By Jessica Newberry Le Vay, Senior Researcher in Climate Change and Health, University of Oxford
The mental health effects of climate change are receiving growing attention, including how children and young people are uniquely affected. Supporting young people to build and sustain good mental health and wellbeing, and to feel prepared for life and work in an uncertain world, has never been more urgent. However, action is still lagging behind need – including in education.
My colleagues and I at the Compass Project, coordinated by…
(Full Story)
|
By Zander Simpson, PhD Candidate in Anthropology, Durham University
Editor’s note: The UK’s Food Standards Authority and Health Security Agency both advise against eating clay, soil or earth. Links to their guidance are included in this article.
When I ask people if they have ever eaten soil before, they tend to give me a strange look. But geophagy – the deliberate ingestion of any kind of soil – is a practice that archaeological evidence from Kalambo Falls in Zambia suggests has been part of human history for at least 2 million years.
British archaeologist…
(Full Story)
|
By Dipa Kamdar, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacy Practice, Kingston University
Interest in lithium’s effects on the brain is growing, but the science behind low-dose use and supplements is far from settled.
(Full Story)
|
By Vidya Mani, Associate Professor of Business Administration, University of Virginia; Cornell University
US consumers, already feeling pain at the gas pump, can expect higher prices and prolonged shortages for goods of all sorts, including food, as additional consequences of slowed oil production.
(Full Story)
|
By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image People moving through the Kurfurstendamm and Tauentzienstrasse shopping districts in Berlin, Germany, August 22, 2025. © 2025 Michael Kuenne/PRESSCOV/Sipa USA via AP Photo Amid a bleak political landscape of rising authoritarianism and anti-rights political agendas, the Council of Europe and its member states adopted a new declaration last week in Chișinău, Moldova, reinforcing their commitment to social rights.The Chișinău Declaration recognizes that “democratic stability and security are directly impacted by rising socio-economic inequalities and…
(Full Story)
|
By Jordi Díaz Marcos, Profesor departamento materiales y microscopista , Universitat de Barcelona
History can sometimes take an unexpected turn. One of these curious, revolutionary twists came in the mid-19th century, when the tale of an unassuming everyday object – the billiard ball – ended in cinematic proportions.
Billiard balls were originally made of ivory, and the need to replace this scarce material led to the invention of a new, extraordinary material: celluloid. Considered the first semisynthetic plastic, this substance did more than just pave the way for future plastics – it was also vital in the earliest systems for capturing and projecting moving images.
Without…
(Full Story)
|
By Emily Hodgson Anderson, Professor of English and Dean of Undergraduate Education, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Has our culture’s begrudging acceptance of ghostwriting paved the way for everyone – not just the rich and famous – to offload the hard work of writing?
(Full Story)
|
By Hannah Kinzer, Ph.D. Candidate in Public Health, Washington University in St. Louis
From bioweapons to biblical plagues, the bacteria that cause anthrax can persist for decades in harsh conditions and wreak havoc on people and cattle.
(Full Story)
|
By Christopher Briem, Regional Economist, Center for Social and Urban Research, University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh’s struggle to move beyond steel demonstrates that industry dominance is temporary. Other regions can learn from Pittsburgh’s slow economic recovery.
(Full Story)
|
By Claudia Strauss, Professor of Anthropology, Pitzer College
Getting SNAP benefits can already be hard, and due to legal changes Congress approved in 2025 it could get harder for many Americans.
(Full Story)
|