Limp salad, bad barbecues, jellyfish stings and chaffing. Summer can be a tricky season - but our experts are on hand to help with your hot-weather headaches

Worr isome wasps
“If you eat near still water you’ll get a lot more insects than if you have a bit of a breeze,” says Ben Quinn, chef and founder of Woodfired Canteen . “But ultimately, if you go to mother nature’s dining room, there will be others at your table. Pack a few sacrifices to the god of the wasps in the form of diluted jam in a mug for them to focus on.” You’re better off firing up the barbecue, he adds: “The smoke annoys insects, so they avoid it.” Simon Stallard, chef and founder of the Hidden Hut cafe in Cornwall, says wait until the last second to open anything sugary: “Cakes, fizzy drinks, ketchup – that’s what they’re attracted to.”

Enlarge / The Birthday Cake flavored bar.

One person may have died from eating Diamond Shruumz microdosing candies, which were recalled last week amid a rash of severe illnesses involving seizures, intubation, and intensive care stays .

According to an update this week from the Food and Drug Administration , the cluster of cases continues to increase across the country. To date, 48 people across 24 states have fallen ill after eating the candies, which include chocolate bars, gummies, and candy cones that were sold online and in retail locations, such as smoke and vape shops. Of the 48 people sickened, 46 were ill enough to seek medical care, and 27 were admitted to a hospital.

For now, the death noted in the FDA's latest update is only "potentially associated" with the candies and is still under investigation. No other information is yet available.

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The hit show shows how kitchens are pressure cookers of stress, but not how professional cooking ravages the body

The opening scene of the popular F/X drama The Bear’s latest season opens with troubled chef Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto gazing at a deep scar in his hand. He vaguely explains its origin to his doctor girlfriend, Claire; the now-healed injury seems like nothing much to him. Attuned to what Carmy leaves unsaid, she asks if the wound hurt so much that he couldn’t feel it at the time.

That delayed pain applies to Carmy’s other wounds: the mental health damage sustained in an abusive kitchen and a harsh upbringing. But now he’s passing his trauma on to his own restaurant staff as he pushes them toward their breaking points.

Gut health has become something of a wellness buzzword – so we asked experts what the gut microbiome is and how it affects our health

Human bodies are mysterious. They are full of wonders (brains, kidneys) and horrors (earwax). We spend our entire lives in these flesh sacks, and yet we don’t fully know how they work, or how jeans will fit them from one day to the next

And the gut microbiome might be one of the most bewildering corners.

We would like to hear from students across the UK who are thinking of quitting their nursing degree

According to a report from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), seen by the Guardian, about 32,000 nursing students in England could walk away before they graduate.

Half of nursing students in England have considered leaving and we want to find out more about the experiences of nursing students across the UK.

Experts warn of long-term health implications amid concerns over advice from social media ‘evangelists’

• ‘Frightening’ how easily women able to get hold of testosterone, say doctors

The prescribing of testosterone for middle-aged women is “out of control” and may have long-term implications for their health, experts have warned.

They are concerned that “testosterone evangelists” on social media – including some celebrities and GPs – are giving women the impression that the hormone will reduce fatigue and improve their energy levels, as well as protecting their heart, brain, muscles and bones. But experts say the evidence only supports its use in postmenopausal women with low libido, when psychosocial causes have been ruled out.

Shorter playtimes and shrinking outside space in England have serious implications for children’s wellbeing and mental health

• Revealed: students at top private schools have 10 times more green space than state pupils
• Indoors at breaktime: the school in a London office block
• Private schools in England should be made to share their green space, say campaigners

Children are facing a “brutal” loss of space and time for play in school, teachers, unions and academics have warned.

A combination of factors is eating into the time children spend outside, and will have serious implications for their wellbeing and mental health.

A Guardian analysis of the space available to state school children in England has revealed that thousands are attending schools with very little outside space, with government data showing that more than 300 schools have under 1,000 sq metres and at least 20 have no outside space. In nearly 1,000 schools, there is under 10 sq metres for each pupil.

New and unpublished research from the UCL Institute of Education seen by the Guardian showed a continued downward trend in the amount of time children have for playtime in the wake of the Covid lockdowns, with the youngest losing the most time.

The demands of the curriculum have increased, and continue to diminish time outside, while staffing shortages are reducing capacity to oversee playtime.

Across England and Wales schools face difficult financial decisions, which are having an impact on the funding to care for grounds. Headteachers in the state sector have said they are in desperate need of funding to improve basic facilities for children.

School buildings are crumbling, as many were built with Raac (reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete) that was not replaced within its usable lifetime, meaning in some cases playgrounds are being used to host temporary classrooms. This is squeezing out the little space some schools have for children to spend time outside.

Rishi Sunak’s team helped fast-track deal with firm founded by Charles Huang, who says contracts generated $2bn profit

In California, state of sunshine and palm trees, a small group of men are locked in a big legal fight over the money made by a US company selling Covid tests to the British government. The founder of Innova Medical Group says his business collected $2bn (£1.6bn) in profits, one of the largest fortunes banked by any medical supplier during the scramble for lifesaving equipment in the early months of the pandemic.

In a storm of claims and counter-claims, Innova’s boss, Charles Huang, is accused by former associates of “squandering” or moving $1bn of those profits, spending lavishly on luxury aircraft, an $18m house in Los Angeles and “homes for his mistresses”.

Faced with ‘bad’ emotions, it’s natural to want to lock them up. As a therapist and a patient, I’ve learned to let them run

Not so long ago, one of my best friends was sitting at my kitchen table, crying. He and his partner had just broken up, and I could feel his desperate sadness and the crushing weight of grief at losing someone he loved so much. I stood by the counter feeling so helpless. Confronted with his suffering, I was desperate to lift him out of his misery, to tell him that they would get back together, that things would be OK. It felt like an emotional emergency, and I wanted to call in the feelings police to lock his bad feelings up.

One of the hardest things for me to do, when I was training to be a psychotherapist, was to stop trying to make my patients feel better. It is of course a very natural response, if someone we are with is feeling bad, to want to make them feel good. We feel it in our bones – feeling bad is bad, feeling good is good, and we want only good things for those we care for. Emergency! Shut this thing down!