‘The data on extreme human ageing is rotten from the inside out’ – Ig Nobel winner Saul Justin Newman

Saul Newman’s research suggests that we’re completely mistaken about how long humans live for.

Saul Justin Newman, Research Fellow, Centre For Longitudinal Studies, UCL • conversation
Sept. 13, 2024 ~7 min

Colorado voters weigh a ban on hunting mountain lions as attitudes toward wild predators shift

Colorado has spectacular scenery, but it comes with wild animals, and they sometimes wander into town. A ballot measure that would ban hunting wild cats is the latest test of public views on hunting.

Rebecca Niemiec, Assistant Professor in the Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, Colorado State University • conversation
Sept. 13, 2024 ~10 min


Antibacterial discovery: how scavengers avoid infection and what we can learn from them

You might expect scavengers such as vultures to have a diet high in dangerous bacteria. Our study investigated what defences these animals have to help them stay healthy.

Vijitra Luang-In, Associate Professor of Biotechnology, Mahasarakham University • conversation
Sept. 13, 2024 ~8 min

Sunflowers make small moves to maximize their Sun exposure − physicists can model them to predict how they grow

Plants don’t just grow straight up. They can move in loopy and zigzagging ways to get more sunshine. And studying these movements goes all the way back to Darwin in the 19th century.

Chantal Nguyen, Postdoctoral Associate at the BioFrontiers Institute, University of Colorado Boulder • conversation
Sept. 13, 2024 ~10 min

Endometriosis pain leads to missed school and work in two-thirds of women with the condition, new study finds

Black and Hispanic women are less likely to receive an endometriosis diagnosis, reflecting a possible systemic bias or disparity in health care access.

Rasha Al-Lami, Researcher in Women’s Health, Yale University • conversation
Sept. 13, 2024 ~5 min

Wild ginseng is declining, but small-scale ‘diggers’ aren’t the main threat to this native plant − and they can help save it

There’s a widespread argument that ‘poachers’ are responsible for the scarcity of wild ginseng. But a scholar who has interviewed diggers explains that most of them are good stewards.

Justine Law, Associate Professor of Ecology and Environmental Studies, Sonoma State University • conversation
Sept. 13, 2024 ~10 min

As attitudes toward wild predators shift, Colorado voters weigh a ban on hunting mountain lions

Colorado has spectacular scenery, but it comes with wild animals, and they sometimes wander into town. A ballot measure that would ban hunting wild cats is the latest test of public views on hunting.

Rebecca Niemiec, Assistant Professor in the Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, Colorado State University • conversation
Sept. 13, 2024 ~10 min

Who is in fuel poverty? The government has no idea as it moves to cut winter fuel payments

Eligibility for pension credit is not a useful guide to whether a household is fuel poor.

Brenda Boardman, Emeritus Research Fellow in Energy, University of Oxford • conversation
Sept. 13, 2024 ~7 min


Modern secondhand clothes are often considered ‘dirty’ but vintage garments aren’t – certain assumptions limit sustainable fashion

Although both pre-loved modern and vintage lingerie are worn, perceptions of their cleanliness differs radically.

Tetyana Solovey, PhD Candidate, Cultural Sociology, Manchester University • conversation
Sept. 13, 2024 ~7 min

Cosmology is at a tipping point – we may be on the verge of discovering new physics

Right now, it looks like the cosmology is at a tipping point.

Andreea Font, Reader in Theoretical Astrophysics, Liverpool John Moores University • conversation
Sept. 12, 2024 ~13 min

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