Author: Andrew Rogers

BP faces fresh shareholder pressure as it prepares to publish full-year results this week. Analysts expect weaker profits after a third year of falling oil prices. Forecasts suggest earnings of about $7.5bn, down from nearly $9bn in 2024. A drop in crude prices below $60 a barrel hurt fourth-quarter performance. Incoming chief executive Meg O’Neill will face calls to present a clearer long-term strategy. Investors want reassurance after BP’s recent shift back toward oil and gas. Activist groups including Follow This want BP to explain how it will manage declining fossil fuel demand. A separate resolution, backed by pension investors,…

Researchers say testing menstrual blood could provide a simple alternative to cervical cancer screening.A sanitary pad fitted with a sample strip can detect human papillomavirus, the main cause of cervical cancer.Women could use the test at home without a clinical appointment. Scientists in China compared menstrual blood samples with clinician-collected cervical samples.The study involved more than 3,000 women aged 20 to 54.Researchers published the findings in BMJ. The pad-based test detected high-grade cervical abnormalities with 94.7% sensitivity.This matched the accuracy of samples collected by clinicians.Specificity was slightly lower, but negative results were equally reliable. Experts say the approach could help…

A major review finds that most listed statin side-effects are not caused by the drugs.Researchers published the analysis in The Lancet after reviewing 19 trials with 124,000 participants. The study confirms statins reduce heart attacks, strokes, and cardiovascular deaths.Evidence supports only muscle pain, diabetes risk, and four minor side-effects. These include liver test changes, mild liver abnormalities, urine changes, and tissue swelling.Researchers found no strong evidence for 62 other listed effects. These unsupported effects include memory loss, depression, sleep problems, and nerve tingling.The benefits of statins far outweigh the small risks for most patients. Lead author Christina Reith said statins…

Hidden-market sellers promote unlicensed weight-loss drugs through WhatsApp and Telegram giveaways.They offer injectable medicines as competition prizes. The Guardian found groups advertising retatrutide, an experimental drug without approval anywhere.Posts pressure users to enter within 24 hours. Experts warn these promotions pose serious health risks.They say marketers misuse aggressive tactics to sell unlicensed medicines. UK law restricts weight-loss injections to prescription-only supply.Platforms including Telegram and Meta say they ban illegal drug sales.

Ultra-processed foods should be regulated like cigarettes, not treated as ordinary food, a new study argues.Researchers from Harvard University, University of Michigan, and Duke University say UPFs are engineered to drive addiction and overconsumption.The report links UPFs to widespread health harms similar to those caused by tobacco.Products such as soft drinks, crisps, and biscuits exploit reward pathways in the brain.The study, published in Milbank Quarterly, compares food marketing claims to historic cigarette advertising.Authors call for stronger regulation, including marketing restrictions and industry accountability.Some experts warned the comparison risks overreach but agreed UPFs pose major public health concerns.

Toto Wolff dismissed rivals’ claims that Mercedes’ 2026 engine breaks the rules.He said competitors should “focus on themselves” after missing a regulatory opportunity.The dispute centres on engine compression ratios and thermal expansion during running.Mercedes and Red Bull Racing are accused of gaining a performance edge while passing cold measurements.FIA discussed complaints from Audi, Ferrari and Honda before testing.Wolff said the FIA approved Mercedes’ interpretation and called the engine legal.He did not rule out protests after the Australian Grand Prix but said Mercedes feels secure.

Researchers say cosmic dust may explain how organic molecules reached early Earth.Thousands of tonnes of space dust hit Earth each year, mostly burning in the atmosphere.Some fragments survive as meteorites, carrying clues about star formation and chemistry.At the University of Sydney, PhD researcher Linda Losurdo recreated cosmic dust in a laboratory.She simulated dying stars by energising gas mixtures inside a vacuum tube.The process produced dust containing carbon-based molecules essential to life.Scientists hope this work explains how meteorites gained organic matter.The study appears in the Astrophysical Journal.

Rising shipping costs could push up prices for computers, machinery, and transport equipment this year, warns Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply.CIPS said cracks are forming in global supply chains as logistics, energy, and raw material costs surge.A late-2025 survey showed supply disruption fears at a two-year high among procurement leaders.Shipping and logistics face the steepest increases, with many reporting double-digit cost rises.Electronics and transport equipment prices are already climbing, fuelling inflation concerns for 2026.Geopolitical tensions and trade uncertainty are driving volatility across global markets.

West Ham United banned season-ticket holder Joshua Wood for five matches after he helped hold an anti-board banner.The club cited a breach of stadium rules, saying the banner exceeded permitted size limits.The letter made no reference to the banner’s message calling on owners to sell.Wood said he did not bring the banner into the ground and merely lifted it from under his seat.He claimed other fans asked him to help display it during protests against David Sullivan and Karren Brady.West Ham said the banner posed safety risks and denied targeting protest.Wood plans to appeal the ban.

AI-supported breast screening cut later cancer diagnoses by 12%, a major Swedish trial found.Researchers studied 100,000 women and compared AI-assisted mammography with standard double readings.AI flagged high-risk scans and reduced missed cancers after screening.The study, published in The Lancet, showed higher early detection and fewer aggressive cancers.Lead author Kristina Lång of Lund University urged careful rollout with human oversight.Cancer Research UK said the results were promising but need wider confirmation.