
The UK’s social security system falls way below international human rights standards: new report
The right to social security is enshrined in several international agreements on human rights. But the UKs system even before the disability benefits cuts announced earlier this year falls way below these standards. For...

Far-right AfD tops German poll for first time – just weeks after Friedrich Merz’s election win
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has topped a national poll for the first time, prompting the popular Bild newspaper to carry the headline: AfD breaks the magic barrier. The poll put the AfD on 26% and the...

What will the UK Supreme Court gender ruling mean in practice? A legal expert explains
The Supreme Courts decision in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers will mean changes in how trans people in the UK access services and single-sex spaces. In the highly anticipated judgment announced April 17,...

The ski-jumping cheating scandal: how suits were illegally altered for unfair advantage
In this age of artificial intelligence, data tampering and genetic manipulation, it seems that the nature of fraud and deception in competitive sport is becoming increasingly sophisticated. So, it seems almost surprising...

Popcorn lung: how vaping can scar your lungs for life
A US teenager was recently reported to have developed the oddly named medical condition popcorn lung after vaping in secret for three years. Officially known as bronchiolitis obliterans, popcorn lung is a rare but serious...

How human connections shaped the spread of farming among ancient communities
If youve ever wondered how farming spread far and wide, our research on past human societies offers one explanation: contact between different groups often drives change. In a recent paper, together with our colleagues...

‘Piracy’ to legitimacy: how companies like French ride-hailing platform Heetch can make their mark
The 2024 arrest and subsequent release of activist Paul Watson, the founder of the NGO Sea Shepherd that fights to protect ocean biodiversity, highlighted a division between two opposing camps. There are those who want to...