Outside academia, people aren’t well informed about PhD research – and that’s a problem
Smallroombigdream/Shutterstock Around 1% of the global population has a PhD. It’s the highest academic qualification, the result of years spent on original research. But – and this is a question that many PhD students will have faced, at some time or another – what’s the point? The number of PhDs being undertaken globally is rising. […]
Why small discoveries (as well as big ones) have the power to inspire
This roundup of The Conversation’s environment coverage was first published in our award-winning weekly climate action newsletter, Imagine. In 1968 a photo of the Earth was taken by the crew of Apollo 8 as they orbited the Moon. It’s hard for us to imagine today what that would feel like for both the crew and […]
How AI’s language barrier limits climate disaster responses
The Nigerian village of Mmiata Anam in Anambra state, completely submerged by floods. Chinedu Chime/Shutterstock A message appears online during heavy flooding: “This rain no be small o, everywhere don red.” Someone unfamiliar with the phrasing might hesitate. But for people in Nigeria, this message is immediate and clear: the flooding is severe and worsening. […]
Long COVID associated with higher risk of heart disease
Women with long COVID had more than double the risk of developing cardiovascular disease compared with women without long COVID. TetianaKtv/ Shutterstock Most people who get COVID recover within a few weeks. But for some, symptoms persist for months – a condition now known as long COVID. While it’s often associated with fatigue, breathlessness and […]
The Testaments: female friendship fuels resistance in this Handmaid’s Tale sequel
The Testaments, now streaming on Disney+, has big shoes to fill. It arrives in a post-MeToo media landscape still shaped by the seismic impact of Margaret Atwood’s previous adaptation, The Handmaid’s Tale. Released in 2017, The Handmaid’s Tale quickly transcended its source material to become a feminist touchstone, inspiring a vivid visual and cultural language […]
Babies: raw, nuanced, real – what this BBC drama gets right about recurrent miscarriage
I heard about the new BBC drama Babies the week before it aired and was keen to watch it, not least because miscarriage is so rarely portrayed on screen – particularly as a central storyline. I enjoyed it, insofar as that word can be applied to such a devastating subject. The series offers a raw, […]
Europe needs affordable, low-carbon homes – here’s how Barcelona is reimagining its housing system
An affordable housing development with an AA energy efficiency rating in Catalonia, Spain. Oliver Gordon IHRB, CC BY-NC-ND Across Europe, housing is in crisis. Limited social housing and a 93% rise in short-term rentals are driving prices up while wages stagnate, leaving millions unable to afford secure homes. Beyond the current geopolitical crisis, extreme temperatures […]
Why windfarms and electricity pylons have become a major issue in the Welsh election
Future plans for renewable energy are emerging as a key issue in the election for Wales’s parliament, the Senedd, on May 7. Proposals for new infrastructure, including windfarms and pylon lines, required to meet targets for low carbon energy are facing opposition in many parts of rural Wales, with campaigners suggesting that the issue will […]
Why some children with learning difficulties get identified – and others don’t
Kristina Igumnova26/Shutterstock Two children sit in different schools. Both struggle to read. Both have similar low scores on national tests. But while one gets a diagnosis of specific learning difficulties and a package of support, the other is left to fall behind. My colleagues and I have carried out new research analysing the records of […]
Wildflower once used to treat wounds and sore throats shows promise in fighting dangerous superbugs
Tormentil grows wild across the UK, Ireland and Europe. Ihor Hvozdetskyi/ Shutterstock Long before we had modern antibiotics to rely on, people often turned to traditional medicines from plants to treat infections. The root of tormentil (Potentilla erecta), a small yellow wildflower that grows across Ireland, the UK and Europe, was used for centuries in […]