What happens in your brain when you can’t stop laughing?
CREATISTA/Shutterstock Do you remember the last time you were laughing and simply could not stop? Perhaps it was a situation when you should not have been laughing at all. This happened to one of us while accompanying a friend to a family court in the middle of an unpleasant divorce case. It led to a […]
Here’s how to find the learning strategy that makes AI work for you
DC Studio / Shutterstock Generative AI can explain a difficult concept, solve a problem, correct a sentence or produce an answer in seconds. That creates enormous opportunities for learning. People have more access than ever before to information about different learning strategies. But the strategies that feel easy or familiar are not necessarily those that […]
How the ‘geopolitical stigma’ associated with Putin’s Russia is affecting ordinary Russians
People go about their daily life in the Russian capital, Moscow, in 2023. Arnold O. A. Pinto / Shutterstock Russia’s international standing collapsed within weeks of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Sanctions swept across Russian banks, businesses and political elites, while western companies exited the country en masse. For those living inside Russia, it was […]
Life in Gaza after 12 months of ‘ceasefire’
It’s one year since the US-brokered ceasefire for Gaza formally came into effect. On October 9 2025, Hamas handed over the 20 remaining hostages and the bodies of four Israelis who had died while being held captive. In return, Israel released almost 2,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails. The ceasefire officially began the following day, […]
Spider-Man’s 1,000th issue: the enduring appeal of the tortured Hamlet of superheroes
This autumn marks a special occasion in the Marvel universe: Spider-Man, perhaps the most popular superhero of all time, has reached issue #1,000 in the comics series. The tale of a scrawny teen from Queens who was bitten by a radioactive spider at 15, Spider-Man premiered in Marvel’s Amazing Fantasy #15 in August 1962 as […]
Cecilia Vicuña’s radical eco-feminist vision comes to London
Living Threads at Whitechapel Gallery is the first major UK exhibition of eco-feminist activist contemporary artist and poet Cecilia Vicuña. Born on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile, in 1948, Vicuña moved to London to study at the Slade School of Fine Art in 1972. While she was in London, Chile’s democratically elected president, Salvador Allende, […]
Chronic pelvic pain treatment should focus on quality of life, not pain alone
Powerlightss/Shutterstock For many women living with chronic pelvic pain, finding an explanation for their symptoms can take years. Getting a diagnosis may bring some relief, but treatment does not always bring an end to the pain. Even when symptoms improve, their effects on sleep, work and everyday life can continue. Chronic pelvic pain is persistent […]
Inside two prison systems: why Denmark and the UK punish so differently
It has been said that a society should be judged not by how it treats its outstanding citizens but by how it treats people who break the law. I research prisons and am interested in what incarceration reveals about the relationship between the state and the people in its care. By this standard, the UK […]
First case of teeth growing out of an eye socket – what you need to know about ‘ectopic teeth’
alexisdc/Shutterstock A 16-year-old boy in India has had a tooth removed from his left eye socket, between the eyelid and the eyebrow. He had noticed a painless swelling for about a month, but was only taken to hospital when two hard, whitish points began poking through. A scan revealed a fully formed canine tooth – […]
Air conditioners contribute to climate change – this 40-year-old treaty aims to limit the harm
Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock As temperatures broke records this summer, sales of air conditioning units soared. But this technology can compound climate change. Air conditioners pump a gas, known as a refrigerant, around a sealed loop to carry heat out of (and sometimes into) the room. Some of that gas inevitably leaks out over the unit’s working life […]