By Will de Freitas, Environment + Energy Editor, The Conversation
I recently returned from visiting family in America and was struck by how hot I felt back home in London, despite the temperatures being lower. Partly, this was down to humidity: London is sticky in summer, while Utah, where my uncle lives, is very dry.
But it’s also down to the buildings. My brick house absorbs and retains heat while every building I went to in America was either well ventilated or had air conditioning blasting away.
That contrast got me thinking: as the UK warms, can it keep its homes and workplaces comfortable without relying solely on air-con?
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By Chris Smith, Course Director, History, Coventry University
The US vice-president recently said that all major wars end in negotiations. It’s a clue to how the US might approach ending the war in Ukraine.
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By Vhothusa Edward Matahela, Associate Professor: Health Sciences Education, University of South Africa
Azwihangwisi Helen Mavhandu-Mudzusi, Professor, University of South Africa
Young people in rural Limpopo, the South African province bordering Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, face high risks of HIV, unplanned pregnancy, and other societal challenges.
One reason is that they aren’t always getting sexuality education that connects with their lived realities. Schools provide lessons on reproduction,…
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By John Aerni-Flessner, Associate Professor of African History, Michigan State University
Few Basotho remain who witnessed colonial life. Even fewer went on to build institutions that shaped independent governance and education.
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By Jack Swab, Assistant Professor Department of Geography & Sustainability, University of Tennessee
Derek H. Alderman, Chancellor's Professor of Geography, University of Tennessee
The African Union has endorsed the #CorrectTheMap Campaign, a call for the United Nations and the wider global community to use a different kind of world map. The campaign currently has over 4,500 signatures.
The map most commonly used is called the Mercator projection. Map projections are how cartographers (map makers) “flatten” the three-dimensional…
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By Tinashe Mushakavanhu, Assistant Professor, Harvard University
When it comes to African literature, translation has mostly meant translating work from European languages into African ones. Translation from African languages into English has been long overdue.
Now it appears that a shift in the movement of stories across languages is underway. Works first written and published in African languages are increasingly…
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By Xin Li, Professor, Botany, University of British Columbia
Edan Jackson, PhD Student, Botany, University of British Columbia
Josh Li, Masters Student, Medicine, University of British Columbia
Challenging the long-standing assumption that a cell’s nucleus contains a complete set of chromosomes, recent research reveals that some fungi nuclei only contain half.
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By Avidan Kent, Professor of Law, University of East Anglia
Zana Syla, PhD Candidate in the School of Law, University of East Anglia
Small island nations such as Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Maldives and Marshall Islands are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Rising seas, stronger storms, freshwater shortages and damaged infrastructure all threaten their ability to support life.
Some islands even face the grim possibility of being abandoned or sinking beneath the ocean. This raises…
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By Samuel Clark, PhD Candidate in Politics and International Relations, University of Reading
In a world where politics can often feel demoralising, it’s no surprise that many people are finding comfort and hope in political satire.
Shows like Have I Got News For You and Last Week Tonight With John Oliver use wit and irony to make controversial, distant and uncomfortable issues more approachable while providing moral judgment on them. The idea is that when disheartening topics are dressed humorously – climate change, political corruption, structural injustice – we’re more…
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By Paul Cheshire, Professor Emeritus of Economic Geography, London School of Economics and Political Science
For years, academic economists have argued that council tax and stamp duty are deeply flawed. Politicians from all corners, as well as various thinktanks, also seem to agree. Back in 1976, the UK even had a royal…
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