Megalodon’s legendary life revealed by fossil rediscovery
Museums are supposed to be havens for the collective cultural and scientific heritage of the planet, but specimens sometimes go missing. Happily, they can also be rediscovered, as a new study shows, with the vertebrae of the legendary predatory shark known to the world under its old name of Megalodon (now properly Otodus megalodon) turning […]
Falling migration is bad for economies – here’s how some countries are responding
ShutterSikki/Shutterstock The UK’s last six prime ministers have all promised to reduce migration – and now it is happening. The most recent figures show that net migration (the number of people coming to the UK minus the number leaving) was at 171,000 in 2025. This is the lowest point since 2012. Falling migration may be […]
Reading Homer’s Iliad feels like scrolling through TikTok
Homer Singing His Iliad at the Gate of Athens by Guillaume Lethière (1760–1832). Nottingham Castle I first picked up The Iliad because the cloth-bound red cover, stamped with gold flames, was simply gorgeous. So much for not judging a book by its cover. The Penguin Classics edition sat on my shelf for months before I […]
The hidden risks of grey-market peptides – why women face greater danger
Alan Crosthwaite/Shutterstock.com A wave of unregulated peptides is sweeping the wellness world, sold online with bold promises about muscle gain, anti-ageing and fat loss. But concern is growing about side-effects, and almost nobody is asking whether these substances affect men and women in the same way. The evidence suggests they do not. Women are one […]
Ancient Egypt: Magic and Medicine – a brilliant exhibition showing the power of learning through artefacts
The exhibition Ancient Egypt: Magic and Medicine in the Swansea University Egypt Centre is unusual as there are just two ancient objects on display. One is a limestone fragment that was used like scrap paper to write or draw on. On this fragment, a man has written asking a magician to send goose fat to […]
The joy of pests: study reveals why rat catchers are so happy in their work
torook/Shutterstock Pest control means dealing with the kinds of animals many of us try our best to avoid. But catching rats and battling cockroaches turns out to be very satisfying work. My research reveals that this surprising level of job satisfaction comes from the variety, challenge and connection pest controllers experience. They also told me […]
Another statutory inquiry into maternity care would be a mistake – here’s why
Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock The Ockenden Review painted a deeply troubling picture of maternity care at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. It confirmed what families, NHS staff and previous reviews had been saying for years: not isolated mistakes but long-running failures across the service. The Nottingham review examined the experiences of more than 2,500 families, more than 2,500 […]
What the World Cup hydration breaks reveal about who governs men’s football
Twenty-two minutes into Canada’s group match against Qatar on June 18, the home crowd began to boo. They weren’t questioning a referee decision, nor a move by the opposition, but the mandatory three-minute player break for water. Canada was already cruising to a 6-0 win; the irritation was aimed squarely at the interruption. Fifa introduced […]
Venezuela earthquakes highlight the limits of early warning systems
Earthquakes still arrive without warning. That is the hard truth scientists have been forced to accept, despite a decade of advances in artificial intelligence, satellite monitoring and dense seismic networks. We are getting better at detecting earthquakes once they start. We are now better at estimating the damage they may cause. But we still can’t […]
Why turning off screens is so hard for children – and four tips to make it easier
NadyaEugene/Shutterstock The challenges and consequences surrounding children’s screen use are a leading concern for UK families. One especially difficult challenge is the resistance, arguments and emotional battles – “techno-tantrums” – that can follow when parents ask children to end a screen-based activity or refuse children’s requests to start one. Most families with young children experience […]