|
|
Editor's note
|
This week the UK experienced the warmest winter day on record, with temperatures reaching 21.2˚C in south-west London. While the early onset of spring may seem like a welcome break, the unseasonable warmth is causing turmoil in nature as trees bud prematurely and insects emerge from hibernation before migrating birds can arrive to eat them. Even if the weather reverts to cooler and wetter winter norms, Philip James explains how the long-term
effects of the recent warm spell will continue to harm British wildlife.
India and Pakistan have long been in dispute over the region of Kashmir, but tensions turned into military action after India’s “pre-emptive strike” over the disputed border on Tuesday. India said it was targeting a terrorist training camp following a suicide bomb attack that killed more than 40 Indian troops earlier this month. Now Pakistan claims to have shot down two Indian fighter jets. Sita Bali explains this rapidly escalating
situation and says ahead of Indian elections, the crisis could help Narendra Modi’s flagging nationalist agenda.
Ninety nine seconds are all that stand between men’s marathon world-record holder Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and the sub two-hour run. But it may take until at least 2032 before a runner goes “sub-2”, according to statistical analysis. Simon D Angus has crunched the numbers.
|
Jack Marley
Commissioning Editor
|
|
|
Top stories
|
Bloomin’ early.
J.A.Woodhouse/Flickr
Philip James, University of Salford
Record heat in February 2019 caused shock and delight in equal measure. Behind the balmy weather lie challenges for British wildlife.
|
Protest in Peshawar, Pakistan. Pakistan accused India of ‘grave aggression’ and violation of the de-facto border between the two sides in the disputed Kashmir region.
Arshad Arbab/EPA
Sita Bali, Staffordshire University
India and Pakistan enter into a volatile situation after weeks of increasing tension.
|
Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge is the fastest marathon runner, so far.
EPA/Hayoung Jeon
Simon D Angus, Monash University
Number crunching the winning race time for marathon athletes can tell us when the men are likely to break the two-hour barrier. But what about a target barrier for women marathon runners?
|
Health + Medicine
|
-
Adam Taylor, Lancaster University
Snot very good to be ill. But here's how your body mounts its defence against the dreaded lurgi.
-
Rona Strawbridge, University of Glasgow
It is clear nature and nurture are factors in suicidal behaviour. But how they interact now needs to be investigated further.
|
|
Arts + Culture
|
-
Richard Hewett, University of Salford
Gauche and awkward, a media star for the 21st century.
-
David Amigoni, Keele University
John Sullivan, who created Del Boy and Rodney, has been called a modern Dickens – now both their most famous works have been made into musicals.
|
|
Politics + Society
|
-
Davide Vampa, Aston University
One half of the government has trounced the other in Abruzzo and Sardinia.
-
Ciara Fitzpatrick, Ulster University; Ruth Patrick, University of York
Defensive responses on Twitter from the Department of Work and Pensions to the Channel 4 series Skint Britain appear tone-deaf.
|
|
Education
|
-
Francesca Roe, University of Leeds
Educational inequality in the UK takes root before children even begin primary school.
|
|
Science + Technology
|
-
Vishwanathan Mohan, University of Essex
Scientists have developed a robotic arm with knowledge of its physical form – a very basic sense of self.
|
|
Business + Economy
|
-
Costas Milas, University of Liverpool
The ongoing policy uncertainty affects both ends of the economy: consumers and producers.
|
|
|
Featured events
|
|
Event Space and Exhibition Space, Emily Wilding Davison Building, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, United Kingdom — Royal Holloway
|
|
Lecture Theatre 1, Brooks Building, Manchester Metropolitan University, 53 Bonsall Street, Manchester, Manchester, M15 6GX, United Kingdom — Manchester Metropolitan University
|
|
Kings College Conference Centre, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, AB24 3FX, United Kingdom — University of Aberdeen
|
|
East Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB11PT, United Kingdom — Anglia Ruskin University
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|