Writing the summary…
Make a 'sick day' kit for cold and flu season before your household gets hit

Original reporting
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Severe drought declared and hosepipe bans in force - is your area affected?
Parts of southern England have entered "severe drought", while about 30 million people are under hosepipe ban.

Was Neanderthal life violent? This wound suggests lethal fighting was more common
A 75,000-year-old Neanderthal spear wound may be evidence violence shaped human life far earlier than thought.

£15m for zero-emission testing at Belfast Harbour
It comes after a £15m investment from UK Research and Innovation's Local Innovation Partnerships Fund.

Sheep are disappearing from our hills - and our dinner plates
Have we have passed "peak sheep" in the UK?
Mysterious brain activity under anesthesia challenges what we know about consciousness
Even under general anesthesia, the human brain can analyze language, recognize different types of words, and predict what comes next in a story, according to a surprising discovery by Baylor researchers. The findings challenge our understanding of consciousness and suggest that the unconscious brain is far more capable than scientists previously realized.
Arctic sea ice hits another troubling low in 2026
Arctic sea ice is shrinking in both winter and summer, with satellite records revealing that the region's remaining ice is becoming thinner, younger, and more vulnerable to melting. Despite a recent slowdown in summer losses, scientists warn that the Arctic could experience a nearly ice-free summer before 2050.