How the extinction of ice age mammals may have forced us to invent civilisation
Jan 06, 2020 16:57 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature
Why did we take so long to invent civilisation? Modern Homo sapiens first evolved roughly 250,000 to 350,000 years ago. But initial steps towards civilisation harvesting, then domestication of crop plants began only...
The bushfires are horrendous, but expect cyclones, floods and heatwaves too
Jan 06, 2020 16:50 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature
Public attention on the disastrous bushfire crisis in Australia will rightly continue for weeks to come. But as we direct resources to coping and recovery, we should not forget other weather and climate challenges looming...
Jan 02, 2020 06:19 am UTC| Nature
The year 2019 was marked with worldwide actions encouraging people to take part in preserving our environment. Model Ria Serebryakova has done her part through high fashion, a field where she beautifully shines, and...
Statistic of the decade: The massive deforestation of the Amazon
Dec 24, 2019 08:54 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature
This year, I was on the judging panel for the Royal Statistical Societys International Statistic of the Decade. Much like Oxford English Dictionarys Word of the Year competition, the international statistic is meant to...
Our addiction to stuff: How Walmart enables us to destroy the planet
Dec 22, 2019 14:22 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature Business
Tis the season when shoppers fill the malls, and UPS and FedEx trucks crowd the roads. The amount of stuff that moves in and out of households during the Christmas season is staggering. According to the business...
Butterfly lovers become citizen scientists by logging sightings on eButterfly
Dec 16, 2019 04:07 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature
The Abstract features interesting research and the people behind it. Kathleen Prudic is an entomologist who studies pollinators. We caught up with her recently to discuss her work as co-directer of eButterfly. What...
Expect family talks about climate change this Christmas? Take tips from Greta Thunberg
Dec 13, 2019 07:19 am UTC| Insights & Views Life Nature
As bushfires rage and our cities lie shrouded in smoke, climate change is shaping as a likely topic of conversation at the family dinner table this Christmas. Such discussions can be fraught if family members hold...
Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility
Economist Chris Richardson on an ‘ugly’ inflation result and the coming budget
The Mattei Plan: why Giorgia Meloni is looking to Africa
Labour can afford to be far more ambitious with its economic policies – voters are on board
Sudan: civil war stretches into a second year with no end in sight