By Santiago Zuluaga Castañeda, JdlC Researcher, Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN-CSIC)
Arjun Amar, Associate Professor, FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town
Megan Murgatroyd, Biologist, University of Cape Town
Birds of prey and vultures (raptors) play a vital role in ecosystems, both as top predators and key scavengers. However, compared to many other bird species, raptor populations are declining faster. This is because they need large areas to live in, have low population densities, and reproduce slowly. For these reasons they are vulnerable to human impacts like farming with pesticides, electrocution, collision with wind turbines, or poaching.
In many cases, by the time scientists and conservationists…
(Full Story)
|
By Fiona Cross, Researcher in Animal Cognition, University of Canterbury
As a child, the mere glimpse of a spider used to send me screaming and running for cover. I was convinced that spiders were my enemies. I thought they were out to get me.
These days, I run towards spiders, not away from them. I can partly thank a spider for helping me with that. This is a special spider affectionately known as the mosquito terminator.
Mosquito terminators (Evarcha culicivora) are small spiders, about 5mm long. They are a species…
(Full Story)
|
By Freya Gowrley, Lecturer in History of Art and Liberal Arts, University of Bristol
As celebrity shrinking dominates the red carpet, the Met’s Costume Art exhibition bucks the trend with body shapes that signal acceptance and inclusion.
(Full Story)
|
By Julia Buxton, Professor in the School of Law and Justice Studies, Liverpool John Moores University
Four months have passed since US forces captured Venezuela’s sitting president, Nicolás Maduro, and ousted him from power. Maduro’s vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, quickly moved into the top job and has, under US tutelage, begun a process of reversing her country’s experiment with socialism.
Venezuela’s pivot towards socialism began under the leadership of Hugo Chávez. After entering office in 1999, he initiated a programme of sweeping nationalisations, state-led oil wealth redistribution and increased social spending. Chávez called this process the Bolivarian…
(Full Story)
|
By Viraj Nair, Lecturer in Financial Management, Royal Docks School of Business and Law, University of East London
In the shadow of the 2008 global financial crisis, trust in the financial system was at a historic low. Banks had failed, markets had collapsed, and confidence in central institutions had been deeply shaken.
It was in this moment of uncertainty that an anonymous figure, Satoshi Nakamoto, published the Bitcoin white paper – a nine-page document that quietly introduced a radical new idea: a financial system that would not rely on trust in institutions at…
(Full Story)
|
By Jacqueline Boyd, Senior Lecturer in Animal Science, Nottingham Trent University
I recently lost one of my cocker spaniels, Bobbi. She was fit, healthy and active, but had a catastrophic diagnosis of oral melanoma two months before I had to make the decision that anyone with deeply loved pets dreads.
It is easy to presume that only humans have a true concept of death and what it means. However, death is universal in biology and many animals experience death within their social groups, and even as an intrinsic part of…
(Full Story)
|
By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image People take part in a demonstration against a police raid in Rio de Janeiro on October 28, 2025 that left 122 people dead, including two children, October 31, 2025. © Faga Almeida/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images This week was supposed to be a step forward for Brazil: Resolution 310—a crucial resolution requiring that prosecutors lead investigations into police killings and that those investigations comply with international standards—was scheduled to take effect. Instead, the resolution is on ice. After years of advocacy by Human Rights…
(Full Story)
|
By Catherine Baker, Reader in 20th Century History, University of Hull
Amy Skinner, Associate Professor in Co-Production in Mental Health Research, York St John University
Digital techniques like projection mapping, holograms and interactive performance now define the Eurovision contest’s production values. But this year’s UK act Look Mum No Computer has a more retro approach to technology.
A musician and YouTuber, Look Mum No Computer builds experimental synths from vintage equipment, sometimes even parts from toys and games consoles. His past projects include synths built into Sega Megadrives and Gibson Les Paul guitars,…
(Full Story)
|
By Rachel Woods, Associate Professor, University of Nottingham; University of Lincoln
Peas aren’t often seen as a particularly exciting vegetable. They tend to be treated as a basic side dish or something people eat out of habit, rather than choice. But they’re also cheap, widely available and contain a combination of nutrients that can have a positive impact on our health.
While peas will not transform health on their own, when eaten regularly they can provide a useful contribution to daily protein, fibre and micronutrients intake.
Here are a few reasons why peas are worth…
(Full Story)
|
By Anna Walker, Senior Arts + Culture Editor, The Conversation
Caroline Walker is one of my favourite working artists. The observations in her work are so exquisitely rendered that they often feel almost uncanny. Such was the case when I encountered her 2025 painting Kitchen Table.
It shows a young girl, perhaps five or six, drawing with quiet concentration, a pink felt tip gripped firmly in her hand. In the foreground sits a bright yet somehow wild bouquet – a mix of polished pink blooms and smoky lilac thistles. The paper it was wrapped in, along with the scissors used to trim the stems, spills across the table.
The scene struck me…
(Full Story)
|