Violence against female protesters was a terrifying hallmark of the unrest that led to the fall of the Morsi government. Local NGOs documented more than 100 reports of sexual violence, including rape…
There’s more wind in Scotland than in England, and not just in the pipes.
Danny Lawson/PA
A frequent claim heard is that the UK is Europe’s windiest country. This is a partial truth; Scotland is the windiest country, whereas England is far from the windiest. To see the truth of this one need…
Covering your ears won’t protect you from bone conduction advertising.
Markus Kison
Just when you thought it was safe to have a nap on a train, the window you’re resting your head on might try to sell you a new app, skin cream or tickets to the theatre. Sky Deutschland has announced a…
Plain packaging isn’t really plain - it has warnings not branding.
PA/Niall Carson
The government’s disappointing U-turn over plain packaging of tobacco has dealt a blow to campaigners and shows a government attempting to subvert its own consultation process. The Conservative party’s…
It’s important to understand what went wrong with Asiana 214 to avoid further tragedy.
NTSBgov
It is still far too early in the investigation into the accident involving Asiana flight 214 at San Francisco airport to draw any conclusions about the events leading up to the accident. However, some…
All heat and light: we need action on climate not rhetoric and finger-pointing.
Owen Humphreys/PA
China has become a popular target of environmental ire, drawing criticism for its soaring carbon emissions and perceived intransigence during climate negotiations. Nonetheless, an easy target isn’t always…
Don’t bust out the champagne yet: not everyone will be able to afford it.
Toni Blay
With economic “green shoots” appearing, you might expect to see improvements in the labour market, with higher wages and lower unemployment. But don’t get the champagne out just yet: this crisis isn’t…
The idea that mental health services are getting better is just smoke and mirrors.
Flickr/Erika Linds
Foundation essay: This article on the state of mental health services is part of a series marking the launch of The Conversation in the UK. Our foundation essays are longer than our usual comment and analysis…
Universities just got a little more chilling …
emdot
Universities in this country are under increased pressure to share information about the activities of students and staff whether for immigration purposes, in relation to activism on campus or even in…
The magnificence of Mont Blanc, thanks to the Bossons Glacier.
photophilde
Glaciers are monstrously huge pieces of ice. For millions of years their movements have eroded mountains to create some of nature’s most beautiful landscapes. But according to a new study, rather than…
Most people believe that police and politicians have their snouts in the trough.
Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire
Tuesday saw the most prominent of the world’s anti-corruption NGOs, Transparency International, announce the results of its 2013 “Global Corruption Barometer”. As ever, the results make interesting reading…
Moving with the times. Mobile phones are a vital tool in African banking.
whiteafrican
Bitcoin has landed in Kenya. The online currency that was, until recently, the preserve of tech entrepreneurs and only the most pioneering financiers, is to go mainstream in Nairobi while the rest of us…
Few countries have pushed forward with nuclear power programmes after Fukushima.
Tim Ireland/PA
Just over two years after the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in eastern Japan in March 2011, public attitudes worldwide remain hardened against nuclear power. It may have fallen from the…
Say that again? Hearing aids as fashion?
Flickr/Dilliweed
More than one in ten middle-aged people has difficulty following speech in noisy environments, according to an analysis of 165,000 people in the UK Biobank, a project following the health of half a million…
You only have to walk down the aisle of a toy shop to see that young girls really love pink. This has some parents worried. They are concerned that pink is bad for their daughters. One engineer in the…
Wrong about migrants, wrong about benefits, wrong about choice of headgear.
Torsten Reimer (http://www.flickr.com/photos/torstenreimer)
People are wildly wrong when we ask them about many aspects of life in Britain, as shown in a new survey by Ipsos MORI for the Royal Statistical Society and King’s College London. We think one in four…
Wheat-free: fields full of quick-growing miscanthus grass, an energy-rich biofuel.
Andrew Parsons/PA
Critics of the conversion of plants into biofuel have long argued that it is an issue of food versus fuel, and a recent UN report gives some weight to their argument. Since the amount of maize needed…
Chuffing away while drinking heavily slows your brain down.
PA/Jonathan Brady
The combination of both heavy drinking and smoking in midlife can accelerate cognitive decline. Problems with cognitive function affects mental abilities such as thinking, knowing, judging and remembering…
Genetic traits like a bulbous nose or balding give some people reasons to moan about what they inherited from their parents. But more serious genetic flaws can cause debilitating disease. Now, Italian…
EU politicians get to grips with the latest science.
European Union, 2013
When we think of cutting-edge innovation, we tend to think of big corporations and their latest wheezes: Google Glass, Sony flat screens or Airbus’s newest plane. But small businesses play key roles in…
Hard words: is Ed Miliband biting the hand that feeds the Labour Party?
PA Wire
Ed Miliband’s plan to reform Labour relationship with the union movement has its origins much deeper than the recent Falkirk debacle. Of course, Unite in Falkirk West and 40 other constituency Labour parties…
Grangemouth refinery: keeping the home fire burning.
Andrew MillJigan/PA
Don Fullerton, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The runaway train of 73 oil tankers that derailed and exploded in the small town of Lac-Megantic in Quebec, Canada last week left 15 dead, around 50 missing, and shows how dangerous transporting oil can…
The lights are on and no one gut hurt.
Roozbeh Rokni
For almost sixty years Hurricane Hazel has stood as the most extreme storm on recorded in City of Toronto but this week, on July 8th, a new record was set. A series of storms hit the city late in the afternoon…
Mind the gap: Japanese school girls were covered but not the boys.
Flickr/thecrypt
Heidi Larson, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Recent rubella outbreaks in Japan and Poland are the clearest evidence possible that herd immunity matters. There are many reasons why people don’t get vaccinated for totally preventable diseases such…
‘One hand’: Once again it is the military which is calling the shots in Egypt.
Zeinab Mohamed via Creative Commons
In the past four weeks, a major political earthquake seems to have hit the Middle East, where three key regional constituencies: Iran, Qatar and Egypt, experienced more or less unexpected changes of leadership…