What helps children feel safe at school?
ucchie79/Shutterstock The issue of children missing school in England remains an urgent problem. New data shows that in the 2024-25 academic year, 18% of pupils were persistently absent, meaning that they missed 10% of their morning and afternoon sessions at school – around 19 days. While a slight decrease from the previous year, this is […]
The UK and Denmark: a dentist assesses the state of the nations’ teeth
How the health of your teeth is influenced by where you live. canva/Shutterstock/Videnskab.dk Teeth are an unlikely place to start when judging a health system, but they can be one of the most revealing. Oral health tells a surprisingly big story. Tooth decay, gum disease and tooth loss are some of the most common chronic […]
Taylor Swift’s new video marks her ghostly return to Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca
In 2020, Taylor Swift told us she read Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, the 1938 bestseller about a young bride haunted by the memory of her husband’s glamorous first wife. Swift described how it inspired her while she was writing Tolerate It for her ninth studio album Evermore, which came out the same year. The song […]
Unusual senses: the secret superpowers of amphibians and reptiles
The Surinam toad’s hand. reptiles4all/Shutterstock The Surinam toad is one of the strangest frogs on Earth. Flat-bodied, tiny-eyed and adapted to the murky waters of the Amazon basin, it hunts well despite having very poor vision. When a fish swims close, the frog suddenly opens its mouth and sucks the prey inside in a fraction […]
Rhinos and elephants can cause huge problems if reintroduced badly – here’s how to get it right
Rhinos in the Kruger national park in South Africa. Karel Gallas/Shutterstock Moving large animals around is a seductive idea in conservation. If there are plenty of animals in one place and too few in another, moving some between the two seems an obvious solution. Sometimes it is. But with animals as large, mobile and socially […]
Does increased childcare funding help mothers into work?
SpeedKingz/Shutterstock Since Labour won the 2024 general election, policy focused on children in the early years – from birth to school age – and their parents has moved sharply up the political agenda. The government’s most expensive early years commitment so far has been its decision to honour the previous administration’s pledge to provide 30 […]
Partita by Barbara Kingsolver: the touching story of a musician striving to bring the movements of her life together
Woman Playing the Piano by Winifred Nicholson. Trustees of Winifred Nicholson/ The Ingram Collection of Modern British and Contemporary Art, CC BY-NC A partita is a musical composition, often for a soloist. As Livia, the protagonist of Barbara Kingsolver’s new book, explains to Sigurd, as they begin an all-consuming romance, it’s “made up of a […]
Why endometriosis pain can continue after treatment
PeopleImages/Shutterstock Treatment for endometriosis can bring relief, but some women continue to have pelvic pain even after hormone treatment or surgery. For those who have spent years seeking help, continuing pain can be distressing and difficult to understand. Why does this happen? Sometimes endometriosis remains or returns. But pain can also involve other conditions, and […]
How will humans of the future be augmented? Six striking ideas from science fiction
The transformation of the human body has been a recurring concern of science fiction for more than 200 years. It has reflected both our hopes of overcoming physical limitations, and our fears about how technology may change what it means to be human. Science fiction is an important creative and speculative space in which to […]
Andy Burnham wants beer back in the stands – but football’s traditional fans have larger concerns
Andy Burnham, Everton fan and prime minister, has declared the ban on drinking pitch-side at football games to be discriminatory given that fans of other sports, even in the same ground, could happily enjoy a beer while watching a game. There have been several drinking trials in the women’s game. Surveys and police data showed […]