By Max Telford, Jodrell Professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy, UCL
The oldest fossilised remains of complex animals appear suddenly in the fossil record, and as if from nowhere, in rocks that are 538 million years old.
The very oldest of these are simple fossilised marks (called Treptichnus) made by something worm-like with a head and a tail. A host of other animals appear rapidly, ancestors of the diverse animal groups we know today: ancient crab-like arthropods, shelled molluscs…
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By Martin Farr, Senior Lecturer in Contemporary British History, Newcastle University
It is unlikely that within the first few days of a great global event – one moreover triggered by its closest ally launching a coup and kidnapping a head of state – a British government has said so little. It took 16 hours for it to say anything at all, and then, not much. And it has said not much thereafter.
So little said, at such length: the prime minister, in his Sunday morning BBC TV interview; James Kariuki, chargé d’affaires in the UK Mission to the United Nations at Monday morning’s Security Council emergency session; and Yvette Cooper, foreign secretary,
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By James Muldoon, Associate Professor in Management, University of Essex
When Roro (not her real name) lost her mother to cancer, the grief felt bottomless. In her mid-20s and working as a content creator in China, she was haunted by the unfinished nature of their relationship. Their bond had always been complicated – shaped by unspoken resentments and a childhood in which care was often followed closely by criticism.
After her mother’s death, Roro found herself unable to reconcile the messiness of their past with the silence that followed. She shared her struggles with her followers on the Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu…
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By Andrew Charlton-Perez, Head of School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences and Professor of Meteorology, University of Reading
Charlotte Bonner, Associate, University of Gloucestershire
Ensuring that all young people develop strong climate and nature literacy will be essential for both personal resilience and national prosperity.
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Tuesday, January 6, 2026
Responding to the seizure of Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro by the United States, UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Tuesday reiterated deep concerns that the military operation undermined fundamental protections for sovereign countries.
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By Matt Wilde, Lecturer in Human Geography, University of Leicester
Harry Rodgers, PhD Candidate in Human Geography, University of Leicester
The contrasting reactions of Venezuelans to Maduro’s capture reveal a moment shaped as much by uncertainty and suspicion as by relief and hope.
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By Sam Illingworth, Professor of Creative Pedagogies, Edinburgh Napier University
Barbara Barrow, Senior Lecturer, English Literature, Lund University
Ellen Turner, Senior Lecturer, English Literature, Lund University
The discourse around climate change can lead to anxiety, detachment or resignation because it often stretches language in ways that make the world feel distant.
Global averages and abstract temperature thresholds make it harder for people to relate to climate change in their own specific location. And while the language of sustainable…
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By Ed Hutchinson, Professor, MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, University of Glasgow
The MMRV jab protects against chickenpox and its lifelong complications. Here’s what the new vaccination schedule means for your family.
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By Matthew Flinders, Founding Director of the Sir Bernard Crick Centre for the Public Understanding of Politics, University of Sheffield
The dominant narrative in British politics is destructive, cynical and polarising. It focuses on failure and perpetuates the doom loop.
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By Bill Sherman, Director of the Warburg Institute, School of Advanced Study, University of London
The V&A’s new Museum and Storehouse were built with the spirit that the museum was founded on in the mid 1800s.
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