Evolution: features that help finding a mate may lead to smaller brains
Male southern elephant seals are much larger than females. Jeremy Richards/Shutterstock A longstanding question in evolutionary biology is how sexual selection influences how entire genomes develop. Sexual selection is...

Why the future of women’s rugby in England looks stronger than ever
The womens rugby side Gloucester-Hartpury have had a pretty good season. On March 16 they won their third Premiership Womens Rugby Championship in a row, beating Saracens 31-19 in the final. But the sport as a whole is...

European defence spending: three technical reasons for political cooperation
How much would it really cost the European Union to defend itself against aggression? In the immediate term, that question, of course makes us think of Russia, but we can no longer exclude multiple other possibilities,...

Are mental health conditions overdiagnosed in the UK? Two experts go head to head
Speaking on BBC Ones Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg, Wes Streeting, the UK health secretary, expressed concerns that some mental health conditions were overdiagnosed. The Conversation asked two experts to comment on...
Earth’s lungs are choking on plastic and smoke – scientists hope to unblock them
Martin.Dlugo/Shutterstock A graph I saw in high school appeared to show the Earth breathing. It was a graph that plotted carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the course of the 20th century and into the 21st. CO₂ had risen...
Several U.S. climate regulations aim to reduce burning of fossil fuels, a driver of climate change. Visions of America/Joseph Sohm/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Most of the United States major climate regulations...
Europe’s rearmament is moving fast – it must not overlook these three vital areas
German soldiers take part in the Romanian National Day military parade in Bucharest. Mircea Moira/Shutterstock The second Trump administration has seen an aggressive restoration of big stick foreign policy. In just two...