What are nanoplastics and why have scientists sounded the alarm?
A potentially much more nefarious and less understood threat than microplastics has health experts concerned after scientists uncovered a link between tiny particles of polyester and changes in brain proteins associated with Parkinson’s disease and certain types of dementia. Just when you thought our plastic pollution problem couldn’t get any...
Current in People
Pledges to loss and damage fund fall short at COP28
The wealthy countries most responsible for the climate crisis have so far contributed a combined total of just over $700m. This is nowhere near enough to help the world’s most vulnerable nations cope with the damage caused by slow onset disasters and extreme weather events. Day one of COP28 saw...
A UK museum has reclassified a Roman emperor as a trans woman
The decision highlights a museum’s responsibility to constantly question expected truths. The North Hertfordshire Museum isn’t necessarily a well-known institution. Located in a quaint town hall in the south of England, the galleries fade in the shadow of major British cultural spaces. But this small historical museum has put itself firmly...
Navigating the complex ties between the US and China
As the world's two largest economies and major global powers, the U.S. and China's interactions have intrinsically influenced the trajectory of international relations. But what exactly does their relationship entail? The relationship between the United States and China is complex and multifaceted with both among the most influential economic and...
Exclusive – in conversation with Mitzi Jonelle Tan and Erica McAlister
We went to the Natural History Museum’s Generation Hope: Act for the Planet event to highlight both the anti-imperialist climate justice activist’s and the entomologist’s insights on the climate crisis and how we can drive positive change for the Earth’s future. Mitzi Jonelle Tan is an environmental justice activist from...
Climate change is affecting human brain function
Though we’ve known for a while that environmental factors can alter the way our brains function, researchers have only just begun to examine the links between climate change and neuroscience. Since the 1940s, scientists have known from conducting studies on mice that changing environmental factors can profoundly impact the...
Why is it so hard to get justice in revenge porn cases?
The English Justice System continues to fail women in many aspects of the law, including relatively new areas such as revenge porn. Here’s the firsthand reality from victims and those with experience of law enforcement. Almost ten years ago, Charley reported her half-brother to the police upon discovering he was posting images of her and other women on a porn site. Despite pleading guilty, her brother was only given a six-month...
Sunak’s plan to send UK asylum seekers to Rwanda has been blocked
The British Supreme Court has ruled against the Conservative Party’s plan to send asylum seekers in the UK to Rwanda over concerns about human rights violations and possible relocation. A government plan to send asylum seekers currently in the UK to Rwanda has been ruled unlawful by the British Supreme Court. Although UN refugee agencies have welcomed the decision, this is a huge blow to PM Rishi Sunak and his Conservatives...
WHO declares loneliness a ‘global public health concern’
The World Health Organisation has declared loneliness a significant global health threat. A newly formed commission's US surgeon says that the mental state is as detrimental to human health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. We all know that loneliness is grim, but it appears we’ve been underestimating the toll solitude takes on all of us. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently constructed an international commission to delve into the science behind...
NHS pledges to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040
The NHS will improve its HPV vaccination programme and is urging more women to book screening appointments in light of findings that a third are not contacting their GP when instructed to. Last week, head of NHS England Amanda Pritchard announced that thanks to improved screening rates and HPV vaccination uptake, there’s hope for cervical cancer to be practically non-existent in the UK by 2040. It’s thought to be the first...
