Why do some animals grow so big? Jan Hoole, Keele University The latest internet sensation is a cow. Or more accurately a giant steer (a castrated male) by the name of Knickers. The nearly two metre-tall, 1,400kg Holstein Friesian has grown … Continue reading Knickers the giant cow
Mathematics in Creasing Thomas Hull, Western New England University Origami is the ancient Japanese art of paper folding. One uncut square of paper can, in the hands of an origami artist, be folded into a bird, a frog, a sailboat, or … Continue reading Origami
A complex systems scientist explains Mitchell Newberry, University of MichiganUMICH – Center for the Study of Complex Systems @UMICHCS Chaos evokes images of the dinosaurs running wild in Jurassic Park, or my friend’s toddler ravaging the living room. In a chaotic … Continue reading What is chaos?
Leor Zmigrod, University of Cambridge @LeorZmigrod It is a little-known fact that humans have not one but two immune systems. The first, the biophysical immune system – the one we’ve all heard much about – responds to infections as they … Continue reading COVID-19 could nudge minds and societies towards authoritarianism
Filippo Menczer, Indiana University Former Facebook product manager Frances Haugen testified before the U.S. Senate on Oct. 5, 2021, that the company’s social media platforms “harm children, stoke division and weaken our democracy.” Haugen was the primary source for a … Continue reading Facebook whistle-blower Frances Haugen testified that the company’s algorithms are dangerous – here’s how they can manipulate you
What you need to know about the Nobel prize-winning author Melanie Otto, Trinity College Dublin Abdulrazak Gurnah has been awarded the 2021 Nobel prize for literature. The Tanzanian novelist, who is based in the UK, was awarded the prize for … Continue reading Abdulrazak Gurnah
Sarah A. Son, University of Sheffield Squid Game is anything but your typical, saccharine, soft-glow Korean television drama. In this biting commentary on life in South Korea today, viewers are presented with a twisting, technicolour story of violence, betrayal and … Continue reading Squid Game: the real debt crisis shaking South Korea that inspired the hit TV show
Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor, Coventry University The two first British mosques were established in 1889 in Liverpool and Woking, and women played a major contribution to the communities that helped to set up these mosques. But you wouldn’t necessarily know it. Indeed, … Continue reading The forgotten women who helped to build British Islam
Colin Angus, University of Sheffield COVID restrictions in England were lifted on July 19, and although COVID cases are currently soaring in schoolchildren and their parents’ age group, many feel that the worst of the pandemic is now over. Thanks … Continue reading How COVID deaths compare with other deaths in the UK – latest numbers
How two Islamic groups fell from power to persecution. Ahmet T. Kuru, San Diego State University Mohammed Morsi, Egypt’s first-ever democratically elected president, died unexpectedly during a trial in June 2019. He was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, an … Continue reading Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and Turkey’s Gulenists
