Air filters don’t stop you catching infectious respiratory diseases, landmark study indicates
Who wants to get rid of the Hepa filter? Monkey Business Image/Shutterstock.com There was an energetic push to install air-filtering devices in schools and care homes when the COVID pandemic struck. However, these devices had rarely been tested in real situations looking at infection outcomes in people. Because there was no solid proof that these […]
New theory on how six-tonne Stonehenge rock was transported from Scotland thousands of years ago – on a glacier
muratart/Shutterstock Built from stones weighing between 2 and 25 tonnes, the structure of Stonehenge demonstrates a scale of construction hard to imagine before the invention of the wheel. The mystery deepens when you consider that the stones are not from the local bedrock. So why these stones, and how did they get there? Recent work […]
A.I. at 25: the Spielberg film that feels more unsettling than ever
A quarter of a century ago, Steven Spielberg released one of the most unusual films of his career: A.I. Artificial Intelligence, a futuristic fairytale about a robot boy programmed to love. Yet the movie’s origins lay not with Spielberg but another giant of cinema. For more than two decades, Stanley Kubrick had wrestled with the […]
Violent crime in your area could be affecting your mental health
William Barton/Shutterstock Victims of the approximately 1 million violent crimes committed in England and Wales every year may experience physical, emotional and financial harm, and feel more fearful and less trusting. But our new research shows the harmful effects of violent crime also reach beyond their victims, and can affect the wellbeing of whole neighbourhoods. […]
Donald Trump has launched another ‘Red Scare’ in the US – it’s a favourite tactic of the right
President Donald Trump’s recent speech at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial was a key moment in his carefully choreographed America 250 weekend. Though partisan and rambling in typical Trumpian style, the speech stood out for its focus on a theme which has increasingly dominated his rhetoric over recent months: the dangers of communism. Communism is […]
Wildfires: why media coverage doesn’t always make the climate connection
The front page of the Times on July 25 carried a photograph of three people sitting under a striped parasol on the sand near Lacanau in southwest France, looking out to sea. Beyond them, the sky was rust-orange as a wall of wildfire smoke climbed above the treeline. The caption described it as a “dramatic […]
As mayor, Andy Burnham’s climate record was strong – this city knowledge is key to decarbonising the UK
Mistervlad/Shutterstock When Andy Burnham walked into Downing Street on July 20 as the UK’s seventh prime minister in a decade, he promised to act as a “circuit-breaker for Britain”. Burnham is the first UK premier to come straight from running a major city region. Used well, that experience could transform the UK’s response to the […]
Why women should strength train at every stage of life
SeventyFour/ Shutterstock Women who are inactive can lose up to 10% of their muscle mass each decade after the age of 30. This matters, because muscle isn’t only key for strength or how we look. It supports bone, brain, hormonal, metabolic and mental health, as well as confidence, independence and long-term wellbeing. Women’s lives and […]
When England crashes out of a football tournament, the stock market takes a dive
On July 15 2026, England were just five tantalising minutes away from their first men’s World Cup final since 1966. But that was before Argentina scored two goals to claim victory in stoppage time. The next morning, the professional reputation of England’s head coach Thomas Tuchel had taken quite a hit. So too had the […]
Strictly Come Dancing: the hidden injury risks behind the sparkle and glamour
Master1305/Shutterstock.com Excitement is building again with the announcement of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing contestants. As celebrities prepare to swap everyday life for sequins and the ballroom, they’ll also be putting their bodies through one of the most physically demanding experiences on television. Last year’s series offered a reminder of those demands when Dani Dyer […]