Neurotechnology is booming -- but making a business success of medical devices is perilous. This story looks at what can happen when companies fail and asks why so little is done to protect people with neural implants. nature.com/immersive/d41586-…

This wearable robot provides resistance training for children who are unable to walk because of spinal muscular atrophy go.nature.com/4dUOzWr

nature.com/articles/d41586-0… Are non-antibiotic drugs contributing to antimicrobial resistance? My latest asks: Is it time to investigate whether commonly used drugs for conditions such as diabetes, depression, and indigestion contribute to the antimicrobial resistance crisis?

THIS

I am calling on David Hinton, the CEO of South East Water, to resign. 24,000 properties have endured three days of South East Water’s chaotic emergency response and woeful communication. It’s an utter disgrace and a total failure of leadership by David Hinton. Every announcement by the company over the last few days telling customers when water supplies would be restored has been wrong. We’ve had endless announcements each giving a different time for water supplies returning. Initially residents in Tunbridge Wells were told to collect bottled water from another town. Then bottled water stations were only set up in central Tunbridge Wells on my instigation. This incident has caused chaos, anger and anxiety for people. Primary and secondary schools are closed. GP surgeries and civil buildings are closed. Businesses have been unable to trade on one of the busiest trading days of the year. Restaurants and hotels have lost thousands of pounds. Care homes and vulnerable people have been left without water for hours, with many contacting me personally to get bottled water delivered to them because South East Water’s phone lines were too busy. Roads have been gridlocked for hours as people queued to access water distribution sites. When I was elected last year, David Hinton gave personal and public assurances that the lessons of previous water outages in Tunbridge Wells had been learnt. In 2022, water was cut off for 6 days over Christmas; we’ve been here before and he vowed to fix things so it couldn’t happen again. We now know that is not true. From the failure to provide sufficient resilience in the local network, to the terrible communications with the community, to putting in place any emergency response plan – the CEO hasn’t kept his promises to the people of Tunbridge Wells. David Hinton must resign, and if he had any integrity he would do so immediately.

Paradromics. Elon and Neuralink have company. Patients options and greater exploration of the design space are big positives.

My latest

Very important development - but a few questions remain...

I'm absolutely thrilled to have won this award. Many thanks to the @mjauk and to @claudiamcvie

I’m going to be writing an article that looks at when in their careers scientists feel they do their most satisfying work… I’m sure it’ll vary hugely but if you’d like to help provide a starting point please fill in this survey - and please share! survey.alchemer.com/s3/84073…

I'm absolutely delighted to be shortlisted for The Gordon McVie Award for Reporting Cancer Research Award.

Losing the Y chromosome seems to make cancer cells more aggressive in men and the phenomenon may even spread between cells go.nature.com/4jwznP7

Enjoyed speaking to Vox for this:

Find this a fascinating topic to report

Might optogenetics be on the cusp of becoming a transformative therapy for blindness? My latest looks at the latest advances in using this technology for treating retinitis pigmentosa, with an ongoing clinical trial yielding remarkable results. nature.com/articles/d41586-0…

We would like to thank all NCD advocates who participated in #NCDAF2025. It was a pleasure to meet civil society members, people living with NCDs, experts, young advocates, government representatives, and private sector stakeholders in Kigali to strategized on how we can #LeadOnNCDs in these turbulent times for global health.

On impact factors and real world impact: Specialist journals play an outsized role in changing conservation law. Enjoyed writing this one. nature.com/articles/d41586-0…

TONIGHT I start the tour of my show ‘The Eyes Open and Shut Show’ @sohotheatre in London. I am there until Saturday and then getting the show on the tracks. It would be excellent to see you if you’re about and up for it. Tickets here robauton.co.uk

Dirty air, dementia, and other brain disorders nature.com/articles/d41586-0… new Feature @Nature, open-access, by @liamjdrew

Links between air pollution and brain disorders keep accruing. Scientists now need to figure out which pollutants harm the brain and how. My latest for @Nature nature.com/articles/d41586-0…