A teenage engineering student at York College, Jackson Hall, invented a polycarbonate screen that stops rats and other animals chewing through railway signal box cables. Network Rail has installed it at two signal boxes in the Leeds area, with plans to use it at 63 more, and Jackson has been offered a job with the firm that supported his work.
A newly identified dinosaur species and genus has been named in honour of Will Proudlove, a Surrey man who managed the Ewhurst brick and roof tile works where its fossil was found. His widow Rachel described the honour as a great legacy for him to be remembered by. The fossil was donated to the Natural History Museum after it was found in 2001, shortly before he died.
A small community historical society on Lismore Island in Scotland helped fund excavations that confirmed the island's early medieval monastery was an important centre of worship, crafts and learning. Archaeologists uncovered burial grounds, craft areas and evidence of precious metalworking. Local volunteers were central to the discovery.
Farmers in Northern Ireland are using AI cameras, robotic milking and farm apps to monitor herds and run their businesses more easily. Improved high-speed broadband is also helping rural farms run shops and digital payments.
