Nature restoration isn’t often top of the political agenda – here’s how Wales does it
Gwenffrwd and Dinas nature reserve in Wales. Andy Williams photos/Shutterstock Nature is critical for our national health, wellbeing and security. Most national leaders haven’t really taken this on board yet because it is just too big an issue to handle. But, as I explore in my new book, this happens partly because many western societies […]
Elegies for a changing land: how Ireland’s poets are responding to the climate crisis
The Naughton Gallery/Queen’s University Belfast, CC BY-SA Ireland has a unique relationship to climate change. The country has always relied on its pastoral landscapes for its national character, but the escalating climate crisis threatens this tradition because of rising temperatures and sea levels, and deforestation. Given Irish literature’s continued interest in nature, contemporary Irish poets […]
How World Cup filming has evolved since the last US tournament – from spider cameras to AI and drones
When players arrive in the US this year for their World Cup pre-tournament media shoot, they will each step into a scanning chamber to capture their precise body-part dimensions and create 3D, AI avatars. Why? Because even when you’re the biggest sport in the world, you can’t afford to stand still. This year’s Fifa World […]
After more than a century, Labour has lost Wales
After all the predictions, projections and polling permutations, Welsh Labour’s defeat has been confirmed. In 1985, Welsh historian Gwyn Alf Williams described Labour majorities standing “like Aneurin Bevan’s memorial stones”. Forty years on, the stones have finally been eroded. On the worst day for the party in its history in Wales, even its leader, Eluned […]
Antarctic sea ice defied global warming for decades – now, hidden ocean heat is breaking through
For decades, Antarctica seemed to defy global warming. Since satellites began monitoring the poles in the late 1970s, the seasonal growth and retreat of Antarctic sea ice – frozen seawater that expands around the continent each winter – appeared remarkably resilient. It was often described as the “heartbeat of the planet”. Unlike the Arctic, where […]
How Venezuela has – and hasn’t – changed since Maduro’s capture
Four months have passed since US forces captured Venezuela’s sitting president, Nicolás Maduro, and ousted him from power. Maduro’s vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, quickly moved into the top job and has, under US tutelage, begun a process of reversing her country’s experiment with socialism. Venezuela’s pivot towards socialism began under the leadership of Hugo Chávez. After […]
How the evolution of blockchain is changing our ideas about trust
Sutthiphong Chandaeng/Shutterstock In the shadow of the 2008 global financial crisis, trust in the financial system was at a historic low. Banks had failed, markets had collapsed, and confidence in central institutions had been deeply shaken. It was in this moment of uncertainty that an anonymous figure, Satoshi Nakamoto, published the Bitcoin white paper – […]
Pet loss is difficult for people – what about for other pets?
PBXStudio/Shutterstock I recently lost one of my cocker spaniels, Bobbi. She was fit, healthy and active, but had a catastrophic diagnosis of oral melanoma two months before I had to make the decision that anyone with deeply loved pets dreads. It is easy to presume that only humans have a true concept of death and […]
When your workplace doesn’t match your ethical outlook – the problem of ‘moral injury’
KieferPix/Shutterstock When earthquakes struck Turkey and Syria in February 2023, more than 50,000 people were killed and thousands more were injured. One month after the disaster, a bank employee named Efe Demir died by suicide in İstanbul. Before his death, he had sent an email to colleagues questioning the actions and motivations of his employer, […]
A bird flu vaccine for humans is being trialled – here’s how it works
SvetikovaV/ Shutterstock The first ever avian influenza vaccine recently started trials in the UK. This marks a milestone in the prevention of bird flu infections in humans. The vaccine targets the H5N1 flu strain, which causes severe infections in bird populations worldwide. However, this strain of bird flu virus is also able to spread to […]