By Angela Jayne Kilpatrick, Lecturer in Learning Development, University of Lancashire
Teachers have gained some skills, but the GPS test is not an effective means of helping pupils become better writers.
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By Håkan Johansson, Professor of Social Work, Lund University
Axel Vikström, Senior Lecturer, Department of Communication, Lund University
Sweden is imagined as the land of equality, modesty and Jantelagen – the unwritten rule that no one should think they are better than anyone else. But there has also been a fascination within Sweden with its billionaires, especially those who abide by these dominant cultural norms.
In the case of Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of furniture giant IKEA, Swedes appreciated that he drove an old car (a Volvo, of course), engaged with employees working on the floor in his stores, and every year personally handed…
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By Gemma Shearman, Senior Lecturer in Physical and Computational Chemistry, Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kingston University
I’ll admit it, I’m a Trekkie. I blame my mother.
It was on her insistence that my brother and I watched endless re-runs of the original Star Trek series, which is now celebrating its 60th anniversary. She took us further into the unknown with The Next Generation – and I’ve stayed loyal to the franchise ever since.
I’m also a chemist.…
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By Alex Dittrich, Senior Lecturer in Zoology, Nottingham Trent University
This summer you may have wondered why you are seeing so few insects squished on your car’s windscreen, compared to a road trip several years ago.
This is because insects are declining globally at an alarming rate.
One extensive citizen science survey looked at insects numbers over several years by looking at insect deaths on car number plates. They asked people to clean their number plates before a journey and then photograph it afterwards, and count the number of bugs killed.
The…
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By Samantha Jones, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Musculoskeletal and Ageing Science, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool
Anne McArdle, Professor of Musculoskeletal and Ageing Science, University of Liverpool
Astronauts who undergo long-duration spaceflight aboard the International Space Station often return with health problems that resemble some age-related conditions in people on Earth.
Remarkably, some of this decline reverses within months of their return but others persist. This raises an intriguing question: what can be learned from these rapid changes and could they help prevent or reverse aspects of age-related…
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By Catherine Comfort, Academic Lead, Access Participation and Success Faculty of Business and Law, The Open University
Nearly 1 million 16 to 24-year-olds in the UK are currently outside education, employment or training and the number is currently projected to increase.
We can all see the huge waste of talent this represents for the young people concerned and society as a whole. In his interim report on young people and work, commissioned by the government, former MP Alan Milburn…
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By Wai-keung Fung, Senior Lecturer in Electronics Robotics & Control Engineering, Cardiff Metropolitan University
At the recent World Humanoid Robot Games 2026 in Beijing, robots sprinted, boxed, played football and tackled tasks inspired by factories, restaurants and emergency situations. The robot Tiangong Ultra even completed the 100 metres in 8.64 seconds, quicker than Usain Bolt’s 9.58-second world record.
But if we really want to know whether humanoid robots are ready for everyday life, a far less glamorous challenge may tell us more: doing the laundry. Can a robot take a crumpled T-shirt from a laundry basket, work…
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By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
Jim Chalmers on Wednesday will release projections from the government’s Intergenerational Report to bolster Labor’s argument against One Nation’s Super proposal.
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By Stephanie Szarmach, James Smithson Postdoctoral Fellow, Smithsonian Institution
Tiny geolocators measure light levels and atmospheric pressure to reveal the migrations of small songbirds – including the yellow-rumped warbler, also known as a butter-butt – in unprecedented detail.
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By Deana L. Weibel, Professor of Anthropology, Grand Valley State University
60 years of ‘Star Trek’: A cultural anthropologist on how the show’s “infinite diversity in infinite combinations” conception helped shape NASA’s vision of the future.
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