By Camilla Gilmore, Professor of Mathematical Cognition, Loughborough University
Lucy Cragg, Professor of Developmental Psychology, University of Nottingham
Natasha Guy, Research Assistant in Mathematical Cognition, Loughborough University
What’s seven times nine? Quick, you’ve got six seconds to answer.
This June, over 600,000 children in England in year four, aged eight and nine, will be expected to answer questions like this. They will be sitting the multiplication tables check (MTC), a statutory assessment of their multiplication fact recall.
The MTC was introduced…
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By Jennifer Fleetwood, Senior Lecturer, City St George's, University of London
Thousands of British nationals are charged with drug smuggling abroad every year. The UK charity Prisoners Abroad reports a rise in the number of British people imprisoned abroad for drug offences in 2024-25, compared to the previous year, especially women under 34.
Two recent examples making headlines…
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By Simon Cork, Senior Lecturer in Physiology, Anglia Ruskin University
Women who use an oral contraceptive might want to consider using a back-up method after starting a weight loss drug.
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By Lucy Berthoud, Professor of Space Systems Engineering, University of Bristol
I have been researching the possibility of living on Mars for several years. But it took an invitation to give a talk about space at HMP Erlestoke in England – a category C men’s prison – to make me realise that there are a surprising number of similarities between the challenges that would be faced by would-be Martians and daily life in jail.
The talk was part of a literary festival called “Penned Up”. As I discussed the parallels between Mars and prison with those incarcerated at HMP Erlestoke, the men agreed with me that, despite…
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By Carl Cater, Associate Professor in Tourism Marketing, Swansea University
A century after the disappearance of explorer George Mallory, his photos and diary offer a valuable baseline for investigating impacts of tourism and climate change on the Tibet side of Everest.
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By Javed Ali, Associate Professor of Practice of Public Policy, University of Michigan
Multiple nuclear and military facilities were targeted in an Israeli strike, which took place days before US and Iran were due to conduct a sixth round of nuclear talks.
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By Charlie Hunt, Associate Professor of Political Science, Boise State University
A combination of factors, including Democrats and Republicans feeling more and more animosity for the other side, led to the roughing up of Sen. Alex Padilla at a press conference.
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By Renaud Foucart, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster University
The UK government’s investment of around £14 billion in a new nuclear power plant marks a big economic shift for the country’s approach to energy.
The Sizewell C plant in Suffolk will be the second of a new generation of reactors to be built in the country, after Hinkley Point C in Somerset, which is expected to open in 2031.
French energy firm EDF is building Hinkley and will probably end up building…
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By Simon F. Haeder, Associate Professor of Public Health, Texas A&M University
All told, more than 16 million Americans could become uninsured, reversing major progress seen since the Affordable Care Act’s passage in 2010.
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By Katherine LeMasters, Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Colorado Boulder
Colorado passed the Fentanyl Accountability and Prevention Bill in May 2022. The legislation made the possession of small amounts of fentanyl a felony, rather than a misdemeanor.
Felonies are more likely than misdemeanors to result in a prison sentence.
Time in prison is associated with an increased risk of fatal overdose in the year after release. People with felonies on their record often struggle…
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