Lagos slum evictions don’t work: 6 ways city planners can actually help the poor: Millions of people in Lagos live in slums. Slums typically have poor housing infrastructure and sanitation, and limited access to education, health facilities and clean drinking water. These challenges make the people who live in slums vulnerable to health crises, high …
Only 6% of gen Z actually favour dictatorship – not half, as some reports would have you believe: Shutterstock/Dedraw Studio America’s constitutional framework was designed specifically to prevent the concentration of power and to impede any president’s authoritarian aspirations. It is certainly being put to the test right now. When US vice-president J.D. Vance recently …
Why Village People’s YMCA is actually a great fit for team Trump: It was a bizarre sight watching a huge gay 1970s disco hit being performed at Donald Trump’s 2025 pre-inauguration rally. Many prominent artists from Beyoncé to Bruce Springsteen prohibit Trump from using their music. So why do Village People – a band synonymous …
Opt-out laws designed to make organ donation easier may have actually made it harder, says research: In 2020, England introduced an opt-out system for organ donation with the aim of making it easier for organs to be donated after a person’s death. The Organ Donation (Deemed Consent) Act 2019 assumed that unless someone explicitly opted …
What actually makes avocados bad for the environment?: sirirak kaewgorn/Shutterstock The soaring demand for avocados in Europe and North America has led to a trebling of global production in just over 20 years. However, this popular fruit is increasingly controversial because of the environmental impacts of farming and distributing them around the world. These issues …
Why many policies to lower migration actually increase it: OlegD/Shutterstock Every spring and summer, when the weather improves, the numbers of people trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe drastically increase, sometimes tripling. Distressing photos and headlines dominate front pages, and politicians stoke negative narratives about migration. People migrate for many reasons: safety, work, education, …
Some believe the 1889 Russian flu pandemic was actually caused by a coronavirus – here’s why that’s unlikely: COVID-19 was the first coronavirus pandemic. The original Sars virus from 2003 and the Mers virus that created a health emergency in South Korea in 2015 were both coronaviruses, but fortunately failed to turn into pandemics in …
How we discovered that Uranus and Neptune are actually nearly identical in colour: This is how we are used to seeing Uranus and Neptune, respectively. But the colours aren't accurate. NASA/ JPL/ PlanetS In many images of the two outer gas giants of the Solar System, Neptune typically looks rich blue while Uranus comes across …
Interest rates: if central banks don’t start cutting them soon, it could actually increase inflation: Another reason to be fearful. Golden Dayz What next for interest rates? The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is widely expected to leave them unchanged when it meets on November 2, despite the fact that UK headline inflation …
Hitting snooze on your alarm might not actually make you more tired in the morning – new research: No need to worry if you like to hit 'snooze'. DG FotoStock/ Shutterstock If you like to press snooze on your alarm a few times before getting up in the morning, you’re not alone. According to some …
Ghana’s colonial past and assessment use means education prioritises passing exams over what students actually learn – this must change: Formal education in the Gold Coast, now Ghana, was introduced during the 15th century when Europeans came to its shores to trade. Education was only accessible to children of women married to western traders, and …
Woman jailed over abortion – an expert on what UK law actually says and what needs to change: fizkes/Shutterstock Many people assume that because abortion is relatively accessible in England, it is not a crime. The fact that a woman has now received a 28-month prison sentence for taking abortion pills past the ten-week legal …
Turmeric: here’s how it actually measures up to health claims: Most of turmeric's reported health benefits are linked to compounds called curcuminoids. tarapong srichaiyos/ Shutterstock Turmeric has been used by humans for more than 4,000 years. As well as cooking and cosmetics, it’s been a staple of the traditional medicine practice of Ayurveda, used to …
Methane must fall to slow global heating – but only 13% of emissions are actually regulated: Methane leaks across oil and gas supply chains are speeding up climate change. Hkhtt HJ/Shutterstock Methane – a potent greenhouse gas and the second biggest driver of global warming after carbon dioxide (CO?) – had its moment in the …
Roman temple thought to be dedicated to Mars could actually have been used to worship many gods – expert explains: In April, archaeologists excavating at La Chapelle-des-Fougeretz, in Britanny, France, announced that they had discovered a large Roman temple, dating between the late first century BC and fourth century AD. They speculated that it had …
Write documentation that actually works for your community: Write documentation that actually works for your community olga-merkulova Thu, 03/16/2023 – 03:00 What distinguishes successful and sustainable projects from those that disappeared into the void? Spoiler — it’s community. Community is what drives an open source project, and documentation is one of the foundational blocks for …
At-home fertility tests: here’s what they can actually tell you: A large proportion of at-home fertility tests are aimed at women. fizkes/ Shutterstock A growing number of us are waiting longer to become parents. In the UK, the average age of first-time parents is between 30 and 33 years old. Fifty years ago, the average …
When is “Off-Grid” Actually “Off-Grid”?: How Much does an Off-Grid System Cost? The difference between Off-Grid and Grid-Tie Do you know what type of solar system you have installed? Of the 4 types of solar systems available which one give the best ROI? Which Solar System SHOULD be incentivised FIRST by government? Beleaguered South African …