Did you know that some people can smell ants?

Yup – scientists have found that ants release a scent when they’re distressed or have passed away. The smell is different for various species, and some of us are more sensitive to it than others (probably due to genes).

And if you swear you can smell rain before it falls, it looks like science is on your side for that, too.

Scientific American explained that storms and other rainy events can bring ozone down from higher up in the atmosphere to “nose level”.

This happens before the precipitation actually falls.

Ozone, a type of oxygen whose name derives from the Ancient Greek meaning “to smell,” has a fresh, clean scent that reminds some of chlorine and can linger for hours after a storm ends.

Per The Times, some people can smell ozone at concentrations as low as 10 parts per billion.

The Times added that humidity often hits the ground before rain does.

After a dry spell, Streptomyces bacteria in the ground grow spores.

But when humidity, which often arrives before rain, hits the ground again, “the spores are shot into the air and people with a sensitive nose can pick up the smell” of the resulting pre-preciptiation geosmin.

The sum of all the smells created by rain’s interaction with the environment is called “petrichor” (one of my favourite words).

“Petrichor” is usually strongest after rainfall. It can be created by the aforementioned ozone and geosmin, as well as the volatile plant oils let loose in the air.

It is especially strong if rain falls after a dry spell.

Humans are unbelievably sensitive to the smell of petrichor – we can perceive geosmin, for instance, at concentrations of 10 parts per trillion.

The charity ADHD UK has penned an open letter to Channel 4 after it shared a new documentary will be aired dubbed ‘The Great ADHD Myth?’, HuffPost UK can exclusively reveal.

The TV channel said the show “seeks to determine whether ADHD [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder] is a genuine neurodevelopmental disorder, or a social construct”.

The show will follow NHS psychiatrist Dr Max Pemberton as he speaks to “a growing number of medical experts who are questioning the conventional narrative around ADHD”.

According to Channel 4’s release, these experts “discuss whether the real problem is the environments in which young people are growing up, as well as the current health and schooling systems not being flexible enough to cater for a wide enough range of personalities and behaviours among children”.

It will also follow a family who “want to see whether holistic lifestyle changes can eliminate one boy’s use of ADHD medication”, a press release seen by HuffPost UK reads.

Dr Max Pemberton, who features in the documentary, said: “As a psychiatrist, I’ve watched ADHD go from a diagnosis that was only occasionally made and after careful assessment, to one that is increasingly demanded and dispensed, and I wanted to understand why.

“There’s no doubt that the people seeking these diagnoses are genuinely struggling; that isn’t in question. What the film asks is whether ADHD is really the best explanation for that struggle and my hope is that we come away with permission to ask better questions about what modern life is doing to all of us.”

Since information about the documentary was publicly shared, some people with ADHD as well as mental health experts have revealed their disappointment over the framing of the show – especially the title.

An open letter to the channel from the CEO and co-founder of ADHD UK, Henry Shelford, seen by HuffPost UK, points out that “the damage of a title like this is done in the listings, in the commentary, before a single frame is broadcast”.

After the documentary details were shared on 29 July, Dr Chris Abbott, chief medical officer at Care ADHD, shared in an email: “Presenting ADHD as potentially no more than a ‘social construct’ is scientifically misleading and risks causing real harm to children, adults and families.”

While Dr Claudia Aymerich, consultant psychiatrist at Berkeley Psychiatrists, is also concerned by the framing, which she said “oversimplifies a far more complex issue and doesn’t reflect where the scientific evidence sits”.

In response to these concerns, a Channel 4 spokesperson told HuffPost UK: “This documentary does not deny the lived experience of those diagnosed with ADHD, but does present the view of an extensive range of senior medical experts – many of whom work or have worked with the NHS or have held presidential roles at professional membership bodies – who seek to question the conventional understanding of ADHD and if it is a neurodevelopmental condition.

“They also ask whether modern living has contributed to a rise in diagnoses, and whether there may be better alternatives for some children than medication.”

ADHD is recognised by the World Health Organization, the NHS and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Dr Aymerich said: “Studies consistently demonstrate differences in brain development and function, particularly in areas relating to attention, executive functioning and impulse control, alongside a strong genetic component.”

And “while modern environments, education systems, increased screen use and lifestyle factors can all influence how symptoms present or how significantly they affect someone’s daily life, they do not negate the existence of ADHD itself”, she added.

In its open letter, ADHD UK highlighted that “this is not a parlour debate. People die” and pointed to UCL-led research using UK health records which showed that adults with diagnosed ADHD have a shorter life expectancy. There was a reduction in life expectancy for men with diagnosed ADHD of between 4.5 and 9 years, and between 6.5 and 11 years for women.

“Having ADHD is tough. Undermining the condition just makes it tougher. When a national broadcaster invites millions to file all of this under ‘myth’, people cancel assessments, parents doubt their children, employers doubt their staff, and lives are put at risk,” said Henry Shelford, who has ADHD.

After a BBC Panorama programme investigating Private ADHD Clinics aired in 2023, ADHD UK surveyed more than 2,200 people with ADHD – 90% suggested stigma had increased because of the programme, and 84% believed it would stop people with symptoms from seeking an assessment.

Dr Aymerich is concerned about how the framing may impact those living with ADHD or currently seeking a diagnosis. “Many patients spend years being told they are lazy, disruptive, disorganised or simply not trying hard enough before finally understanding that there is a recognised medical explanation for the challenges they have experienced throughout their lives,” she said.

“Receiving a diagnosis can be genuinely life-changing because it allows people to access appropriate support and better understand themselves.”

She continued: “When public debate shifts toward questioning whether ADHD is ‘real’, it risks reigniting shame, self-doubt and stigma for those individuals.

“It may also discourage parents from seeking assessments for children who are struggling or make adults question whether they deserve support at all.”

Untreated ADHD is associated with consequences such as poorer educational outcomes, relationship difficulties, anxiety, depression, substance misuse and increased risk of accidental injury.

ADHD UK’s letter has called for a review of the title of the show and for the broadcaster to “make clear on screen where contributors’ views sit relative to mainstream clinical consensus”.

It also takes issue with a child being at the centre of an experiment involving replacing medication with lifestyle changes.

In response to this, Channel 4 said “the wellbeing of our contributors was of paramount importance throughout, and the observational study of one child’s medication break was undertaken in consultation with multiple psychiatrists, an independent doctor and the family’s GP”.

The open letter continues: “We are not asking Channel 4 to duck hard questions about ADHD. Waiting lists, service failure and the gulf between need and provision deserve every camera you can point at them. We are asking you to aim at the right target.”

All of the experts HuffPost UK spoke to stress that ADHD should be discussed in the media. Dr Abbott said: “There’s legitimate discussion to be had about the quality of assessments, inequalities in access, the careful use of medication and the need for holistic support.

“Diagnosis should always follow a comprehensive specialist assessment, and treatment should be individualised rather than reduced to medication alone. But questioning whether ADHD itself is ‘real’ is not a balanced contribution to that debate.”

Dr Aymerich added “there is an important distinction between asking whether we are diagnosing and treating ADHD as effectively as possible and questioning whether the condition itself exists”.

“The first is an essential scientific discussion,” she said. “The second risks undermining decades of clinical evidence and doing unnecessary harm to a patient group that already faces considerable misunderstanding and barriers to accessing care.”

Neil Patrick Harris, who starred as Barney Stinson in the smash-hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother, has opened up about his character’s “toxic” traits in an interview with The Times.

The 53-year-old became a household name after playing a rich womaniser in the CBS show, which was nominated for 28 Emmy Awards during its 2005-2014 run.

Fans have gone so far as to call his on-screen persona “an extreme womaniser, chronic liar and toxic manipulator”.

Speaking to The Times, Harris was asked about the “toxic” traits of his character.

Pointing out that the show’s entire story is narrated by the show’s protagonist Ted Mosby (played by Josh Radnor and Bob Saget), the sometime magician said: “None of the behaviours [in the show] are, you know, certified, or even true.

“So I had the freedom to be much more lascivious, much more ridiculous and overt than I imagine Barney probably actually was.”

He added that Barney “was always the devil on Ted’s shoulder”.

Earlier this year, Harris said in an episode of the behind-the-scenes podcast How We Made Your Mother that he’d often felt “insecure” playing the swaggering part and was worried he didn’t “nail” his scenes.

But, he added, “that insecurity absolutely played into the bravado” required.

“I’ve always felt Barney was kind of broken,” he explained.

“He wore armour. The suit was armour. He hid sincerity and vulnerability behind bravado because that’s how he survived.”

Neil also previously discussed reprising his role with Hilary Duff, who starred in spinoff How I Met Your Father, suggesting he wouldn’t play Barney again unless he seriously changed his ways.

“Barney’s antics, his overt delusions of grandeur, would likely get everyone in trouble. So, unless he’s changed his ways or joined a nunnery (insert an insert joke here), not sure if it’s in anyone’s best interest,” he said in his Wondercade newsletter, to which Hilary replied: “I’m pretty sure Barney would… be in jail in 2022.”

We don’t want to give you more to worry about as we are being smacked in the face with the impacts of climate change this summer but, uh, have you noticed that there are far fewer wasps this year?

Come to think of it, I have seen one. In a train station. Once. I have a busy garden full of flowers and flourishing grass but I’ve not seen a single one of these little guys buzzing around out there this summer.

I’m not imagining it, either. Seirian Sumner, a Professor of Behavioural Ecology at University College London wrote for The Conversation and said: “As a wasp biologist, I’ve noticed it acutely, because my students need wasps for their experiments, and we simply can’t find them.”

Can’t find wasps? In summer? In England?!

Sumner explains that while Spring started well for wasp populations, providing ideal conditions for building nests, laying eggs and foraging, things soon took a turn for the worse, leading to conditions that could have been harmful.

She says: “Spring 2026 was strange: the warm, dry start should have been good. Warm, dry spring weather improves a nest’s chance of survival as it ensures a good nectar supply for the queen to develop her ovaries and good prey populations for her to feed the brood. But we experienced unprecedented heat for the time of year, punctuated by cold, damp days and followed by unexpectedly chilly nights.

“Such weather extremes may have caused queens to abandon their nests or die, reducing the initial spring queen bounty to a more modest population.”

She added that one heatwave after another won’t have helped matters, either.

I’m not the biggest fan of wasps and will admittedly completely freeze if one is near me but there is no doubting how important they are to our environment.

According to the National History Museum: “Without wasps, the world could be overrun with spiders and insects. Each summer, social wasps in the UK capture an estimated 14 million kilograms of insect prey, such as caterpillars and greenfly. Rather than being a pest, these important insects are a gardener’s friend.”

Additionally, scientists at Oregon State University say: “Even though [wasps] don’t collect pollen, they do visit flowers constantly to seek nectar for their own energy.

“As wasps visit these flowers, they inadvertently transfer pollen from plant to plant. Although this is a less efficient form of pollination, it is still quite impactful to our ecosystem.”

Let’s hope they reappear next year.

Labour has overtaken Reform for the first time in nearly 18 months in a poll of polls as the party continues to enjoy a boost in the wake of Andy Burnham becoming prime minister.

Data compiled by Election Maps UK, based on the last 11 polls, puts support for Labour on 25 per cent, with Reform on 24%.

The last time the national polling average put Labour ahead of Reform was in March 2025.

Keir Starmer’s deep unpopularity with the public then saw support for Labour nosedive, and by December last year they were in third place behind both Reform and the Conservatives.

However, Labour support has spiked since Burnham won the Makerfield by-election on June 18, a result which put him on course to becoming the party’s leader and prime minister.

At the same time, backing for Reform has plummeted as Nigel Farage has become engulfed in a row over his personal finances.

Reform support peaked at 31% in October last year, when the party was a full 10 points ahead of Labour.

But they have been falling steadily since May, shortly after it emerged that Farage had failed to declare a £5 million gift he received from Thailand-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne shortly before becoming an MP.

A parliamentary standards investigation into the matter is currently on hold after Farage quit as an MP to trigger a “people versus the establishment” by-election in his Clacton seat.

Labour’s resurgence has led to increased speculation that Burnham could call an early general election to secure his own five-year mandate from the public.

But speaking to the BBC last month, the PM said: “There’s no early general election. I don’t think people want it.”

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

A former neo-Nazi who was jailed for posting anti-semitic material and harassing a Jewish MP can become a Tory councillor but not an MP, Kemi Badenoch has declared.

The Conservative leader said what Joshua Bonehill-Paine did in the past was “appalling and abhorrent” and he should not be given a “national platform”.

But she said it was fine for him to become a councillor because they only deal with things like “parking and putting out bins”.

Badenoch has come under fire from Jewish groups over her party’s decision to let Bonehill-Paine stand for election to Somerset Council.

He was convicted in 2014 of malicious communications over an anti-Islam hoax that led to death threats against the owners of a pub in Leicester.

Bonehill-Paine – the creator of the online satirical publication the Crewkerne Gazette – was jailed for more than three years in 2015 after posting anti-semitic material online ahead of a planned neo-Nazi rally.

The following year, he was found guilty of racially-aggravated harassment of the Jewish Labour MP Luciana Berger.

He has since recanted his previous anti-semitic views and now works with the Home Office on anti-radicalisation programmes.

Berger, who is now a Labour peer, told HuffPost UK she is “beyond upset and angry” that Badenoch is allowing him to stand for the Tories.

On Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, Badenoch defended her decision.

She said: “I did hear what Luciana had to say and I do understand Lady Berger’s position.

“What he did was appalling and abhorrent.”

She added: “I looked at this case very carefully, this was a judgment call, and this is someone who has served his sentence. But also it is about what he is doing right now.

“This is a man who is talking about how in his late teens and early 20s he was radicalised. He became a racist and an anti-semite.

“What Luciana is talking about is not rehabilitation, but forgiveness. I can understand that she might not want to forgive this man. I might not if I had been his victim.

“But I am not giving him a national platform. He is standing to be a councillor in Somerset. It is a local platform, looking at parking, putting out bins, that’s what councillors do. It’s not a national platform.”

Badenoch said her party “have much higher thresholds” for becoming an MP.

She said: “This man is not standing to be an MP. There’s a huge difference.

“At a local level, where someone is actively working on anti-radicalisation, fighting for Jewish people knowing the harm that he caused – he did a lot of terrible things, I do not minimise that at all.

“This is a judgement call, and I think in this case he should be allowed to stand.”

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

Donald Trump is stuck in a “destructive cycle” over the Iran war, according to the BBC’s international editor.

The US president declared on Monday that Tehran was on its “last chance” when it comes to negotiations on opening the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has effectively closed the major oil shipping lane since the US and Israel launched strikes against Tehran back in February.

The global economic impact has left the US scrambling to make a deal to get the waterway up and running again – though Trump insists he still has the upper hand in talks.

As the BBC’s Jeremy Bowen warned on Radio 4’s Today programme, it is Iran who has the “momentum” in these discussions right now.

He pointed out it was the Iranians and the Omanis who are in conversation over a deal to reopen the Strait this week, not the Americans.

Iran would control who goes into the Gulf via a shipping channel near its coast, while Oman would supervise vessels’ exit.

Bowen explained: “Iran has got this weapon of control of the Strait of Hormuz, and they’re not going to give it up. The Strait was open before the war started.

“Second of all, Trump has got no good options right now. Not at all.

“Yes the Americans can still bomb, though they have been weakened by their shortage of interceptors and that’s a factor for their generals.

“They can do a lot of physical damage to Iran, but that doesn’t appear thus far to force the regime to capitulate.

“Doing a deal – which is going to look weak – is something [Trump] is going to hate and he’ll be criticised for.

“Then he’ll think, ‘I’ve got to look strong so I’m going to bomb’. It’s a very destructive cycle.”

Bowen added that if there is a fee structure in the new deal, the Gulf countries “will not like it one little bit” because it was a free waterway prior to the US and Israeli strikes on Iran back in February.

He said: “It’s not at all clear Trump will be happy with this sort of a deal.”

The president laid out his war goals at the start on the conflict five months ago.

He said he wanted regime change, to end the Iran nuclear programme, restrict Iran’s relationship with its proxies and control what it does with its ballistic missiles.

But Bowen noted: “None of this is being talked about right now. It’s just about trying to get the waterway open.”

He said the current situation is one the neighbouring Gulf countries “have been dreading” because they have been left with a “massive mess caused by this rash and reckless decision by Donald Trump to go to war in the hope he could get a quick Venezuela-style victory.”

He added: “If any party to this has control of the momentum of discussion of events, it’s much more the Iranians than the US.”

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

This article contains descriptions of self-harm.

Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton has been taken to hospital following a TikTok live-stream in which he appeared to be self-harming.

On Tuesday night, police were dispatched to the internet personality’s home in Florida, after concerning footage was circulated on social media.

He was then transported to a nearby hospital where he received medical attention, and also received care from mental health professionals at its Crisis Response Unit.

The Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office (MDSCO) told CNN that they’d responded to “multiple calls regarding an individual who was live-streaming acts of self-harm on social media”.

A representative for the MDSCO also told People magazine: “In many incidents involving a person experiencing a mental health crisis or actively harming themselves, deputies prioritise de-escalation by creating time, distance, and opportunities for communication.

“Unless there is an immediate threat to others, slowing the situation and utilising crisis intervention techniques can reduce the likelihood of a suicide-by-cop encounter and minimise the risk of injury to the individual, deputies, and the public.”

His management team said (via Variety): “We are aware of the concerning content circulating online involving our client, Perez Hilton. At this time, we have not been able to make direct contact with him, despite our ongoing efforts to reach him.

“Our primary concern is Perez’s health and well being, as well as the well being of his family. Until we have confirmed information, we will not speculate or comment further. We appreciate everyone’s concern and ask that his privacy be respected during this time.”

Perez – whose legal name is Mario Armando Lavandeira – rose to notoriety in the 2000s thanks to his celebrity news blog, where he frequently generated controversy due to his blunt, and often disparaging, commentary on the public figures he wrote about.

In the 2010s, he said he’d be changing the tone of his reporting, telling Ellen Degeneres on her daytime show that he wanted to “be part of the solution and not part of the problem”, after being called out by numerous celebrities.

He told the New York Times two years later: “What’s important for me is not being liked, but it is that people think I am no longer toxic to the world.”

Outside of his blogging career, Perez competed on Celebrity Big Brother in 2015, and is a father to a 13-year-old son and 11-year-old and eight-year-old daughters.

In recent history, Perez has experienced a number of health struggles, having been hospitalised with severe sepsis back in March.

He later shared that he’d been hospitalised for a second time due to deep vein thrombosis.

• Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
• Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI – this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
• CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
• The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
• Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.

Lee Anderson clashed with Good Morning Britain presenters on Wednesday over the French backlash to Reform UK’s plan to tackle the small boats crisis.

Nigel Farage’s party announced they would use the Royal Navy to intercept the migrant vessels as part of “Operation Fortress” if they got into government.

Reform would supposedly then return the asylum seekers on board to where they came from in “the largest military operation in the English Channel since World War Two”.

But the French government said this week the right-wing party’s plan to turn back migrants crossing the English Channel would be a “violation” of their sovereignty, as well as a breach of maritime and international law.

However, Reform’s chairman Anderson refused to engage with that blunt rejection.

When reminded of Paris’s response to the party’s “Operation Fortress”, the Reform MP told GMB: “Oh it’s illegal to save lives in the English Channel?

“I think we’re not going to agree on this, guys. It’s not been tested yet. It’s not been tried.

“How do you know it won’t work?”

Co-host Charlotte Hawkins said: “It’s not for us to say whether it will work or not. We’re just telling you what the French government are saying and you would not be able to do it without the French government –”

Anderson cut in: “I’m telling you what Reform policy is –”

Hawkins said: “You don’t have the agreement of the French government. It’s not workable.”

“it will work and it will save lives,” the Ashfield MP said.

“Without the agreement of the French government, it won’t work,” Hawkins said, becoming increasingly exasperated.

He repeated that the policy would save “100%” save lives.

Co-host Richard Madeley said: “I don’t think we can go much further on this… It’s not up to us to criticise your policy, it may be a wonderful policy –”

Anderson cut in: “You are criticising it!”

Madeley laughed in disbelief while Hawkins said they were pointing out a major flaw which stops it from operating.

“That’s criticism! That’s criticism. It’s not a fact. It’s not a fact, it’s not been tried yet,” the Reform chair insisted.

Anderson said it was a “violation of our sovereignty” for migrants to cross the English Channel and then commit “awful crimes” in the UK.

“Things need to be done, but if the French won’t agree to it, then unfortunately it’s not a workable policy,” Hawkins hit back.

Reform’s plans to address the English Channel crossings have also been described as a “crock of shit” by former Royal Navy officer John Foreman.

Former Navy commander Tom Sharpe had a similar view, telling the BBC: “A billion pound warship that’s configured for anti-air warfare or anti-submarine warfare, which are both threats to the UK, is not best used ferrying people around.

“You’re better off using an actual ferry.”

Listen to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.