Cannabis doesn’t make you violent – despite what recent reports have claimed
PeopleImages/Shutterstock.com In what looked like a return to the dark days of Reefer Madness – a 1936 film that portrayed cannabis as a drug that could drive people to madness and murder – a recent article in the Daily Telegraph claimed that cannabis users are “twice as likely to be violent”. The claim comes from […]
In Alberta, far-right populism fuelled by conspiracy theories and alienation drive bid to separate from Canada
Vadim Gouida/Shutterstock In the western Canadian province of Alberta, a political battle is playing out on people’s front lawns. Separatists are flying the royal blue Alberta flag, others the red and white maple leaf of Canada to show their support for a united Canada. It’s all because a populist right-wing political movement wants Alberta to […]
Experts have voted to stop adding extra seconds to clock time – the outcome favours big tech
On June 30 2015 at 23:59:59 UTC (19:59:59 EDT), artist Sara Morawetz was standing in the middle of New York’s Times Square with a pair of cymbals. As the clock ticked to the next second, she struck the cymbals together. This simple performance, titled 61/60, sought to highlight the strange blip of time where the […]
Early humans in America endured climate chaos – new research
Footprints found at White Sands, New Mexico, were dated to the height of the last ice age. National Park Service Some 23,000 years ago, during the coldest part of the last ice age, people walked across the muddy margins of an ancient lake in what is now White Sands national park, New Mexico. The footprints […]
The little-known 14th century battle that has shaped English, Scottish and French relations
A largely fictional 15th century depiction of the Battle of Neville’s Cross from the chronicles of Froissart, Bibliotheque Nationale de France On October 17, 1346, the battle of Neville’s Cross was fought outside Durham in the north-east of England. It was a decisive moment in Anglo-Scottish history that led to the capture of King David […]
Is the US limiting Starlink in Ukraine? The risks could be catastrophic
The drone has become the signature weapon of the Russo-Ukraine war. On any day in Ukraine, tens of thousands of drones are out hunting the battlefield for targets. These could be individual enemy soldiers or vehicles, or they could be larger targets such as depots, headquarters, bridges or power plants. Yet, this drone war has […]
How did Mars get its moons? Japan’s MMX space mission aims to solve the puzzle
Phobos is dominated by Stickney crater, a 9km (5.6 mile) bowl visible on the right. NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona The Earth got its Moon when a small planet collided with our planet more than four billion years ago. This impact hurled molten rock into space, which eventually coalesced to form the satellite we can see every […]
I discovered a Roman fort in Wales – it may hold the key to the ancient Welsh legend of Macsen Wledig
My recent discovery of a Roman fort and its extraordinary connection with medieval folklore was the fruition of many hours of painstaking research. This all began in 2002 when I discovered or, more accurately, rediscovered a Roman villa some 30 kilometres to the west of Wales. The site was first identified in the early 19th […]
DIY healthcare is on the rise – here’s why it’s so dangerous
PeopleImages/Shutterstock.com Need treatment fast? Many people now turn to Google before a healthcare professional. From checking symptoms online to buying medicines online and taking advice from social media influencers, healthcare is increasingly becoming a do-it-yourself activity. Convenience is a big part of the appeal. Information is available instantly – no need to wait weeks to […]
Why adoptive families can struggle to get help until they reach crisis point
Helping children feel safe and secure after early trauma can require years of emotional care from adoptive parents. Halfpoint/Shutterstock In a deeply personal passage of his first Labour Party conference speech as UK prime minister, Andy Burnham paid tribute to the care workers who had looked after his father, Roy, who had Alzheimer’s disease and […]