Ukrainian families have been torn apart by the war – reunifying them is no easy task
Russia’s war in Ukraine has caused the largest forced population displacement crisis in Europe since the second world war. As of 2026, roughly 4.4 million refugees from Ukraine hold temporary protection status in the EU. Around 4.6 million more are internally displaced. Hundreds of thousands of families in the country have been separated and many […]
Do whales fart?
Kertu/Shutterstock A few years ago, 10-year-old Guy was driving along the Australian coast when he saw whales, spouting water up into the air. He was amazed. “Then my brother farted, and then I wondered if whales fart,” says Guy. Guy joined our host Eloise to put his question to Vanessa Pirotta, a wildlife scientist at […]
Colombia’s new president ‘El Tigre’ promises an iron fist – but that may not solve the violence he has inherited
Colombia’s president-elect, Abelardo De La Espriella, widely known as “El Tigre”, will inherit a country deeply affected by insecurity. The Paz Total (total peace) strategy of outgoing president, Gustavo Petro, leaves a difficult legacy. Dialogue with armed groups has produced limited results. Meanwhile Colombia has watched armed and criminal organisations consolidate territorial power, expand their […]
Medical museums often display infant remains – how they were acquired was frequently harrowing and involved eugenic thinking
Trigger warning: this article includes references to infant death and institutional abuse If you’ve been to a museum about the history of medicine or surgery you’ve probably seen loads of preserved human remains that have been used as teaching aids or in scientific research. At London’s Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons you […]
Supporting women in early labour is important for safe maternity care
Listening to women and providing supportive care at the start of labour sets a woman up for a positive birth experience. Prostock-studio/Shutterstock The Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust report has identified serious failings in care at one of England’s largest maternity services, with lessons for maternity units nationally. Among its findings was a repeated problem […]
Does traffic drive street crime? Our study investigated
Tartezy/Shutterstock Picture a busy road running through a residential neighbourhood. The noise, the fumes, the danger to cyclists and pedestrians – all familiar concerns. But here is one you might not have considered: that traffic may also be making your street more prone to vandalism, burglary and violence. That is what our new research, using […]
New obesity figures highlight the income divide
Ms Deborah Waters/Shutterstock.com The number of obese adults in England rose from 26% in 2019 to 30% in 2025, according to a new analysis of 55 million people. Nearly one in three adults are now obese. But averages hide a lot, and behind this one are two very different trends. The sharpest rises are among […]
America at 250: the Britons who supported the War of Independence
Boston Tea Party: a rebellion against British tax policy sparked an uprising which was to reject British rule in the Americas and establish the US republic in 1776. W.D Cooper, TYhe Boston Tea Party The American revolution was not a straightforward contest between colonists and mother country, despite what the Declaration of Independence said about […]
Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy – an uncompromising memoir told through a difficult parent-child relationship
In Mother Mary Comes to Me, Arundhati Roy marks the passing of her late mother by fathoming her on the page for the first time. “I wrote versions of her in my books”, Roy explains, “but I never wrote her.” Doing so is difficult, even painful for Roy because of who her mother was and […]
Do you want to be an astronaut? Career routes that can take you to space
Astronauts train at the LUNA facility, which recreates the Moon’s surface on Earth. ©ESA/ESA-L. Breggion, CC BY-NC In 2024, I flew on a microgravity, or zero G, parabolic flight with the European Space Agency (ESA). The aeroplane flew big arcs up and down in the sky. At the top of the arc I experienced 22 […]