Chelsea Flower Show Kicks Off Tuesday amid Climate Change Challenges

Another garden was designed to play an active role against flooding, adaptable to different water levels, with a channel and drainage system, as well as reservoirs to act as water basins - AFP
Another garden was designed to play an active role against flooding, adaptable to different water levels, with a channel and drainage system, as well as reservoirs to act as water basins - AFP
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Chelsea Flower Show Kicks Off Tuesday amid Climate Change Challenges

Another garden was designed to play an active role against flooding, adaptable to different water levels, with a channel and drainage system, as well as reservoirs to act as water basins - AFP
Another garden was designed to play an active role against flooding, adaptable to different water levels, with a channel and drainage system, as well as reservoirs to act as water basins - AFP

Early springs, droughts and floods are influencing this year's Chelsea Flower Show, which is keener than ever to reflect the changing climate and cut its own carbon footprint.

The annual exhibition of horticultural excellence and innovation opens to the public in west London on Tuesday, with more than 150,000 visitors expected.

King Charles III, a lifelong environmentalist who once admitted talking to his plants, got a sneak peek on Monday, in a behind-closed-doors visit with wife Queen Camilla.

The 75-year-old monarch, who is being treated for cancer, visited a garden created by and for children -- a first in the show's 111-year history.

The Chelsea Flower Show, organised by the Royal Horticultural Society, has in recent years become increasingly focused on sustainable development and biodiversity, AFP reported.

This year, the biggest gardens have had to submit their plans in advance, so they could be scrutinised for issues such as water usage, waste and materials.

Adaptations made as a result have led to a 20-percent reduction in their carbon footprint, according to the RHS.

Since last year, all exhibited gardens must be able to be transferred in whole or in part to decorate schools, hospitals or other public spaces throughout the country.

Among the 35 gardens competing in four categories this year is one focusing on water harvesting to combat drought.

An elegantly curved sloping roof pavilion harvests water and redirects it to be stored, while the plants were selected for their resilience to either drought or flooding.

The Water Aid Garden "is like a giant sponge", its designer Tom Massey told AFP.

"All the water is drawn up, it's utilised, all the hard landscaping is open and permeable as well to allow water to pass through and soak into the garden."

Another garden was designed to play an active role against flooding, adaptable to different water levels, with a channel and drainage system, as well as reservoirs to act as water basins.

"A garden more climate- and flood-resilient does not have to be a compromise on either its form or function," said its designer Naomi Slade.

Co-designer Ed Barsley said that increases in extreme weather events such as heavy rain, flooding, drought and wildfire left many people anxious.

"As individuals they can feel powerless to make a difference. But gardens are hugely powerful tools," he added.

One of the gardens on display this year uses only recycled materials from previous editions of the Chelsea Flower Show.

A mild winter and an early spring, followed by a cold snap, has forced some gardens to review their plans.

Designer Anne-Marie Powell said she had given up on local hawthorns as they were already wilted, and certain types of irises.

"Climate change is proving a huge challenge for us," she told AFP. But she added: "There is a massive opportunity to rethink and experiment."

The result is plants that are not normally a feature at the Chelsea Flower Show.

"People really need to adapt, they need to experiment," she added.



Weight-Loss Drugs May Lower Cancer Risk in People with Diabetes, a Study Suggests 

A box of Ozempic made by Novo Nordisk is seen at a pharmacy in London, Britain March 8, 2024. (Reuters) 
A box of Ozempic made by Novo Nordisk is seen at a pharmacy in London, Britain March 8, 2024. (Reuters) 
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Weight-Loss Drugs May Lower Cancer Risk in People with Diabetes, a Study Suggests 

A box of Ozempic made by Novo Nordisk is seen at a pharmacy in London, Britain March 8, 2024. (Reuters) 
A box of Ozempic made by Novo Nordisk is seen at a pharmacy in London, Britain March 8, 2024. (Reuters) 

Excess body weight can raise the risk of certain cancers, leading researchers to wonder whether blockbuster drugs like Wegovy, Ozempic and Zepbound could play a role in cancer prevention.

Now, a study of 170,000 patient records suggests there's a slightly lower risk of obesity-related cancers in US adults with diabetes who took these popular medications compared to those who took another class of diabetes drug not associated with weight loss.

This type of study can't prove cause and effect, but the findings hint at a connection worth exploring. More than a dozen cancers are associated with obesity.

“This is a call to scientists and clinical investigators to do more work in this area to really prove or disprove this,” said Dr. Ernest Hawk of MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, who was not involved in the study.

The findings were released Thursday by the American Society of Clinical Oncology and will be discussed at its annual meeting in Chicago. The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, was led by Lucas Mavromatis, a medical student at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine.

“Chronic disease and chronic disease prevention are some of my passions,” said Mavromatis, a former research fellow with an NIH training program.

GLP-1 receptor agonists are injections used to treat diabetes, and some are also approved to treat obesity. They work by mimicking hormones in the gut and the brain to regulate appetite and feelings of fullness. They don't work for everyone and can produce side effects that include nausea and stomach pain.

In the study, researchers analyzed data from 43 US health systems to compare two groups: people with obesity and diabetes who took GLP-1 drugs and other people with the same conditions who took diabetes drugs like sitagliptin. The two groups were equal in size and matched for other characteristics.

After four years, those who took GLP-1 drugs had a 7% lower risk of developing an obesity-related cancer and an 8% lower risk of death from any cause compared to those who took the other type of diabetes drug. There were 2,501 new cases of obesity-related cancer in the GLP-1 group compared to 2,671 cases in the other group.

The effect was evident in women, but not statistically significant in men. The study couldn't explain that difference, but Mavromatis noted that differences in blood drug concentration, weight loss, metabolism or hormones could be at play.