By Axel Carl Carlsson, Researcher, Department of Neurobiology, Karolinska Institutet
Marcel Ballin, Associated Researcher, Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University
Peter Nordström, Professor, Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University
Exercise is important for your heart and cardiovascular health. But for years, research has suggested that very fit people – particularly young men – have a higher risk of developing atrial fibrillation (an irregular heartbeat) later in life than less athletic people do.
But our new large-scale study of more than one million young Swedish men challenges…
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By George Newth, Lecturer in Politics and member of Reactionary Politics Research Network, University of Bath
The murder of student Henry Nowak on December 3 2025 shocked the UK. Now the case has also become a pretext for attempts by some on the right to divide communities with demands for “common sense”.
It leaves the Labour government with an important choice: move away from its failed strategy of trying to win over Reform UK voters, or continue down a route that risks normalising divisive rhetoric.
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By Rebecca Ellis, Assistant Researcher in Public Health, Swansea University
For some neurodivergent people, motivation isn’t just about willpower. A growing trend known as ‘dopamine menus’ offers a way to access rewarding activities.
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By Jasjit Singh, Professor of Religion and Global Engagement, University of Leeds
The murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak by Vickrum Digwa in Southampton in December 2025 is a profound tragedy that has left a family grieving and deeply affected the wider community. Any discussion that follows must keep that loss clearly in view.
Following Digwa’s conviction and sentencing, Nowak’s father said the family did not want his death “to be used to create further division, hatred or tension. We want his story to help make our streets
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By Nial Wheate, Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University
The drug goserelin – commonly known as Zoladex – has been a quietly crucial medicine in Australia for decades.
This prescription medicine is used to suppress sex hormones, and is a key medication for the treatment of prostate cancer, endometriosis and some breast cancers.
However, the international pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has…
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By Alex Thurston, Lecturer in Sport Management, Loughborough University
Mathew Dowling, Senior Lecturer in Sport Management, Loughborough University
After the headlines and the hype, only one world record was broken in Las Vegas, though many athletes set personal bests.
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By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
When One Nation leader Pauline Hanson addresses the National Press Club on June 17, there will be landmines everywhere.
It’s her first formal speech to the club in her 30-year (on and off) parliamentary career. How times have changed. When she spoke at a One Nation meeting there in July 1997, a contemporary report said the gathering was held at the club “after being refused permission to use other venues. The Press Club decided to host the meeting on the basis that it is a forum…
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By Gabrielle Appleby, Professor of Law, UNSW Law School, UNSW Sydney
Joo-Cheong Tham, Professor, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne
After the High Court struck down the state government’s previous attempt, Victoria had no donations laws at all. Here’s what the proposed new ones say.
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By Erica Millar, Senior Research Fellow, Social Inquiry, La Trobe University
Anna Noonan, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney
New South Wales parliament is debating a bill this week that seeks to ban abortions performed on the basis of fetal sex.
If passed, health practitioners who perform such abortions would face professional misconduct charges and lose indemnity insurance coverage for the procedure.
At first glance, this might appear to be a defensible measure to address a practice that sits uneasily with gender equality.
But there’s little evidence sex-selective abortions are occurring…
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By Javier Martín Vide, Catedrático de Geografía Física, Universitat de Barcelona
El Niño is a recurring climate event with impacts across the globe. It has three phases: one cold (known as La Niña), one neutral, and one warm (El Niño).
In 2026, spring in the northern hemisphere took place in a neutral phase, which followed a relatively mild La Niña. Short-term forecast models indicate that by mid-year it is very likely that we will enter an El Niño phase. This El Niño could become very intense towards the end of the year, with talk of a “super-El Niño”. But…
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