By Lia Betti, Lecturer in Quantitative Anthropology at University College London, UCL
Nicole Torres Tamayo, Post-doctoral Researcher of Anthropology, UCL; Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont
Scientists have long thought humans have a uniquely difficult birth compared to other primates.
And it’s true that from an evolutionary perspective, we face an obstetrical dilemma. As we evolved to walk on two feet, our pelvis changed shape and size and our birth canal became smaller and oddly twisted. Meanwhile, the evolution of our enormous brain meant that a large-headed baby needed to fit through it.
But our new…
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By Eef Hogervorst, Professor of Biological Psychology, Loughborough University
The risk of dementia rises as the brain ages. One reason is that connections between brain cells weaken over time. Diseases of the brain, such as Alzheimer’s and stroke, can speed this up, eventually leading to dementia, a loss of mental abilities and a loss of independence.
Scientists can now estimate a person’s brain age from brain scans, and compare it with their actual age. This difference, known as the brain-age gap, can predict…
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By Rachel Weldrick, Assistant Professor, Political Science, Concordia University
The AI industry is dominated by young, male tech workers. It runs the risk of developing apps and tools that reproduce these gender and age-biases.
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By Human Rights Watch
(Beirut) – Members of three parliamentary committees in Lebanon jointly approved a draft law abolishing the death penalty on July 9, 2026, putting Lebanon on the precipice of becoming the first country in the Middle East region to formally end capital punishment, Human Rights Watch said today. The draft law requires approval by the parliament’s general assembly to become law. Lebanese lawmakers meeting on July 15 and 16 to discuss and vote on this draft law, among others, should pass the law and cement this monumental advance for human rights and criminal justice in Lebanon. “Despite…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Robert Taylor in Reserve, Saint John the Baptist Parish, in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley. October 17, 2023. © 2023 Eli Reed for Human Rights Watch On July 13, the Trump administration again clawed back a crucial rule that would have expanded monitoring of hazardous air pollutants in the United States, two days before it was set to go into effect.Communities living close to facilities producing dangerous air pollution in the US were set to celebrate a victory that would equip them with more information about the deadly pollutants in their backyards, such as benzene…
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By Syria Untold
A Kurdish medical student recounts her educational journey as an unregistered person in Syria. Following a January 2026 decree, they can now be granted citizenship.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image A mother hugs her children after their return from the occupied territory of Ukraine via the Ukraine-Belarus border, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Volyn region, Ukraine, on September 3, 2023. © 2023 Andriy Perun/Reuters Russian occupying authorities force Ukrainian children into schools that suppress Ukrainian identity, promote anti-Ukraine propaganda, pressure them into militarized youth programs, and illegally compel boys to register for the draft.Russian internet restrictions and surveillance, including at schools, make accessing Ukrainian education online…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Netherlands' Prime Minister Mark Rutte, left, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Tunisian President Kais Saied, centre, right and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, right, at the presidential palace in Carthage, Tunisia, July 16, 2023. © 2023 Tunisian Presidency/AP Images (Brussels) – The European Union (EU) and its member states should publicly denounce human rights violations in Tunisia and stop funding abusive migration control activities, 46 human rights and humanitarian organizations said in a joint statement released today. The statement…
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By Human Rights Watch
(Nairobi) – Uganda’s military is arbitrarily seizing government critics, holding them incommunicado, then handing them over for bogus prosecutions, Human Rights Watch said today. These actions are an apparent effort to silence and curtail all opposition and the independent media.Since mid-June 2026, security forces have unlawfully seized at least five critics of President Yoweri Museveni and his son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the chief of the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF). The army has also raided and is laying siege to the country’s largest independent media company, forcing it to cease…
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By Jemma Geoghegan, Professor and Webster Family Chair in Viral Pathogenesis, University of Otago
Nigel French, Distinguished Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Public Health, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University
The confirmation of the bird flu virus in a brown skua appears to be a single detection. Ongoing surveillance will be essential to detect any further cases.
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