Why ghosts wear clothes or white sheets instead of appearing in the nude
Shane McCorristine, Newcastle University When you think of a ghost, what comes to mind? A ghastly, mouldy winding-sheet? A malevolent pile of supernatural armour? Or a sinister gentleman in a…
Your body can be a portable gym: how to ditch membership fees and expensive equipment
Dan van den Hoek, University of the Sunshine Coast and Jackson Fyfe, Deakin University You don’t need a gym membership, dumbbells, or expensive equipment to get stronger. Since the beginning…
What are climate tipping points? They sound scary, especially for ice sheets and oceans, but there’s still room for optimism
Meltwater runs across the Greenland ice sheet in rivers. The ice sheet is already losing mass and could soon reach a tipping point. Maria-José Viñas/NASA Alexandra A Phillips, University of…
Wolves have returned to Denmark, and not everyone is happy about it
Kristian Kongshøj, Aalborg University and Troels Fage Hedegaard, Aalborg University After centuries of near-extinction, Europe’s wolves have made a remarkable comeback. Over the past decade, wolf populations have surged, increasing…
Worried about turning 60? Science says that’s when many of us actually peak
Gilles E. Gignac, The University of Western Australia As your youth fades further into the past, you may start to fear growing older. But research my colleague and I have…
The world wide web was meant to unite us, but is tearing us apart instead. Is there another way?
George Buchanan, RMIT University and Dana McKay, RMIT University The hope of the world wide web, according to its creator Tim Berners-Lee, was that it would make communication easier, bring…
Should I take a magnesium supplement? Will it help me sleep or prevent muscle cramps?
Nial Wheate, Macquarie University and Wai-Jo Jocelin Chan, UNSW Sydney; University of Sydney Magnesium supplements are everywhere – lined up on pharmacy shelves and promoted on wellness blogs and social…
The climate crisis is fuelling extreme fires across the planet
Hamish Clarke, The University of Melbourne We’ve all seen the alarming images. Smoke belching from the thick forests of the Amazon. Spanish firefighters battling flames across farmland. Blackened celebrity homes…
Three ways to make the UK’s food system more resilient – according to new report by 150 experts
Neil Ward, University of East Anglia In 2022, six days before Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine and destabilised energy and food supplies, my colleagues and I started building a network…