By Hammad Nazir, Senior Lecturer in Engingeering, University of South Wales
As plans for Moon bases gather pace across the globe, battery science may decide whether humans can live beyond Earth.
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By Noel Carroll, Associate Professor in Business Information Systems, University of Galway
The retirement of West Midlands police chief Craig Guildford is a wake-up call for those of us using artificial intelligence (AI) tools at work and in our personal lives. Guildford lost the confidence of the home secretary after it was revealed that the force used incorrect AI-generated evidence in their controversial…
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By Daniel Gover, Senior Lecturer in British Politics, Queen Mary University of London
The House of Lords has voted, by a significant margin of 261 to 150, to prevent children under 16 in the UK from using social media platforms.
There has been growing political interest in introducing a ban after a similar change came into effect in Australia in late 2025. Around 60 Labour MPs have signed a letter publicly calling for the prime…
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By Thusha Rajendran, Professor of Psychology, The National Robotarium, Heriot-Watt University
On the arm of Swiss tennis player Stan Wawrinka is tattooed a quote by Samuel Beckett: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”
This excerpt from novella Worstward Ho seems motivational and suggests that perseverance is needed for success. However, the word failure carries a weight with it, especially if used as a label, as if it were an essential part of someone.
Yet,…
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By Yasemin Kor, Beckwith Professor of Management Studies, Cambridge Judge Business School
Consumers are surrounded by food that is highly conducive to weight gain. No one likes dieting and very few have lasting success. But now weight-loss injections are seen as gamechangers, yielding results that seem miraculous for people who have struggled with their weight.
Around the world, obesity, high blood pressure, and abnormal blood sugar and lipid levels (so-called “metabolic syndrome”) have now been shown to affect 31% of women and 26%…
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By Simon Boxall, Senior Lecturer in Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton
Over Christmas, vegetables, bananas and insulation foam washed up on beaches along England’s south-east coast. They were from 16 containers spilled by the cargo ship Baltic Klipper in rough seas. In the new year, a further 24 containers fell from two vessels during Storm Goretti, with chips and onions among the goods appearing on the Sussex shoreline.
For most people this is a nuisance – or perhaps a bit of fun. For oceanographers like me, who study tides and currents, it is also an accidental experiment…
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By Katya Rubia, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, King's College London
Aldo Alberto Conti, Research Associate, Cognitive Neuroscience, King's College London
Brain stimulation devices have been marketed as a drug-free alternative to ADHD medication. But a major new UK trial found no evidence they work.
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By Paul Yachnin, Tomlinson Professor of Shakespeare Studies, McGill University
‘Hamnet,’ focussed on Shakespeare’s wife Agnes as a healer, brings forward stronger readings of a character who’s been at the centre of feminist criticism and western pop culture: Ophelia in Hamlet.
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By Melissa A. Wheeler, Senior Lecturer, Graduate School of Business and Law, RMIT University
Anne Bardoel, Adjunct Professor of Human Resource Management, Swinburne University of Technology
Asanka Gunasekara, Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management/People Analytics, RMIT University
Lindsie Arthur, Postdoctoral Researcher, Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne
For many employees, flexibility is no longer a nice-to-have luxury but a fundamental requirement. Yet many requests are still being turned down.
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By Upama Aich, Forrest Research Fellow, Centre for Evolutionary Biology, The University of Western Australia
MIchael Jennions, Emeritus Professor, Evolutionary Biology, Australian National University
“Size matters” sounds like a tabloid cliché, but for evolutionary biologists the size of the human penis is truly a puzzle.
Compared to other great apes, such as chimpanzees and gorillas, the human penis is longer and thicker than expected for a primate of our size.
If the primary role of a penis is simply to transfer sperm, why is the human penis so much larger than those of our closest relatives?
Our new study, published today in PLOS Biology, reveals a larger penis in humans serves…
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