Office, told mbl.is that the average flow is now 250 cubic metres per second.

The lava flow from the fissure appears to have slowed down but this is not an indication that the eruption is stopping any time soon 

The biggest risk is that the fissure (shown as a red line) extends South and lava begins to flow towards the town of Grindavik (bottom left) or the Svartsengi Geothermal Power Plant

READ MORE: Thrill-seekers defy danger warnings and venture to site of enormous blast despite bubbling lava and smoke being spewed into sky 

The biggest risk is that the lava begins to flow towards the South or West towards Grindavik or the Svartsengi Geothermal Power Plant.

However, Professor David Rothery of the Open University told MailOnline that it might be too early to determine where most of the lava will flow. 

‘This is what has been anticipated for several weeks near Grindavik, thanks to the use of multiple monitoring techniques. It appears to be a classic fissure eruption,’ he explained.  

‘The seat of eruption will probably localise to a single vent within a few hours or days, and the future course of the eruption (including where most of the lava spreads to) will depend on where that occurs.’

There are, however, some initially promising reports from scientific observations of the volcano. 

Geophysicist Björn Oddson says that flights over the eruption reveal that the crater was ‘ in the best place if there was to be an eruption there.’

‘The eruption is taking place north of the watershed [a point at which lava clearly flows one way or the other], so lava does not flow towards Grindavík,’ Oddson told Icelandic media. 

The people of Grindavik anxiously wait to see if their town will survive the eruption as the perpetual darkness of Icelandic winter makes monitoring the lava’s progress difficult 

READ MORE: Audio clip reveals the ‘exciting and scary’ seismic activity building around the Fagradalsfjall area 

While Grindavik appears safe for now, there is still reason for concern because it is very difficult to assess how the eruption is proceeding.

Dr Sam Mitchell, Research Associate in Volcanology at the University of Bristol, said: ‘Even though the lava did not erupt into the town of Grindavik or at the nearby power plant and popular tourist destination, the Blue Lagoon, the lava flows are still only a few km away and there is still concern of lava reaching these key locations.

‘One of the challenges facing the monitoring is that SW Iceland is at a time of near constant darkness this close to the winter solstice.’ 

Dr Mitchell added: ‘Even though the glow of lava is more observable during darker hours, it makes assessing larger areas of land and impact a little more challenging.’

The biggest concern currently is that the fissure continues to grow towards the South. 

Should this happen, the lava flows could pass the watershed and begin flowing southwards toward Grindavik. 

While the eruption’s activity has now slowed it is difficult to say how long it will continue or how it will develop.

Estimates for the length of the eruption have varied from 10 days to several months. 

Iceland is a particular hotspot for seismic activity because it sits on a tectonic plate boundary called the Mid Atlantic Ridge

Authorities say that no one has yet been injured but the area remains closed off to civilians 

The President of Iceland says that the area has been closed off and that authorities continue to monitor the situation as it develops 

However, it is almost certain that this eruption will not cause any significant disruption to air travel. 

Unlike the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull which grounded an estimated 50,000 flights, this eruption will not produce a cloud of ash and gas. 

Iceland’s Met Office said: ‘Fissure eruptions do not usually result in large explosions or significant production of ash dispersed into the stratosphere.’

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Iceland’s foreign minister Bjarni Benediktsson wrote: ‘There are no disruptions to flights to and from Iceland, and international flight corridors remain open.’

The area around the eruption site remains closed off and a civil defence emergency has been declared. 

In a statement posted to X, Iceland’s President wrote: ‘We now wait to see what the forces of nature have in store. We are prepared and remain vigilant.’

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A frontline Russian military vehicle is being mocked on social media – with users comparing it to the Mutt Cutts van from 1994 Hollywood comedy Dumb and Dumber.

An image of the Bukhanka – a four-wheel drive off-road van – was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in the US.

And this particular Bukhanka has an extra feature: tassel-camouflage to throw off enemies using UAV.

Instead of hiding it, the additions have made it more noticeable online, drawing comparisons to the Ford Econoline from the Jim Carey-led blockbuster.

The Bukhanka, real name UAZ-452, is named based on its likeness to the shape of a loaf of bread. Bukhanka translates to ‘loaf’.

After this comparison was pointed out, Lee admitted: “That’s what I thought of as well.”

Another mocking comments said: “Russian cars’ evolution: from a Scooby Doo van to a Chewbacca mobile.”

While a third joked that the bizarre vehicle “looks pretty flammable”.

READ MORE Russia plotting Ukraine war ‘expansion’ to deliver on Putin’s imperial plan[REPORT]

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In Dumb and Dumber, the Mutts Cutts resembles a massive dog on wheels – the brainchild of Jeff Daniels’s character Harry Dunne, who spends his life savings converting the van into a mobile dog-grooming business.

In November, an online clip showed a helpless Bukhanka being chased down by a Ukrainian drone on the battlefield.

Despite the best efforts of an armed passenger in the van, the drone caught up with them – and blew the vehicle up.

* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story.

Follow our social media accounts here on https://www.facebook.com/ExpressUSNews and @ExpressUSNews

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• Apple is banned from selling Watches in the US starting this week 
• The announcement is due to Apple violating a patent on biomarker technology 
• READ MORE:  Apple Watch Series 9 has new ‘hand gestures’ feature

Apple has been forced to stop selling the Apple Watch in the US due to a patent infringement lawsuit.

Sales of its Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 will be banned online starting on December 21 and from Apple retail locations after December 24.

The move comes after an order in October from the International Trade Commission (ITC) that could bar Apple from importing its Apple Watches after finding the devices violate medical technology company Masimo’s patent rights. 

The ruling means Apple must stop selling watches on Christmas except for the SE model.

The tech giant will be banned from selling its Apple Watch Series 9 (pictured) and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 starting on December 21

‘Apple strongly disagrees with the order and is pursuing a range of legal and technical options to ensure that Apple Watch is available to customers,’ the company told The Wall Street Journal. 

DailyMail.com has contacted Apple. 

The lawsuit stems from Apple implementing technology that measures blood oxygen on demand.

Blood oxygen level represents the percentage of oxygen your red blood cells carry from your lungs to the rest of your body.

A healthy blood oxygen level is 95 and 100 percent- anything below puts people at risk of hypoxemia, which causes confusion, bluish skin and changes in breath and heart rate.

The lawsuit stems from Apple implementing technology that measures blood oxygen on demand. Apple implemented a pulse oximeter in its smartwatches starting in 2020

Apple implemented a pulse oximeter in its smartwatches starting in 2020. 

Masimo filed its complaint in 2021, claiming the tech giant used its medical innovation for its Apple Watches. 

The ITC issued Apple a cease and desist in October due to the lawsuit while it conducted an investigation, which the group upheld.

Joe Kiani, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Masimo, said in October: ”[The] ruling by the USITC sends a powerful message that even the world’s largest company is not above the law.

‘This important determination is a strong validation of our efforts to hold Apple accountable for unlawfully misappropriating our patented technology.’ 

Masimo filed its complaint in 2021, claiming the tech giant used its medical innovation for its Apple Watches

A Presidential review period is now in progress on the feature. 

While the review period will not end until December 25, Apple is preemptively taking steps to comply should the ruling stand, the company said. 

However, the Series 9 and the Ultra 2 are said to be available for purchase outside of the US.

Apple believes the ITC’s finding was erroneous and should be reversed and intends to appeal the decision to the Federal Circuit.

Masimo accused Apple of poaching its employees, stealing its pulse oximetry technology and incorporating it into the popular Apple Watch, which makes up 60 percent of the market.

A jury trial on Masimo’s allegations in California federal court ended with a mistrial in May. 

Apple has separately sued Masimo for patent infringement in a federal court in Delaware and has called Masimo’s legal actions a ‘maneuver to clear a path’ for its own competing smartwatch.

A presidential administration had not vetoed an ITC ruling since 2013 when President Barack Obama’s administration overturned an import ban on Apple’s iPhones and iPads from a patent dispute with Samsung.

The Biden administration in February chose not to veto a separate import ban on Apple Watches based on a patent-infringement complaint from medical technology company AliveCor. 

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• The EU will investigate X for allowing hate speech and illegal content to spread
• X is the first to be investigated for breaching the EU’s Digital Services Act  

The EU has launched an ‘illegal content’ probe into Elon Musk’s X for breaching new social media regulations.

X, formerly known as Twitter, has been accused of failing its obligations to keep disinformation and hate speech off the platform.

European Commissioner Thierry Breton announced the probe in a post on X, saying: ‘Today we open formal infringement proceedings against @X’.

The EU will also investigate concerns that X’s user interface, including the ‘blue tick’ system, has a ‘deceptive design’.

The investigation will consider whether X’s measures to combat misinformation have been sufficiently effective.

Elon Musk’s social media is the first to be investigated under the EU’s new DSA which aims to limit the spread of harmful and illegal content online

European Commissioner Thierry Breton announced a probe into Elon Musk’s X today, citing concerns that the platform has not done enough to combat hate speech 

READ MORE: Elon Musk hits back at EU’s claims that disinformation and fake news is being spread on X

In a post on X Mr Breton wrote that X was now under investigation for: ‘Suspected failure of obligation to counter #IllegalContent and #Disinformation.’

Mr Breton says that the probe will also cover ‘suspected breach of #Transparency obligations’ and ‘suspected #DeceptiveDesign of the user interface.’

This follows mounting concerns that X has allowed concerning levels of hate speech to go unchecked. 

Musk promised a ‘thermonuclear lawsuit’ against non-profit media watchdog Media Matters for America after the group accused X of placing ads alongside antisemitic content. 

Elon Musk himself was accused of promoting antisemitism after he responded to a racist post by saying: ‘You have said the actual truth’. 

Self-styled ‘digital enforcer’ Thierry Breton previously announced that X would be facing an investigation and sent an official request for information to the company 

In October The European Commission announced that it would be opening an investigation into X and had sent a formal request for information to the company.

This obliged X to provide evidence that it was meeting its obligations under the law, despite the company having left the EU’s voluntary disinformation ‘code of practice’ in May. 

the commission said it was launching the probe because of ‘indications received concerning the presumed transmission of illicit content’ relating to the Hamas-Israel conflict.

‘The Commission will now investigate X’s systems and policies related to certain suspected infringements,’ spokesman Johannes Bahrke told a press briefing in Brussels.

Mr Bahrke added: ‘It does not prejudge the outcome of the investigation.’

This is the first prosecution under the EU’s new Digital Services Act (DSA), a wide-reaching set of regulations designed to keep users safe online and stop the spread of harmful content such as child sexual abuse.

Linda Yaccarino, X CEO, has previously defended the company’s track record on hate speech and claims that thousands of pieces of content have been flagged or removed

READ MORE: Elon Musk leaves ‘viciously anti-Semitic’ and Islamophobic posts on X

The DSA, which came into force in August, gives the EU the power to fine a company for 6 per cent of its global income or ban it from operating in the EU if a breach is found. 

In 2022, when Musk took over Twitter, that could have amounted to a fine of as much as $264 million (£208.8 million).

X CEO Linda Yaccarino has defended itself against claims that it has allowed disinformation to spread writing in a letter that the company had ‘taken action to remove or label tens of thousands of pieces of content.’

Ms Yaccarino added that X had already ‘responded to 80 requests to take down content from the EU within the required timelines.’

‘X remains committed to complying with the Digital Services Act, and is cooperating with the regulatory process,’ the company said in a prepared statement.

They added: ‘It is important that this process remains free of political influence and follows the law. X is focused on creating a safe and inclusive environment for all users on our platform, while protecting freedom of expression, and we will continue to work tirelessly towards this goal.’

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The festive season is upon us and if you are looking to capture the heart of your office crush experts have found the one pick-up line that is most likely to work at a Christmas party. 

In a recent survey conducted by BestCasinoSites.net among those gearing up for work Christmas parties, the standout pickup line emerged as, “Aside from being sexy, what do you do for a living?” 

Unexpectedly, it achieved an impressive success rate of 18.6 percent. Particularly noteworthy is its slightly greater efficacy among females at 18.9 percent, as opposed to a comparatively lower 18.2 percent among males. 

If you are looking for a conversation starter that could make an impact at your office holiday gathering, this line might be exactly what you are seeking. 

The survey also reveals the enduring classic, “Are you from Tennessee? Because you’re the only 10 I see,” securing the second spot with a commendable 15.1 percent success rate. Interestingly, this line demonstrates higher effectiveness on gentlemen, boasting a 16.1 percent success rate, albeit slightly less impactful on ladies at 14.3 percent. 

The underdogs of the pickup game “Is your name Google? Because you have everything I’ve been searching for” rolls in with a modest 4.6% success rate, while “Do you have a map? I keep getting lost in your eyes” trails behind with a 3.3 percent success rate. 

Relationship expert Callisto Adams outlines the potential repercussions of romantic involvement with a coworker: “Potential professional consequences of workplace romances include the risk of termination, with outcomes varying based on company policies.  Workplace dynamics can be influenced by the social environment; in friendly workplaces, romances may be welcomed, while in more competitive environments, they may lead to tension. 

“Company policies generally discourage workplace romances due to perceived distractions and potential unproductivity. Legal implications may result in job loss, emphasizing the importance of understanding contracts and policies. 

“Managing a team with romantic couples can be challenging, requiring consideration of unique dynamics. Navigating breakups at work necessitates maintaining a professional approach and setting clear boundaries. Strategies for minimizing personal relationship impact on professional collaboration include setting boundaries and maintaining mindfulness.”

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• Reindeers are only animals known to change eye colour depending on season
• New study reveals how this colour shift helps them to find food in the dark 

Forget Rudolph’s red nose – when it comes to finding their way at night, a new study has revealed that reindeers use ‘night vision goggles’. 

Reindeers are the only animals known to change eye colour depending on the season. 

While their eyes are golden-orange in summer, they transition to a rich blue in the winter months. 

In their new study, researchers from the University of St Andrews and Dartmouth College found that this colour shift helps the animals to see clearly in the dark and scour for food items like lichen.

Professor Nathanial Dominy, lead author of the study, said: ‘Reindeer are so cool, but many people think about them only at Christmas. Now is a good time to alert people to their extraordinary visual system.’

Reindeers are the only animals known to change eye colour depending on the season. While their eyes are golden-orange in summer, they transition to a rich blue in the winter months 

READ MORE: The REAL science behind your favourite Christmas rom-coms 

From the mystery of love at first sight to how chemicals in our spit make a first kiss so special, she says that movie magic is supported by real science

Reindeer are known to feed on a particular species of lichen named Cladonia rangiferina, often colloquially referred to as ‘reindeer moss’.

The lichen species is in fact not moss, and grows in sponge-like beds across the northern latitudes where reindeer live. It is vital for their survival during winter.

Dr Catherine Hobaiter, co-author of the study, said it had previously been suggested that reindeer’s night vision may be an adaptation to forage for the lichen, but previous tests did not find substantial evidence.

However, she said there are over 13,000 species of lichen worldwide and to date, no-one has tested the species the reindeer feed on.

She said: ‘One of the amazing things about Scotland is that we have some of the richest lichen diversity in the world – the Highlands host over 1500 different species, and the Cairngorms are home to a local herd of reindeer, reintroduced to Scotland after being hunted to extinction. 

‘So, Scotland is the perfect place to try and finally solve the mystery.’

The team began researching in early March this year in the Cairngorms in search of lichen beds.

Forget Rudolph’s red nose – when it comes to finding their way at night, a new study has revealed that reindeers use ‘night vision goggles’

They photographed various lichen beds under UV light, finding different species absorbed or reflected the light differently, and that ‘reindeer moss’ absorbed the light strongly.

Dr Hobaiter said: ‘To our eyes, just like for most mammals, pale lichen in white snow is incredibly hard to spot!

‘But to reindeer eyes, the species they need to feed on would stand out as dark patches in the much more reflective snowy landscape.’

Professor Dominy added: ‘If you can put yourself in their hooves looking at this white landscape, you would want a direct route to your food. 

‘Reindeer don’t want to waste energy wandering around searching for food in a cold, barren environment.

‘If they can see lichens from a distance, that gives them a big advantage, letting them conserve precious calories at a time when food is scarce.’

Father Christmas’ carbon footprint would release just 10g of carbon per child 

Scientists have calculated Santa’s carbon footprint as only 20,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

This takes into account the energy required for the elves to manufacture the gifts, heating the cabin and the sleigh journey.

That’s the equivalent of 0.5 per cent of the worst estimates for the carbon footprint of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. 

The team at Purdue University found that his journey around the world would release just 10g of carbon per child – the equivalent to one scoop of ice cream.

Read more here

Research has shown that elves manufacturing gifts for Santa, the heating of Santa’s cabin and then his sleigh journey, only amounts to 20,000 tCo2e – equivalent to 0.5 per cent of the worst estimates for the carbon footprint of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar

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Ben Bradley, the Conservative MP for Mansfield, took to social media site Twitter/X to post a photo of himself in fancy dress for a 40th birthday party he was going to. And while the 34-year-old had good intentions with his outfit – which was meant to be that of punk rock legend and Green Day lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong, users were quick to point out that he looks like someone entirely different who is currently in prison.

Bradley was dressed in a tight black short-sleeved shirt, red tie, black spiked hair, skinny jeans and fake tattoos. The outfit is known for being worn by Armstrong, but it was also the same outfit worn by Lostprophets Welsh singer Ian Watkins . . . a convicted child sex offender.

READ MORE: Inside North Korea's dodgy 'Benidorm' resort where streets are paved with human s**t

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The disgraced rock star is serving a 29-year sentence for multiple sex offences, including crimes against young children and babies, at HMP Wakefield prison. Twitter/X users were very quick to point out the the outfit might not have been such a sensible idea.

One wrote: “I initially thought Ian Watkins to be honest. Then I realised that it is probably the Green Day singer.” Another wrote: “Definitely the lead singer of Lostprophets.

A third added: “Really bad choice that, and not the best decision – Lostprophets’ Ian Watkins. Sick b*****d.” Unfortunately for Bradley, he was also compared to another disgraced singer, with many tweeting that he looked like a younger-looking Gary Glitter.

• 

  Rishi Sunak diverted RAF jet to fly him to Rome – and we paid for it

Bradley, who is vying to become the new Mayor of East Midlands, as well as being an MP and a local councillor, took it all in his stride however, as he tweeted that the outfit was just him “dressing as my 15-year-old self”. Although he did snap back at one person who called him a “child” and told him to “have a word with yourself”.

He wrote: “Ah yea, all the other 100 people there are all 'children' too then I guess, seeing as they like having a laugh at a birthday party on a Saturday night. Awful people. Get a life Dave!”

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A molecule that is key to the origin of life has been found on Saturn's sixth-largest moon Enceladus – which has already been seen as one of the most promising locations to find alien existence in our solar system.

Previously a NASA spacecraft flew by Enceladus, back in 2011 and 2012, where it was found that there was water, carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia and molecular hydrogen in samples. But now further analysis of the samples show that there are also other molecules present.

READ MORE: Bloke's 'mind blown' after spotting spherical UFO following plane in British countryside

Explore all the latest alien related news, pictures and sightings by clicking here

Scientists analysing data from NASA’s Cassini mission have found strong confirmation of the molecule hydrogen cyanide. They also uncovered evidence that the ocean, which is hiding below the moon’s icy outer shell and supplies the plume, holds a powerful source of chemical energy.

The findings were published on December 14 in Nature Astronomy where lead author Jonah Peter, a doctoral student at Harvard University, said: “Our work provides further evidence that Enceladus is host to some of the most important molecules for both creating the building blocks of life and for sustaining that life through metabolic reactions.

“Not only does Enceladus seem to meet the basic requirements for habitability, we now have an idea about how complex biomolecules could form there, and what sort of chemical pathways might be involved. The discovery of hydrogen cyanide was particularly exciting, because it’s the starting point for most theories on the origin of life.

“The more we tried to poke holes in our results by testing alternative models the stronger the evidence became. Eventually, it became clear that there is no way to match the plume composition without including hydrogen cyanide.”

While scientists are still a long way from confirming that life exists on Enceladus, the new work lays out chemical pathways for life that could be tested in the lab.

• 

  Prehistoric 'lost world' discovered is 'one of best examples of earliest life on Earth'

Tom Nordheim, a JPL planetary scientist who’s a co-author of the study and was a member of the Cassini team, said that the Cassini mission is the "mission that keeps giving". He added: "Our study demonstrates that while Cassini’s mission has ended, its observations continue to provide us with new insights about Saturn and its moons – including the enigmatic Enceladus."

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• Research reveals that 22% of Britons have fallen victim to catfishing in lifetime
• Cecilie Fjellhoy, a victim of the ‘Tinder Swindler’, reveals the red flags to look for

The saying goes that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is – and that’s certainly the case when it comes to online dating. 

Research by ExpressVPN has revealed that a staggering 22 per cent of Britons have fallen victim to catfishing in their lifetime. 

While catfishing can occur on almost any online platform, Tinder remains one of the key apps where perpetrators prey on unsuspecting victims. 

One person who knows all too well how easy it is to get tricked on the dating app is Cecilie Fjellhoy, who was famously duped by the ‘Tinder Swindler’. 

Now, Ms Fjellhoy has spoken to MailOnline about her experience, in the hopes of stopping anyone else from being conned. 

One person who knows all too well how easy it is to get tricked on the dating app is Cecilie Fjellhoy, who was famously duped by the ‘Tinder Swindler’

Ms Fjellhoy, 34, is a user experience designer from Norway, and was one of many women who was fooled into thinking Shimon Heyada Hayut (pictured), from Israel, was the son of a billionaire diamond merchant after meeting him on Tinder

READ MORE: The Tinder Swindler leaves viewers hooked 

Ms Fjellhoy, 34, is a user experience designer from Norway, and was one of many women who was fooled into thinking Shimon Heyada Hayut, from Israel, was the son of a billionaire diamond merchant after meeting him on Tinder.

The convicted conman would use the money he acquired from other victims to impress single women with an expensive lifestyle and lavish gifts. 

Incredibly, it’s believed he conned women out of around £7.4 million in total.

Speaking to MailOnline, Ms Fjellhoy said: ‘As far as my experience goes – we met on Tinder and frankly fell in love.

‘Lovely dates, and hundreds of amazing messages and videos. 

‘We met up several times in person, as he was traveling around the world as the CEO of a big diamond company.’

Ms Fjellhoy says that there were early warning signs his business wasn’t the most secure. 

‘After a while he told me he was in danger from threats from his competitors and could be hurt if he used any of his own credit cards,’ she explained. 

‘As a result, he asked if he could use my cards, and also wanted me to take out loans to fill these up. 

‘He promised he’d pay me back as soon as it was safe. 

Ms Fjellhoy has spoken to MailOnline about her experience, in the hopes of stopping anyone else from being conned

While catfishing can occur on almost any online platform, Tinder remains one of the key apps where perpetrators prey on unsuspecting victims

READ MORE: Why Tinder can make it HARDER to find love: Excessive swiping creates anxiety and ‘partner choice overload’ 

‘He was a multimillionaire, after all, so I trusted him. 

‘But in the end, I was swindled out of close to $200,000 – it left me feeling humiliated, ashamed and regretful.’

While you might think that Ms Fjellhoy’s case sounds unique, a survey of 2,000 Britons by ExpressVPN revealed just how rife catfishing really is. 

Twenty-two per cent of respondents said they’d fallen victim to catfishing in their lifetime – a quarter of who had spoken to their perpetrator for more than a year before realising they were a catfish. 

What’s more, 12 per cent of victims said they had been scammed out of money or gifts. 

‘The positive is that since I have spoken out about my story on The Tinder Swindler, so many people – both men and women – have come forward with similar stories,’ Ms Fjellhoy said. 

‘It’s quite shocking to see how often this is happening.’

Ms Fjellhoy has now revealed the red flags to look out for to avoid falling victim to a romance scam. 

‘Firstly, if someone sounds too good to be true, then it is highly likely that they don’t really exist,’ she said. 

‘We all have imperfections in one form or another – there really is no such thing as the “perfect profile”.’

On a more practical level, Ms Fjellhoy recommends doing a reverse image search on the photos of anyone you think might be a catfish. 

‘This is an easy way to see if the photos of the person you are talking to are actually of someone else,’ she added. 

Finally, Ms Fjellhoy says she’d used a VPN to add an extra layer of protection. 

‘[A VPN] ensures your IP address is masked at all times – protecting your location and privacy and ensuring you can stay safe online,’ she said. 

HOW CAN YOU CHECK IF YOU ARE BEING CATFISHED?

Dating apps and online websites are plagued with fraudulent profiles, known as ‘catfishes’.

‘Catfishing’ originated as a term for the process of luring people into false relationships, however, it has also come to encompass people giving out false information about themselves more generally. 

These profiles often use images of another person to allow users to pretend to be someone else in order to get a date, or scam money from a lonelyheart.

Fortunately, there are certain ways to check if these profiles are real people or if they are bogus accounts —

1. Google reverse image search

This is probably the most valuable tool for catching out a catfish and can be done via Google. 

To kickstart the process, people need only right-click the photos that are arousing their suspcions, copy the URL and paste it into images.google.com.

The search engine will search to see if the image has been used elsewhere.

If you find the picture associated with a different person to the one you’re speaking to on your dating app, it’s likely you’ve met a catfish! 

2. Use an app called Veracity 

It is useful for dating sites such as Tinder, Bumble and Grindr as it allows images from Dropbox or Camera roll (or similar) to be cross-referenced against any matching results.

Load the app, then select a screenshot of the suspicious dating app profile from your camera roll to launch the search.

The app will tell you if the picture belongs to somebody else. 

3. Check their Facebook 

Almost everyone who has a profile on a dating site will have a Facebook account (most dating apps require users to have one, after all!) so it is always advisable to track down your potential suitor on other forms of social media.

4. Google them

Google and other search engines have an extensive repertoire and most people will crop up in a search. 

In this day and age, it’s unusual for someone to have nothing on Google.

Have a search through for them or their relatives, things they’ve said or posted in the past. If there’s nothing, that should raise alarm bells.

5. Skype/Facetime/Video Chat 

For prospective romantic engagements, seeing the face of someone you are virtually talking to is essential. 

6.  Money

Anyone that asks for money online or via an app is likely to be a fraud. 

This is probably a scam and should provide immediate red flags.   

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Stonehenge has been shrouded in mystery for millennia, a structure so mysterious that archaeologists have battled to truly understand its meaning.

Several theories as to what purpose it served have emerged: a cemetery for the elite, a place to witness rituals, perhaps even somewhere to see in the summer and winter solstices.

It’s unclear what Britain’s ancient people really used the megalith for, though one scientific study points towards one sole purpose.

The comprehensive study published by a team of scientists found crucial evidence at the site to suggest that it was used as a “supercomputer” to study astronomy.

Analysing the orientation and position of the monument, researchers from the University of Adelaide in Australia compared the ancient stones found at Stonehenge to the alignment of celestial bodies at the time of its construction, around 5,000 years ago.

READ MORE Mysterious ancient monument that’s older than Stonehenge but no one knows about

The pillars, the team say, were situated in a certain way to track the movement of the sun, moon, and stars.

Dr Gail Higginbottom, project leader, said: “Nobody before this has ever statistically determined that a single stone circle was constructed with astronomical phenomena in mind – it was all supposition.

“This research is finally proof that the ancient Britons connected the Earth to the sky with their earliest standing stones and that this practice continued in the same way for 2,000 years.”

The researchers also looked at other stone circle monuments around the British Isles, including Callanish on the Isle of Lewis and Isle of Orkney’s Stenness.

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Computer modelling simulations revealed that all three monuments were also placed in a way to interact with the moon and the sun.

Dr Higginbottom said: “These chosen surroundings would have influenced the way the Sun and Moon were seen, particularly in the timing of their rising and setting at special times, like when the Moon appears at its most northerly position on the horizon, which only happens every 18.6 years.

“For example, at 50 percent of the sites, the northern horizon is relatively higher and closer than the southern and the summer solstice Sun rises out of the highest peak in the north.”

She added: “At the other 50 percent of sites, the southern horizon is higher and closer than the northern, with the winter solstice sun rising out of these highest horizons.”

Writing in their paper published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, the team said: “These people chose to erect these great stones very precisely within the landscape and in relation to the astronomy they knew.

“They invested a tremendous amount of effort and work to do so. It tells us about their strong connection with their environment, and how important it must have been to them, for their culture and for their culture’s survival.”

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• Albert Lin is an explorer who uses technology to search for the world’s lost cities
• Albert told MailOnline how his search for our past has put him in real danger

Albert Lin might hunt for lost cities, and occasionally wear a wide-brimmed hat, but he and Indiana Jones couldn’t be more different in their methods.

While Indy had to make do with nothing more high-tech than his whip, this real-life explorer is bringing the best tech out there.

Using cutting-edge tools, Albert has uncovered hidden cities of the past everywhere from Scotland to Sudan. 

But searching the world for ancient ruins isn’t always easy or safe.

Speaking to MailOnline, Albert revealed how he was inches away from being crushed by a boulder while searching for a mysterious civilization in Israel – surviving only thanks to his prosthetic leg.  

Albert and Indiana Jones might share a taste in hats and adventure but their techniques couldn’t be more different 

Albert Lin is a real-life Indiana Jones who has searched the world to uncover the lost cities and civilizations of the past

Who is ‘real-life Indiana Jones’ Albert Lin?

Albert Lin is a National Geographic Explorer who uses technology to rediscover lost cities.

He is also a research scientist at UC San Diego and has a PhD in engineering.

He got his first exploration grant from National Geographic to hunt for the lost tomb of Genghis Khan in Mongolia.

The technology he created for the search has since been used in projects ranging from search and rescue to humanitarian and environmental monitoring. 

Albert Lin is a real-life Indiana Jones

While Indiana Jones might always get to ride off into the sunset, in the real world, the dangers of exploration have real consequences. 

Speaking ahead of the release of his new documentary series, Lost Cities Revealed with Albert Lin, Albert recalls one event that brought these consequences into sharp focus. 

Albert and his team were filming in Israel while searching for the lost city of Canaanites, a mysterious civilization that survived a biblical-era climate apocalypse. 

Their expedition had brought them to a cliff face in the desert – a serious scramble, but nothing to concern an experienced climber like Albert.

Although he lost his leg in a Jeep crash years earlier, Albert strongly believes in showing other amputees the limits of what’s possible, and so was soon scaling the rock-face.

‘I’m climbing up the side of a cliff, and as I’m going up, the boulder that I’m on starts to open like a door and I feel my body falling back,’ he told MailOnline. 

The boulder, loosened by rain, peeled away from the cliff wall and sent Albert tumbling down with a few hundred pounds of rock coming down after.

He said: ‘I jump as far as I can off the side of the cliff and I’m waiting for the boulder to kill me.’

When the dust settled, it seemed like he’d escaped with nothing more than a few cuts and bruises. 

But as he went to stand, Albert realised that the boulder hadn’t missed him after all – Albert’s leg had been crushed to pieces beneath the stone.

However, in what could either be a case of amazing or terrible luck, the rock landed on the leg he had lost years earlier.

It was his prosthetic leg which had been smashed while everything else was unhurt. 

On an expedition to Israel in search of the Canaanite Kingdom Albert was almost killed by a falling boulder

Albert has made it through his latest adventures unscathed, even though his prosthetic leg was crushed during the climbing accident

READ MORE:  Archaeologists discover 800-year-old ‘treasure tunnels’ built in Israel by the Knights Templar Christian warriors 

‘That was rough, just seeing that trauma again in the form of losing a leg. As far as I know, I’m the only amputee who’s lost the same leg twice,’ he said.

‘But you’ve got to dust those things off right? That was a very intense moment, but at the same time this just doesn’t feel like work to me, this feels like something bigger.

‘We’re trying to uncover stories of our ancient past and each story might reveal something about our shared humanity. 

‘To me, that’s worth these extreme experiences.’ 

In the latest season of his series ‘National Geographic, Lost Cities Revealed with Albert Lin’, Albert travels the world on the hunt for the lost cities of the past. 

His journey brought him across the world from the forgotten Pictish settlements of Scotland to the Peruvian Andes in search of the lost Chachapoya kingdom.

Using the same techniques he developed in Mongolia years earlier hunting for the lost tomb of Genghis Khan, Albert employs cutting-edge tech to bring these settlements to life. 

Drones equipped with LiDAR scanners scour vast areas for disturbances caused by underground structures.

This technique bounces lasers off the ground to create an exact map of the ground, revealing minute raised areas that betray hidden structures beneath the earth. 

Ground penetrating radar and satellite imagery then refine the search further, revealing vast complexes where there was once thought to be nothing.

His search has since brought him to Oman, Peru and Scotland (pictured) to look for signs of the world’s forgotten civilizations 

READ MORE: Declassified images from American Cold War spy satellites reveal HUNDREDS of lost Roman forts across Syria and Iraq 

Albert says that, ever since his first expedition in Mongolia, he has been looking for a way to put a new lens on history.

‘The invention of the microscope or telescope shifted the world in terms of the way that we can see things,’  he said.

‘This moment is the same for archaeology with the invention of things like LiDAR.’ 

These tools have opened up a whole new era of archaeological discovery.

Only recently, a treasure trove of cold-war satellite images allowed researchers to find hundreds of previously lost Roman thoughts. 

Likewise in the uncharted jungles of East Mexico, archaeologists used laser scanning to uncover an ancient Mayan City with 50-foot pyramids.

Albert says: ‘These lenses allow us to see things like that there were actually thousands of pyramids hidden in the jungle that we didn’t know about, or that there is something just beneath the sand that you can only see with ground penetrating radar.’

‘Each time we find a new story through research we find a new way of looking at it.

‘It feels like we’re uncovering part of the shared book of human history. Each city has a chapter or a page and when you put all those pages together you get to the present day.’

Albert believes that uncovering these stories helps us find the ‘essence of humanity that existed in each one of those different chapters.’

He said: ‘When you look at them as a whole you get this bigger picture of the essence of what’s inside you no matter where you’re from.’

Albert says that his discoveries help us understand what is common across humanity and across time 

As someone who is ‘literally part technology’, Albert says the past can help us reflect on our relationship with technology today 

As someone who is ‘literally part technology’, Albert says that looking to the past can help us understand our relationship with technology today.

Originally trained as an engineer, Albert calls himself ‘a die-hard optimist’.  

However, he also feels that our march towards progress is bringing us to a point of no return.  

‘I think that we’re at a flux moment in our human history where our connectedness is more than we’ve ever had before,’ Albert said. 

‘Distance has been remade and we’re truly living in a global village but we’re still struggling with the echoes of this tribalism that we grew up with.’

Likewise, as AI becomes more and more a part of our daily lives Albert says it is becoming even more important to reflect on our shared history.

Albert and his team have discovered evidence that, even during the world’s worst calamities, people have come together to party and cooperate 

‘Maybe it’s important, in this moment when we face a confrontation with our own co-evolution with AI, that we think about what it is that truly makes us human, what it is that we’re fighting to preserve in the face of this existential mirror,’ he said. 

On that same expedition to Israel where Albert nearly died, he also made a discovery that he thinks resonates today. 

Over 4,000 years ago, some scientists believe the Earth went through a devastating decades long drought called the ‘4.2-kiloyear event’. 

Albert says that this event may well have led to the collapse of the old kingdoms of Egypt and Mesopotamia. 

But in an ancient Canaan, while the world around faced the greatest climate disaster in human history, he found that people had brought together supplies and resources from all across the ancient world.

‘This was the collapse of the great civilization of our past, but what you see in this one village is huge piles of thousands of wine jugs and artefacts from all over the world,’ Albert says. 

‘People came together to party essentially, but they also came together to commune and work together to face that global moment.’

Albert says his journeys through time have led him to believe in the power of human cooperation and calls himself a ‘die-hard optimist’ 

So, as we turn to our own chapter in the human story, Albert believes that there are important lessons to learn from our collective history and the lost cities of the past.

Albert says: ‘I’ve had a career where I’ve been able to bounce around the world, and I’ve also been able to go through time back to the origins of our human evolution.

‘I think what I’ve observed across humanity and through time is that we have a choice, and what has always worked really well for us is when we work together.

‘Having been born in the Bay Area while the .com era unfolded, I think the great hope of the innovators that created that was that we could come together, and now it’s a matter of us deciding to do that.’ 

Lost Cities with Albert Lin airs Sundays at 6pm GMT on National Geographic, commencing 17th December with The Barbarian Kingdom.

If you have any questions for Albert or have a suggestion for where he should explore next you can find him on Instagram at @exploreralbert.

How does Albert Lin use tech to search for lost cities? 

LiDAR

Light Detection and Ranging can capture surface data over entire landscapes by bouncing laser pulses of distant objects.

Importantly this technique can penetrate vegetation to record the ground surface.

This lets archaeologists search through dense jungles like in Peru

By looking at ground disturbances Albert searchers for archaeological remains 

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)

GPR sends electromagnetic pulses into the soil at regular intervals and measures the time till the pulse bounces back.

This lets teams create maps of underground structures in three dimensions.

The pulses even penetrate modern materials like concrete and tarmac so GPR can be used even in urban areas.

Satellite Imagery 

In Mongolia Albert and his team used satellites to scan huge areas for hidden tombs.

Satellites can take images all through the light spectrum, revealing details invisible to the human eye.

Satellites produce huge amounts of data so Albert has used crowd-sourcing and AI to work through the images.

In Scotland, Albert used GPR to reveal an ancient Pictish settlement 

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Tucked away in Argentina's Puna de Atacama, boffins have found a high plateau desert which sits than 12,000 feet above sea level – one of the driest environments in the world. The University of Colorado Boulder unearthed the area, with an environment that was "previously unknown to science," which has turned out to be home to a 12 lagoons stretching over 25 acres surrounded by salt plains.

Brian Hynek, a professor in the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) and Department of Geological Sciences, found the lagoons along with microbiologist Maria Farías last year. New research has uncovered an entire lost world hidden inside the lagoons.

READ MORE: Doctors in meltdown as mystery China virus 'stops responding' to all antibiotics

Find all the latest science news on everything from medical breakthroughs to climate change, by clicking here.

While it was expected that few plants or animals can survive there, beneath the water the scientists could see vibrant displays of stromatolites; complex microbial communities which form large mounds of rock, similar to corals in a reef.

Preliminary observations by Hynek suggest these communities may be reminiscent of stromatolites which existed during the early Achaean period 3.5 billion years ago, when oxygen was almost nonexistent in the atmosphere. Hynek said: “This lagoon could be one of the best modern examples of the earliest signs of life on Earth. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen or, really, like anything any scientist has ever seen."

The scientist added: "If life ever evolved on Mars to the level of fossils, it would have been like this. Understanding these modern communities on Earth could inform us about what we should look for as we search for similar features in the Martian rocks.”

The professor described finding the environment as 'the biggest eureka moment' he's ever had in his life. He said: "It’s just amazing that you can still find undocumented things like that on our planet."

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The 15-year-old girl called Talia, from Peru, told a film crew how she was attacked by two figures clad in black body armour and wearing masks. She said the attackers spread a substance across her face.

She claims that the abductors had "green" eyes and where wearing jetpacks which could be activated by pressing a "button" on their boots. Talia said: "My eye felt bad, it felt cloudy. My face felt like it was swelling," adding that she "couldn't feel her face".

READ MORE: Bloke's 'mind blown' after spotting spherical UFO following plane in British countryside

For more news that is out of this world, click here

The teen told 5-MeO Productions: "I went back to our garden to pick tangerines and while I was picking tangerines, so I could make myself a drink, that's when I felt dry leaves blowing all around me." But when she turned she saw a "very tall man". Talia added: "When I tried to run, he grabbed me from back here [my neck], and he turned me around and covered my mouth."

It comes as residents of a Peruvian village, known as the Haikito, have reported a series of chilling incidents committed by a mob of 7ft "aliens" has left the tribe in a state of terror. Local leaders describe them as floating creatures that can't be harmed by bullets. Speaking to local broadcaster Radio Programas del Perú (RPP), Ikitu leader Jairo Reátegui Ávila said: "These gentlemen are aliens."

However, Peruvian officials have put forward a theory to suggest that the attacks are less otherworldly. Quintanilla told RPP that he believes that the local community was being terrorised by illegal gold miners armed with "jetpacks".

"They would be using state-of-the-art technology, such as thrusters that allow people to fly," Quintanilla told RPP.

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An irritated Brit has caused a stir online after slamming an American friend for “bragging”. The Brit, who posted about receiving a Christmas card from an American friend has somehow received the same response from the online community.

The post was shared on Mumsnet on Saturday and has gathered over 75 responses in a matter of hours.  They started the post by explaining about getting the yearly Christmas card from someone the user described as an American acquaintance. The user then reflects on a perceived trend in American culture, specifically during the Christmas season, where people engage in what they interpret as bragging or showcasing their achievements. 

The post read: “We got the annual christmas card from an american acquaintance. I say acquaintance as they are a friend of a friend and we couldn’t care less. What is it though with this American trend of bragging every christmas? Its like competitive parenting. This card is full of “my beauty business is doing SO well this year, little johnny really loves his music and has a future as an aspiring musician, little janey does cheerleading practice 3 times a week, she’s so dedicated” and so on.

“Am I being unreasonable to think, this is a stupid tradition? Also, I think if we have time, we should send one back full of stupid shit. Can I have suggestions of what to say?.”

Several social media users quickly flocked to the post and most of them had a similar reply.  One user said: “America is huge. Not all Americans are the same. Just thought I’d say that in case you didn’t know. First of all Brits do this as well – the inevitable round robin or scribbled note in the card about kids’ achievements. (And just look at FB/IG and MN for all the bragging FFS)

“I’m sure many here will proudly post on FB, tell friends or pop it in a Christmas card that their DS has done so well in his GCSE’s and got into uni. But it’ll be told with a faux deprecating “We always thought he was such a lazy dimwit – but he’s surprised us all and got into Oxford!’”

A second user: “I’m American and lots of ‘us’ don’t do cards anymore and didn’t do this when we did, so not sure it’s an American trend. Mumsnet sure do like to talk shit about us”

A third user: “I don’t think they’re braggy, it’s just a positive newsletter keeping you up to date. It’d be a bit of a downer receiving a letter detailing all their problems – although I suspect they go that way as people get older.

“I think as a country we’re not great at just being proud of ourselves tbh.”

Another user commented: “It’d not an American thing. Actually, the only person i know who did this is a middle class Brit who wrote it all in an email because they were donating the money from stamps and cards to charity.”

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• Local teen girl says ‘alien’ jet-pack attackers spread a ‘burning’ cream on her face
• Prosecutors believe the 7-ft ‘aliens’ are an illegal Colombian gold-mining cartel 
• Police arrested, but then released, two implicated in this illegal gold mining
• READ MORE: Peru’s ‘alien’ mummies have 30% ‘unknown’ DNA, analysis claims

A Peruvian girl who was nearly kidnapped by what witnesses described as a gang of ‘7ft-tall aliens’ has revealed new details from her traumatic experience.

Earlier this year, DailyMail.com reported  how residents of a Peruvian village known as the Haikito tribe had been living in fear after a spate of attacks by towering creatures.

The story made international headlines and became even more bizarre when Peru’s National Prosecutor’s Office said gold mining gangs had staged the attacks to terrorize local residents and keep them indoors while they raided the gold-rich jungle in which their village is located.

One of their victims, 15-year-old Talia has now told documentarians that she was attacked by two masked figures clad in black body armor.

The 15-year-old Peruvian girl (above) who was nearly kidnapped by what witnesses described as a band of 7ft-tall, ‘alien’ attackers with jetpacks has now revealed new details from her traumatic experience. For starters, the ‘aliens’ injected an unidentified cream into her nostrils

The teen, whose first name is Talia, but whose last name has been withheld to protect her privacy, described her attempted kidnappers’ masks as having ‘green’ eyes. Their jetpacks, she said, had platforms activated by ‘a button’ on their boots (as explained above)

Local Peruvian prosecutors are still investigating the case and suspect that criminal gold-minging cartels began using the jetpacks to prospect for gold deeper into Peru’s Alto Nanay jungle. Above, Talia shows a jetpack similar to what she and others saw during her ‘alien’ attack

‘My eye felt bad, it felt cloudy. My face felt like it was swelling,’ the fifteen-year-old said of the nightmarish experience in her new interview. ‘I couldn’t feel my face.’

She said her high-tech assailants had injected an unidentified cream-and-powder mixture into her nostrils. 

The alleged attackers then spread this same unidentified mixture over her face.

The teen described her attempted kidnappers’ masks as having ‘green’ eyes. Their jetpacks, she said, had platforms activated by ‘a button’ on their boots.

Two Colombians were detained in connection with the illegal gold mining this November, only to be released upon orders of a local judge 10 days later.

This past summer, members of Peru’s small Ikitu population compared their airborne attackers to ‘green goblins’ and local superstitions about ‘los Pelacaras,’ (‘the Face Peelers’) ― with local leaders describing these ‘armored’ and ‘floating’ menaces as impervious to bullets. 

‘These gentlemen are aliens,’ as one Ikitu leader, Jairo Reátegui Ávila, told local broadcaster Radio Programas del Perú (RPP) last August.

Terrified villagers in rural northern Peru claimed they were under attack by 7ft-tall aliens this summer, which they have dubbed ‘los Pelacaras’ (the Face Peelers). Above, a man with bandages around his head, who was supposedly attacked by the aliens

But the Peruvian government prosecutor now investigating the case, Carlos Castro Quintanilla, speculated publicly that the terror attacks had a more terrestrial origin.

‘They would be using state-of-the-art technology, such as thrusters that allow people to fly,’ Quintanilla told RPP as he put forward his operating theory that illegal gold miners armed with ‘jetpacks’ were responsible for the attacks.

Talia and her local community are nestled in the dense jungle of rural Alto Nanay, where gold has deposited itself like silt along the riverbeds of the Nanay river, which flows into the Amazon. 

According to Peru’s Financial Intelligence Unit (la Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera or UIF), illicit gold mining has become more profitable for the region’s storied drug cartels than drug trafficking itself. 

The practice netted $8.2 billion for these criminal groups from 2013-2023, compared to just $640 million from drug trafficking, according to a recent UIF report cited by the news organization la Republica Data. 

Talia’s new interview — given to the newly formed paranormal-focused documentary group, 5-MeO Productions — adds further weight to the prosecutor’s notion that her attempted kidnappers were human after all.

‘I went back to our garden to pick tangerines,’ Talia told the 5-MeO crew from her family’s porch. 

‘And while I was picking tangerines, so I could make myself a drink, that’s when I felt dry leaves blowing all around me.’

As Talia turned around to determine the cause of the blowing leaves, she saw, in her words (translated from Spanish), ‘a very tall man behind me’ whom she believes was ‘a gringo’ (a white man).  

‘When I tried to run, he grabbed me from back here,’ Talia continued, gesturing to the back of her neck. ‘And he turned me around and covered my mouth.’ 

In mid-2023, Peru’s Environmental Prosecutor’s Office reports that they destroyed 110 illegal gold dredges and 10 criminal mining camps. In 2020, a NASA astronaut was able to snap pics (above) of Peru’s glittering (but illegal) gold pits while on board the International Space Station

Peru’s National Prosecutor’s Office, which is investigating the flying ‘alien’ attacks, has pointed the finger at these illegal gold-mining ‘mafias’ which were ejected from Brazil and Colombia. Above, armed Peruvian officials arrive at the rural Ikitu community in Alto Nanay to investigate

https://youtube.com/watch?v=J8WUBeNL31E%3Frel%3D0

The attempted kidnapping, which occurred approximately between 6pm and 6.30 local time on July 29th of this year, was witnessed by neighbors and Talia’s family.

One witness, a local school teacher named Cristian Caleb Pacaya, told RPP Noticias that multiple residents saw the armored attackers were flying with propellers and high-tech equipment.

‘We have investigated what suit those men would be using to get to those places,’ Pacaya, who works in the nearby San Antonio de Pintuyacu community, told RPP.

As Talia recalled in her new interview, her second would-be ‘alien’ kidnapper appeared as ‘a light’ rising behind her.

‘A light lifts into the air and I see it coming towards me and lands in front of me,’ the teen told the 5-MeO team.

The second of these two men (or humanoid-like beings in body armor), Talia said, ‘grabbed both of my legs and started dragging me away.’

Unable to carry on with their daily lives in the village, which is approximately 10 hours by river from the Loreto region’s capital city of Iquitos in north Peru, these Ikitu locals (above) organized into night patrols to hunt down their high-tech, gold cartel attackers 

Although the motives of her attackers were not clear, Talia believes they were attempting to activate their jetpack-like devices via what was looked like a button on the inner side of their leg, near their calf muscle, on something that was ‘like a boot.’

‘At the same time they were dragging me, they were touching this part right here,’ she said. ‘At the same time that they would elevate, they pressed something here.’

Talia described their body armor as ‘a vest that was very hard,’ a mask made of ‘a hard material’ that may have been ‘metal’ with ‘two straps’ in the back, and the black metal boots that fit into a circular ‘wheel’-like platform that helped them fly.

‘Their eyes were a green color,’ she said of their masks. 

‘As they were dragging me away, I was able to move with more strength,’ Talia said. ‘They dropped me and I fell to the ground.’

‘When I fell they pinned me to the ground,’ she continued. ‘That’s when he asked him for a cream.’

According to the 15-year-old, this was when the taller of her two masked attackers mixed a cream and powder mixture together in his hands and ‘then used something like a syringe’ to inject the substance into each of her nostrils.

Next, the tall ‘alien’ attacker began to spread this same substance across her face. 

‘After he did both sides,’ she told the 5-MeO crew. ‘I felt it was burning me.’

The harrowing ordeal reached a climax as one of her attackers took out what she described as ‘a little stick,’ with a retractable point, and tried to cut her neck. 

‘It made a sound, but I couldn’t feel anything. I could hear it,’ Talia said. ‘My own skin made a sound’ 

Later news reports stated that Talia sustained cuts to her neck and other injuries during the attempted kidnapping. The documentary group 5-MeO posted photos of hospital records in an effort to confirm aspects of the story from Talia and her family.

News reports stated that Talia sustained cuts to her neck and other injuries during the attempted kidnapping. The documentary group 5-MeO posted photos of hospital records to social media site X, in an effort to confirm aspects of the story from Talia and her family

‘When they took me to the Santa Maria district [hospital] they gave me a referral for me to go see a psychologist,’ Talia said, as alluded to in the official document (pictured)

https://youtube.com/watch?v=8B-xYVy1rMU%3Frel%3D0

‘When they took me to the Santa Maria district [hospital] they gave me a referral for me to go see a psychologist,’ Talia said of her traumatic experience.

‘What happened to me is a very sad thing,’ she said, ‘in the month of July when we were going through a crisis, because of strange men that came to our community.’

Ultimately, Talia managed to escape the kidnappers during the struggle by nearly revealing the identity of the taller, so-called ‘alien.’

‘When I tried to lift up the mask, that’s when he let go of me,’ she said, ‘So he could lower his mask. That’s when I began screaming.’ 

‘The taller one spoke like a gringo,’ she recalled of the taller attacker’s Spanish skills. ‘He didn’t speak well, he didn’t say the words correctly.’

The shorter of the two attackers spoke a more fluent, Peruvian dialect, she said.

‘When everyone, my brothers, the neighbors, came to see me, that’s when my brother saw from my cousin’s garden how they flew away,’ Talia said.

As her community responded to her cries for help, she said that they witnessed the masked each stand on a ‘thing that was like a wheel,’ pressed the buttons on their boots and make their escape. 

‘They used their hands to balance,’ she said.

‘I could hear, but I couldn’t see. It was burning from what they put on me, I was in tears,’ as Talia described the fight to remove her from the kidnappers, one of whom was still clutching her by the hair.

‘When my sister picked me up, a white phlegm came out of my nose,’ she said.

Prior to the recent interview, Talia (left) also told her story to a self-described ‘modern-day Indiana Jones,’ Timothy Alberino (above right), who lists his interests as including ‘ancient mythologies,’ ‘UFOs and alien abduction,’ and ‘Christian eschatology.’

Even Alberino, who first believed the attackers were extraterrestrials, has now warmed to the hypothesis that the mysterious, armor-clad beings that terrorized the community around Peru’s Alto Nanay were most likely terrestrial and human

On November 14, arrest warrants were issued for four individuals linked to a Colombian group known as ‘Los Rebeldes de Nanay’ after the river where their illegal gold mining occurs

Prosecutor Carlos Castro Quintanilla of the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office (La Fiscalía Especializada en Materia Ambiental or FEMA) in Peru’s Maynas province told reporters they could only apprehend two of the four individuals linked to the illegal gold mining (above)

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Long Valley Caldera sits at the heart of California and is powerful enough to bury Los Angeles in more than 3,000 feet of ash.

It is one of the world’s largest calderas, measuring a staggering 20 miles long and 11 miles wide.

Around 760,000 years ago, Long Valley formed when a devastating eruption released hot ash that later cooled and formed the Bishop tuff, a welded tuff that characterises the region.

This year, scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) identified more than 2,000 earthquakes rumbling throughout the caldera in recent years.

Their concerns are added to recent work in and around the caldera which suggests several clues point towards an “imminent eruption”.

READ MORE Yellowstone supervolcano warning as eruption would ‘bring world to its knees’

The team at Caltech carried out a number of fieldwork tests and created detailed underground images of the caldera, finding that the recent seismic activity has resulted from fluids and gasses released as the area cools off.

While the study author Professor Zhongwen Zhan said “another supervolcanic eruption” was unlikely, he added: “The cooling process may release enough gas and liquid to cause earthquakes and small eruptions.

“For example, in May 1980, there were four magnitude six earthquakes in the region alone.”

In 2017, researchers from the Science Channel carried out separate analysis of the area during their documentary, ‘Secrets of the Underground’.

Rob Nelson, a scientist who appeared in the documentary, noted: “There are alarming signs of possible volcanic activity. And there are clues pointing towards an imminent eruption scattered throughout this valley — the site of the second largest explosive volcanic eruption in North America.”

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Even a small eruption at Long Valley poses an “existential threat” to the millions who live within its catchment area.

An investigation carried out by scientists during the documentary found several instances of smoke billowing out from beneath the ground.

Jared Peacock, a geophysicist, identified a “resurgent dome” deep below the surface using cutting-edge InSAR data.

The technology, which deploys sensors to create a detailed image of an area through radiation, found a baking hot point located directly beneath the ground where magma likely resides.

“Something underneath it is pushing it upwards,” said Mr Peacock.

Later tests found massive amounts of liquid beneath the dome’s surface, not dissimilar to the findings by Caltech, which is a clear sign of volcanic activity.

Fortunately, the activity wasn’t centralised which would be a cause for concern, but spread out across the region.

Mr Peacock said: “We can say conclusively that there is no giant magma chamber below. But there are smaller satellite ones around the area.”

Long Valley is long dormant, and the last super eruption took place 767,000 years ago.

The event saw 140 miles of volcanic material into the atmosphere and devastated much of the surrounding land.

The study carried out by Prof Zhan and his team saw dozens of seismometers placed throughout the Sierra region to capture seismic measurements in a process that is known as distributed acoustic sensing (DAS).

Over a year and a half of observations, they measured more than 2,000 seismic events, most too small to be felt on the ground.

Filtering the data into a computer, a machine learning algorithm was then able to process the measurements and create an image which revealed the locations of each earthquake.

In 2018, scientists found out that the Long Valley Caldera holds 240 cubic miles of magma beneath the surface.

If it were to erupt, the event would eclipse that seen in the 1980 Mount St Helens event, which spewed out 0.29 cubic miles of material into the atmosphere, destroying 200 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles of railways, 185 miles of motorway, and killing 57 people.

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The bloke, who has not been named, caught sight of an unidentified spherical flying object trailing a plane in the sky above the Gloucestershire countryside, twice.

The 52-year-old warehouse manager spotted the extraordinary sight most recently from his garden in Staunton while off work with Covid, reports Gloucestershire Live.

READ MORE: Metallic egg-shaped UFO the size of SUV was kept at Area 51, whistleblower claims

For the latest news from around the world from the Daily Star, click here.

The man approached the publication in the hope that others might have the answers that he has endeavoured to find, but so far has been unsuccessful.

The man claims that in March 2022 he saw a large plane being followed by a silver sphere, which he described as a "bizarre experience".

He said: "I was off work with Covid but I wasn’t too ill. So I was doing some chores at home. I went into the garden and was putting the laundry on the washing line.

"I then heard a large plane, airliner size flying really low behind the trees to the west and felt the air vibrating in my chest. The same vibration you’d get from a helicopter.

"I looked up and this plane, 737-size was banking tight right and behind it was a silver sphere. Probably 10-20 ft diameter I guess.

"The sphere was following the plane right behind its tail. Then the plane turned right left and the sphere broke off and flew right, disappearing into the clouds."

He said he stood there open-mouthed for a few minutes trying to assess what he'd seen. He described the jet as white with a yellow tail fin.

"We never have low flying aircraft over our house. Never in the 23 years I’ve been there," he said. This plane looked like it was making evasive manoeuvres. This was not a normal flight plan. I have tried to find more info via the UK FAA without success. It blew my mind."

The chap added that this wasn't his first time seeing the bizarre phenomena, as he saw the same thing at his work the year before.

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Scientists from the SETI Institute, an American nonprofit that investigates "the prevalence of life beyond Earth", the University of California and the Alaska Whale Foundation were testing software as part of a humpback whale communications study off the Alaskan coast when they detected a greeting signal from a whale the team call Twain.

The scientists have been testing the software on whales to develop intelligence filters which translate the meaning of received signals, which could be used to communicate with aliens in the future.

READ MORE: Bloke enters 1,000C 'Door to Hell' inferno and finds something that may prove aliens exist

For the latest news from around the world from the Daily Star, click here.

Known as intelligent, social animals, whales communicate with each other through underwater sounds or "songs", most likely for social purposes, and to convey information on navigation, predators and where to find food.

As part of the experiment, the team played a humpback whale contact call through an underwater speaker that saw Twain approach the scientists' boat and circle it for sometime before responding.

This lasted for 20 minutes in which time Twain made noises in response to each recording, and the team believe the moment is the first conversation between humans and humpback whales in "humpback language", according to a statement issued by the research team.

"Humpback whales are extremely intelligent, have complex social systems, make tools—nets out of bubbles to catch fish—and communicate extensively with both songs and social calls," said study co-author Fred Sharpe of the Alaska Whale Foundation.

Laurance Doyle of the SETI Institute, commented: "Because of current limitations on technology, an important assumption of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence is that extraterrestrials will be interested in making contact and so target human receivers. This important assumption is certainly supported by the behaviour of humpback whales."

The team's findings were published in the journal Peer J.

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• Space Force said it’s ‘extremely interested’ in China’s covert CSSHQ spacecraft
• Pics of this Chinese rival to Space Force’s classified X-37B craft have yet to leak
• READ MORE: Secret unmanned US spaceship, X-37B, causes chaos as it lands in Florida with residents fearing it was UFO — after its sonic boom rocked houses

China successfully launched its top secret, unmanned spacecraft Thursday evening, which the US Space Force chief said was ‘no coincidence.’

The US had planned to launch its ‘spy’ plan on Wednesday, but the mission was grounded due to technical issues.

‘It’s probably no coincidence that they’re trying to match us in timing and sequence of this,’ General Chance Saltzman, Space Force’s Chief of Space Operations, said. 

An announcement in the Chinese press described the purpose of the space plane as providing ‘technical support for the peaceful use of space’ – but the nation has kept details under wraps, as has American officials about their craft.

China successfully launched its top secret, unmanned spacecraft — the Asian superpower’s answer to the US Space Force’s own X-37B unmanned, covert spaceplane — into orbit for the third time this past Thursday. Its purpose: ‘technical support for the peaceful use of space’

But the current Chief of Space Operations for US Space Force, General Chance Saltzman (above), told reporters that the timing appeared linked to the cancelation of America’s plan to relaunch the X-37B back into space for another classified mission this past Monday

‘These are the two of the most watched objects on orbit while they’re on orbit,’ Saltzman told reporters on Wednesday after trouble with a SpaceX rocket scuttled Monday’s planned X-37B launch.

Speaking at the Space Force Association’s Spacepower Conference in Orlando, General Saltzman emphasized the sophistication of these unmanned and reusable orbital spycrafts, which can offer greater operational security than spy satellites.

‘The ability to put something into orbit, do some things, and bring it home and take a look at the results is powerful,’ Saltzman said. 

‘It’s no surprise that the Chinese are extremely interested in our spaceplane,’ he said. ‘And we’re extremely interested in theirs.’ 

Nevertheless — despite years of promo photos of America’s Boeing-designed X-37B covert spacecraft — no images of its Chinese rival have leaked to the public.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=mKHqEiOULXg%3Frel%3D0

The closest media has come to seeing the craft, dubbed the Chinese reusable experimental spacecraft, or CSSHQ, may likely have been footage of an exhibit at the Henan Jiyuan No.1 middle school in China in August of 2022.

Video of the exhibit, an outdoor display of a crashed Long March 2F rocket responsible for launching the CSSHQ into orbit, was poured over by aerospace industry watchers for clues about its one-time covert spycraft payload. 

Images of this Long March 2F wreckage, recovered from the second CSSHQ launch, bolstered rumors that the rocket’s payload capacity of nearly eight metric tons would indicate that CSSHQ is similar in size to the X-37B, according to SpaceNews.

The video appeared first on China’s Sina Weibo social media site, then TikTok, YouTube and X.

The closest media has come to seeing China’s secret spacecraft, dubbed the Chinese reusable experimental spacecraft, or CSSHQ, may likely have been footage of an exhibit at a middle school in China in 2022 – posted first to China’s Sina Weibo social media site, then X (above)

This Thursday’s CSSHQ launch comes hot on the heels of its last covert mission seven months ago: a lengthy 276-day operation that began on August 4, 2022.

By comparison, CSSHQ’s first launch, in September 2020, lasted only two days.

According to a report by China’s Xinhua News Agency, this third launch aims to conduct ‘reusable technology verification’ and ‘space science experiments’ as part of ‘technical support for the peaceful use of space.’ 

The launch of the CSSHQ encased in a Long March 2F rocket, occurred at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center based in northwestern China. 

The US Space Force ‘spy’ space shuttle X-37B (above)  was due to launch by SpaceX as part of a classified mission Monday but was forced to stand down minutes before it was due to take off

Once a US Air Force project, the X-37B can theoretically carry weapons into space, possibly to defend US satellites against anti-satellite weapons. China and Russia have accused the US of using the craft as a bomber. X-37B has been performing its classified missions since 2010

The original purpose for the Long March 2F was transport for Chinese astronaut crews headed into Earth’s orbit, but the rocket has been modified to carry China’s unpiloted robotic spaceplane as its payload.

The X-37B was due to be launched by SpaceX as part of a classified mission Monday, but it was forced to stand down just minutes before it took off.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket bearing the covert spacecraft was scheduled to take off at 8:14pm ET from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

But a reported ‘ground issue’ resulted in the mission being axed at the eleventh hour.

‘Standing down from tonight’s Falcon Heavy launch due to a ground side issue,’ a statement from SpaceX said.

‘Vehicle and payload remain healthy. The team is resetting for the next launch opportunity of the USSF-52 mission, which is no earlier than tomorrow night.’

Monday’s mission would have been the secretive X-37B’s seventh since it debuted in 2010, and most of the craft’s payload is classified.

The X-37B can theoretically carry weapons into space, possibly to defend US satellites against anti-satellite weapons.

While China and Russia have accused the US of using the craft as a bomber, other experts have speculated that the Space Force craft is used to run spy missions: Keep an eye on Chinese space operations or test US reconnaissance systems.

WHAT IS THE MYSTERIOUS X-37B ORBITAL TEST VEHICLE? 

The US Air Force’s unmanned X-37B space plane has flown a number of secret missions to date.

Each time it has carried a mystery payload on long-duration flights in Earth orbit.

The spacecraft looks similar to Nasa’s space shuttle but is much smaller. The X-37B is about 29ft (8.8m) long and 9.5ft (2.9 m) tall.

Like a shuttle, X-37B is blasted into orbit by a rocket. However, it lands using a runway like a normal aircraft. The X-37B is too small to carry people onboard, but does have a cargo bay similar to that of a pickup truck, which is just large enough to carry a small satellite

It has a wingspan of just less than 15ft (4.6 m). At launch, it weighs 11,000lbs (4,990kg).

The craft is taken into orbit on a rocket but lands like the space shuttle by gliding down to Earth.

Its main mission payload is a mystery, although Nasa has revealed it has a hauled a number of materials experiments aboard into space.

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• The plague that ravaged Europe in the 14th century led to our love of junk food
• Experts found it changed the bacteria that live in our mouths today
• READ MORE:  Genes that protected people from plague increases disease risk

The Black Death may have contributed to our love of junk food today, a study suggests.

The Second Plague Pandemic of the mid-14th Century, also known as the Black Death, killed up to 60 percent of people living in Europe and profoundly changed the course of history.

It caused fever, fatigue and vomiting as well as large, painful swellings called buboes in the thighs, neck, armpits and groin.

But experts now suggest that it may be linked to our love of junk food today, due to dietary and hygiene changes during this period.

Analysis of calcified dental plaque from skeletons spanning thousands of years has revealed that the dominant bacteria found in our mouths today is linked to low-fiber, high-carbohydrate diets, as well as dairy consumption.

All of these characterize modern-day diets – such as junk food – they said, and world events such as the Black Death may have triggered the dominance of this bacteria.

Experts now suggest that the Black Death plague may be linked to our love of junk food today due to dietary and hygiene changes during this period.

Changes to diet and hygiene throughout the plague are thought to have affected our oral microbiome – the community of microorganisms, mostly bacteria, found in our mouths.

This mixture of bacteria within the body is known to be linked to immune, heart and brain health, but can also be associated with certain diseases.

The study, published in the journal Nature Microbiology, was led by scientists at Penn State University in the US and the University of Adelaide in Australia.

Pictured are remains of people buried in the East Smithfield plague pits in London, which were used for mass burials in 1348 and 1349

Professor Laura Weyrich, from Penn State, said: ‘Modern microbiomes are linked to a wide range of chronic diseases, including obesity, cardiovascular disease, and poor mental health.

‘Uncovering the origins of these microbial communities may help in understanding and managing these diseases.’

Her team collected material from the teeth of 235 people who were buried across 27 archaeological sites in England and Scotland from around 2,200 BC to 1835 AD.

After processing the samples, they identified 954 microbial species which fell into two distinct communities of bacteria.

One was dominated by the genus Streptococcus, which is common in the mouths of modern people, and the other by the genus Methanobrevibacter, which is now largely considered extinct in healthy people.

Analysis revealed that almost 11 percent of the variation in the microbiomes they uncovered could be explained by changes over the course of history, including the arrival of the Black Death.

‘We know that survivors of the Second Plague Pandemic earned higher incomes and could afford higher-calorie foods,’ Professor Weyrich said.

‘It’s possible that the pandemic triggered changes in people’s diets that, in turn, influenced the composition of their oral microbiomes.

‘This is the first time anyone has shown that the microbes in our body may have been influenced by things like past pandemics.’

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• Elon Musk took to X to complain that he had been ‘scolded’ by Microsoft Word
• Musk and his supporters railed against the ‘woke’ word processor’s suggestions 

Even word processors aren’t safe from Elon Musk’s war on wokeness.

The X (formerly Twitter) CEO took to social media to slam Microsoft Word’s inclusiveness checker. 

Musk complained that he had been ‘scolded’ for using the word ‘insane’ in a document.

His supporters took to X to vent against the ‘woke’ work processor with some joking that it was Microsoft which had gone insane. 

Another supporter wrote that ‘wokeism has literally infiltrated everything on this planet’. 

Musk has once again railed against ‘wokeism’ as he took to social media to complain about Microsoft Word’s inclusivity suggestions

Musk and his supporters have slammed Microsoft Word’s ‘woke’ inclusiveness checker for suggesting changes to ‘offensive’ terms 

Musk’s fans have been outraged by the post with one popular Musk parody account claiming: ‘We must stop it’

READ MORE: Elon Musk is planning to start a UNIVERSITY in Austin after seeding $100 million to charity called The Foundation

Musk’s ire was drawn by a suggestion provided by Microsoft Word’s inclusiveness spell check feature.

While trying to write that a vehicle, presumable the Cybertruck, has ‘insane stability’ Microsoft noted that ‘this term implies mental health bias’.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Musk wrote: ‘Microsoft World now scolds you if you use words that aren’t “inclusive”!’ 

Musk’s supporters joined the X CEO in an outpouring of rage against the program’s interference.

‘MS Word is going woke’, wrote one angry commenter.

‘They really putting the Soft in Microsoft’, joked another.

Meanwhile, one commenter poked fun at the suggestion, writing: ‘That’s insane’.  

Musk’s supporters on X have been outraged by the suggestion claiming that Microsoft Word is ‘going woke’

Musk also complained that Microsoft Word’s suggestions were offering alternative measurements to the imperial weight system.

Musk shared an image of text reading: ‘11,000lbs towing capacity’.

Beneath the text, Microsoft Word offered ‘perspectives’ suggestions including ‘about 4989.51 kg’ or ‘about twice the weight of an elephant’. 

While Musk was equally annoyed by the suggestion, his supporters were less enthusiastic in their response. 

‘I actually kinda like this one’, wrote one commenter, while another added: ‘This actually seems useful’.  

Musk also complained that Microsoft Word suggested alternatives to the imperial weight system in his text

Musk’s fans, however, were less interested in this issue and many seemed to think that the suggestions were helpful 

READ MORE: How Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover has driven British users away

The feature causing Musk and his supporters so much anger is one of Microsoft’s ‘Ideas in Word’ features.

It mainly offers gender-neutral alternatives to phrases like ‘policeman’ or ‘manpower’ but also looks for phrases that other readers might find offensive. 

Microsoft has received widespread ridicule for the tool’s often clumsy and rather haphazard suggestions.

However, the ‘inclusiveness checker’ as it is often referred to, has been part of all versions of Microsoft Word since 2019 and is always turned off by default.

Turning the checker on requires several steps and is always optional according to Microsoft. 

Microsoft’s inclusivity checker has been widely mocked for its rather clumsy alternative suggestions which try to avoid gendered or racial language

Since taking over Twitter last year, Musk has been embroiled in an ongoing battle over free speech on the platform. 

Musk has railed against ‘wokeism’ and has championed radical policies which he believes promote free speech.

In addition to limiting moderation on X, he has also repeatedly promoted controversial figures like Andrew Tate and Alex Jones.

Yet as a self-described ‘free-speech absolutist’ Musk’s attitude towards offensive content has drawn him into conflict with advertisers. 

Big advertisers fled the platform en masse after an apparent rise in hate speech and antisemitism.

Tensions came to a head when Musk told advertisers who had left to ‘go f*** yourself’ at a recent event. 

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