By Alister Hart, Chair of Academic Clinical Orthopaedics, UCL
As someone who started marathon running in mid-life, I know how many aches and pains (and doubts) you can have if you take on the challenge to start running at an older age. But as an orthopaedic surgeon who has replaced thousands of worn-out hips and knees throughout my career, I also know just how much exercise actually helps the joints.
Hobbling around my orthopaedic hospital after my first marathon actually led me to do research on runners. After conducting 1,000 MRI scans of the joints of mid-life exercisers (both runners and cyclists) and “couch potatoes”, I now better understand…
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By Adam Taylor, Professor and Director of the Clinical Anatomy Learning Centre, Lancaster University
The world’s oldest conjoined twins, Lori and George Schappell, recently died, aged 62.
Doctors predicted that the twins (who were joined at the skull and shared 30% of their brain) would not live past the age of 30. But the twins defied expectations and managed to live long and successful lives.
The twins made headlines in 2007 when George came out as transgender.
Conjoined twins are incredibly rare, accounting for about one or…
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By Fabio Silva, Senior Lecturer in Archaeological Modelling, Bournemouth University
Amanda Chadburn, Member of Kellogg College, University of Oxford and Visiting Fellow in Archaeology, Bournemouth University
Erica Ellingson, Professor in Astrophysics, Emeritus, University of Colorado Boulder
When it comes to its connection to the sky, Stonehenge is best known for its solar alignments. Every midsummer’s night tens of thousands of people gather at Stonehenge to celebrate and witness the rising Sun in alignment with the Heel stone standing outside of the circle. Six months later a smaller crowd congregates…
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By Robert Taub, Director of Music, The Arts Institute, University of Plymouth
With his highly original melodic gift, Gershwin blended jazz and classical elements to create the iconic and enduring Rhapsody in Blue.
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By Melanie Morgan, StreeetSnap Research Associate, Swansea University
Lella Nouri, Associate Professor, Criminology, Sociology and Social Policy, Swansea University
Hateful graffiti and other imagery plague communities across the UK, spreading a toxic message of division. Such graffiti targets people based on race, religion, sexual orientation, disability and gender identity.
And sprayed graffiti is only one part of the problem. Hateful imagery can range from stickers and QR codes to leaflets,…
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By Jessica Hagen-Zanker, Senior Research Fellow, Overseas Development Institute
There is not much consensus on what the root causes of migration actually are, and little evidence to show that addressing them actually reduces migration.
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By Richard Washington, Professor of Climate Science, University of Oxford
Some years ago, I found myself making my way up the narrow stairs of a Learjet on a sultry runway in a deserted airport near the South Africa-Mozambique border. The humidity was there to taste – the air thick with it.
The weather radar was showing a fast-developing thundercloud. Our mission was to fly through the most active part of the storm, measure it, fly through again while dumping a bin load of dry ice, turn hard and fly through for a final measurement.
The inside of the Learjet resembled a food blender, so severe was the turbulence. Thousands of meters below, a…
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By Grant Jarvie, Chair of Sport and Head of the Academy of Sport, The University of Edinburgh
The Beautiful Game is a film of second chances — where teams of homeless men and women from around the world find that all roads lead to Rome and everything’s to play for.
Starring Bill Nighy as coach Mal, it follows the England team as they prepare for the Homelessness World Cup in Rome. At the last minute, Mal decides to bring with them a talented striker Vinny (Michael Ward), who could give them a chance at winning, but only if he’s ready to let go of his past and become part…
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By James Horncastle, Assistant Professor and Edward and Emily McWhinney Professor in International Relations, Simon Fraser University
Israel’s latest missile strike on Iran may be more a face-saving exercise aimed at satisfying members of its coalition government than a true escalation of hostilities.
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Friday, April 19, 2024
The UN’s top human rights official on Friday raised alarm over the escalating violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state between junta and opposition forces, amid reports of the military regime forcing members of the minority Muslim Rohingya community to join their ranks.
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