By Jo McKenna-Aspell, Post-Doctoral Research Associate in Library and Information Science, University of Sheffield
Briony Birdi, Professor of Library and Information Science, University of Sheffield
Public libraries remain a vital part of community life, providing free information and reading materials to everyone. Their role is particularly important amid a long-term decline in reading for pleasure among children and young people. But our research indicates that England’s public library collections are being hollowed out through long-term underinvestment.
In June 2026, former libraries minister Baroness Twycross confirmed that…
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By Katie Edwards, Commissioning Editor, Health + Medicine and Host of Strange Health podcast, The Conversation
Dan Baumgardt, Senior Lecturer, School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol
If you’ve ever had a migraine, you’ll understand the appeal of anything that promises to make it stop. Even when that advice involves attaching hair clips to your eyebrows.
Social media has plenty of suggestions. Some people swear by a large Coke and McDonald’s fries, which has gained the nickname of a “McMigraine”. Others recommend putting your feet in hot water while cooling the back of your head with spoons. Suddenly, managing a migraine seems to require the logistical planning of a spa day, with a takeaway delivery slot.
But how much science is there behind these remedies?…
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By Roberta Picussa, Cientista política e pesquisadora de pós-doutorado no Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Representação e Legitimidade Democrática (INCT ReDem), Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR); Sciences Po
Andressa Zanin Rovani, Political Science Researcher, Sciences Po; Universidade Estadual de Campinas (Unicamp)
President Lula’s spectacular reelection sends a clear a warning to the global far-right after seven conservative presidential wins in Latin America in 18 months.
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By Dominic Farsi, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Research Fellow, Teagasc; King's College London; Queen's University Belfast
Extra protein can support muscle growth, but its benefits depend on what you already eat and whether you challenge your muscles.
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By Michelle Spear, Professor of Anatomy, University of Bristol
It’s Halloween night. Someone has dared you to turn off the lights and stand in front of the mirror. The rules are simple, stare into your reflection and say her name three times.
Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary.
According to the creepy urban legend, a terrifying figure will appear in the glass. Depending on which version of the story you follow, she might be a bloodied woman, a witch or a ghost seeking revenge. Sometimes, she simply appears behind you. In more sinister versions, she reaches out of…
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By Kat Hamill, Senior Lecturer in Zoology, Nottingham Trent University
As winter approaches, many of us start clearing leaves and tidying up our gardens. But these jobs can remove vital winter habitats for wildlife, particularly with increasingly volatile weather conditions.
Residential gardens cover 4.6% of Great Britain’s land area – over three times the size of the UK’s National Nature Reserves – so they are important refuges for our biodiversity, particularly in urban areas.
There are many things you can…
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By Leocadia Bongben
...oil and gas contributed FCFA 774.51 billion (USD 1.3 million) to the budget. However, these oil rigs threaten biodiversity and compromise the well-being of coastal and Indigenous communities.
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By Marta Khomyn, Senior Lecturer, Finance and Data Analytics, Adelaide University
Anthropic, developer of AI chatbot Claude, has filed its prospectus and is expected to go public on Wall Street in November at a valuation of up to US$2 trillion.
That would make it the highest-valued initial public offering (IPO) ever, ahead of SpaceX’s US$1.77 trillion listing in June. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, is expected to follow next year.
While these AI-powered IPOs…
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By Deborah Barros Leal Farias, Associate Professor in Politics and International Relations, UNSW
Despite losing the presidency, the right has made gains in Congress. And both sides face big decisions about which leaders should take their movements forward.
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By Elin Angharad Thomas, Adjunct Research Fellow & Communications Manager, Deep-Ocean Stewardship Initiative, The University of Western Australia
Tens of thousands of underwater mountains dot the ocean floor around the world. A few break the surface, such as the Hawaiian island chain. The rest are seamounts, peaks and pinnacles rising from the deep seafloor. Some lie just a few metres below the surface, while others rest deeper.
For many creatures, a seamount is an oasis…
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