Canals cool down cities during heatwaves – new research
A canal boat moored on the Regent’s Canal in London. BBA Photography/Shutterstock Canals in Great Britain and Ireland cool city neighbourhoods up to 50 metres from their banks, particularly during heatwaves. That’s the key finding of our new research which modelled the impact of canals on urban temperatures – quantifying their importance for the millions […]
How heatstroke kills – it can still be deadly after your body cools down
Pheelings media/Shutterstock Europe is in the grip of yet another deadly heatwave. Over 10,000 excess deaths were recorded during late-June 2026 alone – and the toll keeps climbing. With the acceleration of the climate crisis, heatstroke is predicted to become more prevalent. Understanding why it is so often fatal is now an urgent question. Heatstroke […]
Can DNA from cave paintings tell us who the artists were?
Ancient painting of a bison from Altamira cave in Spain. luisrphoto Perhaps the most evocative windows into the minds of our ancient ancestors are the images they painted on the walls of caves – renderings known simply as rock art or cave paintings. Rock art, which is found across the world, offers snapshots of human […]
How Jordan’s clothing industry exploits migrant workers: ‘we have nowhere to go with our complaints’
Migrant workers sewing clothes in a factory in Aqaba, south-western Jordan. Katharina Grüneisl (2024), CC BY-NC-ND US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently issued its first-ever “withhold release” orders on garments made in Jordan. These orders, issued on June 23 with immediate effect, bar shipments from two factories run by Jordan-based clothes manufacturer Needle Craft […]
Who really wrote Elizabeth I’s angriest letter? New research reveals a hidden hand
The Ermine Portrait of Elizabeth I of England (1585) and a signed letter from Queen Elizabeth I to her future successor James I. Wiki Commons On February 10 1586, Elizabeth I wrote one of her most famous letters: a furious rebuke to her favourite, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester. She sharply reprimanded him for […]
Eleven must-see comedy shows at the Edinburgh Fringe
It’s febrile Fringe season again: a time of frantic lists and spreadsheets, and that panicked sense you might not be able to catch all the essential shows. To make life easier, I have compiled a list of the 11 shows that I – an academic specialising in humour and comedy – am most excited about […]
Should Andy Burnham be ‘relentless’ on small boat crossings? Experts react
Following a sudden? influx of migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, the discussion on unauthorised migration to Europe is again heightened. In the UK this means a focus on small boat crossings and the policy surrounding them, particularly following 752 arrivals on July 29 – the highest number for one day so far this […]
Europe’s wildfires have raised the danger posed by unexploded WWII bombs
When a wildfire broke out in the Müritz National Park of north-eastern Germany in July, it was no routine firefighting job. Bomb disposal teams had to work alongside firefighters because the forest floor is contaminated with cold war-era munitions. Crews could not approach parts of the blaze directly for fear of detonations. Soon after, a […]
A SpaceX rocket section crashed into the Moon – we can’t let the Moon get polluted by space debris
Image of the Moon taken during Nasa’s Artemis II mission in April 2026. Nasa In the early hours of Wednesday morning August 5 the upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket crashed into the Moon in an uncontrolled collision. No damage was caused, other than the creation of a new crater several metres in diameter, […]
Can leaders ever reform prisons without playing politics? Four things Andy Burnham could do
Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street, CC BY-NC-ND The UK’s prime minister, Andy Burnham, is facing his first major test with the public over the upcoming early release of thousands of prisoners. These plans are part of the Sentencing Act 2026, passed by Keir Starmer’s government in response to an independent review of sentencing. […]