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Rachael Pells

Hello! I'm Rachael, an award-winning freelance writer, editor and author. 

These days I write mainly about science and research – but I'll cover anything weird and wonderful that takes my interest, or that of my editors (I'm eating squirrel roadkill in the background picture, in case you were wondering).

You can learn more about me and my work here, and subscribe to my Substack newsletter here.

Thanks for visiting!

Mail Online •

Aurea is first baby in the world to be 'selected' after genetic screen

Becoming a parent for the first time is a major moment for anyone — but for Laura Gayton, giving birth to a healthy, crying baby boy felt nothing short of a ‘miracle’.

Laura, a swimming teacher from Kettering, Northants, is one of around 10,800 people in the UK with cystic fibrosis (CF), a progressive genetic disease that claims the lives of half of those affected before the age of 40.

When she was diagnosed at just two months old, Laura’s parents were told their daughter would be lucky to mak
inews.co.uk •

South Africa power cuts see freelancers take to mountaintops, gyms for reliable Wifi

At the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa, a new species of mammal is flourishing. Among the lizards, dassies, and a consistent stream of tourists taking photos, sit remote workers, tapping away on their laptops and making business calls from 1,086m in the sky.

As debilitating power cuts continue across the country and threaten to wreak havoc on city-dwellers’ productivity, the search for reliable wifi is leading freelancers, flexible staffers, and anyone else who can, to chase co
inews.co.uk •

Fears for rare monkeys and dolphins as Indonesia's new forest capital threatens their habitat

In April 2020, in the depths of the Covid pandemic, residents of Jakarta woke up to a rare and beautiful sight: the peaks of Mount Gede, around 63 kilometres from the Indonesian capital, and Mount Salak, 57 kilometres away, surrounded by an almost clear, blue sky.

Environmentalists called the moment “phenomenal”; for decades, the typically buzzing, chaotic city of 11 million people has suffered from air pollution levels so high that a bad day in Jakarta can make it difficult to see across roads
inews.co.uk •

Finland feels the cold as a Putin-fuelled energy crisis threatens the country's sauna culture

At Löyly public sauna in Helsinki, sweat pours off a group of tourists as they watch the locals bicker over temperature. Periodically, scoops of water are thrown from a bucket into the sauna’s coals to produce the all-important steam associated with this Nordic tradition – and the mercury rises.

One man insists that two scoops of water should be thrown on the coals to ramp up the heat; another says three or four. The disagreements are good-natured, but it is no joking matter: for Finns, the sau
The Times •

Expat volunteers join forces with Portugal’s firefighters

The residents of Vale do Lobo in the Portuguese Algarve knew it was time to worry when clouds of ash started falling from the sky into the swimming pools of their multi-million euro villas.

The region is a second home to several celebrities, including Cliff Richard, but emergency services are so overstretched that the majority of firefighters working to protect these luxury homes are unpaid reserves.

Supporting their cause is an unlikely group of volunteers: 25 designated “fire watchers”...
WIRED UK •

Genetic Screening Now Lets Parents Pick the Healthiest Embryos

At 18 months old, Aurea Yenmai Smigrodzki is inquisitive like any other toddler. She likes peanut butter, the beach, and mobile phones—or any toys that look like phones. She likes to copy her mum and dad, Thuy and Rafal, when they are using theirs. Aurea doesn’t know it yet, but her birth was very special: She is the world’s first PGT-P baby, meaning she is statistically less likely than the rest of us to develop a genetic disease or disorder throughout her life.

PGT-P stands for preimplantatio
inews.co.uk •

Network of tunnels 437m underground destined to become world’s first site for nuclear waste

Four hundred and thirty-seven metres underground on the southwest coast of Finland, a team of geologists are advising on where to blow holes into two billion-year-old granite.

This is no ordinary science project: buried here in the city’s bedrock is Onkalo, a network of tunnels destined to become the world’s first permanent repository for radioactive waste.

By the time construction is complete in 2120, this toxic graveyard will span 50km of tunnels – some as wide as suburban streets and taller
WIRED UK •

What the DNA of Ancient Humans Reveals About Pandemics

As an earth scientist specializing in ancient remains, Christopher Hunt is used to making unusual trips in the name of archaeology. But one of his most memorable has to be the time he traveled back from Iraq with a Neanderthal in the plane seat next to him.

“She was packed carefully away in a large suitcase, but checking her into the hold seemed far too risky—so I bought her a passenger ticket,” he says by way of explanation. Shanidar Z, as the Neanderthal was named, is the latest ancient skele
inews.co.uk •

The truth about putting sweetener in your tea

From “diet” soft drinks to fat-free yoghurts and cereals, these days there’s a sugar-free alternative to just about everything. In most cases, we have artificial sweeteners to thank for this.

On paper, sweeteners are a miracle ingredient, helping us to reduce our calorie intake and protect our tooth enamel, all the while avoiding sugar-induced energy crashes and the dips in mood that follow. But a wave of fresh evidence suggesting these calorie-free additives might contain underlying health ris
inews.co.uk •

Don't ditch your bacon sandwich just yet! The truth about nitrites and processed food

Smoked, salty and streaky, thick and greasy; piled high in a bun, bap, barm, or bread roll with lashings of brown or red sauce – bacon speaks to us all.

In many ways this humble cut of meat is the great social leveller, found on the breakfast plates of aristocrats and haulage truckers alike. Bacon even transcends politics and popular culture: a bacon sandwich was once blamed for derailing Ed Miliand’s career, lest we forget, and the supermodel Cara Delavigne has a tattoo in honour of the stuff.
inews.co.uk •

Dementia is more preventable than we think - stay active, eat well and get a hearing test

When the family of Bruce Willis announced the Hollywood actor’s dementia diagnosis last week, it was a statement that millions of us could empathise with.

In the UK alone, around 950,000 people are currently living with dementia, and by next year experts predict the figure will top one million. It goes without saying that the stress and hardship caused by Alzheimer’s and similar diseases has an even wider impact, on the friends and relatives of those in need of care.

Societally, dementia is so
inews.co.uk •

Why you shouldn't panic about phthalates, the chemical found in everyday plastics

Despite our best efforts, plastics are still a major part of everyday life. They hold our cleaning products, our food and skincare; they are used to waterproof our floors, shoes and clothing.

Many of us are already actively reducing our plastic consumption for environmental reasons. But a growing body of research into the ingredients commonly found in plastics is creating increasing concern over these problem materials.

Most recently, experts have warned against the possible health risks of a
WIRED UK •

To Fight Climate Change, First You Need to Measure It

From devastating wildfires to polar bears clinging to melting ice floes, there’s no shortage of shocking images to illustrate the need for action on climate change. But collecting reliable data to track the rate of change—and help determine how to tackle it—is much less straightforward.

Scientists at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, South West London, are using precise monitoring equipment to measure pollutants and track our impact on the planet more accurately than ever before.
inews.co.uk •

How to cruise the French Riviera with no sailing experience for less than £400

Best known for the glamorous beach resorts of St Tropez and Cannes, the French Riviera has long been a firm favourite among the rich and famous – and for good reason. The hot, still summers and bejewelled azure coastline offer some of the best sunshine, wine and photo opportunities in Europe.

Consequently, this south-east corner of France also has a reputation for carrying a hefty price tag – meaning families and the less elite among us are more likely to have seen it through the windows of a c
inews.co.uk •

From curbing climate change to eradicating diseases, what genomics is doing for us

What do fortified tomato plants, so-called “designer babies”, and a plan to bring woolly mammoths back from extinction all have in common? The answer is a relatively new and very exciting branch of science called genomics.

Genomics is the study of all our thousands of genes, the DNA that makes us exactly who we are. Chances are, you may have heard about some of the things happening in this field already: last month, it was revealed that gene-edited tomatoes could provide a new source of vitamin
inews.co.uk •

The real reasons fewer girls choose maths and physics: stereotypes, confidence and role models

At Simon Langton Grammar School in Kent, Mabel Shave has been learning how to measure radiation levels in tea bags. She is one of several girls here studying maths and physics for A-level, and it’s practical experiments like these which she says helps “bring the science to life”.

Shave has always enjoyed physics, particularly the maths element. “I like the problem-solving side,” she says – though a recent news story would have you believe otherwise.
inews.co.uk •

A silent retreat without phones, talking or even reading taught me to savour a slower life

“But we’ve just had two years of quiet, why the hell would you want to go and punish yourself like this?” My well-meaning friend was not the only one who felt confused by my decision to book a five-day off-grid silent retreat. Other common reactions included: “Are you being paid to do it?” (I wasn’t). Or, “Which paper are you writing about it for?” (None, at the time.)

Others gave a sympathetic smile and assumed I was going through some sort of relationship crisis or nervous breakdown.

But the
inews.co.uk •

Sexist narratives about animals in David Attenborough's shows 'leave me screaming at the TV'

Lucy Cooke has a bone to pick with David Attenborough. When his series The Mating Game aired last year, Cooke found herself “screaming at the television in utter frustration”. The problem with the series, and so many others like it, is that “stories about nature are still being told through the male perspective,” she explains – and inevitably, the result is a biased, sexist and sometimes completely inaccurate account.

Sexism in biology is something Cooke has become acutely aware of since resear
inews.co.uk •

Covid lab-leak researcher is glad she challenged China's Wuhan 'cover up' despite death threats

As one of the first medical researchers to question publicly the origins of Covid-19, Dr Alina Chan is used to criticism. Since May 2020, she has been making the highly contentious case that the coronavirus responsible for more than five million deaths could, in fact, have been leaked from a Chinese laboratory.

Initially dismissed as a conspiracy, her theory about the pandemic remains controversial, but it is gaining ground. World Health Organisation director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus agreed l
inews.co.uk •

Wood is being used to make toilets, sinks and even satellites with eco-friendly innovation

Imagine the invention of a new wonder material that could be used to make everything from toilets to satellites – created using water and sunshine, and eliminating the carbon footprint of ceramics and plastics. Well, it doesn’t need to be invented – we’ve been using it for millennia.

Innovative ways of using wood to make everyday household items and even hi-tech medical and scientific devices are being developed. Soon we could all be ordering wooden bathtubs and sinks, as well as using the mate
inews.co.uk •

Eco-friendly ways to wash and clean, starting by using old-fashioned laundry powder and bleach

Do you have more than one shower a day? Or do you secretly indulge in a daily bath? Many of us are aware of the negative effect that our washing habits can have on the planet – from the amount of water we use and the energy required to heat it up, which can contribute to climate change, to the chemicals in the products we use which cause pollution – but it can feel like one of the hardest parts of our lives to make changes in.

Add in washing-up duties, boiling the kettle and flushing the loo, a
WIRED UK •

The Untold Story of the Contraceptive Pill

ALICE PELTON WAS 16 years old when she first went on the pill. Like many teenagers, she found the thought of becoming pregnant terrifying, and starting a course of the combined hormonal contraceptive pill, prescribed by her GP, felt like a logical step. In the months that followed, Pelton’s mood was all over the place. “I would have these uncontrollable outbursts and cry at really stupid things,” she recalls. “There were blazing arguments with very confused ex-boyfriends and family members… I al
inews.co.uk •

‘My children know I have a brain tumour - talking openly about cancer benefits all of us’

Adam Blain’s three children know he has terminal cancer. In fact, they’re so familiar with the reality of his illness, it’s become “boring background noise”, he says. “Long may it stay that way.”

Once a lawyer with a top London firm, Blain has always been straight talking, and he makes no exception when it comes to speaking publicly about his brain tumour.

“For me there’s no other option – I don’t want to dress it up,” he says.

“If nothing else, my children can’t complain that it’s a shock wh
inews.co.uk •

The strangest experiments in science and the ingenious researchers who come up with them

From the ancient medical practice of drilling holes in patients’ skulls, to testing out Class A drugs on spiders in the 90s, scientists have always been willing to try some strange things in the name of research.

Even today, experiments still manage to surprise us – not for their findings, necessarily, but because of their curious subjects or methods. To think of ideas that are new, ethical, feasible – and will offer useful results – requires creative thinking from researchers.

Sometimes they
inews.co.uk •

Wildlife presenter Dan O'Neill: ‘I was told to play down the fact that I’m gay’

When I was young, I vehemently denied being gay. I’d known it from a very young age, but my sexuality wasn’t something I ever felt able to talk about.

It also didn’t fit in with the things that I dreamed of being. I loved David Attenborough documentaries, and wanted to be a biologist and wildlife presenter when I grew up. I was always the kid looking for slow worms in next door’s garden instead of playing football out on the village green with the other boys.

But there was nobody like me on sc
WIRED UK •

We don’t need to eat insects, but we could feed them to animals

Among rolling vineyards in the south of France lies a farm like no other. Forget cattle and crops, this flagship project from French company Ÿnsect is home to billions of Tenebrio molitor – mealworm beetles and their larvae. Nurtured from eggs until fully grown, the beetles are eventually harvested for their protein and processed into a nutritional powder or oil ready for sale as animal or plant feed.
WIRED UK •

We still need Covid-19 treatments as well as vaccines

Summers is also vocal on the pressure the pandemic poses to working mothers; she has a nine-year-old son. “My husband has been at home full-time because that’s what works best for everyone,” she says. “But imagine if he wasn’t? Covid is having a disproportionate impact on women because they're the ones juggling childcare alongside other work. And it's a big issue – it could regress women's advancement massively.” As the UK moves into winter and grapples with a second wave, she is equally concern
WIRED UK •

What poker can teach us about navigating risk in a pandemic

Humans are terrible at navigating risk. Just look at some of the things we choose to do with our time: we fly helicopters and drive motorbikes, despite the fact accidents happen every day. Around 20 per cent of adults smoke, despite being aware of the well-known links to cancer. During this year we’ve seen people shun masks, defy lockdown rules and pack themselves into bars despite the pandemic ranging around them. Covid-19 has shown how, if ever there’s a time when our attitudes towards risk ne
the Guardian •

'Covid is a social crisis': the university staff and students filling welfare gaps

As far as work experience goes, Pryanka Shergill’s CV punches above the rest: a second-year law student, she recently trained as a legal companion and already has a handful of cases under her belt. “It’s been an emotional journey,” she says.

Shergill is one of several undergraduate students to volunteer their time with a pioneering programme launched by Keele University law school in response to government legal aid cuts in 2012. Clock (Community Legal Outreach Collaboration Keele) provides fre
WIRED UK •

The UK’s A-level fiasco has left thousands without grades

When the government announced its u-turn on A-level grades, school pupils across the UK breathed a collective sigh of relief. With exams cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, students had initially been awarded centre assessed grades (CAGs) based on an algorithm, throwing up mixed and controversial results. But the outcry from schools and students, who felt they had been graded unfairly, prompted a formal apology from the government and an announcement that teacher-estimated grades could be
the Guardian •

It's never too early to think about jobs: how students can get a foot in the door

For students navigating the shift from school and college to university, working life can feel light years away – and it’s tempting to put all thoughts of jobs and a career to one side.

A survey by the Higher Education Policy Institute this year found current students to be more worried than excited about the prospect of their future careers. When asked how they felt about joining the labour market, undergraduates reported feeling “anxious” (28%), “uncertain” (16%) and “overwhelmed” (16%). A th
the Guardian •

How am I going to meet anyone? Student societies and clubs race to go digital

From pickling to poetry, slacklining to samba, it’s a well-rehearsed line that there’s a club or society to suit every student’s interests at university. Ordinarily, joining in with extracurricular activities on campus is a sure way for new students to meet like-minded people and make friends – but the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic this year means the situation for incoming freshers may be a little different.

Students’ unions across the country face new dilemmas: what will the student experie
the Guardian •

Decolonising the university: a new student's guide to campus activism

In March 2015, a protester named Chumani Maxwele threw a bucket of faeces over a statue of the British imperialist Cecil Rhodes, outside the University of Cape Town. The fallout sparked further demonstrations by students in South Africa, spreading to the UK and, before long, campuses across the world.

What became the Rhodes Must Fall movement was by no means the beginning of anti-racism campaigns among the student community, but it did mark a significant shift in the narrative surrounding colon
the Guardian •

Will 'clearing plus' really make it easier to apply to university?

Where once university choices may have felt set in stone come A-level results day, today’s students are much more likely to assess their full range of options through clearing. A record 73,320 people used the service in 2019 – evidence, if ever it was needed, that clearing is no longer a last resort for school leavers, but the smart student’s weapon of choice when it comes to planning their time at university.

This year’s cohort will have a new tool to add to their armoury: clearing plus. The n
WIRED UK •

Brexit plus coronavirus could spell disaster for Britain's universities

With the dawn of 2020 came one of the biggest questions UK universities has ever faced: what will their campuses look like after Brexit? Universities have long been proudly European in their approach: more than 143,000 EU students from outside the UK are enrolled in British institutions, and EU citizens make up 18 per centof academic staff. But the new post-Brexit immigration rules might change that forever. No longer classed as “home” students, EU applicants will soon join other internationals
WIRED UK •

Behind the scenes at the FBI’s gruesome forensics laboratory

Max Aguilera-Hellweg is a rare breed of photographer who feels at home in the hospital as much as the dark room – because he is also a medically trained physician. “I can read the monitors,” he says. “I know the pathology and the diseases. Patients and doctors know they can talk to me at a certain level.”

A veteran documenter of scientific procedures, Aguilera-Hellweg has photographed more than 300 medical operations and boasts a wide-ranging career that has provided him with unique opportuniti
the Guardian •

'It's what students look for': the Dutch university that's only hiring women

As a female computer scientist, Alexia Athanasopoulou is used to being in the minority. “People have asked me: ‘you’re a girl, why are you doing this?’”. But it was when she moved to the Netherlands to start her PhD that she noticed a big difference. “The ratio of men to women in my engineering department was very high, and this had consequences for the working culture,” she says.

That women are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) is a well-known problem. The s
WIRED UK •

New organ donation laws could help fix the BAME donor crisis

In previous years, donor kidneys that became available on the NHS transplant scheme were matched primarily due to their blood and tissue type, and often assigned in accordance with the easiest or most quickly-found matching recipient. Recent reviews have made for a more sophisticated matching system with the help of automation, but focused largely on “longevity matching” – that is, matching younger organs with younger patients who would likely need them for longer – and did not take racial equal

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