By Tilly Clough, Lecturer in Law, Queen's University Belfast
While the legal route from independent to state provision technically still exists, it has largely fallen out of use, with no conversions taking place since 2017.
(Full Story)
|
By Andrew Kloeden, PhD Candidate in Management, University of Exeter
For many workers, the benefits of professional relationships and the networks they create are clear. Bringing together people and social spheres that are otherwise unconnected is linked to higher salaries and more rapid promotion. So it’s no surprise that “networking” is a serious business for so many professionals.
In network theory, the process of linking unconnected people and groups – either within the workplace or outside it – is…
(Full Story)
|
By Ruth Dunn, Senior Research Associate in Marine Ecology, Lancaster University
February 2026 has seen thousands of dead seabirds washing up along the coastlines of the UK, France, Spain and Portugal.
There’s evidence that these “wrecks” (where large numbers of seabirds are found along beaches) are becoming increasingly common because of climate change. Worse still, these dead birds – including Atlantic puffins and European shags – only tell a fraction of the story. Many more are likely to have been…
(Full Story)
|
By Mark Ireland, Senior Lecturer in Energy Geoscience, Newcastle University
Unlike wind and solar which are weather-dependent sources of renewable energy, geothermal heat can produce energy steadily, day and night, all year round.
(Full Story)
|
By Annayah Prosser, Assistant Professor in Marketing, Business and Society, University of Bath
Nintendo’s Legend of Zelda video game series celebrated its 40th anniversary in February 2026. Millions of players across the world have grown up alongside the 21-title series, from the release of the original game on the Famicom gaming system in 1986, to the most recent game, Echoes of Wisdom, published for the Switch in 2024.
The Zelda games were inspired by series creator Shigeru…
(Full Story)
|
By Travis LaCroix, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Durham University
The idea that autistic people lack a ‘theory of mind’ has shaped ASD research for 40 years. The evidence never supported it – and it’s time to move on.
(Full Story)
|
By Jane Wright, Commissioning Editor, Arts & Culture, The Conversation
When I was growing up there were three channels on the telly, which seems quaint now. You watched what was on, like it or lump it. But I have only good memories of children’s TV in the 1970s. Hiding behind a cushion as we watched Dr Who, singing along to Sesame Street, lots of excellent dramas, and a surprising array of weird trippy stop-motion animation that featured stoned rabbits and talking TVs.
But my favourite was a wonderful art show aimed primarily at deaf children called Vision On. (For anyone who’d like a walk down memory lane, listen to the groovy theme tune below and transport…
(Full Story)
|
By Ryan Cook, Research Scientist, Bioscience, Quadram Institute
Scientists found an unexpected viral hitchhiker lurking inside a common gut bacterium – and it was twice as prevalent in people with colorectal cancer.
(Full Story)
|
By Alex Prior, Lecturer in Politics with International Relations, London South Bank University
Hannah Spencer’s parliamentary story – as the new Green MP for Gorton and Denton – has just begun.
Nevertheless, the life story that she presented in her victory speech was that of a plumber, not a politician. She identified herself – in present tense – by that trade; she had not grown up wanting to be a politician. She also celebrated qualifying as a plasterer during the “chaos” and “pressure” of the election campaign. She described campaigning jovially…
(Full Story)
|
By Yuen Chan, Senior Lecturer, School of Arts and Social Sciences, Department of Journalism, City St George's, University of London
The sentencing of Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison on February 8 on charges of sedition and collusion with foreign forces prompted international outrage.
Lai founded the now shuttered pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper – and supporters of press freedom around the world pointed to the chilling effect the sentence would have on the media, in a city once vaunted as a beacon for press freedom in Asia.
The reaction was more
(Full Story)
|