By Adrienne Lees, Researcher, Institute of Development Studies
Uganda is one of the countries most exposed to recent cuts in international aid, particularly with the dissolution of the US Agency for International Development (USAID). In 2023, about 5% of gross national income – a measure of a country’s total income, including income from foreign sources – was received in aid.
The cuts have given new impetus to the drive…
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By David Álvarez Alonso, Profesor Titular de Prehistoria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Andrés Díez Herrero, Profesor de Investigación (Dr. Ciencias Geológicas), Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME - CSIC)
María de Andrés-Herrero, Departamento de Prehistoria, Historia Antigua y Arqueología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Miguel Angel Mate Gonzalez, Personal Docente e Investigador - Contratado Ramón y Cajal , Universidad de Salamanca
A unique archaeological find has recently expanded our knowledge of Neanderthals’ capacity for symbolic thought. The object in question is a granite stone, on which a red ochre dot was deliberately applied to reinforce the image of a human face. It is, to date, the oldest example of portable art associated with Neanderthals.
The most remarkable aspect of this discovery was the identification of a fingerprint in the pigment, at a level we have unequivocally dated to more than 42,000 years ago.
The fingerprint means the find is direct evidence of a symbolic action that we…
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By Justin Stebbing, Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Anglia Ruskin University
Appendix cancer is a condition that, until recently, was so rare that most people never gave it a second thought. For decades, it was the kind of disease that doctors might encounter only once or twice in a career, and it was almost always found in older adults.
But now a surprising and concerning trend is emerging: appendix…
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By Sarah Crowley, Senior Lecturer in Human and Animal Geography, University of Exeter
David Bavin, Postdoctoral Researcher, Conservation, University of Exeter
Matthew Heard, Professor of Ecology, Head of Environmental Research and Data, The National Trust
Like millions of people, we have experienced the physical and mental health benefits, as well as the simple enjoyment, of a daily dog walk. However, amid the UK’s growing population of dogs (around 13.5 million at the latest estimate), recent reports have highlighted growing concern about how dogs affect wildlife and ecosystems.
Potential issues include
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By Youngeun Koo, Assistant Professor, Centre for East and South-East Asian Studies, Lund University
Kim Tak-un was four years old when he was adopted by a Swedish family in 1974. Originally from South Korea, Tak-un had lived with his single father, a labourer who moved frequently for work. One day in the summer of 1974, while staying with his aunt, Tak-un wandered outside and disappeared.
Local police considered him abandoned and referred him to an adoption agency, which arranged his adoption to Sweden within five months. When his father realised his son was missing, he searched everywhere, only to discover – too late – that Tak-un had already been sent overseas. Devastated, he demanded…
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By Conor Trainor, Ad Astra Research Fellow / Assistant Professor, University College Dublin
Before artificial sweeteners, people satisfied their cravings for sweetness with natural products, including honey or dried fruit. Raisin wines, made by drying grapes before fermentation, were particularly popular. Historical records show these wines, some known as passum, were enjoyed in the Roman Empire and throughout medieval…
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By Fanny Reniou, Maître de conférences HDR, Université de Rennes 1 - Université de Rennes
Elisa Robert-Monnot, Maître de conférences HDR, CY Cergy Paris Université
Sarah Lasri, Maître de Conférences, Responsable du Master 2 Distribution et Relation Client, Université Paris Dauphine – PSL
The bulk distribution model has been in the news again lately, with well-known brands such as The Laughing Cow making their way into French supermarkets. Stakeholders in the bulk sector are seeking to introduce innovations in order to expand and democratise the concept. But is the bulk model such a clear-cut approach to consuming in a sustainable way?
Bulk can be described as a consumer…
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By Art Jipson, Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Dayton
A scholar of right-wing extremism provides an overview of some of the key white supremacist groups that pose significant threats to public safety.
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By Kai James, Professor of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
People have long assumed that wheels evolved from simple wooden rollers. But how? And why? A new model focused on mechanical advantage and structural strength suggests some answers.
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By Justin D. Martin, Associate Professor of Digital Communication and Journalism, University of South Florida
Chighaf Bakour, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, University of South Florida
In Florida, a bill that bans cellphone use in elementary and middle schools, from bell to bell, recently sailed through the state Legislature.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed it into law on May 30, 2025. The same bill calls for high schools in six Florida districts to adopt the ban during the upcoming school year and produce a report on its effectiveness by Dec. 1,…
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