Kids should be encouraged to talk back – 5 tips for teaching them critical thinking skills: Teaching kids to think critically sets them up well for life. eli_asenova Whenever school holidays loom, many parents find themselves caught in an emotional tug-of-war: on the one hand, relief at bidding farewell to homework battles, bedtime struggles, and …
Rock art acoustics: South African study suggests that a distinct echo attracted ancient artists back to one site: Physics does not adequately explain reflected sound and echo effects. Take as example the echo-producing Echoplex, a magnetic tape device that influenced the soundtrack of a generation. Think of Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love (1969) and the …
Notre-Dame’s bells have been blessed as the cathedral reopens – a tradition that dates back to the middle ages: Notre-Dame cathedral was devastated by fire in 2019. Oliver Colthart/Shutterstock Ahead of the reopening of Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, eight of the cathedral’s church bells were renovated and blessed before their re-installation in the north tower. …
Manchester United: three ways Ruben Amorim can rebuild the club’s identity and get back to winning ways: United we stand? Simon Vayro/Shutterstock The last 11 years have been a pretty bleak period for Manchester United. Supporters seeking a return to the glory days of manager Sir Alex Ferguson have been left sorely disappointed by a …
The UK risks missing out on the coming AI boom – here’s how it can get back on track: Rachel Reeves, the UK chancellor of the exchequer, has been making cost-cutting announcements ahead of a crunch October budget to deal with what she says is a black hole in the country’s finances. Along with scrapping winter …
Is your desk job killing your back? Ancient Egyptian scribes had the same aches and pains, say researchers: Tens of thousands of years ago, during a period of Egyptian history known as the Old Kingdom (around 2649–2130 BC), it was rare for people to be able to read and write. From an estimated population of …
Khorasan: why many Afghanistan citizens are pushing back against the term’s association with terrorism: The Mausoleum of Ali, which is located in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, is a site of cultural significance for Khorasan. Mushtaq B/Shutterstock Gunmen attacked Moscow’s Crocus City Hall concert venue in March, killing 137 people. The four suspects were purportedly aligned to the …
If an asteroid hit Earth and all the humans died, would the dinosaurs come back? The Conversation’s Curious Kids podcast: Warpaint/Shutterstock Many, many years ago dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Six-year-old Aga knows that a meteorite wiped them out… but could another meteorite bring them back? You can read a print version of this story here. …
UK ‘taking back control’ of its borders risks rolling back human rights protections: The High Court in Belfast has ruled that key elements of the UK’s Illegal Migration Act are incompatible with the Windsor framework and should not be applied in Northern Ireland. Once again, Northern Ireland appears to be a block on the Brexit …
Why Germany ditched nuclear before coal – and why it won’t go back: One year ago, Germany took its last three nuclear power stations offline. When it comes to energy, few events have baffled outsiders more. In the face of climate change, calls to expedite the transition away from fossil fuels, and an energy crisis …
Restoring reefs killed by climate change may simply put corals ‘back out to die’ – here’s how we can improve their chances: Coral bleaching in a shallow lagoon of French Polynesia. Damsea/Shutterstock Coral reefs, like sprawling cities of the sea, support an estimated 25% of all plants and animals in the ocean. Worldwide, 1 billion …
Humans are going back to the Moon to stay, but when that will be is becoming less clear: NASA A 2019 Time magazine cover portrayed four astronauts running towards the Moon. Pictured alongside the headline “The Next Space Race”, one of the astronauts carried an American flag, one carried a Chinese flag and the other …
Ghana’s electricity crisis is holding the country back – how it got here: The Akosombo Dam is an important source of power in Ghana. jbdodane/Flickr, CC BY For well over a decade Ghana was exalted as one of the most promising and fastest growing economies on the continent. But recent reports of the country’s steep …
Five Christmas fashion trends we should bring back – and may be found in your wardrobe already: Dazzle camouflage costume ball at the Chelsea Arts Club in 1919. Wikimedia, CC BY Christmas is a season for partying and dressing up. Sequins, Santa hats and ugly Christmas jumpers abound. Each event seems to demand a new …
HMV is back on Oxford Street bringing the old-school music experience to a new generation: “What musicians want,” said composer Sir Edward Elgar as he inaugurated the first HMV shop in London in 1921, “is more listeners, and the dissemination of good music by the gramophone will give us a new public which will … …
US election: how populists encourage blind mistrust – and how to push back: Populism is booming. The first US Republican primary is only weeks away and former president Donald Trump, who is a master of populist techniques, commands substantial support. Meanwhile one in three Europeans are now voting for populist parties. My colleagues and I …
Somali pirates are back in action: but a full scale return isn’t likely. Here’s why: An Iranian fishing vessel, Almeraj 1, was reportedly hijacked by Somali pirates in November 2023. According to media reports, the pirates demanded US$ 400,000 in ransom and threatened to use the Iranian ship for additional hijackings if the payment was …
Education should look to the way artists are embracing AI, instead of turning its back on the technology: Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to make a major impact on many sectors of society over the coming decades. Some of these effects may be positive, others less so. When ChatGPT was released, education, a profession …