By Laura M. MacLatchy, Professor of Anthropology, University of Michigan
Lauren Sarringhaus, Assistant Professor of Biology, James Madison University
The youngest chimpanzees are the biggest risk-takers. Would humans show the same pattern if adults weren’t keeping such a close watch on little kids?
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By José M. Muñoz, Principal Investigator in Neurotechnology, IE University; University of California, Berkeley
Imagine you’re shopping for a dinner party this weekend and you spot some nice, but expensive, bottles of wine. You’re not sure if you can afford them, but before you can even open your banking app to check, a lightweight head-worn wearable has already registered the neural activity involved in your mental calculation. It transmits the data to your phone, which confirms that they’re within your budget.
In this scenario, you’d be using neurotechnology.
We’re increasingly accustomed to relying on consumer wearables like smartwatches and fitness apps that measure and assess…
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By Catherine Rolph, Lecturer in Environmental Engineering, The Open University
The public is starting to understand that they can find microplastics in their food, particularly seafood, but exposure from other foods is far more common than most people realise.
Studies have shown that your daily intake of microplastics from food and drink is estimated to be anywhere from zero to 1.5 million microplastic particles per day. The biggest source is likely to be coming from bottled…
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By Katie Edwards, Commissioning Editor, Health + Medicine and Host of Strange Health podcast, The Conversation
Listen and watch the trailer for a new podcast exploring the health questions people are obsessing over online, and exploring the weird and wonderful about the body.
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By Jagannadha Pawan Tamvada, Professor of Entrepreneurship, Kingston University
Mili Shrivastava, Principal Academic in Strategy, Bournemouth University
EVs made up 24% of new car sales in 2025 – but the days of tax breaks and subsidies look increasingly numbered.
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By Sarah Earle, Professor of Social Science, School of Social Sciences, Nottingham Trent University
Until relatively recently, children and young people with life-shortening conditions were not expected to survive into adulthood.
Conditions such as cancer, cystic fibrosis and Duchenne muscular dystrophy were widely understood, particularly in the late 20th century and early 2000s, as diagnoses that would likely result in death during childhood or adolescence. Today, there are more than 400 recognised life-shortening conditions, and many infants and children with these diagnoses still do not reach adulthood.
However, advances in medical treatment, specialist care and assistive…
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By David Hastings Dunn MBE, Professor of International Politics in the Department of Political Science and International Studies, University of Birmingham
Mark Webber, Professor of International Politics, University of Birmingham
Stefan Wolff, Professor of International Security, University of Birmingham
Shortly after the US military operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on January 3, US president Donald Trump restated his claim to Greenland. The White House sees Greenland, which is part of the kingdom of Denmark, as crucial for national security and is reportedly considering a range of options to acquire the island. This includes “utilising the US military”.
Trump’s proclamations have led to a sense among Europeans that US aspirations for dominance over the western hemisphere extend beyond Latin America. And the fact that Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio,
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By Will Smith, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, University of Nottingham
Domestic pigeons have surprising cultural significance. They inspired Charles Darwin in his thinking about evolution, delivered wartime messages to save lives, and have symbolic meaning around the world.
The domestic pigeon is among the best understood animals on the planet, with research published weekly on…
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By Arash Beidollahkhani, Research Fellow at the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester
The question for many Iranians appears to be not whether their political system can be repaired, but whether continuing to live under it is viable at all.
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By Paul Hanel, Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychology, University of Essex
If we look at people’s values - abstract ideals that guide our behaviour - there are reasons to be positive about society.
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