Planning inspectors recommended against a Hitachi-built nuclear power plant in Anglesey on the basis that it could dilute the island's Welsh language and culture, it has emerged. Hitachi scrapped plans to build a 20bn nuclear power plant at Wylfa in 2020 over cost concerns after failing to reach a funding agreement with UK ministers. Keir Starmer's government has vowed to make it easier to build major infrastructure projects by reforming the planning system and stopping campaigners from launching "excessive" legal challenges. The prime minister unveiled plans for a historic expansion in nuclear power this week, vowing to "push past nimbyism" and make sites across the country available for new power stations. Nuclear industry figures believe that the fate of Hitachi's proposed plant at Wylfa demonstrates the problems with the UK's planning system.

A study has found that during sleep, the experiences you care about are more likely to enter your long-term memory. Eighty non-Welsh speaking participants were taught Welsh words before either a period of wake or sleep. Those who slept showed an increased ability to learn the words, and the effect was greatest in those who placed personal value on the language. This suggests that memories perceived as important undergo preferential treatment by the brain during sleep. While it has long been established that sleep helps the consolidation of memories, this is the first study to show that the effect is influenced by how much you care about the memory.