Author: The Guardian

For the first time in New Zealand, a professional rugby player has been diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Billy Guyton, who represented the New Zealand Maoris, played for the Blues in Super Rugby and had spells with the Hurricanes and Crusaders, died in May aged 33.Guyton’s brain was donated to the University of Auckland Brain Bank. On Monday, his family received a summary of the results, the first of which detailed “changes consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy.” Associate Professor Michael Buckland, founder and director of the Australian Sports Brain Bank, confirmed the diagnosis as stage 2 CTE, which falls…

Dominic, 28, HoveOccupation Civil engineerVoting record Labour, apart from once when he voted Green. Dominic says he used to have some quite extreme views, but has become more pragmaticAmuse bouche When he was born, the BBC happened to be in Leeds General Infirmary looking for a crying baby to record. So he featured in the introduction to a radio show – his only broadcast appearance to dateDavid, 68, LondonOccupation Business writerVoting record David, who has lived in the UK since 2001, voted Democrat in the US and Labour here, except under Corbyn, when he voted Lib Dem. He says he’s…

Rate, comment and share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email. On today’s podcast: Atletico Madrid advance to the quarter-finals amid a heated atmosphere at the Wanda Metropolitano: Never write off Diego Simeone like other cliches. Elsewhere, Jadon Sancho continues to enjoy a more enjoyable time at Borussia Dortmund as they beat PSV Eindhoven to reach the quarter-finals. Plus: Bournemouth came back from 3-0 down to beat Luton at home, and we’ll be looking forward to this weekend’s Premier League and FA Cup games, where your questions will be…

We can’t breathe without them, and there are plenty of things that make them work less well. So what can you do to keep your lungs healthy? Pulmonologists weigh in on how to take care of your respiratory system for life.1. No smoking“The most important thing is not to smoke,” says Philip Barber, a pulmonologist in Manchester. “Lung cancer kills 35,000 people a year in the UK – more than breast, prostate and colorectal combined. It is not only cancer; lots of diseases are caused by smoking. So the message is: don’t smoke and if you do smoke, try to…

Generations of audiences were first introduced to Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka, and director Ron Frank thinks it’s a great way to do it with a new documentary about the beloved actor. starting point.The shimmering melody of “Pure Imagination” kicks off the soulful “In Memory of Gene Wilder,” taking the audience back to fond memories of Candyman’s immortal introduction: crutch in hand, limping Coming out to greet his adoring public, he teetered a little, started to stumble, and then somersaulted himself into an upright position. Like many of Wilder’s best moments, he came out of nowhere during filming, an instinctive…

Misplaced pride may have clouded my memories of learning the piano as a kid in the early 90s. I can still picture the piano itself, a knackered upright that was so old it had brass candleholders. I definitely remember my teacher, Issie, a local jazz musician. And I thought I’d done pretty well until … what, grade three? Maybe even four?“Forgot you failed grade two!” came a recent WhatsApp message from my mother, who had excavated the marking form from a filing cabinet. That made two of us.The examiner’s comments were so devastating I’m amazed they weren’t seared into my…

CAlum-Walsh remains undefeated and has a fascinating backstory, but after just nine fights the young boxer from Cork is riding a wave of publicity in the United States that many boxers can only dream of. The 23-year-old Irishman is trained by the great Freddie Roach and managed by Tom Loeffler, who helped shape Vitali, Vladimir Kerry Chenko and the careers of Gennady Golovkin. The 23-year-old Irishman has also been heavily promoted by Dana White and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It was an unusual combination that sparked jealousy.”If you’ve had 30 fights and you’re not getting noticed, then obviously you’re not…

Dua Lipa, Coldplay and SZA will headline Glastonbury 2024, a diverse spread of A-list artists matched by a strong supporting lineup across the 26-30 June festival including Little Simz, LCD Soundsystem and Burna Boy, plus Shania Twain in the always-jubliant “legend” slot.Much loved by Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis who once said they can “call in and do the milking any time” on his Worthy Farm site, Coldplay continue their longstanding relationship with the festival, becoming the first act to headline the Pyramid stage five times. They launched themselves into pop-rock’s big leagues with their first headline performance in 2002 when…

As more animals die as bird flu spreads across Antarctica, South Georgia explorer Ernest Shackleton’s grave is inaccessible because “the carcass of a dead seal blocks the way”..The H5N1 virus has spread to 10 species of birds and mammals since arriving in the region last October, with five king penguins and five gentoo penguins recently testing positive on the subantarctic islands.. These confirmations follow reports of mass die-offs of seals late last year.Racing journalist Astrid Saunders witnessed the disaster firsthand as she sailed around South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula from January 15 to 30, as the ship was repeatedly…

A pet company has twice sent back dog breed results for human swab samples, prompting doubts surrounding the accuracy of dog breed tests.On Wednesday, WBZ News reported its investigations team receiving dog breed results from the company DNA My Dog after one of its reporters sent in a swab sample – from her own cheek.According to the results from the Toronto-based company, WBZ News reporter Christina Hager is 40% Alaskan malamute, 35% shar-pei and 25% labrador.Hager also sent her samples to two other pet genetic testing companies. The Melbourne, Australia- and Florida-based company Orivet reported that the sample “failed to…