Scientists used a hospital CT scanner to crack the combination of a 400-year-old brass padlock found on a beach in Wales. The padlock came from a shipwreck, and after two inconclusive scans a third allowed the team to open the code. The treasure is held by museums in Wales.
Ten student and graduate STEM teams from universities across the UK will pitch their innovations in a Dragons' Den style final at the Royal Academy of Engineering in London on 13 November 2026. The finalists are developing ideas ranging from AI-powered seizure monitoring to engineered viruses against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. They will share a £16,500 prize fund after coaching from business leaders.
Experts have cracked the four-letter code of a 400-year-old brass padlock recovered from a shipwreck off the Welsh coast, using modern CT scanning. The lock was found in the sand at Margam near Port Talbot in 1999 and is part of a collection from the Ann Francis, which was wrecked in 1583.
The first Ordnance Survey map, covering Kent, is being celebrated 225 years after it was published. Surveyors spent over a decade creating it, and today the organisation uses aircraft and digital tools to keep Britain's maps up to date, with an area that once took years now surveyed in about 10 days.
