By Glyn Barrett, Lecturer in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Reading
If you visit the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, on the edge of London, you will see a brightly painted skeleton of a dead oak tree. The tree, known as the climate changed oak, succumbed in the heatwave of 2022. Instead of removing it, Kew left it in place as a reminder that climate change is already taking its toll on Britain’s trees.
The 2022 heatwave killed 400 of Kew’s trees and predictions show that up to 50% of Kew’s existing 11,000 trees could be vulnerable to climate…
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By Hokbi Tiunn, PhD Candidate, Law, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
Taiwan pushes back every day against an authoritarian vision of international order that allows dictator regimes to decide who’s allowed to be seen, named and heard.
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By Marzieh Kouhi-Esfahani, Assistant Professor in Politics and International Relations of the Middle East, Durham University
Ali Khamenei, who served as Iran’s supreme leader until his assassination in a US-Israeli operation in February 2026, will finally be laid to rest today. His burial brings a week of public mourning ceremonies and processions to an end, and comes as hostilities between the US and Iran are escalating again.
Islamic tradition calls for the prompt burial of the deceased. Iran’s first supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, was buried within three days of his death in…
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By Samuel Francis Leaney, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Cerebrovascular Physiology, Manchester Metropolitan University
Tiago Pecanha, Senior Lecturer in Human Cardiovascular Physiology, Manchester Metropolitan University
Whether it’s at practice or during a Fifa World Cup match, football players could unknowingly be putting their brain health at risk every time they take to the field.
Studies suggest that retired football players have a higher risk of developing dementia, particularly Alzheimer’s disease, compared to the general population. It’s currently thought that this increased risk is partly being driven by performing one particular skill: heading the…
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By Lizzie Seal, Professor of Criminology, University of Sussex
Ruth Ellis became the last woman to be hanged in Britain on July 13 1955. Her execution was a national event. A crowd, reported to be 1,000-strong, gathered outside Holloway Prison in London that morning. Anti-death penalty protesters held signs, some people prayed and some wept. Ellis’s story had deeply moved the public.
Over 70 years later, the deputy prime minister, David Lammy, has announced that Ellis has been granted a conditional pardon due to the “exceptional…
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By Uroš Kovač, Postdoctoral fellow, University of Groningen
Ikechukwu Ejekwumadu, Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute of Sports Science, University of Tübingen
With a Somali referee being denied entry into the US, and the surge of online racist abuse after 2026 World Cup matches, racism and exclusion in football are once again in the news.
Overt anti-Black racism in football is well reported and researched.…
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By Gemma Ware, Host, The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The Conversation
Listen to intellectual property expert Graeme Austin talk about the legal routes celebrites are using to fight back against AI deepfakes.
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By Michael G. Madden, Established Professor of Computer Science & Head of Machine Learning Research Group, School of Computer Science, University of Galway
James McDermott, Senior Lecturer in Computer Science, School of Computer Science, University of Galway
The US AI research company Anthropic has become known for building powerful AI models while simultaneously warning about their dangers.
Most recently, its executives wrote about the threat posed by “recursive self-improvement”. This is the point when AI systems can improve themselves by themselves, potentially leading to “superintelligence”…
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By Amber Williams, PhD Candidate in Molecular Biology, Cardiff University
To people, salt is a kitchen staple. But to crops, too much of it can be devastating.
Across coastal regions and irrigated agricultural land, salt is accumulating in soils, making it harder for plants to absorb water and reducing harvests. Scientists estimate that around…
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By Andrew Lane, Professor in Sport Psychology, University of Wolverhampton
Ross Cloak, Associate Professor of Sport and Exercise Science Faculty of Education, Health, and Wellbeing, University of Wolverhampton
Elite teams plan for heat, recovery and warning signs. Workplaces expecting effort during heatwaves need the same kind of thinking.
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