Why do human beings speak so many languages?
Jul 18, 2017 14:15 pm UTC| Insights & Views Life
The thatched roof held back the suns rays, but it could not keep the tropical heat at bay. As everyone at the research workshop headed outside for a break, small groups splintered off to gather in the shade of coconut...
Death toll mounts in Rio de Janeiro as police lose control of the city -- and of themselves
Jul 18, 2017 13:53 pm UTC| Insights & Views Economy Life
On June 30, a baby was shot in his mothers belly in Rio de Janeiro. After the rifle fire hit 29-year-old Claudinéia in the hip in the Favela do Lixão neighbourhood, her son Arthur was delivered via emergency...
Why upward social mobility means some people move downwards
Jul 18, 2017 13:00 pm UTC| Insights & Views Life
A damning report into social mobility has concluded that successive UK governments have failed to tackle the issue for the past 20 years. But the analysis by the Social Mobility Commission (SMC) also fails on this front....
A spate of acid attacks in London is part of an international problem
Jul 18, 2017 12:50 pm UTC| Insights & Views Life
A series of five acid attacks in one night in London has created a moment for the British government to take a more public stance on this growing problem. A teenager has been charged with 15 offences relating to the...
Low-energy homes don't just save money, they improve lives
Jul 18, 2017 12:47 pm UTC| Insights & Views Life
Household energy use is a significant contributor to global carbon emissions. International policy is firmly moving towards technology-rich, low- and near-zero-energy homes. That is, buildings designed to reduce the need...
The strange links between intelligence and prejudice
Jul 18, 2017 12:18 pm UTC| Insights & Views Life
Human judgement often becomes less accurate when we train it on ourselves. Self appraisals commonly flatter our strengths and minimise our weaknesses. The average man overstates his height by 1.2cm and the average woman...
Hinduism and its complicated history with cows (and people who eat them)
Jul 17, 2017 01:17 am UTC| Insights & Views Life
Just this past June, at a national meeting of various Hindu organizations in India, a popular preacher, Sadhvi Saraswati, suggested that those who consumed beef should be publicly hanged. Later, at the same conclave, an...
Electricity from farm waste: how biogas could help Malawians with no power
What the Supreme Court is doing right in considering Trump’s immunity case
US student Gaza protests: five things that have been missed
Will Solomon Islands’ new leader stay close to China?
IceCube researchers detect a rare type of energetic neutrino sent from powerful astronomical objects