By Alessio Bellato, Senior Lecturer, Children and Young People's Mental Health, University of Southampton Samuele Cortese, NIHR Research Professor, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Southampton
The term “neurodivergent” is being used more and more often in everyday conversation, on social media and even in scientific research. Neurodivergent is usually used to described a brain that works differently from what is seen as typical. For instance, it is often used to describe someone with a diagnosis of autism or ADHD. …
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By Alison Donnell, Professor of Modern Literatures in English, University of Bristol
Marlon James’s 2026 novel, The Disappearers, has already been hailed as the novel of the century by The New York Times, and it is certainly magnificent and explosive in equal measure. Its success lies in the way its artistic execution dovetails with its highly charged subject matter. The Disappearers pulls the reader into a seemingly knowable time and place – the Jamaica of 1988 to 2005. Yet what…
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By Curwyn Mapaling, Professor, University of Johannesburg Nokulunga Shabalala, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Johannesburg
Professors Curwyn Mapaling and Nokulunga Shabalala are two Black clinical psychologists working as academics in South Africa. What started as their shared frustration with the pace of change in universities became a research programme. For three years they recorded their conversations with each other, leading to three journal papers…
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By Geoff Mapaya, Associate Professor, Department of Music, University of Venda
Kofi Agawu is regarded as one of the world’s foremost authorities on African music. The Ghanaian scholar, teacher and researcher has changed how the world hears and studies it. I am a scholar of indigenous African music. I have researched and written extensively on African indigenous knowledge systems and worldviews. I also know Professor Agawu personally. He has visited my institution,…
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By Gaby Hansen, Lecturer in the Department of Architecture, Planning and Construction, Namibia University of Science and Technology Christina Breed, Senior Lecturer, University of Pretoria
New research shows how Windhoek’s ‘Brown is Beautiful’ approach could use its dry landscape to protect the city from heat, drought and floods.
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By Brittany Vining, Postdoctoral Research Assistant, Reproductive and Women's Health, University of Oxford Suzannah Williams, Associate Professor in Ovarian Physiology, Lead for Ovarian Cryopreservation and Fertility Preservation Research, Lead of Rhino Fertility Project, University of Oxford
Studies may include both sexes yet leave differences unexplored. That gap becomes more consequential when old evidence helps train medical AI.
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By Alex Albinski, DPhil Candidate in Physics, University of Oxford Noam Vogt-Vincent, Associate Professor in Earth Sciences, University of Oxford
Vast quantities of plastic and fishing gear are washing up along the shores of the Seychelles, destroying fragile ecosystems and causing significant economic problems. Aldabra Atoll, a Unesco world heritage site in this archipelago nation of 115 islands, is estimated to have accumulated more than 500 tonnes of plastic on its shores alone. Most of this plastic debris continues to pile up along its beaches today. It was estimated that removing it would cost approximately US$4.68 million (£3.46 million) and…
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By Lizzie Simon, Lecturer in Politics in the Department for Social and Political Sciences, Philosophy and Athropology, University of Exeter Hannah Bunting, Senior Lecturer in Quantitative British Politics and Co-director of The Elections Centre, University of Exeter
Electoral reform is a perennial debate in UK politics. But it never comes to fruition – arguably because it’s never in the interests of the governing party to change the voting rules that got it into power. Now though, there are reasons to believe things could be about to change. Labour won the 2024 general election by a landslide in the most disproportionate election ever,…
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By Tandeep Sidhu, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminology, University of Manitoba Amy Graham, Master of Arts Student, Department of Sociology and Criminology, University of Manitoba McKenzie Duguay, Master of Arts Student, Department of Sociology and Criminology, University of Manitoba
Wolves are a vital part of Canada’s rich biodiversity and are a culturally important species. Killing them to protect caribou repackages the colonial fear of the “big bad wolf.”
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By Isabella Podwinski, Social Media Producer, The Conversation Justin Bergman, International Affairs Editor, The Conversation
On The Conversation Weekly podcast, defence and security analyst Hugh White explains why the AUKUS project has been anything but smooth sailing.
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