Pui Man exited The Great British Bake Off in the third episode on Tuesday
A contestant on The Great British Bake Off was unsure whether to blame “the yeast or the curse of the tent” after her elimination.
Bridal designer Pui Man, who was born in Hong Kong but lives in Chigwell, Essex, was knocked out in the third episode that was broadcast on Tuesday.
The 51-year-old said she met some “amazing bakers” during filming and had made friends for life.
“It was very sad I had to go, but I had an amazing time,” she told BBC Essex.
The Channel 4 programme pits 12 amateur bakers against each other to compete for the title of “Star Baker” throughout 30 different challenges.
Pui was eliminated during bread week, where the bakers were tasked with making savoury monkey bread, 12 glazed ring doughnuts and a sweet bread with three tiers.
However, she ran into trouble when her doughnuts were over-fried and under-proofed, putting her in last place.
Channel 4/Love Productions
The baker from Chigwell said her TV experience was “amazing”, despite the pressure
“I thought I did well, but unfortunately the doughnuts didn’t rise enough,” the baker said.
“I don’t know why and I still don’t know why. Maybe the yeast or the curse of the tent.”
Pui said it was “very sad” to exit the show, judged by Prue Leith and Paul Hollywood, adding: “I thought I could go further.”
It had been difficult to balance engaging with the camera while baking, she admitted.
The mother-of-two described it as “the most difficult thing I’ve ever done”, but hailed her experience as “amazing”.
She wanted to use her TV appearance to inspire the creation of her own bridal business.
Pui also promised to make plenty of gingerbread houses and biscuits in the run-up to Christmas.
Work to build a £2bn AI data centre in Loughton is ongoing
The creation of a powerful new supercomputer is set to put Essex at the heart of the UK’s artificial intelligence (AI) revolution.
Work had already been ongoing to build a £2bn data centre in Loughton and open it by 2026.
But now, Microsoft announced it would use some of a $30bn (£22bn) investment into UK technology to fund a supercomputer at the site.
But what exactly is a supercomputer – and what could it power?
What is the Loughton project?
Getty Images
Microsoft has thrown its weight behind the project in Loughton, a town in the south-west of Essex
The Loughton site is due to become the UK’s largest AI data centre, creating up to 250 permanent jobs when it opens in 2026.
It is hoped the four-acre (1.6ha) facility will benefit services such as healthcare and defence.
News that Microsoft is now backing the Loughton campus dramatically upscales what its output could be.
Nscale pledged £2bn to create the centre, but it will now have a share of the £22bn pot brought by the tech giant.
Nscale, Microsoft and NVIDIA, which will be building the AI chips for the centre, now say they can build what they have dubbed a supercomputer in Loughton.
This will see thousands of devices working together 24/7 to form one large computing brain.
What could it power?
Getty Images
The facility will contain 23,040 graphics processing units (GPUs) – or chips – to run the AI
Nscale says the data centre will deliver 50MW of AI capacity, but is designed to grow. In the future, it could be upgraded to handle up to 90MW of power, nearly doubling its capacity.
“For perspective, even the world’s fastest supercomputer in the US draws on the order of around 30 MW at peak, which is considered huge,” says Dominic Davies, chief of AI legal-tech firm Lightbringer.
“So 90 MW is nearly three times that level, putting Loughton’s facility in the global top tier for AI infrastructure.”
These high-performance AI systems will train models like ChatGPT and power real-time services such as voice assistants.
At the start, the facility will contain 23,040 graphics processing units (GPUs) built by NVIDIA.
These are potent chips used to train and run AI models – the more GPUs, the more AI work the site can do.
“It will make the Essex supercomputer one of the most powerful AI computing centres ever built,” says Mr Davies.
What are the challenges?
Do we have enough energy to power AI?
Some people champion the idea of using AI for public services, arguing it improves efficiency by automating tasks and using data to make almost instant decisions.
However, others say decisions made by the technology lack transparency and accountability.
There are also logistical considerations. These AI centres need huge amounts of electricity, both to run the GPUs and keep them cool.
Ensuring they do not overheat is essential to maintain performance and avoid damage.
But that is tricky in a country where energy prices are higher than usual and there is pressure to use renewable sources.
Google’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2023 were 48% higher than in 2019, something it put down to the increasing levels of energy needed by its AI centres.
Speaking to the BBC previously, AI expert Dr Haider Raza said “awful” electricity costs could also stunt growth.
“We have to make data centres more efficient. This point is very, very important,” the University of Essex lecturer added.
The government said it was “exploring bold, clean energy solutions” to meet its AI ambitions.
AI facilities also need to be in places with strong internet connectivity so data transfer is efficient.
There is also the challenge of making sure these sites, which often process sensitive data, have robust cybersecurity in place.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the UK was on its way to becoming a world leader in AI.
“Meaning more jobs and investment, more money in people’s pockets, and transformed public services,” he added.
People with temporal lobe epilepsy in particular often wander around aimlessly and unconsciously after a seizure. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB), the University of Bonn, and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) have identified a neurobiological mechanism that could be responsible for this so-called post-ictal wandering and potentially other postictal symptoms. According to their hypothesis, epileptic seizures are not directly responsible for post-ictal symptoms, but rather seizure-associated depolarization waves, also known as spreading depolarization (SD). The results of the studies have now been published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
In everyday clinical practice, symptoms are regularly observed after epileptic seizures, known as “post-ictal symptoms”, which, in contrast to the usually short duration of seizures, typically last several minutes to hours. Besides symptoms such as impaired speech and language comprehension, a state of disorientation may occur. This wandering about, known in technical terms as postictal wandering, can sometimes be life-threatening if, for example, the affected unconscious person runs onto the street. “Postictal symptoms are traditionally referred to the preceding epileptic seizure. However, it is unclear whether there is actually a direct neurobiological connection or whether the symptoms are based on another pathology,” says corresponding author Prof. Michael Wenzel from the Dept. of Epileptology at the UKB, who is also a member of the Transdisciplinary Research Area (TRA) “Life & Health” at the University of Bonn.
Brain waves paralyze neural network
The Bonn research team initially wanted to better understand the development of epilepsy as a result of an initial acute disease-in this case, viral encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain caused by viruses. To do this, they used modern cellular-resolution fluorescence microscopy in combination with electrophysiology and optogenetics in a mouse model, which allows them to study network dynamics and the communication of different brain cell types in the living brain with high resolution over a period of months. “In doing so, we accidentally discovered a network phenomenon in the hippocampus-a structure relevant to epilepsy located inside the temporal lobe-that could explain postictal symptoms but, surprisingly, does not represent seizures themselves,” says first author Bence Mitlasóczki, a doctoral student at the University of Bonn in Prof. Wenzel’s research group at the UKB.
The observed phenomenon consists of slow depolarization waves, which are mainly known from neurological disorders such as migraine or acute brain injuries. This so-called spreading depolarization (SD) causes the collapse of the neuronal membrane potential and the failure of the affected network for minutes to hours. The structures in the inner region of the temporal lobe, such as the hippocampus, may be more sensitive to SD during epileptic seizures than the multisensory and motor part of the cerebral cortex, known as the neocortex.
This could also explain why postictal symptoms are most commonly observed in temporal lobe epilepsy.”
Bence Mitlasóczki, Doctoral Student, University of Bonn
In addition, SD waves are filtered out in standard clinical EEGs in epileptology because they are so slow. “As a result, SDs have been ‘invisible’ in clinical EEGs for decades, which is an important reason why the strictly seizure-related concept of postictal symptoms persists, even though this may not be accurate,” states Prof. Wenzel.
Seizure-associated SD in depth electrode recordings from people with epilepsy
In addition, the Bonn researchers found evidence that seizure-associated SDs also exist in deep regions of the human brain. To do this, they used a special feature of pre-surgical diagnostics at the UKB for people with difficult-to-treat epilepsy, which tests whether a local seizure focus can be surgically removed. As part of the study, the research team initially examined some participants using the electrodes implanted for diagnosis with additional microwire bundles – which were established by the working group led by co-author Prof. Florian Mormann at the UKB – to determine whether local SD can also be detected deep in the human brain as soon as the EEG bandwidth is extended beyond the international standard, thus enabling very slow potential fluctuations to be recorded.
The conclusion of the Bonn researchers is that epileptic seizures, although assumed to be the cause for decades, may not be the direct cause of postictal symptoms. “Our hypothesis is that local seizure-associated SD is a key factor in epilepsy that has been massively understudied to date,” says co-author Prof. Heinz Beck from the UKB and DZNE. He is a spokesperson for the Transdisciplinary Research Area (TRA) “Life & Health” and a member of the ImmunoSensation Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bonn. The results point to a possible general role of SD in a variety of different postictal disorders, which now need to be investigated further. “In addition, our results require a review of previous studies which, because SD was filtered out, related effects and effect sizes to epileptic seizures, even though this may not be the case,” says Prof. Wenzel. “Finally, our study could stimulate a discussion on whether the international EEG standard needs to be expanded to make SD directly visible in clinical EEG as well.”
Source:
Universitatsklinikum Bonn
Journal reference:
Mitlasóczki, B., et al. (2025) Hippocampal spreading depolarization as a driver of postictal ambulation. Science Translational Medicine. doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.adv3260.
Autistic people are being offered the opportunity to learn to drive using virtual reality simulators.
It is hoped the new scheme, part of a research project with the University of Bath and University of Exeter, will help to break down barriers that often put people off from getting behind the wheel.
One of the academics involved in the project said autistic people can experience high levels of anxiety when driving.
Sophy Tyler, 29, from Bath was diagnosed with autism as a teenager and despite passing her driving test when she was 21, she has not had the confidence to drive on her own.
She said: “I found the idea of driving without an instructor really scary.”
Dr Tom Arthur, from the University of Exeter and the research lead, said: “By focusing on real-world driving challenges and barriers, we hope this project will help promote independence.”
The project will look into how virtual and augmented reality technologies, known as extended reality, can be used to build confidence in the process of driving before getting behind the wheel of a real car.
Experts say they are in the early stages of the project and are working out if the technology helps people more if they use it before they start driving solo or after.
Professor Mark Brosnan, from the University of Bath, said driving has been an issue amongst the autistic community for a long time.
“Mainly as many autistic people struggle with sensory sensitivities and very high levels of anxiety.
“Sometimes interacting with other people is challenging so sitting next to a driving instructor, understanding the social signals at junctions can be difficult.
“So we want to develop technology to help autistic people overcome some of these challenges,” he said.
He added that they were working with technology developers to create driving-like experiences that people can use in the comfort of their own home.
Maisie Hughes, 19, from Dursley in Gloucestershire, is one of the project participants. She hasn’t felt ready to start driving but thinks this use of tech could make a big difference.
“It would give people the opportunity to learn to drive at their own pace and make mistakes that don’t really matter because its not real,” she said.
Eligible people in Guernsey are to be able to receive a flu vaccine free of charge.
The States of Guernsey said this included pre-school children and pregnant women.
It added flu could be an unpleasant illness and could sometimes lead to serious complications.
It said parents and carers wanting their child to receive the vaccine in pre-school or school settings were reminded to complete and submit an online consent form as soon as possible.
Officials added parents wanting their children to receive the vaccine in their pre-school setting should complete the consent form by 19 September.
Those currently eligible are:
Children aged two, three and four years old (those who have not yet started primary school could get the vaccine in some pre-school settings and in all GP practices)
Children and young people from Reception to Year 11 inclusively (who will be offered the vaccination in their school)
Children aged six months to 18 years in a clinical risk group
Pregnant women
From October, the free vaccination is also to be offered to:
People aged 65 and over
Adults aged 18-64 in a clinical risk group
Those in long-term care facilities (care home visits will be provided by GP practices)
Carers who are the main carer of an elderly person or a person with disabilities
Close contacts of immunocompromised individuals
Parents who did not want their children to have vaccination in a pre-school or school setting could also contact their GP for an appointment for the free vaccine.
Alex Hawkins-Drew, associate director of Public Health, said: “Getting a flu vaccination isn’t just about protecting yourself – it helps protect our community.
“Having the vaccination dramatically lowers the risk of serious illness, especially for older adults, young children, pregnant women, and those with chronic health conditions who are at greater risk of complications.”
She added reducing the number of flu cases would help reduce the pressure on our hospital services.
“As well as getting the vaccine, practising good hand hygiene can help limit the spread of the flu virus by catching coughs and sneezes in a tissue throwing it away and washing your hands after – catch it, bin it, kill it.”
SSTL, the small satellite manufacturer, will collaborate with IHI to develop its capability in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). SSTL’s satellites and satellite buses will be used. Satvu
Satvu is a thermal infrared satellite specialist. The London-based company says it will work with IHI to initially evaluate the use of SatVu’s thermal data. They plan to define the requirements for a Japanese high-resolution thermal infrared (IR) satellite constellation. They will also explore building and operating such a constellation in Japan. SSTL is already building SatVu’s satellites.
Earth Observation
“We are delighted to be partnering with IHI to bring SatVu’s world-leading thermal infrared satellite technology to Japan,” said SatVu Co-Founder and CEO, Anthony Baker.
“By combining our expertise with IHI’s proven leadership in aerospace and defence, we can deliver sovereign Earth Observation capabilities that will strengthen Japan’s security and resilience, while unlocking innovative applications across industry, energy, and climate monitoring. This collaboration reflects our SatVu shared vision of harnessing space technology to address some of the most pressing challenges facing societies today.”
IHI
For its part, IHI highlighted the potential of high-res thermal IR data.
“Today’s world is increasingly insecure,” said Atsushi Sato, President of IHI’s Aero Engine, Space & Defence Business Area. “Japan’s National defence Strategy recognises the importance of strengthening its sovereign capability in space whilst simultaneously opening the door to cooperation and collaboration with allies and like-minded countries with shared strategic interests.”
“High-resolution thermal infrared data has huge potential to contribute to Japan’s national and economic security. This MoU is the first step in building the sovereign capability of thermal infrared critical to Japan’s national security in the years to come.”
UK and Japan
SSTL highlighted its track record in on-orbit operations.
“Space has become critically important for national security in recent years, and increasingly nations are deploying satellites in support of their Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance requirements, as they can provide global reach, privacy and priority,” said SSTL Executive Chairman, Professor Sir Martin Sweeting.
“SSTL is a recognized pioneer and leader in this area, and not only designs and manufactures spacecraft but also has demonstrated dependable and reliable services from those satellites. According to UK government, the UK MOD and Japan MOD have a deeply aligned and strengthening strategic partnership focused on defence and security cooperation, and are each others’ closest security partners between Europe and Asia.”
IHI, dating from 1853 as a shipyard business, changed its name from Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries to IHI Corporation in 2007.
HotSat
Satvu launched its first satellite, HotSat-1, in 2023. The company plans to expand its constellation with HotSat-2 and HotSat-3 in 2026. it plans to become the ‘World’s Thermometer’.
SatVu received the first high resolution thermal imagery from HOTSAT-1 back in October 2023. It failed in orbit, however, six months after its June 2023 launch.
Its initial mid Wave Infra-Red (MWIR) thermal imaging satellite was the first of a planned constellation. It was manufactured in Guildford by Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL).
Images: SatVu
See also: Satvu signs up for HotSat-2 thermal imaging satellite
Gulliver’s theme parks have been nominated 11 times at the UK Theme Park Awards
A theme park said award nominations had rounded off a “fantastic season”, boosted by sunny weather.
Gulliver’s Theme Parks, which has sites around the country including Buckinghamshire, Cheshire, and Derbyshire, has been nominated in multiple categories at the UK Theme Park Awards.
It is up for ‘theme park of the year’ alongside major players such as Thorpe Park, Alton Towers and LEGOLAND Windsor.
Darren Hoy, hospitality manager at Gulliver’s Land in Milton Keynes, said: “The weather’s been fantastic for us. Every single day it’s been warm and sunny. It meant that a lot of people have decided to come out on the day and enjoy us.”
Kate Bradbrook/BBC
Darren Hoy said sunny weather had boosted park visitors despite the cost of living crisis
Gulliver’s Theme Parks, based in Matlock in Derbyshire, has been nominated eleven times for categories such as best new attraction, best theme park for toddlers and best new entertainment.
“We thought at this moment in time there were some issues with cost of living and stuff like that,” Mr Hoy said, “but we’ve really bounced from that and it’s been a really, really good season for us.”
“With the awards on the back of it now, it’s made it worthwhile… It’s like kind of a well-done thing at the end of it.”
Qays Najm/BBC
Andy Fuller said Pleasurewood Hills in Lowestoft, Suffolk was “excited” to be nominated for five awards
Winners of the 22 categories will be announced today during an event at Wicksteed Park in Kettering, Northamptonshire.
In the running for awards are 35 theme parks across the UK, including Pleasurewood Hills in Lowestoft, Suffolk, which is nominated for five awards.
Sales manager Andy Fuller agreed that the recent season had been boosted by sunny weather.
He said: “On a beautiful day like this, we’d have a very busy park … [When it is not nice weather] it does put a bit of a dampener on it.
“We’ve had our challenges, but we have ridden those waves, and we had a good season overall
“We’re incredibly excited. We’ve had nominations for five awards. We’re absolutely thrilled and we can’t wait.”
Apple has announced a package of health features, alongside the launch of the new Apple Watch Series 11, including an alert that the wearer may have high blood pressure, also known as hypertension.
Around 1.3 billion people worldwide have high blood pressure. But almost half are unaware of their diagnosis.
This lack of awareness is often due to limited access to regular medical care, the absence of noticeable symptoms or warning signs, and because a single blood pressure reading could miss the condition.
Better detection of high blood pressure could help prevent heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and dementia.
But can the Apple Watch really tell if you have high blood pressure?
How does it work?
Limited details are available so far.
But we know the Apple Watch’s high blood pressure indicator is based on analysis of changes in blood volume as your heart beats. These are detected using the light sensor on the back of the watch.
This is not new technology; a number of other companies, such as Samsung and Aktiia, use similar approaches.
When the sensor and underlying algorithm identifies a significant change in blood flow, the user will get an alert that they may have high blood pressure. This is done without a conventional blood pressure cuff that tightens around the arm.
The alert isn’t a diagnosis, or a blood pressure number. Screenshot/Apple Newsroom
However, if a user receives a “possible hypertension” notification, this is not a diagnosis, as their blood pressure has not yet been measured and confirmed by a health-care professional.
From what we know so far, it seems users won’t be given blood pressure numbers straight from the Apple Watch.
What does the evidence say?
Cuffless blood pressure monitoring devices can be more comfortable and convenient than using arm cuffs. Without a cuff, they can also more easily monitor blood pressure continuously during daily activities.
However, the evidence to show whether these technologies accurately estimate blood pressure remains scarce and with many limitations.
Unlike traditional cuff-based blood pressure devices, there is no standard protocol for manufacturers to test cuffless devices for accuracy, and to ensure they live up to their claims. Without such a protocol, it’s difficult to evaluate and compare their performance.
This is particularly important for cuffless devices, because accuracy depends on how well the signal picks up changes in blood flow – which can vary across different skin tones – and how well it performs in everyday settings, such as when a person is awake or asleep, sitting or standing, active or resting.
Nevertheless, some companies have received clearance from government regulatory agencies to market and sell these technologies as medical devices. Apple has received such clearance for its hypertension technology.
However, cuffless devices for measuring blood pressure are not currently recommended by any clinical guidelines based on the uncertainty about their accuracy. So it’s important to have your blood pressure checked regularly by a health-care professional and potentially also at home using a validated cuff-based device.
There is no evidence yet of how well these technologies would work when used clinically and with real patients. Studies are underway.
What are the challenges?
While these devices hold promise for improving individual and population health, they also pose some challenges.
Alerts for “possible hypertension” are just that: a sign for a potential health concern that needs to be evaluated and confirmed in a health-care setting.
Knowing the breadth of Apple’s market share and the prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension, these alerts have the potential to overburden existing health-care systems and cause patient anxiety.
As these devices become more mainstream, health-care systems may need to adapt to accommodate the growing number of patients seeking care.
What if you want to use it?
If you start using the new Apple Watch and receive the hypertension notification, you should check your blood pressure with a cuff-based monitor over three to seven days and take these readings to your doctor.
The fine print on Apple’s website notes this “possible hypertension” feature should not be used by people under 22 years old, those who are pregnant or those previously diagnosed with hypertension.
Cuffless devices have the potential to improve detection of high blood pressure – an urgent need – and these devices may be the future of optimal heart health. But this potential must be matched by rigorous efforts to confirm their accuracy and relevance for patients and clinicians.
Metformin has been prescribed to people with type 2 diabetes to manage blood sugar for more than 60 years, but scientists haven’t been exactly sure how it works. A new study suggests it works directly in the brain, which could lead to new types of treatment.
The study, carried out by researchers from the Baylor College of Medicine in the US, identifies a brain pathway that the drug seems to work through, in addition to the effects it has on biological processes in other areas of the body.
“It’s been widely accepted that metformin lowers blood glucose primarily by reducing glucose output in the liver,” says Makoto Fukuda, a pathophysiologist at Baylor. “Other studies have found that it acts through the gut.”
Related: 10 Key Reasons Dementia Is Linked With Diabetes
“We looked into the brain as it is widely recognized as a key regulator of whole-body glucose metabolism. We investigated whether and how the brain contributes to the anti-diabetic effects of metformin.”
Previous work by some of the same researchers had identified a protein in the brain called Rap1 as having an impact on glucose metabolism, particularly in a part of the brain called the ventromedial hypothalamus or (VMH).
Direct brain injections of metformin lowered blood glucose in mice. (Lin et al., Sci. Adv., 2025)
In the new study, tests on mice showed metformin traveling to the VMH, where it helps tackle type 2 diabetes by essentially turning off Rap1.
When the researchers bred mice without Rap1, metformin then had no impact on a diabetes-like condition – even though other drugs did. It’s strong evidence that metformin works in the brain, through a different mechanism than other drugs.
The team was also able to take a close look at the specific neurons metformin was changing activity in. Further down the line, that could lead to more targeted treatments that take aim at these neurons specifically.
“We also investigated which cells in the VMH were involved in mediating metformin’s effects,” says Fukuda.
“We found that SF1 neurons are activated when metformin is introduced into the brain, suggesting they’re directly involved in the drug’s action.”
Metformin is safe, long-lasting, and relatively affordable. It works by reducing the glucose produced by the liver and increasing how efficiently the body uses insulin, helping to manage the symptoms of type 2 diabetes.
Now we know it very probably works through the brain, as well as the liver and the gut. Clearly, this needs to be shown in human studies as well, but once that’s established, we might be able to find ways to boost metformin’s effects and make it more potent.
This also ties into other interesting studies that have found the same drug can slow brain aging and improve lifespan. With a better understanding of how metformin works, we may see it used for a broader range of purposes in the future.
“This discovery changes how we think about metformin,” says Fukuda. “It’s not just working in the liver or the gut, it’s also acting in the brain.”
“We found that while the liver and intestines need high concentrations of the drug to respond, the brain reacts to much lower levels.”
The research has been published in Science Advances.
Channel 4/Love Productions
Channel 4/Love Productions
Satvu launched its first satellite, HotSat-1, in 2023. The company plans to expand its constellation with HotSat-2 and HotSat-3 in 2026. it plans to become the ‘World’s Thermometer’.
