Trump and Xi face an AI security dilemma – but face-to-face diplomacy could be a start in mitigating it
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping’s Washington summit has been billed as a discussion of major issues surrounding the development and possible regulation of artificial intelligence (AI), as well as trying to find common ground over Taiwan and trade. What everyone wants to know is whether – and how – the leaders of the two biggest […]
Overprescribing can take a toll on older peoples’ health and independence – here’s what can be done
Polypharmacy is more common in people over the age of 65. AleTanevitch/ Shutterstock Around 8 million people in the UK take five or more medications each day (known as polypharmacy), with a further 2 million people taking ten or more prescription drugs daily. The majority of people who take multiple medications each day are aged […]
Neet with a disability: what’s holding back visually impaired young people who want to work
Chansom Pantip/Shutterstock Through my research I have had the fortune of following 80 young people with vision impairment over 11 years. I tracked their journey from school through to adulthood, speaking at regular intervals to establish what had happened since we last spoke, what had gone well and what could have been improved. The aim […]
Water failures in England and Wales are a warning for Canada and the US
Alex Stemmer/Shutterstock The water crisis in England and Wales – which has seen the countries facing widespread drought and utility companies fined for polluting rivers and seas – has been decades in the making. It has emerged as a result of underinvestment, ageing infrastructure, fragmented oversight and governance decisions that allowed financial and operational risks […]
A new venomous British snake? Why there’s no need to panic
Great Britain has always been thought to be home to a single venomous snake species, the adder. Although its bites are rarely life-threatening, they will require a trip to A&E and more than likely ruin your week. On the other hand, the other two native British snakes, the grass and smooth snakes, have been largely […]
The Love Hypothesis and the rise of romance adaptations: how readers became part of the marketing machine
By the time a romance book reaches the screen, readers have often already built a whole world around it: analysing it, recommending it and imagining its characters. The Love Hypothesis, a romantic comedy set in the world of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) academia, is one such example. The bestselling 2021 novel by neuroscientist-turned-author Ali […]
Before I Forget by Anne Pauly: a touching and surprisingly funny meditation on caring for ageing abusive parents
Ramann/Shutterstock How do you mourn an abusive alcoholic parent? French writer Anne Pauly’s Before I Forget, translated by Dina Leifer, addresses this question in a deeply personal account of grief. We accompany Pauly’s protagonist and narrator, Anne, as she cares for her ailing father, looking after his house and his personal grooming. Having grown up […]
Can you lend me a hand? Researchers are developing wearable robotic limbs
Two models wearing Jizai Arms, an additional robotic arms system developed at the University of Tokyo. Kazuaki Koyama/JIZAI ARMS Project, University of Tokyo How many times have you asked someone to hold open a door while carrying something, or fumbled with your front-door keys with your arms full of shopping? Wouldn’t it be great if […]
How the emojis and fashion choices of Germany’s far-right supporters get around the ban on Nazi symbolism
‘No business with Neo-Nazis’. Image Flats! via Flickr., CC BY-SA In the wake of the Alternative für Deutschland’s (AfD) electoral success in the Saxony-Anhalt state election, commentators both in Germany and internationally have expressed concern with the party’s extreme right-wing policies. Among these concerns are recent calls from party elites to adopt “remigration” policies. The […]
Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days has new meaning in the age of climate change
In Happy Days, one of Irish playwright Samuel Beckett’s best-known plays, the body of the protagonist Winnie is embedded in a mound of sand or dirt. During the first act, she is buried to above her waist and in the second, she is buried up to her neck. In the stage directions, Beckett specifies the […]