All news by author: Ryan Merrifield

Scientists from the Planetary Research Institute used NASA's MESSENGER probe to explore glaciers of salt on Mercury's north pole and speculate life forms could live under its surface

Storm Gerrit has battered the UK with 80mph wind gusts, torrential rain and snow, with a Met Office warning remaining in place this morning as well as dozens of flood warnings

Mum-of-three Kirsty Bortoft, from Scarborough, North Yorkshire, suffered a cardiac arrest and was put into a coma. She has explained what happened during the 40 minutes she was 'dead'

Gracie Vater, 22, died on Christmas Day in hospital after a quad bike crash in Shipton Moyne, near Tetbury, Gloucestershire, with two men, aged 29 and 30, later arrested

Storm Gerrit has left hundreds of motorists trapped in their cars on the A9 in Scotland, with heavy snow having blocked off the key route near Drumochter in the Highlands

Kathryn Hughes, 30, was killed in crash in Llandarcy on Christmas Eve, with her family paying a heartbreaking tribute to the "amazing" mum, as South Wales Police continue probe

Crown Princess Mary of Denmark was seen holding hands with husband Crown Prince Frederik amid rumours of an alleged affair with Mexican socialite Genoveva were sparked last month

Cameron Arneaud, 20, was driving home from work on his motorbike on Friday evening when he collided with a Toyota Prius in Finedon, Northamptonshire and died at the scene

Tens of thousands of people have gathered at more than 200 meet locations across the UK for the controversial annual Boxing Day hunt parades, including protesters calling for the 'smokescreen' sport to be banned

Alex Batty, 17, said he never really celebrated Christmas while moving between hippy communes across Europe but was delighted to experience festivities with his grandma in Oldham

The moment - during the BBC's A Berry Royal Christmas in 2019 - has resurfaced amid the festivities and sees Prince William and Princess Kate appear in the special with Mary Berry

The P&O Caribbean cruise charter Maleth Aero Flight 1975 was bound for Manchester Airport from Barbados but was forced to divert to Bermuda thanks to extreme turbulence on Christmas Eve

New figures show Elle Edwards' killer Connor Chapman has cost £282,000 in legal aid - the majority of which during this year's murder trial for gunning down the beautician on Christmas Eve

Hapless hitman Tristan Sherry, in his 20s, opened fire with a submachine gun at Browne's Steakhouse in the village of Blanchardstown, Dublin, on Christmas Eve before being killed

Two teenage boys - aged 18 and 15 - were killed in a three-car crash in Cramlington, Northumbria, on Friday evening, with two other males and a female are currently in hospital

Christmas Day is expected to be exceptionally mild, though the Met Office says a white Christmas is "definitely" on for Scotland with up to four inches set to fall

A handwritten note detailing a 'plan to kill' Brianna Ghey, 16, was found in the bedroom of one of her killers by police, while other scribblings revealed a serial killer obsession

Angela Hood said she feared nine-year-old daughter Katie would be dead by the time she reached Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, as she turned grey

Crime expert Dr Honor Doro Townshend says teenager Brianna Ghey's killers - referred to as Girl X and Boy Y - had the 'potential to have been very dangerous long term' if they hadn't been caught

Thousands of X social media users are reporting problems across the UK this morning on Down Detector - with the message 'Welcome to X!' appearing on people's empty timelines

Mum-of-four Claire Holland was last seen more than 11 years ago aged 32 - and despite her body never being found, her ex boyfriend Darren Osment was convicted last week of her murder

An attacker is reported to have stabbed at least five people during a horror spree in a shopping centre in Pasir Ris, in the East Region of Singapore, with shoppers running for cover

WARNING - DISTRESSING CONTENT: Oliver Francis Thompson, 32, was given a suspended prison sentence after leaked videos showed him baiting a fox with a dog - and throwing another to be savaged by hounds

Lawrence Bierton, who bludgeoned Pauline Quinn to death with a coffee table after she refused to give him money for alcohol, will now serve life in prison for murder

Missing Alex Batty spent time living in the tiny village of Camps-sur-l'Agly in the foothills of the Pyrenees - but the handful of residents had no idea who the teenager really was