By Andrea Benucci, Professor in Biology and Experimental Psychology, Queen Mary University of London
A new study in mice suggests psychedelics make the brain more likely to “see” images from memory rather than what’s actually in front of it.
Long before modern laboratory testing, indigenous cultures used these substances to treat psychological and physical ailments. The Aztecs used psilocybin mushrooms as medicine, while Andean cults consumed mescaline-rich San Pedro cacti thousands of years ago. Archaeologists have found a
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By Bamo Nouri, Honorary Research Fellow, Department of International Politics, City St George's, University of London
Inderjeet Parmar, Professor in International Politics, City St George's, University of London
Now well into its second week, the US-Israeli war against Iran has gone beyond the “combat operation” the US president, Donald Trump, announced when it began on February 28. Civilians and infrastructure have been struck across the region from Lebanon, to the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. The conflict has spread rapidly across the Middle East. Now, with the strait of Hormuz effectively closed, oil prices have risen sharply threatening global economic chaos.
This is not an abstract strategic contest.…
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By Katayoun Shahandeh, Lecturer in Museum Studies, SOAS, University of London
Following joint attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran on February 28, the country has come under repeated strikes. These attacks, which were ostensibly supposed to target Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities, have also caused civilian casualties and damage to cultural sites.
Airstrikes near historic districts in Tehran and Isfahan have damaged monuments that have survived for centuries. The losses highlight how war can endanger not only lives but also the historical memory embedded in cities…
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By Richard Whitman, Member of the Conflict Analysis Research Centre, University of Kent; Royal United Services Institute
Stefan Wolff, Professor of International Security, University of Birmingham
The two wars are forcing the EU to take a more assertive role in defence and security affairs, leading to arguments between senior officials.
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By Pablo Martinez Mirave, Postdoctoral Researcher in Theoretical High-Energy, Astroparticle and Gravitational Physics, University of Copenhagen
Imagine looking up at the night sky and seeing a star suddenly burst into a blaze of light brighter than anything nearby. A flash so bright that it briefly outshines an entire galaxy before fading forever.
This violent fate is rare: fewer than about 1% of stars are big enough to end their lives this way. Indeed, these dramatic explosions only occur in so-called “massive…
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By Gemma Ware, Host, The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The Conversation
Climate scientist Philippe Ciais speaks to The Conversation Weekly podcast about new research explaining why global levels of methane spiked during the pandemic.
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By Caroline Flanagan, Head of School, Agriculture, Anglia Ruskin University
Harriet Wishart, Lecturer, Agriculture, Anglia Ruskin University
The classic view of British countryside is of hilly green fields, stone walls and sheep dotted about in the distance.
But that scene could be disappearing as farmers move away from keeping sheep, or reduce their flocks, in many areas of the country.
The total number of sheep and lambs decreased by 3.8%, to 13.3 million in June 2025. Breeding flock numbers have also dropped from 6.8 million in 2021 to 6.4 million in 2025.…
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By Patrick Masters, Lecturer, University of Portsmouth
In Ridley Scott’s 2005 epic Kingdom of Heaven, The Knights Templar are portrayed as violent extremists. The film is about a crusader, Balian of Ibelin, who is fighting to defend the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem from the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, Saladin.
The Knights Templar were formed on Christmas Day 1119, as a revolutionary type of knighthood in which knights lived as monks, taking vows of poverty and piety. Their mission was to protect travellers on the dangerous roads of the Kingdom of…
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By Laura Misener, Professor & Director, School of Kinesiology, Western University
Russia’s return to the Paralympic Games exposes the tension between the movement’s commitment to inclusion and the geopolitical realities of war, doping scandals and ethical accountability.
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By Jennifer B. Nuzzo, Professor of Epidemiology and Director of the Pandemic Center, Brown University
Andrea Uhlig, Research Associate at the Pandemic Center, Brown University
In the three decades between 1993 and 2024, measles in the U.S. was relatively rare – a few hundred cases each year, at most. But suddenly, the disease has become so entrenched in American life that it sometimes fails to make headlines when a new outbreak erupts.
As of March 2026, measles has been continuously circulating around the U.S. for more than a year, starting with an outbreak in Texas that lasted from January to August 2025. Before that…
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