By Muireann Quigley, Professor, Law, Medicine and Technology, University of Birmingham
Joanna Neill, Professor of Psychopharmacology, University of Manchester
Laura Downey, Research Fellow, Law, University of Birmingham
Studies show psilocybin therapy can rapidly reduce anxiety and depression in terminally ill patients, but UK regulations make access nearly impossible.
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By Emily Chiang, Research Associate, Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics, Aston University
Shannon McCoole ran one of the world’s largest dark web child abuse forums for around three years in the early 2010s. The forum provided a secure online space in which those interested in abusing children could exchange images, advice and support. It had around 45,000 users and was fortified with layers of online encryption that ensured near-complete anonymity for its users. In other words, it was a large and flourishing community for paedophiles.
McCoole…
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By Rahmat Poudineh, Honorary Research Associate, Oxford Sustainable Finance Group, University of Oxford
Nearly a decade after the Paris agreement, the world is emitting more greenhouse gases than ever. Global emissions reached a record 53 billion tonnes in 2024 – about 10% higher than in 2015, when the deal was signed. Despite near-universal participation, the international effort to cut emissions is failing.
The Paris system, built on voluntary pledges, has turned into more of a reporting exercise than a coordination mechanism.
Even…
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By Bridget Storrie, Teaching Fellow, Institute for Global Prosperity, UCL
Our increasing demand for injectable cosmetic procedures isn’t responsible for making chromium, nickel and iron ore critical. But there’s an environmental cost.
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By Will Cook, Reader in Policy Evaluation, Manchester Metropolitan University
As she carefully prepares the UK’s reaction to her second budget the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has now hinted that she may be ready to scrap the two-child benefits cap.
This controversial policy prevents parents from claiming child tax credit or universal credit for more than two children (this is different to child benefit payments which are not limited by family size). According to the government’s own figures, the cap affects the households of 1.7…
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By Pablo Uchoa, PhD Candidate in the Institute of the Americas, UCL
The arrival of the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, in the Caribbean basin on November 11 has intensified fears of a large-scale conflict in the region. The carrier has been deployed as part of US president Donald Trump’s campaign against boats in the Caribbean and Pacific allegedly transporting drugs bound for the US.
But some experts suspect that the real objective is to support a possible US military strike…
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By Robin Kramer, Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology, University of Lincoln
Some people are so good with faces that there’s a name for them – super-recognisers. And a new study using eye-tracking technology has given us some insights into how they do it.
Although most of us perform reasonably well when tasked with learning a new person’s face or recognising someone we already know, there are people whose abilities are at the extremes. Those who struggle with faces (even of close friends and family) are known as prosopagnosic…
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By Simon Trafford, Lecturer in Medieval History, School of Advanced Study, University of London
A group of friends sit around a table sharing stories and sipping mead. The men sport beards and the women sip from drinking horns – but these aren’t Vikings, they’re modern-day hipsters.
The 21st century has seen a revival of mead, a fermented alcoholic drink…
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By Rivka Isaacson, Professor of Molecular Biophysics, King's College London
When I first began appropriating the plots of British-Irish novelist Iris Murdoch’s novels to explain scientific concepts, I never stopped to think about whether Murdoch herself would have approved of such an endeavour.
As a professor of molecular biophysics, I find that in both scientific research and all aspects of life, there can be great advantage in thinking differently. I’ve recently given some sessions on this at the Physics of Life summer school, and the fun, ideas and feedback were beyond…
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By Wendy Whitman Cobb, Professor of Strategy and Security Studies, Air University
Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket successfully made its way to orbit for the second time on Nov. 13, 2025. Although the second launch is never as flashy as the first, this mission is still significant in several ways.
For one, it launched a pair of NASA spacecraft named ESCAPADE, which are headed to Mars orbit to study…
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