Natalia Van D/Shutterstock
Understanding geckos’ movements could lead to better robots.
Cornel Zuegler
Recent accusations of racism are at odds with the values of friendship, altruism and courage exemplified in his books. Was Tolkien simply a product of his time?
EPA Images
Europe needs to rethink its priorities on Syria – fast.
Kallerna/Wikimedia Commons.
The unpopular badger cull has had only ‘modest’ success in reducing bovine TB, according to a recent report. What would an alternative approach that was effective and humane look like?
For every £1 men earn per hour, women earn 81.6p.
shutterstock
How an increased use of technology could widen the gender pay gap in higher education.
PA/Stefan Rousseau
Some possible outcomes as we head into the unknown.
Shawn Carter aka.
EPA
If Mr Beyonce wins his argument that an arbitration clause should be struck down for lack of diversity, the barn door will be blown off the whole profession.
North Sentinel Island. Vivaswa/Shutterstock
We need a more nuanced approach to the world’s last isolated peoples.
No Brexit: could it happen?
Claudio Divizia/Shutterstock
The legal and practical steps that would be required for no Brexit to happen.
hiv360/Shutterstock
Market volatility and value fluctuations are scaring some investors away from Bitcoin – but stablecoins could be one solution.
Shutterstock
A worrying lack of open-minded research means we do not know exactly why food allergy is on the rise.
Don’t forget parliament.
Yui Mok/PA Wire
An EU law expert on what the attorney general’s legal advice on Brexit means and its wider significance for the future.
The far-right Vox party, and its candidate for the Andalusia presidency Francisco Serrano (c), celebrate a strong showing in the regional election.
Rafa Alcaide/EPA
Left-wing parties in Andalusia were the biggest losers as right-wing parties gained seats in in regional elections in early December.
Examination by ophthalmoscope in JF Phillips’ Ophthalmic Surgery and Treatment, 1869.
Wellcome Library
Screen time wasn’t a issue in the 19th century but that didn’t stop concerns over how new developments might damage eyesight
shutterstock
Just the act of eating each meal places a large degree of physiological stress on the immune system.
Codex Manesse, circa 1305-1315.
Meister Johannes Hadlaub, UB Heidelberg
In his text Fire of Love, Rolle has a few interesting things to say about medieval gender relations.
Tweet power.
nopporn
New research into the Greek crisis from 2012-16 compared how tweets and traditional news affected bond yields among countries in the eurozone peripheries.
Sikh pilgrims at the shrine for Guru Nanak Dev in Kartarpur, Pakistan.
Rahat Dar/EPA
In late November, the foundation stone was laid for a new visa-free corridor between two Sikh gurdwaras on either side of the India-Pakistan border.
Ranomafana National Park.
LouieLea/Shutterstock
A recent spate of attacks have left local people scared for their safety in rural Madagascar, threatening vital conservation work in the nearby rainforest.
A West Papuan activist in traditional costume protests in Jakarta for Papuan self-determination.
EPA Images
The government is focusing on economic development, but ignoring human rights abuses, local politics and indigenous peoples.
Investiture of Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in Mexico City on December 1.
EPA Images
Andrés Manuel López Obrador plans to combine army, navy and Federal Police units in a new 150,000 strong national guard.
Wikimedia Commons.
New research reveals that changes in attitudes led to Sinn Féin’s landslide victory – not the new surge of young voters.
Bubbles can be modelled as having a negative mass.
Mike Lewinski/Flickr
Forget about dark matter and dark energy, new research suggests that the existence of ‘dark fluid’ may solve some of the biggest mysteries in physics.
Negative assumptions about the place of women and girls in STEM need to be challenged.
Shutterstock
With demand outstripping supply for STEM professionals, Scotland will suffer if more young women are not engaged with these subjects.
Parliament’s Brexit clock is ticking.
bryan.../flickr
Ministers were found in contempt of parliament on December 4 for not publishing the full legal advice on the Brexit withdrawal agreement.