By Colin Alexander, Senior Lecturer in Political Communications, Nottingham Trent University
The Nobel peace prize is rarely awarded to the most humble, modest or compassionate nominee. Instead, it all-too often ends up in the hands of high-profile figures who want it.
US president Donald Trump has said several times that he thinks he is deserving of it. And calls for him to win the award have only intensified since Israel and Hamas signed off on the first phase of Trump’s…
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By Jonathan Este, Senior International Affairs Editor, Associate Editor, The Conversation
This newsletter was first published in The Conversation UK’s World Affairs Briefing email. Sign up to receive weekly analysis of the latest developments in international relations, direct to your inbox.
There were emotional scenes in both Gaza and across Israel this week as people celebrated the prospect of an end to a war which has cost so many lives. Israel and Hamas agreed the first phase of a ceasefire deal which, if it holds, will bring an end to nearly two years of…
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By David Stupples, Professor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Director of Electronic Warfare Research, City St George's, University of London
For over a century, the ocean has been the ultimate refuge for those who wished to disappear. From the U-boats of the first world war to the nuclear-powered leviathans that glide through today’s deep waters, the submarine has thrived on one simple principle: stealth.
Sound waves travel further and faster in water than light or radar waves. This means sound is the most effective way to detect underwater objects. Modern anti-submarine warfare (ASW) is an ongoing cat-and-and-mouse game of detecting, tracking and deterring enemy submarines.…
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By Richard Whittle, University Fellow in AI and Human Decision Making, University of Salford
Stuart Mills, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Leeds
Some of the world’s biggest tech firms have soared in value over the last year. As AI evolves at pace, there are hopes that it will improve lives in ways that people could never have imagined a decade ago – in sectors as diverse as healthcare, employment and scientific discovery.
OpenAI is now worth US$500 billion (£373 billion), compared with US$157…
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By Philip Clarke, Professor of Health Economics, University of Oxford
Rhys Thomas, Research Fellow, University of Oxford
Lotteries may be fair in theory, but new research shows people prefer expert committees to decide who gets scarce medical treatment.
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By Aled Mark Singleton, Lecturer in Human Geography, Cardiff University
When the news broke in the autumn of 2023 that the blast furnaces at the steelworks in Port Talbot, south Wales, were closing, the headlines were laced with emotion: “devastating”, “fear”, “end of an era”. For many in the town, it wasn’t just the loss of 3,000 jobs, it was as though part of the town’s identity was being taken away.
Such emotional reactions are not just nostalgia or sentimentality. They’re a powerful example of what researchers call “place…
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By Christina Wilkins, Lecturer in Film and Creative Writing, University of Birmingham
The differences between portrayals in the UK and US suggests different understandings of masculinity and expectations of male mental health.
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By Alex Ford, Professor of Biology, University of Portsmouth
A recent survey of environmental toxicologists has revealed that they believe that chemical pollution can and is affecting the health of humans and wildlife.
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By Blanka Grzegorczyk, Senior Teaching Associate, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge; Manchester Metropolitan University
Between 2013 and 2015, Malorie Blackman was Britain’s first black children’s laureate. Her young adult series Noughts and Crosses (2001-21) at once challenges and plays with the prevailing racial ordering of western life and thought.
Blackman’s series is set in an alternative Britain called Albion, where power is held by a dominant, black majority known as the “Crosses”, while the white “Noughts” are stigmatised minority subjects. In doing so, Blackman suggests that if we see difference as threatening or inferior, then any alternative worlds we imagine will just reflect our own culture.…
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By Beverley O'Hara, Lecturer in Nutrition, Leeds Beckett University
Jordan Beaumont, Senior Lecturer in Food and Nutrition, Sheffield Hallam University
Since Wegovy received approval as a weight loss treatment in 2021, there has been huge demand for GLP-1 drugs. These drugs reduce hunger and suppress the “food noise” that can make it difficult to lose weight.
But while these drugs have been a gamechanger for many who have struggle to lose weight,…
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