By Lachie Scarsbrook, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Genetics, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford
Greger Larson, Professor of Palaeogenomics, University of Oxford
Laurent Frantz, Professor of Palaeogenomics, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
Humans have moved plants and animals well beyond their native ranges, across barriers that normally prevent dispersal. As a result, people have increased the rates of hybridisation between populations that were once isolated for thousands, or even millions, of years.
Animal hybrids are a controversial issue among scientists, as they often suffer from health issues.
But our new study of Australian dingoes, published in…
(Full Story)
|
By Emma Humphries, Research Fellow, School of Arts, English and Languages, Queen's University Belfast
Elphaba’s insistence on correctness speaks to a broader challenge facing anyone positioned as an outsider: having to work that much harder to be accepted.
(Full Story)
|
By Hillary Burlock, British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of History, University of Liverpool
The ballrooms of Jane Austen’s Britain have been hailed in literature and period dramas as a marriage market where young men and women could meet and mingle. The ballroom set the scene for Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy’s first encounter at Meryton’s assembly rooms in Pride and Prejudice (1813), and where Catherine Moreland and Henry Tilney bantered in Bath in Northanger Abbey (1817).
Austen herself frequented balls in Basingstoke and Southampton. The ballroom was the place to see and be seen, the focal point…
(Full Story)
|
By Tara Lai Quinlan, Associate Professor in Law and Criminal Justice, University of Birmingham
Katharina Karcher, Senior Lecturer, Department of Modern Languages, University of Birmingham
The right to trial by jury dates back to at least the 12th century. The government’s proposals to limit it in England and Wales, many argue, run counter to the UK’s core democratic principles. And as others have pointed out, scrapping jury trials for some crimes is unlikely to solve the massive backlog in the crown courts.
Our…
(Full Story)
|
By Magnus Linden, Associate Professor of Psychology, Lund University
Claire Campbell, Lecturer in Social Psychology, Ulster University
Fredrik Björklund, Professor of psychology, Lund University
It’s often said that Donald Trump’s power base in the Maga movement has contributed to the radicalisation of the Republican party. Political scientists worry about the implications of this for the future of American democracy itself.
One example of that radicalisation was the attack on the US Capitol on January 6 2021 in an attempt to overturn the result. Exacerbating that radicalisation is the movement’s hostility towards much of the mainstream media. This is something that has been
(Full Story)
|
By Nicholas Coppel, Honorary Fellow, The University of Melbourne
The elections are a clear attempt by the regime to gain legitimacy and sideline the government in exile. But they open the possibility of some diffusion of power.
(Full Story)
|
By Deanna Grant-Smith, Professor of Management, University of the Sunshine Coast
Jessica O'Bryan, Lecturer in Curriculum and Pedagogy, University of the Sunshine Coast
Scott Harrison, Professor and Director, Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University
Around Australia, music festival season is once again kicking into high gear. Yet behind every headline act is a vast and often invisible workforce of stage crew, sound engineers, lighting techs, riggers, truck drivers, backup singers, dancers and other support staff.
Many of these workers endure precarious conditions – dealing with inconsistent contracts, long hours and excessive travel. These issues aren’t confined to Australia’s arts…
(Full Story)
|
By Cameron Webb, Clinical Associate Professor, School of Medical Science & Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute; Principal Hospital Scientist, University of Sydney
Insect repellents are the most common way to prevent mozzie bites. Here’s what the science says about their safety profile.
(Full Story)
|
By Charles Barbour, Associate Professor, Philosophy, Western Sydney University
The internet offered a world of connection and cooperation. What we got was a world of ruthless monopolies and oligarchs.
(Full Story)
|
By Bram Servais, PhD Candidate Biomedical Engineering, The University of Melbourne
As prominent artificial intelligence (AI) researchers eye limits to the current phase of the technology, a different approach is gaining attention: using living human brain cells as computational hardware.
These “biocomputers” are still in their early days. They can play simple games such as Pong, and perform…
(Full Story)
|