Protecting wildlife begins with understanding how best to counter wildlife crimes
By Lisa Kelly Et Al
Global biodiversity is declining, and human activities are mainly to blame.
Indeed, 96 per cent of the worlds total remaining mammalian biomass the combined weight, or mass, of mammal organic life consists of either...
The 2023 Sir Paul Curran award for academic journalism goes to Barbara Sahakian
By Jo Adetunji
Barbara Sahakian, Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology at the University of Cambridge and author of Bad Moves and Sex, Lies, Brain Scans, has spent her academic career finding out what makes us tick.
If youve ever...
I’m pregnant. Do I need a multivitamin?
By Linda Gallo Et Al
Growing a healthy baby relies on getting enough nutrients while pregnant.
But rather than following a healthy diet to provide those nutrients, were concerned too many people are relying on pink multivitamins.
These...
From Bridgerton to Grey’s Anatomy, Shonda Rhimes is the queen of romance
By Rebecca TreleaseTrelease
Television producer and screenwriter Shonda Rhimes has come a long way since being a scriptwriter for the 2002 film Crossroads.
Her production company Shondaland now shines in its delivery of romance shows, with...
From Barbie to Thomas the Tank Engine: How entertainment brands are adapting to Generation Alpha
By Aya Aboelenien Et Al
Growing up, did you play with hyper-sexualized Barbie dolls, boys-only Thomas the Tank Engine trains, or slim, white Disney princesses? If so, youre not alone, but this is no longer the case for Generation Alpha.
Brands...
Cardiac rehab is a proven but underused therapy in women, but tailored resources aim to change that
By Gabriela Ghisi
For women with cardiovascular disease, cardiac rehabilitation programs save lives, but are still underused. New resources could help more women take control of their cardiac health.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain...
Drake-Kendrick Lamar feud: What does the law say about defamatory lyrics?
By Lisa Macklem
The feud between rappers Drake and Kendrick Lamar reached a fever pitch recently, with both dissing each other in songs featuring harsh accusations. This kind of beef between rap artists isnt new, but the severity of the...
Taylor Swift has got the 1830s all wrong
By Emily Ireland
Taylor Swift has become incredibly popular as a documenter of her dating history. But in her new album, The Tortured Poets Department, she tries her hand at writing about actual history.
In the second verse of I Hate it...
Summer 2023 was northern hemisphere’s hottest for 2,000 years, tree rings show
By Mary Gagen
The summer of 2023 was the warmest in the non-tropical areas of the northern hemisphere for 2,000 years, a new study has shown.
Across this vast area of land, encompassing Europe, Asia and North America, surface air...
Over 26 million South Africans get a social grant. Fear of losing the payment used to be a reason to vote for the ANC, but no longer – study
By Leila Patel Et Al
Social grants to reduce poverty feature prominently in the campaign promises of political parties in South Africas 2024 national and provincial general elections, set for 29 May.
The countrys social grants system is one...
Ghana’s forests are being wiped out: what’s behind this and why attempts to stop it aren’t working
By John Tennyson Afele
Ghana has around 7.9 million hectares of forested land (35% of the total land area), according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. Around 7.6 million hectares are primary or naturally regenerated forest, and around...
Meet Paris’ black dandies, the Sapeurs
By Daouda Coulibaly
You can spot them in the streets of Paris or at fashion events in London, Milan, Brussels or Dubai. Most are black African men with sharp outfits designed and chosen to get them noticed. Known as Sapeurs the name comes...
Why do the aurora look better through a camera?
By Darren Baskill
On 10 and 11 May 2024, large parts of the world were treated to their most spectacular display of the aurora the northern and southern lights in a generation. Thanks to modern cameras, the phenomenon was all over social...
How German media attention idealises female Ukrainian refugees
By Antje Missbach Et Al
According to the latest available data, around 3.7 million Ukrainians are internally displaced, while nearly 6.5 million have registered as refugees globally. With 1.13 million, Germany has taken in the largest...
Low testosterone in men associated with an early death – new study
By Daniel Kelly
It has long been thought that testosterone shortens mens lives. Studies in neutered animals and Korean eunuchs seem to confirm this. However, a new study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, draws these findings...
Navel gazing: checking your belly button can tell you a lot about your health
By Dan Baumgardt
Navels, belly buttons, innies or outies … whatever term you use, your umbilicus may have plenty to tell you about the state of your health.
For some, they are the thing of nightmares omphalophobia (the fear of...
Exams: seven tips for coping with revision stress
By Emma Palmer-Cooper
Exam season is underway across the UK. If youre sitting exams this summer, you might be feeling stressed and a bit overwhelmed as you try to prepare.
Youre not alone: stress is a normal part of the human experience, and...
Interest rates: the ugly dilemma facing Europe’s central banks – and why it’s a mistake to cut too soon
By Daniel Gros Et Al
Central banks in Europe are discovering an old dilemma: when they lower interest rates because inflation is slowing down, its likely to weaken their currencies. This in turn may delay the fall in inflation towards their...
Gabon: post-coup dialogue has mapped out path to democracy – now military leaders must act
By Douglas Yates
At the end of April 2024, a long and peaceful process of national dialogue in Gabon between the military junta, presided over by coup leader General Brice Oligui Nguema, and civil society, represented by 580 civilians,...
Haitians looking to escape violence and chaos face hostility in neighboring Dominican Republic
By Edlin Veras
Haitis capital of Port-au-Prince has been under siege for several months, with reports suggesting about 200 gangs have seized control of more than 80% of the city.
The surge of violence has left residents with few...
‘Noise’ in the machine: Human differences in judgment lead to problems for AI
By Mayank Kejriwal
Many people understand the concept of bias at some intuitive level. In society, and in artificial intelligence systems, racial and gender biases are well documented.
If society could somehow remove bias, would all...
Iron fuels immune cells – and it could make asthma worse
By Benjamin Hurrell Et Al
Youve likely heard that you can get iron from eating spinach and steak. You might also know that its an essential trace element that is a major component of hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from...
Asian Jewish Americans have a double reason to celebrate their heritage in May
By Samira Mehta
May is both Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and Jewish American Heritage Month. Two entirely separate commemorations for two entirely separate communities, right?
Think again. Not...
By not lip-syncing Amy Winehouse’s songs, actress Marisa Abela confronts impossible expectations in ‘Back to Black’
By Katherine Meizel
Like Amy Winehouse, Back to Black, the new biopic about the late British singer, has been no stranger to controversy.
In the case of the film, opinion has been fiercely split about director Sam Taylor-Johnsons decision...
Divesting university endowments: Easier demanded than done
By Todd L. Ely
Campus protests expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people and objecting to Israels military campaign in Gaza include many calls for universities and colleges to divest a word that basically means sell any of...
Doing a job you find meaningful is great – until it consumes your life
By Andreana Drencheva
Securing a job that you find meaningful work that you think is significant and value positively may be one of your most important career goals.
But there can be a negative side to doing work that youre passionate...
Is dark matter’s main rival theory dead? There’s bad news from the Cassini spacecraft and other recent tests
By Indranil Banik Et Al
One of the biggest mysteries in astrophysics today is that the forces in galaxies do not seem to add up. Galaxies rotate much faster than predicted by applying Newtons law of gravity to their visible matter, despite those...
Why US offshore wind energy is struggling
By Christopher Niezrecki
Americas first large-scale offshore wind farms began sending power to the Northeast in early 2024, but a wave of wind farm project cancellations and rising costs have left many people with doubts about the industrys future...
Loblaws boycott: What consumer psychology can tell us about the success of consumer activism
By Eugene Y. Chan
Loblaws has found itself at the centre of public frustration due to soaring food prices. Canadians have expressed their discontent on social media, venting about the high cost of groceries at grocery stores like...
Photos are everywhere. What makes a good one?
By T.J. Thomson
We upload some 3 billion images online each day. We make most of these photos on smartphones and use these devices to document everything from gym progress and our loved ones to a memorable meal.
But what makes a...
Paris in spring, Bali in winter. How ‘bucket lists’ help cancer patients handle life and death
By Leah Williams Veazey Et Al
In the 2007 film The Bucket List Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman play two main characters who respond to their terminal cancer diagnoses by rejecting experimental treatment. Instead, they go on a range of energetic,...
Heat is coming for our crops. We have to make them ready
By Mohan Singh Et Al
Australias vital agriculture sector will be hit hard by steadily rising global temperatures. Our climate is already prone to droughts and floods. Climate change is expected to supercharge this, causing sudden flash...
AI companions can relieve loneliness – but here are 4 red flags to watch for in your chatbot ‘friend’
By Dan Weijers Et Al
Its been seven years since the launch of Replika, an artificially intelligent chatbot designed to be a friend to human users. Despite early warnings about the dangers of such AI friends, interest in friendships and even...
Debunking myths about community housing: What governments and the public should know
By Yushu Zhu Et Al
Canadas Housing Plan is pledging an ambitious multilateral approach to build more housing, faster and cheaper, for diverse groups.
It includes noteworthy new funding programs and policies to preserve and expand...
A ‘sponge city’ may be your home in 2050
By Jack Marley
Your home was probably designed for a climate that no longer exists.
As long as humanity continues to burn fossil fuel, padding the heat-trapping blanket of gases in Earths atmosphere, the weather will become more...
New faith schools in England could soon allocate all their places on religious grounds
By Stephen Gorard
The government has proposed dropping the cap on faith admissions for new and existing free faith schools in England. This would mean that oversubscribed faith schools in this category those established as new academies,...
OpenAI’s content deal with the FT is an attempt to avoid more legal challenges
By Mike Cook
OpenAIs new strategic partnership and licensing agreement with the Financial Times (FT) follows similar deals between the US tech company and publishers such as Associated Press, German media giant Axel Springer and French...
Lebanon: far-right group ‘Soldiers of God’ is exploiting the country’s unsettled past to stir sectarian tensions
By Mohamad El Kari
Since the start of the war in Gaza, Israel, Hezbollah and other armed groups in Lebanon have exchanged almost 5,000 attacks across the border. Lebanon is being pulled into a war it cannot afford. But the countrys weak...
AI may be to blame for our failure to make contact with alien civilisations
By Michael Garrett
Artificial intelligence (AI) has progressed at an astounding pace over the last few years. Some scientists are now looking towards the development of artificial superintelligence (ASI) a form of AI that would not only...
India election: how Narendra Modi’s BJP uses and abuses religious minorities for political purposes
By M. Sudhir Selvaraj
If the pre-election polls are to be believed, Indias prime minister Narendra Modi, the leader of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), is set to return to office for a third successive term when the result is declared on June...
Why you should expect to pay more tourist taxes – even though the evidence for them is unclear
By Rhys ap Gwilym Et Al
In April 2024, Venice began its controversial experiment to charge day trippers 5 (4.30) to visit the city on some of the busiest days of the year. But its not just the lagoon city, with its 30 million visitors a year...
Paris 2024 Olympics: How the Games are being used to marginalize the most vulnerable
By Umer Hussain Et Al
Athletes from around the world are gearing up for the 2024 Summer Olympics that are being held in Paris this year. While the Games are often billed as a beacon of global unity, they have historically marginalized the most...
South Africa’s plan to move away from coal: 8 steps to make it succeed
By Ricardo Amansure
The South African governments Just Energy Transition Implementation Plan was launched in November 2023. It is a roadmap guiding the country away from reliance on coal-fired power towards renewable energy alternatives by...
AstraZeneca’s COVID vaccine withdrawn – right to the end it was the victim of misinformation
By Michael Head
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was a critical part of the COVID-19 pandemic response. However, on May 7 2024, the European Commission announced the vaccine is no longer authorised for use.
This EU announcement was...
What early 2024 polls are revealing about voters of color and the GOP
By Daniel Martinez HoSang Et Al
By the end of winter 2024, the return of Donald Trump to the top of the GOP presidential ticket has revealed a surprising trend in the former presidents base of support: his increasing popularity among Black and Latino...
US drone warfare faces questions of legitimacy, study of military chaplains shows
By Paul Lushenko Et Al
Are drone strikes legitimate, meaning on sound moral and legal footing? How people perceive the legitimacy of U.S. drone strikes firing missiles from remotely piloted aircraft at terrorist and insurgent leaders is...
What America’s first board game can teach us about the aspirations of a young nation
By Matthew Wynn Sivils
Board games are booming: In 2023 alone, the industry topped US$16.8 billion and is projected to reach $40.1 billion by 2032.
Classics like Scrabble are being refreshed and transformed, while newer inventions such as...
Gas is good until 2050 and beyond, under Albanese gas strategy
By Michelle Grattan
The Albanese government is talking up the crucial role of gas as a transition fuel through to 2050 and beyond.
In a gas strategy to be released on Thursday, the government envisages the fuels uses would change over...
Can science explain why couples break up? The mathematical anatomy of a fall
By José-Manuel Rey Et Al
French director Justine Triets Anatomy of a Fall, winner of the 2023 Oscar for best original script, reconstructs a fatal fall in order to dissect the collapse of the romantic relationship between the films leading couple,...
Water cremation: sustainable body disposal is coming to Scotland – here are the benefits
By Georgina Robinson
Already a popular option in the US, and famously chosen by Archbishop Desmond Tutu who died in 2021, alkaline hydrolysis a sustainable method of disposing the body after death is set to be regulated in...
