Can Jeremy Corbyn go it alone in Islington North? What the evidence tells us: Labour leader Keir Starmer’s decision to block his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn from standing as a candidate for his party in the next election creates a dilemma. Corbyn, who has been the member of parliament for London’s Islington North since 1983 needs …
Matcha tea: what the current evidence says about its health benefits: Matcha comes from green tea leaves, which are ground up into a powder. Ekaterina Markelova/ Shutterstock Although matcha tea has been around for centuries, it’s recently increased in popularity. This may be due to its favour with celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston and Gwyneth …
Boris Johnson’s evidence to MPs’ partygate investigation: the key points of disagreement explained: Last year, noted philosopher Rebekah Vardy remarked of fellow scholar Coleen Rooney: Arguing with Coleen is like arguing with a pigeon. You can tell it that you are right and it is wrong but it’s still going to shit in your hair. …
Is Norse god Odin older than previously thought? An expert analyses new evidence: A new find from Denmark, dubbed the Vindelev bracteate, has challenged previous understanding of religion in late prehistoric and early medieval Scandinavia. The discovery of the oldest recorded mention of the god Odin – usually known from much later stories of Norse …
Scottish bottle deposit scheme to be blocked – but evidence from Europe suggests it’s the way forward: Unrecycled drink containers are a huge problem in the UK. A survey by Planet Patrol, a non-profit organisation, found that the drinks industry was responsible for more than a third of the litter found in the UK in …
TikTok bans: what the evidence says about security and privacy concerns: The UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, recently hinted that he may ban the social media application TikTok from devices used by government employees. His comments follow similar bans by the European Commission and US federal government. In the EU and US cases, security concerns …
Were there gladiators in Roman Britain? An expert reviews the evidence: The Colchester vase, dating to the later second century AD. Following Hadrian/Flickr, CC BY-SA In 1853, a Roman vase was found being used as a container for ashes in a grave outside Roman Colchester. Dating to the later second century AD, it depicted four …
I dug for evidence of the Rosetta Stone’s ancient Egyptian rebellion – here’s what I found: Hellenistic soldiers as depicted in the Nile mosaic of Palestrina. World History Encyclopedia The Rosetta Stone is not known for its content, but as a lexicon of Egyptian hieroglyphics. The decree inscribed on the stone, however, discusses a violent …
School rugby should not be compulsory and tackling needs to be outlawed – here’s the evidence: David Fuentes Prieto/Shutterstock Rugby has a higher rate of injury than most other sports frequently played in schools in the UK. It is a collision sport where players purposefully tackle each other, which can result in serious injury, such …
EU poised to copy US subsidies for green technology – new evidence from China shows how it could backfire: There's a reason why the west has long avoided state aid. Shaun Dakin/Unsplash The EU is preparing to abandon its longstanding restrictions on state aid to take on US and Chinese subsidies over green technologies. European …
Kourtney Kardashian’s ‘vaginal health gummies’: here’s what the evidence shows: Even if I fully agree with Kourtney Kardashian that vaginal health is an important, hence not sufficiently talked about part of women’s wellbeing, we may have a strikingly different view on how to tackle the problem. The reality TV star recently launched a vitamin sweet …
Do trees really stay in touch via a ‘wood-wide web’? Here’s what the evidence says: Anders Floor/Pixabay Trees in a forest might look solitary but they are connected underground by a complex network of thread-like strands of fungi, some of which may only be visible to us as mushrooms on the surface. Through these connections …
Long COVID: a range of diets are said to help manage symptoms – here’s what the evidence tells us: Creative Cat Studio/Shutterstock Most people who contract COVID recover within a few weeks. But for some people, symptoms can develop later, or persist for a long time after the initial infection. A recent review of the …
Does COVID really damage your immune system and make you more vulnerable to infections? The evidence is lacking: The northern hemisphere has seen a surge in winter viruses. Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock Over the past month or two, many northern hemisphere countries including the US and the UK have seen a large wave of respiratory viral infections. …
Britishvolt: more evidence UK is falling far behind in race to capture growing EV market: T. Schneider/Shutterstock Britishvolt, the would-be electric vehicle (EV) battery maker that recently went into administration, always faced an uphill struggle. The start-up had no track record developing technology and never confirmed how it would raise the £3.8 billion needed to …
Insects may feel pain, says growing evidence – here’s what this means for animal welfare laws: Can this dragonfly feel pain? Stefan Csontos/Shutterstock At least a trillion insects are killed annually for food and animal feed. Routine slaughter methods include extreme heat and cold, often preceded by starvation. By comparison, “only” around 79 billion mammals …
Labour’s plan to reform politics doesn’t go far enough – here’s what evidence shows will really stop governments hoarding power: In a major report for the Labour party, former prime minister Gordon Brown has proposed a number of reforms to address some of the UK’s glaring institutional problems. He recommends reforming the House of Lords, …
Elon Musk: business leaders should be compassionate – here’s the evidence to prove it: Compassionate leaders make employees happier. NDAB Creativity / Shutterstock In the month after Elon Musk triumphantly announced his takeover of Twitter with his now famous “the bird is freed” tweet, he implemented a large-scale cull of the social media platform’s global …