Last week, Chancellor George Osborne announced a 30% tax rate on shale gas production. Representing a 32% reduction on the standard rate for oil and gas companies, the move is the latest in a series of…
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The past few weeks must have seemed like an eternity for Ed Miliband. What appeared to be a spat between Labour and Unite over vote-rigging has turned into a public argument over party funding and a redefinition…
There have been many studies into how our mental health can influence our recovery from illness or trauma - and maybe even help us live longer. But the worries of family and friends could also affect how…
Global warming is primarily driven by increasing emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities. Chief among these gases is carbon dioxide (CO2), which warms the planet by trapping heat that would…
There has been in a shift in the way the Conservative party leadership has talked about the European Union over the past fortnight. No longer is the talk of “giving the people a choice” about membership…
Hearing the words “airborne nanoparticles” for the first time, one would probably ask: just how tiny are they, where do they come from, and do we need to worry about them? These tiny particles between…
Ever been on holiday and spent the next few weeks living in fear of the resulting phone bill? Well, if European regulators have their way, these fears could soon be a thing of past. After first cutting…
Care homes in Scotland are taking on a new type of technology to help improve the service they give to residents, particularly those suffering from dementia. With the help of digital portraits, staff can…
In 1994, a crypt containing 242 bodies was discovered in Vác, Hungary. Many of the bodies were naturally mummified, including the remains of a woman, Terézia Hausmann, who died apparently from tuberculosis…
Not for the first time in our long lives, Prince Charles and I find ourselves on parallel tracks, our first grandchildren born within weeks of each other. I offer him my congratulations, and hope that…
The NHS is heading towards a £30 billion deficit within seven years if we’re to believe David Nicholson, Chief Executive of the NHS in England. We have had no figures or discussion about how this deficit…
Since the financial disaster of the Montreal 1976 Olympics, “economic impact assessment” has become an increasingly popular tool for host governments and organisers to justify the vast expense of major…
A decade ago, with Ross Griffiths of the Australian National University, we aimed to build a 4D model which could replicate the Earth’s tectonic processes. Now, our research has helped us understand how…
The London mayor’s recent decision to endorse the Thames Estuary’s Isle of Grain as the site for a new major hub airport has already raised concerns about threats to local birds, but perhaps it is threats…
The next phase of airport development in the UK is certainly proving controversial. We have seen proposals to build entirely new airports to the east of London. New runways have been suggested at Stansted…
The government wants to improve children’s diets by banning packed lunches and barring children from leaving school at lunchtime to prevent them from buying unhealthy food. School lunches are healthier…
The DNA of Albert Perry may change the story of human origins. Perry was an African-American born into slavery in South Carolina. An analysis of the DNA of his descendants produced results that came as…
Is it right to use the severed head of a newly dead man as a humourous prop for a photograph? And if such a snap exists is it right to display it in art galleries? A photograph of artist Damien Hirst at…
When it was revealed this weekend that JK Rowling was the author of a recent critically acclaimed but obscure crime novel - The Cuckoo’s Calling by one Robert Galbraith - it made perfect sense to many…
Nearly two weeks into the longest heatwave in seven years, the UK has been basking in temperatures of up to 32C. But while the weather is welcome for many, not everyone is so lucky - researchers estimated…
The islands off the north and west of Scotland hold the UK’s best renewable resources, yet for more than a decade energy policies have prevented them from realising their full potential. Due to long out-of-date…
The long awaited report on combating corporate tax avoidance by the OECD sadly has to deal with a corporate tax system which is unfit for purpose. It is a follow-up to the G8 meeting last month in Ireland…
A bill passed its first reading in the House of Commons this week which, if it became law, would prove far more punitive in restricting access to social benefits than anything yet suggested by Iain Duncan…
The School Food Plan for England released last week is supposed to be the blueprint that improves lunches in schools across the country. The important role of head teachers, a funding commitment from the…
Justice ministers from across Europe sat down in Brussels yesterday to discuss some tricky issues for internet privacy, one of the most controversial of which was the right to be forgotten. After the NSA…