All UK Babies to Get MenB Vaccine!

Almost exactly a year ago, we told you how a meningitis B vaccine was on its way for babies in the UK . And now, we can happily announce that a deal has been struck and all infants under the age of two months will have access to the vaccine from later this year. There has been something of a delay, which was mainly caused by the cost of the drug, called Bexsero. As we told you last year, Bexsero was created by drugs manufacturer Novartis. But a deal was only able to be struck after GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) acquired the vaccine, resulting in the cost becoming more affordable for the government to negotiate with. But now an agreement has been reached, and the vaccine will be added to the national childhood immunisation programme, along with the likes of the polio, tetanus, MMR and meningitis C vaccines. "I am very proud that we will be the first country in the world to have a nationwide MenB vaccination programme, helping protect our children from a devastating disease," declared Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt. Babies will receive their first shot at two months old, and a further two later on. Although babies over four months old at the time the vaccine is introduced won't be eligible for the shot, those who are three-to-four months old will still be able to get it. There is some discussion about also introducing the vaccinations to young teenagers, but that won't be for some time yet. There are almost 2,000 cases of MenB in the UK every year, mostly affecting infants under the age of one, children under five, and teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19. You can find out more about meningitis and the vaccine on the NHS Choices website, here. Mr Hunt said that while he was disappointed that a deal took so long to be worked out, it was important to follow scientific advisors' guidance on vaccines and costs. This is because the NHS is unable to afford every single medication and new vaccine. He explained that completion of the deal meant that the vaccine could go ahead this year, "and I think that is something that families... will really welcome." More than 80% of MenB cases are predicted to be covered by the vaccine, as well as a more virulent strain increasingly found in the UK. Chris Head, Chief Executive of charity Meningitis Research Foundation, said that MenB had been at the top of the charity's agenda for decades and that it was delighted that a vaccination was in sight. He explained that introducing the vaccine will not only save lives, but spare families of the trauma of seeing their loved ones die or become seriously ill because of the disease. "We pay tribute to all those who have been personally affected by the disease," he added, "and to all the scientists and health professionals involved in the creation of the vaccine." The deal has been made on behalf of the UK, so the children in Wales, Scotland and Ireland will also be benefitting from the new vaccine. A spokesperson said that the Welsh government was "committed to being included in the UK-wide procurement for the vaccine" and that it would be available in Wales as soon as was "practicable". Shone Robison, Scotland's Health Secretary, also said that the vaccine would be available to infants as soon as possible. And finally, Jim Wellis, Health Minister for Northern Ireland, welcomed the deal. He said that he trusted the negotiations "to secure an effective, safe, and cost-effective vaccine."

River-Powered Homes?

We're always happy to learn about potential new renewable energy sources! And that's just what a million homes across England could be benefiting from in the near future, according to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC). Technology known as water source heat pumps relies on something called a heat exchanger to warm water coming from the sea, rivers, and other bodies of water. It uses a system similar to refrigeration (which doesn't actually mean to cool things, but to move heat from one place to another). The water-source heat-pump pipes are filled with a chemical fluid with refrigeration properties that extracts heat from water and releases it into the heat pump. To further amplify the temperature, the fluid is compressed. An expansion valve then lowers the pressure on the chemical, and the process starts all over again. This is a potentially huge source of renewable energy! More than six gigawatts of heat have been identified on the government's new water heat map , which was launched at an energy drive at Battersea Power Station last Wednesday by Energy and Climate Secretary Ed Davey. "We need to make the most of clean, renewable heat that lays unused in our rivers, lakes, and seas," Mr Davey declared. "Doing this will help contribute to an energy mix that maximises clean, reliable, home-grown resources, rather than relying on foreign fossil fuels." At the end of June, the National Heat Map will be published. The primary aim of the map is to identify which parts of England where the heat distribution will be more economic and beneficial, showing the water sources that have the highest potential for the pumps. The heat pump systems have a larger energy cost than the usual central heating radiators, so it is presumed they will work best in well-insulated buildings. One example of the kind of saving that could happen when using the new systems can be seen at Plas Newydd, a National Trust house in Anglesey that has been running the system since May last year. The house is considered one of the finest old mansions in Wales, originating some time in the 14th century. Because of its age and status, the Trust doesn't want the house to get too hot, so the system is ideal for regulating the temperature there. A marine source heart pumps water from the Menai Straits to the house. The 300kW pump costs £600,000, which sounds like a lot of money to run. That is, until you take into consideration that the Trust saves around £40,000 a year in operating costs using the new technology over more traditional temperature-control systems. And more than a million homes in the UK are close enough to the 4,000-plus potential sites that these properties could do away with the old-fashioned gas-fired domestic heating. It could also mean the average household could reduce its carbon footprint by as much as 50% and cut their energy bills by up to 20%. The Canal and River Trust takes care of around 2,000 miles of waterways in England and Wakes. Chief Executive Richard Parry said that the Trust already has a number of innovative ideas running on their rivers and canals, which are benefitting waterside business and the environment. "200 years after they were built," he said, "the waterways are still bringing a whole range of benefits to the nations."

New Cars Adjust Their Speed According to Road Signs!

If there is one thing that irritates drivers all over the world, it's getting a speeding ticket - especially when they don't realise they went over the speed limit. But Ford has now produced a car that could put an end to this accidental speeding violations, helping drivers to avoid fines in the process, and also potentially reducing the number of accidents on the road. The car manufacturer's second generation S-Max series features the Intelligent Speed Limiter technology, which can adjust the car's speeding accord to speed limit signs on the road, ensuring the vehicle doesn't go too fast. According to Ford, the limiter is effective at speeds between 20mph and 120mph (32kph and 193kph). It can be activated through the steering wheel, and instead of applying the brakes, it works by restricting the amount of fuel supplied to the engine. And if you're thinking, "But what about when going down a hill? Surely the brakes should be incorporated then?" there is some semblance of a solution. If travelling downhill causes the vehicle to exceed the speed limit, then an alarm will sound to alert the driver. The company added that when the distance between speed limit signs is longer, such as on long country roads, the Limiter communicates with the on-board navigation system to help maintain the appropriate maximum speeds. "We're not just developing cars at Ford," said Pim van der Jagt, Ford Research Managing Director. "We are also developing technologies to make driving more convenient, safer, and ultimately helping improve mobility around the world." The system works by combining two existing technologies already fitted into a lot of cars. The first is adjustable speed limiters, which use sensors on the car's wheel to detect how fast the vehicle is travelling. Once the maximum preset limit is exceeded, the amount of fuel being supplied to the engine is limited. The second technology that has been incorporated is traffic sign recognition. This involves a forward-facing video camera mounted on the windscreen. The camera scans the environment for road signs, and when it spots one, the driver is alerted. At the moment, Ford cars that are fitted with this technology respond by showing corresponding icons on the car's dashboard display. To top it all off, if the Intelligent Speed Limiter is activated, but the driver wishes to override it, all that person has to do is press firmly down on the acceleration pedal. Of course, there are going to be some drivers who don't want to surrender control of their vehicle. There will be others who will appreciate the convenience and safety on offer - not to mention the money saved on fines! And they won't be completely handing over the reins; drivers will be able to set the system to allow them to speed up to 5mph/8kph beyond the detected speed restrictions. This will enable them to overtake other drivers, or avoid potential collisions. The tech is available to order now and will go on general sale in Europe later this year, in August. The Intelligent Speed Limiter will then most likely be extended to other models around the world. Ford Safety Supervisor Stefan Kappes agreed that people are not always aware of their speed violations until they get a fine in the post or are pulled over. "Intelligent Speed Limiter can remove one of the stresses of driving," he added, "helping ensure customers remain within the legal speed limit."

Native Flora Not Threatened by Introduced Species

When it comes to plant life in Britain, it is generally thought that species introduced from other countries - "non-native species" - pose a risk to the plants that originate here. But according to University of York study that has recently been published in PNAS , these plants aren't quite as invasive as we thought. Not only are plants that have been introduced to Britain less widespread than native species, they're also not spreading any quicker either. In fact, the report indicates a positive association between the two; areas in which native species thrive, so do non-native plants, and vice versa. So where did the assumption that non-native plants are a problem for native flora come from? It could be something to do with localised studies. So, instead of localising their research, the team led by Professor Chris Thomas and Dr Georgina Palmer wanted to assess the impact of introduced species on a national scale. They collected data from around 500 different sites across the UK, in 1990 and again in 2007, and then compared and analysed the results. Professor Thomas and Dr Palmer, both authors of the report, explained that examining data on a local scale could give the wrong impression. If a non-native species is particularly abundant in one area, it would be plausible to think that native plants were suffering. But it could simply be a case of the land being more suitable for the foreign plant and the native species could be flourishing somewhere else. The professor used bramble for his example. "[They] might become abundant," he said, "or a change in uplands management could result in bracken becoming more widespread." During the report's time frame, native species were also shown to have increased their abundance more so than non-native flora. On top of this, most introduced species were not even common enough to show up at any of the study sites. This means that, despite popular belief, most of the vegetation in the UK is actually made up of native plants. Any changes to the vegetation doesn't have anything to do with the introduction of new species. The study didn't give the team the predicted results of new species increasing and native species decreasing. Instead, they found that there wasn't any consistent different between the species, regardless of when they arrived in the country, or they were already here. The team therefore concluded that there are lots of non-native plant species on the list of problematic plants for no reason. And as Professor Thomas suggested, it doesn't make any real sense, "unless you are willing to add hundred of problematic native species to the list as well."

“Learning Passports” for Teachers in Wales

Last May, the Welsh government announced that it would be launching what they call a "New Deal for Teachers". Estyn is Wales' schools watchdog, releasing a report every year on the quality of teaching in schools across the country. In the latest annual report, it was found that there were fewer schools with "excellent" teaching than last year. But, it wasn't all bad as schools had made an overall improvement, with more of them being classed as "good" or better in around half of the schools in the country. And now it has been announced that the New Deal will be coming into effect in September, at the start of the new academic year - but what will it actually mean for the education system in Wales? The ultimate aim is to improve teaching in the classroom for the country as a whole. This is hoped to be done through reshaping how teachers are trained, so that their own skills can progress throughout their career. There are around 38,000 teachers in Wales, and each will be given a professional learning passport to record their professional development. This passport will enable teachers to both identify and record learning opportunities, enabling them to develop their professional career. The New Deal will also see revised standards to set out the required professional skills and knowledge to deliver new curriculums in the future. These new standards will be entwined with the promised support so that the latest research on effective teaching will make it into the heart of the classroom. While the teachers will be expected to keep their practices continually updated, they will be getting more support while they do so. Education Minister Huw Lewis said that it was essential to have "high capacity, high skilled professionals" teaching in their schools. "We are currently undertaking one of the most ambitious series of education reforms Wales has ever seen," he explained. "The quality of the professional at the chalk face has a huge impact on the quality of teaching and learning." Mr Lewis added that giving teachers the ability to reflect on their own development is one of the driving forces of the New Deal, which is hoped to lead ultimately to a self-improving education system.

Real-Life Superhero: The Birmingham Spider-Man

If you're sceptical about the existence of superheroes (besides the emergency services, that is), then this one might change your mind!

Spider-Man has set up residence in Birmingham in the UK and in true superhero fashion he is making sure the homeless people of the city aren't going hungry.

While it's unlikely that this person is actually Peter Parker, the 20-year-old does wish to remain anonymous, and we only know some details about him.

For example, he's a bartender originally from Warwickshire, who has been volunteering for years, working with a church group handing out food to those who can't afford to buy it.

The Birmingham Spider-Man, as he has become known, has regularly been trailing the streets, buying sandwiches out of his own money and feeding the vulnerable and homeless people, but with little recognition for his cause.

He wanted to try a new approach, something to perk up those he was helping and perhaps raise awareness at the same time. "I saw the smiles people were giving as I was handing them sandwiches," he said. "Then I thought, 'Imagine the smiles when they see Spider-Man do it!'"

And so, one evening around 9pm, he donned the costume and set about his usual work.

That first evening secured it. Everyone he gave a sandwich to had huge smiles for their superhero. But more than that, passersby who normally wouldn't look twice, asked to have their photo taken with him and asked what he was doing. And so he told them.

His work has really taken off, and his alter-ego even has his own Twitter account, which you can check out here . Through his Twitter, the Birmingham Spider-Man gets messages from those who are inspired by what he is doing, and asking advice on how they can help too. "Every day I get tweets from parents saying their kids love seeing the story on the news," he added.

Other people have offered to donate money for food. However, the masked man tells them that he would rather they got involved in a hands-on capacity, urging them out onto the streets.

Ultimately, he just hopes that his work will show everyone that no matter a person's situation, they deserve a helping hand. "We are all part of the human experience," he said, "and I believe that we need to at everyone as humans and help each other the same as we would a close friend."

And when it comes to his true identity? He is determined not to unmask himself. Without Spider-Man's face covering his own, his work wouldn't be getting the recognition it so rightly deserves.

"All of a sudden, everyone wants to speak to me about it," he explained. "It is promoting a positive message because people have seen it on all the media and people have said they are going to go out and hand stuff out with their friends.

"And that's exactly the reaction I'm looking for."

Wild Lynx to be Reintroduced to UK?

There haven't been any lynx in the British countryside for more than 1,300 years, but that be about to change thanks to conservation charity The Lynx Trust. The Eurasian lynx - the species hoped to be introduced - can grow up to 129cm (51in) long and 70cm (28in) tall. The solitary cats, with long legs and tufty ears, are often only detected by their large footprints. The creatures also have beautiful fur, which is what their British cousins were hunted to extinction for between 500 and 700 AD. The Trust has released a survey as part of a public consultation period (that you can take here ), to find out how people feel about having lynx reintroduced into the wild. Should the consultation go well, The Trust is hoping to be granted initial approval from Natural England and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH)(responsible for licensing animal releases of this nature). This means between four and six lynx with GPS-tracking collars released onto three private estates, as part of a trial. The three pieces of land are unfenced and have some of the most abundant wildlife in the country. They're located in Norfolk, Cumbria, and Aberdeenshire. If this trial goes well, and Natural England and SNH grant further approval, then up to an additional twelve lynx could be released to join those from the first trial. This won't be the first time that lynx have been reintroduced to a country where they had been previously wiped out. Successful reintroduction programmes have taken place in countries across Europe, including France, Germany and Switzerland, and have seen the cats breeding and living well. Now, the global lynx population is thought to be in the region of 50,000, making it of "Least Concern" on the IUCN Conservation Status. Lynx are not considered a risk to people. They tend to keep themselves to themselves, away from people, and surviving on rabbits, hares, and deer, amongst other animals. And contrary to what a lot of people believe, ecologists are finding more and more evidence of the importance of having predators in the ecosystem. For example, wolves were reintroduced to the US' Yellowstone National Park, and the make-up of the flowers there changed and flourished. However, fears have been raised by farmers who are worried that the lynx will attack their sheep or other livestock, although this is a rare occurrence in Romania and Poland where the cats live naturally. "As a very dedicated forest animal, lynx will rarely come across agriculture animals," pointed out Dr Paul O'Donaghue, who advises The Trust on scientific matters. On The Trust's website, they add that with a controlled and monitored introduction process, whole new eco-friendly industries could be constructed, such as wildlife tourism. "With no natural threats and bringing in a range of benefits to humans, the time is perfect to bring back to the lynx to the British Isles," they explained. "The lynx is one of the most enigmatic, beautiful cats on the planet," concluded Dr O'Donaghue. "The British countryside is dying and the lynx will bring it back to life."

Scientists Create TB-Resistant Cows in China

With badger-cull conflict having swept the UK for the past couple of years, doesn't it make you wonder how much easier everything would have been if Bovine TB weren't something to worry about? Well, thanks to scientists from the Ministry of Agriculture in Northwest A&F University in China, that might very well be something we can look forward to in the near future. Researchers have managed to genetically engineer a herd of cattle that are less likely to contract the disease, and even if they do fall ill, their symptoms aren't as bad. You can check out the study, published in PNAS . Bovine TB (tuberculosis) is a risk to cattle all over the world, and other animals that can carry the disease, such as badgers and deer - even cats and dogs. The long-term goal of carrying out a project such as this one is to avoid the need to cull animals susceptible to the disease by breeding tuberculosis-resistant cattle. Prevention is better than a cure and all that. Using hi-tech genetic technology, the study authors inserted in the mouse gene SP110 into fetal Holstein-Friesian fetal cells. This gene was chosen because it is known for its innate immunity properties against tuberculosis. In mammals, the gene can control the growth of the bacterium and triggers the infected cells to undergo programmed cell death, rather than have the cells depleted by the disease. The fetal cow cells were then used as nuclear donors for cow embryos, which led to 13 live cattle. The cows were tested both in the lab, being directly infected with Bovine TB and on the farm, being kept in the same pen as other animals with the disease. Instead of just developing the condition as so many cows have in the past, these cows were shown to have immune cells that are better at slowing the growth of TB-causing bacteria. The bacteria grew at around half the rate it did in cows without the added gene. This led to a third of the new cows either not catching TB at all or displaying far lesser symptoms than their brothers and sisters without the added gene. And all of the benefits of SP110 were even passed down to the next generation. This means that if this method of adding an extra gene to cows is used in the future, there will be no need to develop new treatments for the offspring of TB-resistant cattle. Experts on animal genetics have commented on the study explaining how great a step forward this work is towards creating disease-resistant animals. However, they do agree that it is still yet to be determined if this approach will be able to protect cows against TB when exposed to high doses of the pathogen. But... "Our results contribute to the control and prevention of bovine tuberculosis," the study authors said, "and provide previously unidentified insight into breeding animals for disease resistance."

A Little Girl’s Gifts from her Feathered Friends

Watching and feeding the birds is one of the wonderful things about having a garden, but that in itself is pleasure enough. But imagine if the birds reciprocated? Crows in particular often bond with the humans that feed them, and that's how it is for eight-year-old Gabi Mann from Seattle in the US, who often receives presents of her own from her feathered friends. She holds a collection of tiny gifts bestowed upon her - shiny beads, a Lego brick, a black zip, and so much more - all neatly sorted and looked after. And every single thing in her collection was given to her by the crows from her garden. You can see just a fraction of her presents in the cover picture above. This wonderfully odd relationship began in 2011, when she was only four years old. She would accidentally drop food, and the crows would come and swoop it off the ground. They soon learnt to wait for her, and she in turn started sharing her school packed lunch with them on purpose. And her little brother would join in. "I like that they love animals and are willing to share," said Gabi's mum, Lisa, of her generous children. The family started offering food to the birds as part of their daily ritual, rather than scraps. They would fill a bathtub in the back garden with water and put peanuts on the bird tables. Gabi would even throw handfuls of dog food onto the lawn, the crows watching her every movement. Although some people find crows creepy and unnerving, they are very intelligent birds, and it wasn't long after this ritual was adopted that little gifts would appear. The crows would leave shiny trinkets on the bird table after clearing it of peanuts. The birds tend to bring anything small enough to fit in their beaks, usually shiny, but not all of Gabi's presents have been of the pretty variety. Saying that, she did receive half of a "best friend" necklace, which leads the little girl to wonder if they still have the other half! Professor John Marzluff is a professor of wildlife sciences at the University of Washington, specialising in birds - especially crows and ravens. "If you want to form a bond with a crow, be consistent in rewarding them," Professor Marzluff said. He added that peanuts still in their shells are good foods because they are high in energy, but also make a sound when you throw them on the ground. Of course, these kinds of presents are not guaranteed and who wants to give just to receive anyway? It seems as though this little girl has formed a truly special bond with the birds in her neighbourhood, and she is a wonderful example of how we should all treat animals.

Making Beautiful ‘Biomusic’ Together: Pianos and Fungi

Take a moment and think about the beautiful music that could be made with a piano and... fungus. "What on Earth...?", you may be thinking. Well, Professor Eduardo Miranda from Plymouth University is also a arts festival director and musician, and he's been inspired by slime mould. The professor's latest work uses cultures of the fungus Physarum polycephalum, which has been turned into the core component for an interactive biocomputer. "The composition evolves as an interaction between me as a human playing the piano, and the Physarum machine," explained Professor Miranda. "I play something, the system listens, plays something back, and then I respond, and so on." So the biocomputer essentially works by receiving signals and responding. But how does the mould do this? Basically, the Physarum forms a living electronic component in a circuit, which processes sounds picked up by a microphone trained on the piano. The fungus forms tiny tubes that have the electrical property of acting as a sort of variable resistor called a memristor, enabling it to respond to previously applied voltages. Memristors have only recently been discovered in solid state electronic, but they can be programmed by voltages, which is how they're being used in the musical biocomputer. So, the pianist plays his tune on the piano, rather conventionally, and the biocomputer excites notes through small electromagnets that hover mere millimetres above the metal strings of the piano. Professor Miranda explained that the biocomputer acts much in the same way as a memory device. It takes in the notes it has been sent, scrambles them and sends them back. Sometimes, the biocomputer is even able to generate some pitches that weren't in the notes it was sent, giving it a little creativity. The professor, being Head of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Computer Music Research (ICCMR), has been exploring the use of computers in this manner for a long time. However, there is something about the simplicity of his Physarum processor that he values. "What I hear is very different from having a digital computer that I have programmed with strings of data," he explained. "There is a component that is thinking, in an analogue, biological way. "It's not intelligent, but it is alive, and that is interesting."

Schools to Get Better Careers Advice?

Careers advice in schools in England isn't currently that great, but a new report from Teach First could be able to change all that... Teach First is a charity and social enterprise that aims to end inequality in education. They recently carried out and published a report suggesting that there should be at least one teacher or member of middle management in each school specially trained in careers guidance. In fact, people at the charity think there should be high-quality careers advices being given out in every school in the country, and particularly to poorer students. The idea is that by encouraging schools to put in some fresh and new effort into careers advice, pupils will be able to make better-informed decisions about their futures. By having an authoritative figure in the role of careers advisor, students will have a better chance at building and managing links with employers outside of the school environment, and other independent careers experts. It will also help the pupils to learn about the working world and give them some real insight into what goes on after they have left school. Not only does the charity think that there should be a fresh effort to make sure careers advice is effective and no longer fragmented. But there are other changes that Teach First thinks should be implemented. For example, schools should be held accountable for what their students are up to, two years after taking their GCSEs. The backbone of the report is the suggestion that teachers should be at the heart of careers education with the support of businesses as well as policy makers. Jude Heaton is the Director for Higher Education Access and Employability at Teach First. He explained that giving today's children better careers help could not only help them in the future but also have economic implications for everyone. He added that teachers are in a prime position to teach children about careers and following their dreams, but for some reason they aren't thought of in that way. Teachers are a wasted resource in this sense. "This needs to change," Heaton declared, explaining that with the right support, training, and incentive, teachers could be a very important part of what he calls "the careers puzzle". "But they can't do it alone," he concluded. "It is time for all of us to act." And the report now has the backing of Education Secretary Nicky Morgan. Morgan said that although there are some secondary educational institutes already offering fantastic advice to ensure their students acquire the knowledge and skills that employers are looking for, schools overall need additional support in this area. "Busy schools and teachers do not always have time or training to give this crucial area the focus they should," she explained. She added that it was important to ensure that every young person, no matter their upbringing, received the advice and inspiration they need to fulfil their potential and make something of themselves. While these guidelines haven't been put into place yet, they are probably something we'll have to look forward to in the future, enabling our children every advantage to becoming a success.

Red Nose Day is Nearly Upon Us – Check Out the Line-Up!

It's an odd-numbered year, which means something we've all been waiting is nearly upon us... Red Nose Day! And the line-up this year is truly stellar. Red Nose Day, also called Comic Relief, is a whole evening dedicated to comedy in aid of raising money for various projects aimed at changing the lives of poor and disadvantaged people around the world. The event happens every second year, alternating with Sports Relief, and this year falls on Friday 13 March, which is only a couple of days away! One glittery name amongst the star-studded line-up is James Bond himself, Daniel Craig. Mr Craig took a break from his busy schedule of making the new 007 film, Spectre, to film a one-off, special sketch for Comic Relief. But details of the spy skit are being kept truly top secret and under wraps, so if you're after your Bond fix, you're going to have to wait until next week! This will be the second Comic Relief that Daniel Craig has performed for. Back in 2009, he played a spy who was dating Catherine Tate's character Elaine Figgis, from The Catherine Tate Show. You can also look forward to Professor Stephen Hawking appearing in a new Little Britain sketch, featuring David Walliams in a reprise of his role of carer Lou. Professor Hawking will be taking over from Matt Lucas, who portrayed wheelchair-bound Andy. Of course, Professor Hawking isn't the first person to cameo in Little Britain for Comic Relief. At the Hammersmith Apollo in 2006, Matt Lucas as Vicky Pollard was joined on stage by "Katie Pollard", played by Kate Moss. But Mr Bond and Professor Hawking are not the only names to be delighting us for Comic Relief in the hope of separating us from our cash. Some old favourites will be brought back for special sketches during this year's event. This means we will all get to enjoy Rowan Atkinson's Mr Bean, Dawn French back as the Vicar of Dibley, and highlights from live Phoenix Nights shows from Peter Kay. Fancy a bit of Monty Python? Then you might enjoy their famous Four Yorkshiremen sketch, reinvented on stage by David Walliams, Davina McCall, Eddie Izzard and John Bishop. There will also be a competition to see who gets to be named National Treasure 2015. This will show an unlikely battle between Miranda Hart and Russel Brand, as well as Stephen Fry, Sheridan Smith, The Chuckle Brothers, David Gandy and Cheryl Fernandez-Versini. Other great acts Comic Relief has to offer will be the unveiling of The People's Strictly winner, Dermot O'Leary (hopefully) finishing his 24-hour-long Day of Dance, and a Bake Off special over on BBC Two. Of course, there will also be appeals and musical performances, and so much more! Comic Relief - Face the Funny airs live from the London Palladium this Friday, 13 March, from 7pm on BBC One and Two.

Look, No Wires – Charge Your Phone on Your Furniture

If you have a mobile phone, then you are probably familiar with the ongoing battle with the charger. We frequently lose them, they often get tangled, and a few of you will know the troubles of having pets chew through cables... Well, what if we told you that it was possible to simply place your phone on your coffee table, desk, maybe even your lamp, and your phone would charge away? Okay, maybe not your *current* coffee table, desk or lamp, but with Ikea's new Home Smart furniture. The new furniture range is fitted with wireless charging spots that allow the user to place their device down and have it charge using wireless technology. Of course, these pieces of furniture will have to be plugged in, but it means that those unsightly cables can be neatly tucked away, out of sight. Each piece also has a "+" to indicate to the user where the charging spots are and where to place their device for optimum charging. Ikea corporate manager, Jeanette Skjelmose, explained that a mutual hate for cable mess has inspired this new line of furniture. "[People] worry about not finding the charge and running out of power," she said. "Our new innovative solutions... will make life at home simpler." And what about the people out there who would love to be able to charge their phone wirelessly but are perfectly happy with the furniture they already have? That's where charging pads come in. Charging pads can be bought individually and be placed down on any surface. However, these pads appear to act much in the same way as current chargers do - just without actually having to plug a cable into the device. And if all else fails, Ikea is also genuinely going to be selling hole-saws. These saws will enable the customer to drill a circle into their existing furniture just the right size for one of the company's wireless chargers (though the saw and charger are sold separately). To make all this happen, Ikea has used Qi, a wireless charging standard developed by industry body Wireless Power Consortium (WPC). There is, unfortunately, a downside to all of this excitement. Lots of models of mobile phone and other devices don't support wireless charging. This includes the iPhone and older versions of the Samsung Galaxy S. And the silver lining? For owners of iPhones 4/S, 5/S, and 6, and the past three generations of Galaxy, Ikea will be selling special charging cases. The user only has to slip the case onto their device, and it will be able to charge with just about any wireless charger. Though, this isn't anything that owners of the latest Samsung S6 will have to worry about because these handsets already support Qi. In a statement, Ikea said: "By adding wireless charging to home and office furniture, we minimise the amount of separate chargers needed." "We applaud Ikea for its unmatched insight and their unique passion for making wireless charging affordable and simple for consumers," declared WPC Chairperson Menno Treffers. The new furniture is set to be released in North America and Europe from next month, with Ikea working on a global rollout. Now, we don't know about you, but we can't wait until we're able to charge our phones just by leaving them on the desk!

Cutting Peanut Allergy Risk with Early Exposure

For years, parents have been following advice stating that children under the age of five shouldn't eat peanut-based products for fear of an allergic reaction. Giving young children peanuts could also indeed be a choking risk, but what about foods like smooth peanut butter or delicious peanut butter cups? A new study from the King's College London now suggests that our children could actually benefit from a peanutty treat from as young as four months old. In infant terms, there is quite a big leap from being four months and being five years old, so what's going on? The study created a way of examining if there was a way of catching a peanut allergy early on and make sure it didn't manifest into something severe and life-threatening. It was also a way of testing the decades-worth of advice administered by allergists recommending against peanut consumption. The number of people with peanut allergies has been steadily increasing over the years, despite advice that young children shouldn't be exposed to potential allergies. And so the research team wanted to investigate what would happen with controlled early exposure to those at high-risk of contracting the allergy. Their results have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine . Trials were carried out on 640 babies from Evalina London Children's Hospital. The children were all aged between four and 11 months, and had showed early warning signs of developing a severe peanut allergy by the time they were five years old. These warnings include severe eczema, an allergy to eggs, or both. Some of the children had already developed a mild allergy to peanuts, and this was determined using skin-prick tests. Half of the children in the trial were allowed to add small amounts of peanut-based food to their diets, while the others continued to avoid introduction to it. The allergy rate in children who had already proven sensitive to the food was found to fall from 35% to just 11% - a vast improvement in itself. And out of the 14 children in every 100 that would normally go on to develop an allergy, only two would with the therapy. This means the risk of becoming allergic to peanuts fell by a whopping 86% when peanuts were introduced into the diet from an early age. According to the team, this is the first time that an allergy risk has been caught before it was able to manifest properly. Added to which, the findings could go on to apply to other allergies - though parents have be warned not to experiment with diets at home without first consulting their doctor. Professor Gideon Lack, study lead, said that while the team is aware of how contradictory the study results are with previous advice. However, they felt that research in high-risk infants was essential to stem the growing epidemic of peanut allergies. "Our findings suggest that [previous] advice was incorrect and may have contributed to the rise of peanut and other food allergies," he explained. The team advises that parents with babies or young children with either an egg allergy, eczema or both, speak to their doctor or paediatrician. You never know - you could be catching a peanut allergy in the making, and you could potentially be saving your child's life.

A Song and Dance About Teaching

Take a moment to think about how many teachers there are in your city and country. Now, consider how many there must be in the world. Out of all of those teachers, only one can be selected as the winner of the Global Teacher Prize. And you can guarantee that whoever takes that prize home with them must truly be an aspiring tutor indeed.

The Global Teacher Prize has been likened to the Nobel Prize for Teaching, and the competition has been whittled down to the final ten contestants. The competition was created by a GEMS Education group based in Dubai, called the Varkey Foundation.

But this isn't a long-running competition that teachers around the world have been vying over for decades or longer. The Global Teacher Prize is only in its first year, and yet received entries from almost 130 countries.

And the prize money shouldn't be left unsaid; there is a $1 million prize (£650,000) for the tutor in first place. Founder and Chairperson of the Foundation, Sunny Varkey, said the prize money is to encourage teaching to return to its rightful position as the most respected profession.

"The many applications prove that the prize is not only about money," he added, "it is also about unearthing thousands of stories of inspiration."

And one of these inspirational stories - and a finalist in the competition - is Richard Spencer, a science teacher from Middlesborough, who is the only teacher from the UK still in the contest.

Mr Spencers teaches biology at Middlesborough College, but he has a rather different approach to helping his students retain what they learn in his class.

In addition to the more traditional lesson plan and science experiments, Mr Spencer engages his students with a variety of activities, including role play, learning games, poems, and song and dance.

This method of teaching has been shown to be so effective that even when seeing former students years after they have left his classroom, these students can remember the songs and poems from his class.

"The students do enjoy it, but most of all, they learn a lot from joining in," Mr Spencer explained. "We do other things as well... but this just livens things up for them, and they respond fantastically well."

Mr Spencer will find out next month if he has won the Global Teacher Prize. But in the meantime, the singing science teacher is just getting on with his life - with a little side adventure when meeting with the Pope.

But whoever does take the spot of greatest teacher in the world will be asked to serve as the Varkey Foundation's global ambassador. This will involve speaking about the Foundation's work and attending events - as well, of course, as winning the prize money.

You may be thinking that the winner might be discouraged from teaching if they were attending lots of events and had $1 million - which is why there is a condition of winning the prize. The winner has to remain a teacher for at least another five years, and the prize money will be paid in regular installments over the course of ten years.

"The huge global support we have received for this prize is testimony to the achievements of teachers and the enormous impact they have on all of our lives," exclaimed Mr Varkey.

The winner will be announced at the Global Education and Skills Forum, at a special ceremony in Dubai next month. We'll make sure to update you on how Mr Spencer gets on!

Online Justice with eBay-Like Courts?

A new report from the Civil Justice Council has recommended that low-value civil court cases in England and Wales could be dealt with online, in an online disputes system like that used by online marketplace eBay.

According to the report, which has been welcome by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, settling cases up to £25,000 would reduce court-generated costs.

The idea is to use a system similar to that which eBay uses to resolve disputes. eBay settles around 60 million disputes between traders on its site every year, and the report likened this "minor" dispute to that of many civil court cases.

The system would have a three-tier structure, overseen by what the report refers to as "online facilitators". These facilitators would be responsible for helping the parties to reach an agreement.

If an agreement cannot be reached early on, online judges would be brought in to rule on the case. Under this scheme, no courts would have to be booked and no one involved would have to appear in person to give evidence. Ultimately, it should not only save on money, but also on time.

The structure of the three tiers would work like this:

Tier 1: "Dispute Avoidance". People would use interactive guides and read information to help them understand their issues, as well as identify the best of for them to resolve said issues.

Tier 2: "Dispute containment". This is where the online facilitators come in to help the parties reach an agreement.

Tier 3: "Dispute resolution". The top and final tier when judges are brought in to consider only suitable cases online. This would be done on the basis of electronically received papers and optional telephone hearings.

It is hoped that the majority of cases could be handled without having to reach the third tier so that a judge doesn't have to become involved in the case.

Professor Richard Susskind, the IT advisor to the Lord Chief Justice, is the author of the paper. He described the eBay dispute resolution model as "remarkable", which is why he thinks it could be implemented in the civil courts system.

Lord Dyson, Civil Justice Council chairperson, believes that converting the civil courts system online could be an exciting milestone in the history of the courts.

"There is no doubt that online dispute resolution is an area with enormous potential," he enthused. "Its aim is to broaden access to justice and resolve disputes more easily, quickly and cheaply. The challenge lies in delivering a system that fulfils that objective."