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Editor's note
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It’s the first weekend after the end of the summer transfer window and once again the Premier League has seen a record amount of money change hands for star players. Spending among European football clubs reached startling levels this summer – Paris Saint-Germain’s £500m swoop for Neymar was just one of the mind-bogglingly lucrative deals signed over the past few months, thanks largely to the huge sums paid for TV rights. But PSG’s largesse masked a more fundamental shift in the market.
Anyone looking for a four-legged friend to join their family needs to be aware of the science that shows why puppy farm animals suffer in their early weeks and grow up to have more health and behavioural problems than rescue dogs. It is as good a reason as any to adopt a dog, not shop for a dog.
The “cradle of humanity” has long been thought to lie in Africa where the earliest-known human body fossils date back to around 7m years ago. But in a controversial new paper, scientists have reported the discovery of nearly 6m-year-old fossil footprints with human-like characteristics in Crete. One of the researchers writes here.
Harley Quinn first saw the light of day 25 years ago this month as a sidekick to Batman’s laughing adversary, The Joker. But now she’s one of DC Comics’ big stars in her own right and has even branched out onto the big screen. What is it about her that so many people find enthralling?
Elsewhere this week we’ve read about an otters’ Tupperware party, Rome’s ancient refugee policy, Scottish Labour’s shaky future and a new app to detect pancreatic cancer. Conversation editors in the US, meanwhile, have
produced this great read about America’s vanishing architectural masterpieces.
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Jonathan Este
Associate Editor
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Top story
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Adopt a dog - irresponsible breeders will create more dogs that will suffer from lack care in their early months.
AlexasFotos
Catherine Douglas, Newcastle University
Dogs from intensive 'puppy farms' suffer in their early monthslife, with repercussions for them – and their owners – for the rest of their lives.
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Rob Gowers, Anglia Ruskin University
Everyone can stop talking about money for a few months. But expect more records to be set next year.
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Matthew Robert Bennett, Bournemouth University; Per Ahlberg, Uppsala University
A new study can't rule out the possibility that human ancestors lived on Crete at the same time as they evolved in Africa.
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Neeltje Boogert, University of Exeter
New research suggests otters' learning ability could help captive animals to thrive in the wild.
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Andrew Ross, Northumbria University, Newcastle
She started life as a bit-part sidekick to The Joker but is now a multi-platform anti-hero.
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Science + Technology
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Trevor Harley, University of Dundee
Modern life has removed real fear as an experience for most of us. But this basic animal emotion is crucial to the human experience
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Simon McCarthy-Jones, Trinity College Dublin
Many writers say they have inspiration come to them from their characters or an inner voice. Science is seeking answers.
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Arts + Culture
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Charles Spence, University of Oxford
Research suggests that taking a photo of your food makes it taste better.
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Martin Archer, Queen Mary University of London
With the wealth of data being created nowadays, new forms of artistic collaboration with scientists are emerging.
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Kevin D. Murphy, Vanderbilt University; Carol Willis, Columbia University; Daniel Bluestone, Boston University; Kerry Traynor, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York; Sally Levine, Case Western Reserve University
We asked five architecture experts to name one building or structure they wish had been preserved, but couldn't resist the tides of decay, development and discrimination.
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Cities
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Liz McFall, The Open University; Darren Umney, The Open University
In order to take Milton Keynes' cultural bid seriously, you have to begin by taking culture seriously.
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Business + Economy
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Alan Shipman, The Open University
Could the 'magic money tree' have been right under our nose this whole time?
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David McMillan, University of Stirling
Talk of banks leaving London completely for other European cities is just that – talk.
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Steve Schifferes, City, University of London
Inequality was the hot button issue at the triennial meeting of the world's top economists.
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Health + Medicine
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Nick Tiller, Sheffield Hallam University
The physical impact of extreme exercise on the body is intense.
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Alex McMahon, University of Glasgow; David Conway, University of Glasgow
Landmark dental findings are likely to be the tip of an iceberg.
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Mathijs Lucassen, The Open University
Despite progress on LGBT rights, improved psychological well-being of sexual minority young people is yet to be seen.
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Politics + Society
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Andrea Freeman, University of Hawaii
The U.S.-based white supremacist movement that calls itself the "alt-right" has recently embraced milk as a symbol.
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Maja Brandt Andreasen, University of Stirling
Two plays about the way men and women talk about each other with their own are both illuminating and disappointing
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Nilufar Ahmed, Swansea University
Controlling what women wear won't curtail terrrorism.
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Mariangela Palladino, Keele University
Police used water cannons and tear gas to remove a group of migrants and refugees from a square in Rome in August.
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William McDougall, Glasgow Caledonian University
Why this is arguably the most important Labour leadership election in Scotland since 1999.
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Andy Price, Sheffield Hallam University
Unpicking why Labour has shifted its Brexit strategy to push for single market membership during a transitional period.
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Featured events
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Jubilee Library City Centre, Brighton , Brighton and Hove, United Kingdom — The Conversation
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University of Stirling, Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, United Kingdom — University of Stirling
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University of Sussex, Brighton, Brighton and Hove, BN1 9RH, United Kingdom — University of Sussex
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University of Brighton, Brighton , Brighton and Hove, BN1 9PH, United Kingdom — University of Brighton
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