Ben Spencer @Ben_Spencer Twitter profile | Pikagi

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Ben Spencer

@Ben_Spencer

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Science Editor of the Sunday Times. DMs open for tips and stories. Sign up to my environment newsletter here: .

London

https://t.co/RlQyBqy5bu

Joined March 2009

Don't wanna be here? Send us removal request.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 months

A few days ago photographer @PohleRichard and I were given access to the world’s biggest vaccine factory - @SerumInstIndia in Pune - which is preparing to ship malaria jabs to Africa. Our report, with lessons for the West, is in today’s Sunday Times👇

The Times & The Sunday Times

News and opinion from The Times & The Sunday Times

www.thetimes.co.uk

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

3 years

For anyone familiar with the rivers of South Yorkshire, the news that salmon are spawning in the Don is almost beyond belief. The Don, the Rother and the Dearne were once the most polluted rivers in Europe. Their rehabilitation is an ecological triumph.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

Tomorrow the IPCC delivers its first report on the impact of climate change in 8 years. I’ve seen extracts from a draft version and it is grim reading: it is already too late to reverse some of the effects and the window for action is closing. Story here:

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

3 years

Exclusive: the sale of peat-based garden compost is set to be banned, after years of delays. The government will on Tuesday announce a consultation on the ban, to take place by the end of the year.

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For peat’s sake: compost ban to stop bogs being bagged up

The sale of peat-based compost is set to be banned after years of delays, the government will announce this week. Environmentalists have long warned that diggi

www.thetimes.co.uk

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

The most powerful thing you will read in the papers this week. Was a pleasure to commission @doctor_oxford ⁩ for this. Beautiful, haunting writing about the reality of life on the wards at the moment. She doesn’t hold back.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

Amidst the gloom, here's a positive story for you from Sunday's paper. Health officials have quietly been working to eliminate hepatitis C - and they're close to pulling it off. @thesundaytimes @NHSEngland @HepatitisCTrust

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

4 months

It’s easy to blame the Midlands measles outbreak on antivaxxers. And of course scepticism is still a problem, even 25 yrs after Andrew Wakefield. But as I found in Birmingham this week, the layers of hesitancy stopping people getting their kids jabbed are incredibly complex 1/x

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

Tomorrow the IPCC will publish its WG3 report - essentially an official manual on the options for tackling climate change. Discussions to finalise the report are overrunning. I’ve seen extracts from an early draft; here are my thoughts about what will be holding up the talks.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

Octopus Energy boss Greg Jackson (⁦⁦ @g__j ⁩ ) is one of the green movement’s most effective communicators but his fight is no longer about climate change. “This is not about net zero any more. This is about national security and energy costs.” ⁩

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Are heat pumps worth it or just a lot of hot air?

Octopus Energy boss Greg Jackson on his clean, green method of heating — and slashing our energy bills

www.thetimes.co.uk

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

1 year

Over the last six months I’ve been speaking to the geneticists, chemists and cardiologists at the forefront of an audacious attempt to cure inherited heart disease. My long read is published in the Sunday Times Magazine today and online ⁦ @thetimes ⁩

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

Exclusive interview: Alok Sharma warns that the PM’s snub of Cop27 risks the UK’s reputation as a green leader. And he said the Tories could face trouble at the next election if they ditch green focus, comparing it to the Australian cons’ election defeat

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

3 years

Very excited to be joining The Sunday Times as science editor next month. Tuesday will be my last day at the Daily Mail after more than eight years. Sad to be leaving fantastic colleagues, but looking forward to the next chapter.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

It was a privilege to be the first journalist invited in to the new proton beam centre at ⁦ @uclh ⁩ - read about this awesome technology in ⁦⁦⁦ @TheSTMagazine ⁩ today. Huge thanks to Jack Silberston, 16, for letting me follow his treatment

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

4 months

In a place such as Birmingham, which has high deprivation and many different cultures and languages, spreading accurate health messages is difficult. Translating leaflets is not enough - many people can’t read even in their own language. 2/x

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

5 months

This may seem minor but it is fundamental. What No 10 is presenting as Sunak's #Cop28 speech is actually remarks he made to a small room of UK lobby journalists. It has him acting tough, criticising China and talking up the UK. What he told world leaders was quite different.

@James_BG

James Murray

5 months

Trying to get to the bottom of this, but it looks like No10 is describing this as Sunak's speech to COP28, but it was actually his opening comments to the press conference.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

You may have missed the story I wrote *last July* warning that we would soon see our first 40C day because of climate change. And the one I wrote *last month* with scientists calling for heatwaves to be named.

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How hot could Britain get? Prepare for temperatures of 40C

Britain could experience its first 40C day within ten years as intense heatwaves become more frequent, scientists have warned.If carbon emissions continue to ri

www.thetimes.co.uk

@XRebellionUK

Extinction Rebellion UK 🌍

2 years

🔥 BREAKING 🔥 Happening now - Rebels have cracked windows at News UK & sprayed #TellTheTruth & "40 degrees = Death" to highlight the failure of the Murdoch press to cover the #heatwave & #ClimateCrisis

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

Thrilled to be back in the Sunday Times Magazine tomorrow with one of my favourite ever pieces, a feature about Britain's lost rainforests and their chief protector and chronicler, @guyshrubsole . Featuring amazing pics by @RobertDarch . Online now 👇🏻

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

4 months

Our seabeds are in demand: oil, gas, wind turbines and fishing are jostling for space. Will marine life pay the price? Our investigation ⁦ @thetimes ⁩ with ⁦⁦ @RachSalv ⁩ and ⁦ @WATERSHED_i ⁩. Particular thanks to ⁦ @CRHClover ⁩ ⬇️

The Times & The Sunday Times

News and opinion from The Times & The Sunday Times

www.thetimes.co.uk

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

Tomorrow’s front page - including my story about the National Trust threatening to mobilise its 5.7m members to defend the environment against Liz Truss. Full version will be online at midnight.

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@sgfmann

George Mann

2 years

Sunday Times: Bridge blast opens up Crimea #TomorrowsPapersToday

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

We are now firmly down the rabbit hole of #COP26 diplomacy. The new text on common time frames opens with this classic: "1. Reaffirms the nationally determined nature of nationally determined contributions."

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

4 months

Many vaccine myths are now spread via WhatsApp voice note. This is not like Facebook or Mumsnet - it’s not visible, it can’t be tracked or challenged. It’s a closed loop. Infiltrating and engaging with this is incredibly difficult. 3/x

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

UN sec gen António Guterres not holding back over the IPCC report. He says the report is a "file of shame" for Western countries, a "litany of broken promises". Rich countries are “not just turning a blind eye – they are adding fuel to the flames”

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

Thoroughly enjoyed speaking to @timspector for today’s Sunday Times Magazine about diet, Covid, NHS red tape, a helicopter crash, and why baked beans are better for you than you might think. @thetimes

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

One of the great joys of working for the Sunday Times - having the chance to write 4,000 words about a meaty subject like nuclear fusion. And then seeing it on the cover of @TheSTMagazine

@timesculture

Times Culture

2 years

Nuclear fusion is the holy grail of clean energy — and Oxford scientist @FLF_Nick is sitting on the brink of a breakthrough. @Ben_Spencer reports

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

This is the new environment secretary.

@theresecoffey

Thérèse Coffey

6 years

Getting ready to deploy the amazing Roundup!

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

3 years

The Great North Bog! Details of an ambitious plan to restore England’s peatlands and shore up what is a huge carbon sink, in today’s Sunday Times.

Revive the Great North Bog to help fix our climate crisis

Conservationists have drawn up plans to create a “Great North Bog” stretching from the Midlands to the Scottish border. The peatland restoration project, which

www.thetimes.co.uk

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

5 months

Spent an hour trying to get into Rishi Sunak’s press conference at #cop28 . First they said journalists had to register. Then they said it was full. Finally got in. Oh it’s cancelled.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

1 year

Three years since we went into lockdown in the UK, I’ve been asking scientists where the next pandemic will come from, and how to stop it. My report on the hunt for Disease X is on the cover of the Sunday Times Magazine today and online @thetimes .

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

4 months

GPs can’t just hold an MMR vaccine pop-up in a mosque, as they did with Covid, because they are only allowed to vaccinate patients on their own list. Red tape is a real problem. 7/x

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

5 months

Our science + env books of the year are up, chosen with ⁦ @whippletom ⁩ and ⁦ @BenCooke135 ⁩. My picks include ⁦ @DoctorChrisVT ⁩ (book of 2023) ⁦ @camillalnord ⁩ ⁦ @Tom_J_Ireland ⁩ ⁦ @J_J_Kennedy ⁩ ⁦⁦ @mustafasuleyman ⁩

The Times & The Sunday Times

News and opinion from The Times & The Sunday Times

www.thetimes.co.uk

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

3 years

Very excited to have my first Sunday Times magazine cover today: a feature on how the Tories went green and a “green power list” of Britain’s 20 most influential environmental campaigners, scientists and politicians. Also, a look at how the green movement grew up.

@timesculture

Times Culture

3 years

OUT TODAY: How Carrie Johnson and friends are rewilding the Tories, plus the inaugural Green Power list of the UK’s most influential environmentalists

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

The government has quietly dropped its manifesto ‘dementia moonshot’ pledge to double research funding. Officials admit the budget is now £75m a year over the next five years - DOWN from £83m when the promise was made in 2019. Story in today’s @thesundaytimes

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

3 months

Pfizer and Novavax Covid jabs approved today for private use, as we forecast back in December. Pfizer says it will be available from March.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

4 months

The success of the Covid vaccine rollout - huge resources, pop-up clinics, enrolment of faith leaders etc - shows these barriers can be overcome. But just three years on from the start of the Covid jabs drive health bosses seem to have forgotten many of these lessons. 6/x

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

4 months

Some of these myths run deep. Somali groups around the world are resistant to vaccination, partly because there seems to be higher levels of autism among families of Somali origin. This has been seen from Stockholm to Minnesota. ⬇️4/x

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Scientists probe reports of Somali autism ‘cluster’

Researchers in Minneapolis and Sweden are investigating reports of so-called autism clusters among children from immigrant Somali populations. Some scientists say the clusters may be the result of a…

www.spectrumnews.org

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

3 years

Another intriguing line in this story - Defra officials are said to be in early discussions about buying up land in the East Anglian fens and Somerset Levels to flood low lying areas to restore peatland, reversing centuries of draining it for farming.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 months

Fair play to @wesstreeting . I didn't really expect him to say yes when I asked, on a bit of a whim, if he'd write about @BBCCasualty for us. A really nice piece.

@thetimes

The Times and The Sunday Times

2 months

As Derek Thompson bows out of Casualty after almost 40 years, shadow health secretary @wesstreeting , a lifelong fan, says the character embodies the compassion and kindness of real-life NHS staff ⬇️

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

Here’s a sample, on fossil fuels. Coal consumption will have to drop by up to 90 per cent globally. “This will leave fossil fuel resources unburned and risks stranding fossil-related infrastructure,” it says. “The combined economic impact could amount to trillions of dollars.”

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

5 years

First time I've ever been shortlisted for any journalism award, so absolutely thrilled to be in the running in the health and life sciences category this year.

@pressgazette

Press Gazette

5 years

Congratulations to all the British Journalism Awards 2019 finalists. We had 560 entries this year and a panel of 60 judges. “One quality shines through all the shortlists: bravery," said chairman of the judges Dominic Ponsford. #BJA2019

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

Here’s another extract I’ve seen from the draft. “Transitioning to low-carbon energy systems is now in some circumstance [sic] as economically attractive, or more economically attractive, than maintaining carbon-intensive systems.”

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

9 months

I’ve been tracking the development of gene-silencing drugs for about 5 years, and this is the holy grail: switching off the gene which produces the proteins responsible for Alzheimer’s. Early days, but the interim phase 1 results are really encouraging

The Times & The Sunday Times

News and opinion from The Times & The Sunday Times

www.thetimes.co.uk

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

The version I saw was draft. Sources close to the discussions tell me Russia, India and Saudi Arabia tried to tone it down and promote the ‘positive’ impacts of climate change. We’ll find out when the final version is published tomorrow whether they were successful.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

3 months

It was fascinating to speak to @Ed_Miliband about his relationship with his brother, his time as Labour leader, and his plans to turn Britain into a green powerhouse. And brilliant stories from the past like this 👇. Interview in today’s Sunday Times Magazine. 1/x

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

Many governments won’t want to see this kind of language in the report. Keep an eye out for the final version when (if!) it comes out tomorrow, to see how the language has changed.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

4 months

@UKHSA Read my full report on the measles outbreak and vaccine hesitancy in today’s Sunday Times or online @thetimes . With @Emmajourno and @matildakdavies . 9/9 Click below 👇

The Times & The Sunday Times

News and opinion from The Times & The Sunday Times

www.thetimes.co.uk

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

Exclusive: The ⁦ @HFEA ⁩is seeking to rewrite the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act in the biggest shakeup of fertility laws in 30 years. Aiming to remove the 14-day limit for embryo research & make it easier for same-sex couples to access IVF

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

“Greenwashing is the new climate denial,” says Laurence Tubiana. With net zero goals trumpeted by everyone from Saudi Arabia to oil firms, greenwash threatens to undermine the credibility of #COP26 . The UN is forming a new net zero watchdog in response.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

4 months

Very little research has gone into high Somali autism, leaving people grasping for the only compelling narrative they have - the autism myth. Nimo Hirsi, whose son Ilyas has autism, told me: “People say it is because of the MMR vaccine. What is the alternative explanation?” 5/x

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

9 years

England's beavers granted their liberty. True success for conservation http://t.co/2zFVzjTPbd

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

4 months

The consequences of the outbreak spreading could be dire. @UKHSA forecasts an outbreak in London - where MMR uptake is as low as 60% in parts - could see up to 160,000 cases 8/x

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

1 year

The thorny issue dividing environment officials. From yesterday's Sunday Times.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

1 year

A renaissance in psychedelic medicine is under way - but what does it do to the brain and why are so many convinced it is the answer to the mental health crisis? My examination of this evolving field is in tomo’s Sunday Times magazine and online now👇

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

Of the three parts of the IPCC series of reports this is the most contentious: what we should be doing to tackle climate change and how much it will cost. The draft extracts I’ve seen are pretty blunt and many governments will want to see them toned down.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

Just put the heating on for the first time since April. Similar feeling to footing a round of expensive drinks in the pub for more people than you were expecting - not quite sure what the bill will look like.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

3 years

Great to see our front page story from Sunday, revealing world leaders were close to a deal on deforestation, confirmed this morning. The forests package at COP26 feels like a genuine breakthrough.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

Exc: An £800m annual funding pot for landscape-scale rewilding projects has been cut to just £50m over three years in a significant victory for the farming lobby. Marks a major retreat from the green agenda in No 10. With @HarryYorke1 on the front of tomorrow's @thesundaytimes

@timespolitics

Times Politics

2 years

🔺 NEW: Plans to rewild Britain have been drastically scaled back as part of a government retreat from the green agenda, with conservation groups describing the U-turn as a “massive betrayal”

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

3 years

Check out this simulation, new on our website. It demonstrates how Covid spreads inside a pub, and the dramatic difference made by opening a couple of windows. A pleasure doing the science for this and then stepping back to watch the talented graphics team work their magic.

@samjoiner

Sam Joiner

3 years

NEW: A 25-year-old man with Covid sits down for a pint in your local pub. What are your chances of catching the virus and how can you lower the risk? With indoor dining back on the menu from Monday, we explain all in our latest visual project 🍻✨👇

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

Limiting warming to 1.5C, or even 2C, will require “major energy system transformations: reductions in fossil fuel use, the deployment of low-carbon energy sources, switching to low-carbon energy carriers, and greater energy efficiency and conservation.”

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

“With our unvaccinated Covid patients, I feel more than anything desolate, heartbroken. I simply hate seeing them die. And I know they are here, in part, because a torrent of disinformation, spewed out on social media, has made them too scared to have the vaccine.”

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

3 years

Back in the office today after two months of parental leave. Send me stories!

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

1 year

Really chuffed to be shortlisted as science and technology journalist of the year at #ThePressAwards , particularly amongst such auspicious company. And great to see so many Sunday Times colleagues in the shortlists.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

1 year

What does the Green surge mean for countryside politics? And where does it leave the Tories? Many country folk now see the Greens as the defenders of a rural way of life, ⁦⁦⁦ @HugoCDaniel ⁩ and I discovered this week. In today’s Sunday Times

The Times & The Sunday Times

News and opinion from The Times & The Sunday Times

www.thetimes.co.uk

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

Today’s Sunday Times leader column: Sunak’s judgement is called into doubt by his decision not to attend Cop27. “Britain is, and should be, at the forefront of the debate on how to confront climate change. Its scientists and businesses have led the way on searching for solutions”

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

3 years

I’ve spent the last few weeks talking to scientists, doctors and government officials about our enigmatic chief medical officer, Chris Whitty. Thanks to everyone who helped me produce this profile of a fascinating man. Delighted that it is the cover of today’s @TheSTMagazine

@timesculture

Times Culture

3 years

In the darkest days of the Covid pandemic a quiet professor rose to become the most influential figure in the land. @Ben_Spencer reports on what makes this most private of men tick

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

3 years

Ministers are set to announce mandated targets for the production of electric vehicles, offloading the burden of kickstarting production from the taxpayer and shifting it to manufacturers. With @NicholasHellen in today’s @thesundaytimes

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

On a walk across Dartmoor, Guy opened my eyes to these incredible places, teeming with life and dripping with moisture. Lichens, mosses, ferns jostle for space on damp branches, held aloft above the forest floor. Many species exist only in these fragile ecosystems.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

1 year

🧵Politicians are once again thinking the unthinkable: is it time to start charging some patients for NHS services? We’ve dug into how that might work by looking at Ireland🇮🇪, which has been charging for generations. With @RachelLavin and @JulieanneCorr

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Ireland charges £50 to see a GP. So why shouldn’t the NHS?

If the NHS is Britain’s national religion — its pride and joy, the jewel in its crown — then the idea of charging for it is a heresy. Yet every few years, a politician voices the great taboo: given...

www.thetimes.co.uk

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

5 months

Why, in this day and age, are a third of children overweight when they leave primary school? And why does this rise to nearly half in the poorest area? A deep dive into the obesity crisis via the borough of Knowsley. With @HannahAlOthman ⁩ ⬇️

The Times & The Sunday Times

News and opinion from The Times & The Sunday Times

www.thetimes.co.uk

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

3 years

Exclusive in today’s paper. Gov is close to completing a deal for millions more doses of the Pfizer vaccine in advance of a programme of third boosters for the elderly from September. With @cazjwheeler and @tomhcalver

@timespolitics

Times Politics

3 years

The government is finalising a deal to purchase 40 million more doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in time for a third booster dose to be given to the elderly this autumn

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

8 months

My adventures in neuroscience - including receiving electromagnetic jolts to the brain, and discovering a new way of thinking about mental health. Thanks to ⁦ @camillalnord ⁩ for showing me her world. In today’s Sunday Times Magazine ⁦ @thetimes ⁩

The Times & The Sunday Times

News and opinion from The Times & The Sunday Times

www.thetimes.co.uk

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

3 years

Not popular with the vaccine sceptics this morning

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

Yes, this new variant is worrying, but scientists are preparing our defences. This is not December 2020 - we’ve come a long way in a year. My take in tomorrow’s ⁦ @thesundaytimes ⁩

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

1 year

The Sunday Times science books of the year are online now along with The Times selection picked by @whippletom and @BenCooke135 . My picks include @guyshrubsole for *the* book of the year plus @timspector @suziesheehy @TJDHalliday @FransdeWaal Polly Morland

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

Sajid Javid announces "plans to work to" boost funding for dementia research, while confirming the annual budget will be cut to £75m from the £160m "dementia moonshot" promised in the last election manifesto.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

@adampayne26 Hate to burst everyone's bubble here, but this is standard protocol - the recipient's name is put at the bottom. See this letter from Boris Johnson to Oliver Dowden

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

The draft says limiting warming to 1.5C would cost between 2.6 and 4.2 per cent of global GDP by 2050. It adds that the additional spend will slow annual growth by no more than 0.14 of a percentage point.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

1 year

Exclusive: @ABPI_UK president Pinder Sahota resigned last night as his own company, Novo Nordisk, faces being expelled from the ABPI over serious breaches of the industry code of practice.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

3 years

Nice to see my story from Sunday confirmed by the health secretary

@BBCBreaking

BBC Breaking News

3 years

UK orders extra 60 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine, as government puts plan in place for booster programme in the autumn

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

1 month

It was a privilege to be the first journalist allowed into London Zoo’s new reptile house - home to weird, wonderful and downright bizarre creatures. In today’s Sunday Times ⬇️

The Times & The Sunday Times

News and opinion from The Times & The Sunday Times

www.thetimes.co.uk

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

“The maths is brutal. One in, one out. Unless this patient leaves, that one cannot enter… Trapped people are dying of heart attacks and strokes in the back of stationary ambulances, to the horror of all involved in trying to care for them.”

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

“In my NHS trust, we are on permanent black alert. We have already converted every conceivable spare space — discharge lounges, offices, oversized broom cupboards — into extra wards for patients. There is no spare capacity whatsoever.”

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 months

This is a fantastic piece of journalism - and one not many reporters would be equipped to do. Everyone with a Facebook or Instagram account should read it.

@matildakdavies

Matilda Davies

@matildakdavies

2 months

🚨 NEW 🚨 Meta's chequered past with users' privacy is well documented. I wanted to find out everything it knows about me since I created a Facebook account aged 11. Now, I'm sharing everything I found out. Read the scary truth here 👇🏻

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Ben Spencer

2 years

It says electricity - which currently provides 20 per cent of global energy - will have to supply as much as 60 per cent by 2050. Virtually all of this electricity will have to come from low-carbon sources.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

3 years

When will the pandemic end? With cases soaring, services struggling and the constant fear of being pinged, this doesn’t feel like freedom. But virologists I spoke to this week were surprisingly optimistic. Covid will be with us for generations, but the worst may nearly be over.

@timespolitics

Times Politics

3 years

As case numbers rise and more infectious variants emerge, it feels to many as though the Covid-19 pandemic might never end But many scientists now believe that the lethal power of the coronavirus is fading, and the end may be in sight

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Ben Spencer

2 years

My interview with Greg Jackson is published in today’s @TheSTMagazine , featuring heat pumps, electric cars, deep tech and how to decarbonise Britain. Also, why we need to stop running our electricity system like a taxi firm.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

And just like that a decade has passed - today marks exactly 10 years since I started in Fleet Street.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

This is @ShaunLintern at his best

@ShaunLintern

Shaun Lintern

2 years

INVESTIGATION: An NHS trust - once praised as the safest in England - is accused of covering up concerns about a top surgeon now linked to the death of a 17-year-old girl 15 years ago. Her family were in the dark until this week 🧵 1/14

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

You might think, as I did, that rainforests were only found in the tropics. But once upon a time a fifth of Britain's landmass was covered in temperate rainforest. Now only fragments remain, covering just 0.5% of the country.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

Exclusive: The world has now stockpiled more Covid jabs than it can use, says ⁦⁦ @adarpoonawalla ⁩, CEO of the Serum Institute of India. Challenge is no longer manufacturing but distribution. Many vulnerable countries have stopped placing orders.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

Ten years ago, to the day, David Cameron launched a campaign to cure dementia. I met him to discuss the progress that has been made; his friendship with Nick Clegg; life as an ex-PM; & the Greensill saga. In ⁦⁦ @TheSTMagazine ⁩ tomo and online now

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

3 years

I’ll be exploring the peat ban and wider peatland and tree plans in greater depth in my environment newsletter on Tuesday morning. Sign up to get it here:

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

1 year

But what if the mine does get constructed? There is but a dwindling market for the coking coal it will produce - domestically at least. It risks becoming a stranded asset, having soaked up millions in investment but with no way to shift the product. This is the precedent:

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

Kicking off in style - @ShaunLintern with the splash on week one

@hendopolis

Neil Henderson

2 years

SUNDAY TIMES: Doctors’ anger as unjabbed fill emergency beds #TomorrowsPapersToday

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

1 year

So should the NHS follow suit? 94% polled say no. As @SivaAnandaciva puts it: “Charging is a zombie policy. The thing about zombie policies is that because of their inherent appeal they continue to be resurrected, and because of their inherent flaws they continue to be killed.”

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

4 years

Very pleased to be shortlisted for the mental health story of the year at the Medical Journalists’ Association annual awards, in recognition of the Mail’s campaign on antidepressant side effects.

@mjauk

Medical Journalists' Association

4 years

Mental health story of the year is supported by @EdelmanUK . Congratulations to finalists @pkelso @RachelSkyNews @emilydum @Geri_E_L_Scott @Ben_Spencer @NickTriggle Watch our virtual ceremony 12pm on Sept 23 to find out this year's #MJAAwards winners

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

11 months

Viruses have a bed rep. Covid, flu, Ebola: these are life-wrecking, nasty things. But what if viruses could actually help us? Phages are viruses that attack bacteria. And with antibiotics failing, they could be the future. In today’s Sunday Times Magazine

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How ‘good viruses’ can save us from our antibiotics timebomb

Phage therapy is a century-old treatment largely abandoned since the invention of penicillin. As traditional drugs lose their power, is this the future of fighting infection, asks Ben Spencer

www.thetimes.co.uk

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

3 years

It was a privilege this week to speak to two of the world’s leading vaccine scientists - Phil Dormitzer of Pfizer and Sarah Gilbert at Oxford - about the next steps in Covid vaccine development. Read about it in tomorrow’s Sunday Times.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

Would be great if you could stop smashing up my office. Thanks.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

3 years

Hugh Pym talking about a piece I wrote on the telly this morning.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

3 years

The humble boiler’s days are numbered and there’s an almighty battle going on as rival industries jostle to replace it. I’ve written 2,000 words about the future of central heating... and to my surprise quite a few people are reading it.

@Martin_Hemming

Martin Hemming

@Martin_Hemming

3 years

The best performing piece on The Sunday Times website right now is about... boilers. In April.

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@Ben_Spencer

Ben Spencer

2 years

Covid showed what science can do at speed, if given resources and political will. Now apply those lessons to dementia - the UK’s fastest growing disease - say ⁦ @AlzResearchUK ⁩ and a host of scientists I spoke to for today’s ⁦ @thesundaytimes ⁩

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