BDSM, celebrity academia, cancer in women

Editor's note

If you've purchased a whip in anticipation of the release of Fifty Shades Darker this weekend, you might be interested to know that in Ancient Greece, certain priestesses would flog young men while they tried to remove cheese from an altar. Yes, BDSM has a colourful history – and as Kevin O'Gorman and Andrew MacLaren explain, Fifty Shades has secured it a lurid future in the mainstream.

Elsewhere in Hollywood, when Twilight star Kristen Stewart isn’t mocking Donald Trump on Saturday night television, it turns out she’s busy writing research papers. Computer graphics and vision expert Ian Van der Linde gives his verdict on Stewart’s paper on a new AI technique used to create effects for her first short film as a director.

And Cancer Research UK have predicted that cancer rates in the UK will rise six times faster in women than in men over the next two decades. Sarah Allinson takes a look at what is causing this increase – and what we can do to stop it.

Josephine Lethbridge

Arts + Culture Editor

Top story

Universal

From the dungeon to the multiplex – how bondage has gripped the nation

Kevin O'Gorman, Heriot-Watt University; Andrew MacLaren, Heriot-Watt University

There is a growing mainstream appetite for things that would previously be considered “deviant” pursuits – and businesses are catching on.

Science + Technology

Kristen Stewart co-wrote a paper about AI in filmmaking – here's what an academic expert thought

Ian van der Linde, Anglia Ruskin University

The Twilight star used a pioneering technique for turning videos into animations which resemble stylised paintings.
Why cancer rates are increasing disproportionately in women – and what we can do about it

Sarah Allinson, Lancaster University

Obesity is one of the factors behind a large rise in cancer rates among women.
Donald Trump could be about to end net neutrality

Chris Marsden, University of Sussex

The US is set to rollback the rules that keep internet companies on a level playing-field. It could make services slower and more expensive.

Environment + Energy
Wired-up roads will soon charge your electric car – while you're driving Harry Hoster, Lancaster University Wireless charging means these cars could run off much smaller and cheaper batteries.

Business + Economy

The US$100 trillion case for open borders

Nick Srnicek, City, University of London

Opening borders is the easiest way to tackle global poverty and it would make already wealthy countries richer, too.
Women were to blame for the South Sea Bubble (according to men)

Anne Murphy, University of Hertfordshire

Reports of the time gave the financial scandal what were considered to be female attributes.
The secret to happiness in later life is simple to discover, but hard to achieve

Asghar Zaidi, University of Southampton

It's not all about health and wealth.

Politics + Society

Britain's response to WWII child refugees puts modern society to shame

Rebecca Clifford, Swansea University

Post-WWII Britain welcomed child refugees with open arms. Now they are put in camps and treated with contempt.
How computer hacking is becoming Russia's weapon of choice

David Stupples, City, University of London

Information warfare is a clear and present danger.
Architecture of the apocalypse: is it time to bring back nuclear bunkers?

Becky Alexis-Martin, University of Southampton

Nuclear bunkers are familiar Cold War artefacts, but many have been re-purposed or lie derelict.
Resettling refugees in Asia and Latin America would let Europe abstain from its responsibility

Tom Vickers, Nottingham Trent University

The plan is part of a wider trend to outsource and offshore immigration controls.
A brief history of Polari: the curious after-life of the dead language for gay men

Paul Baker, Lancaster University

While few people use the language today, many cherish its history.
A disappointing start to democracy: Myanmar's winners and losers

Kirsten McConnachie, University of Warwick

The world has waited hopefully for democracy to blossom in Myanmar. But the new regime looks much like the old one.
Artificially inflating the threat from Russia does nobody any good

Sumantra Maitra, University of Nottingham

Great powers have always meddled in each other's business and struggled to reconcile their interests. Why are we convinced Russia is different?

Education

What universities are doing to help Syria's lost generation

Richard Black, SOAS, University of London

Among the Syrian refugee population it is estimated that there are 2,000 university professionals and 100,000 university qualified students.
Why you should care about the rise of fake journals and the bad science they publish

Graham Kendall, University of Nottingham

Everything you need to know about predatory publishers.

Health + Medicine
How research can lead to some extraordinary (and very unlikely) discoveries Philip Cohen, University of Dundee It can take decades, but investigating one thing can revolutionise our understanding of another.