By Hannah Wakeford, Associate professor, University of Bristol
Ryan MacDonald, Lecturer in Extrasolar Planets, University of St Andrews
New research using Nasa’s powerful JWST telescope has identified a planet 41 light years away which may have an atmosphere. The planet is within the “habitable zone”, the region around a star where temperatures make it possible for liquid water to exist on the surface of a rocky world. This is important because water is a key ingredient that supports the existence of life.
If confirmed by further observations, this would be the first rocky, habitable zone planet that’s also known to host an atmosphere.…
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By Dan O'Brien, Visiting Research Fellow, Centre for Death and Society, University of Bath
Gin Lane is an imagined thoroughfare where the consumption of gin has deprived the inhabitants of sense, finances – and in some instances life.
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By Mark Button, Professor of Security and Fraud, University of Portsmouth
Branislav Hock, Associate Professor in Economic Crime and Compliance, University of Portsmouth
Consumers are increasingly being targeted by financial fraudsters who deceive them into sending money, access their bank accounts or take out loans using their identity. Over the summer, new and more sophisticated scams have been widespread. Behind these frauds – things like phishing emails and scam calls – are a variety…
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By Saroash Shahid, Reader in Dental Materials, Queen Mary University of London
You brush twice daily, floss religiously and see your dentist every six months. But what if these acts of oral hygiene are quietly contributing to one of the planet’s most pressing environmental crises?
A growing body of research reveals that our pursuit of clean, healthy teeth comes with an unexpected cost: we’re washing billions of microplastic particles down the drain every day.
Take toothpaste, for example. Decades of using toothpastes with plastic microbeads triggered bans in many countries,…
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By Amnesty International
By Richard Mugobo & Khanyo Farisè For 10 years, Sheffra Dzamara has endured untold suffering, endlessly reliving the memories of her husband, Itai Dzamara. Itai was abducted on 9 March 2015 from a barber shop in Harare’s Glen View suburb. Five unidentified men handcuffed him and drove off in a vehicle with concealed number plates. That […] The post African states silence dissenting voices through enforced disappearances appeared first on Amnesty International. ]]>
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Students protest against corruption and the government’s ban on social media platforms in Kathmandu, Nepal, on September 8, 2025. © 2025 Ambir Tolang/NurPhoto via AP (Bangkok) – Police in Nepal used lethal force to suppress youth protests on September 8, 2025, that killed at least 19 people and injured over 300, Human Rights Watch said today.Young people, identifying themselves as “Gen Z,” organized a protest movement after the government announced a widespread ban on social media on September 4. Many also expressed anger about pervasive political…
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By Andrew Dodd, Professor of Journalism, Director of the Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of Melbourne
Matthew Ricketson, Professor of Communication, Deakin University
After a lengthy and bitter dispute, the future of the media empire after Rupert Murdoch’s death has been resolved - and son Lachlan is to take the reins.
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By Amorisa Wiratri, Postdoctoral fellow, National University of Singapore
Sugiyanto, PhD Candidate, Communication and Media Studies, Edith Cowan University
The death of Affan Kurniawan, a 21-year-old online motorcycle taxi driver, who was run over by a police tactical vehicle on Thursday, 28 August 2025 during a rally in Jakarta, not only deepened national grief and public anger toward the government and parliament, but also sparked an unexpected wave of cross-border solidarity.
Amid the chaos of protests, Indonesian netizens began noticing posts from Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Thailand…
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By Christopher Blyth, Paediatrician, Infectious Diseases Physician and Clinical Microbiologist, The Kids Research Institute Australia, The University of Western Australia
Sanjay Jayasinghe, Senior Research Fellow, National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance; Conjoint Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney; NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow, University of Sydney
The Australian government announced last week there’s a new vaccine for pneumococcal disease on the National Immunisation Program for all children.
This vaccine replaces previously listed pneumococcal vaccines, having been updated to offer better protection against the disease.
So what is pneumococcal disease? And what is this new vaccine?
From meningitis to ear infections
Pneumococcal disease…
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By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
Sussan Ley’s difficulties in dealing with the Jacinta Nampijinpa Price affair have widened, amid signs it could be weaponised by her factional enemies.
Victorian Liberal senator Sarah Henderson on Tuesday backed the embattled Price, including over her attack on Ley’s factional supporter, shadow minister Alex Hawke.
Henderson, who was in the Angus Taylor camp in the leadership contest and subsequently demoted to the backbench by Ley, said Price had not reflected adversely on Indians, when she suggested last week that Labor encouraged Indian immigrants because they voted…
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