| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Editor's note
|
|
Is there anything lovelier than letting your mind wander as you gaze off into the distance on a quiet, lazy morning? Well snap out of it immediately, because daydreaming is actually bad for you. OK, that’s putting things a bit bluntly, but research reveals that these moments of glorious whimsy can come at a cost to your memory and general intelligence. So focus.
Recent findings also challenge our understanding of modern horses and where they come from. It seems their ancestors are not who we once thought they were, leaving their family history a bit of a mystery.
Classical music has, for centuries, had ties to religion. But George Corbett argues that this relationship is being lost and that is a tragedy. He advocates what he calls “theologically informed programming and performance”, which seeks to help composers recognise the inspiration that can be unlocked by engaging with the Christian tradition, even if you aren’t a believer.
In other news this week, you’re disgusting and dogs are too. At least our canine friends have a evolutionary excuse for their atrocious toilet habits. Humans are just careless.
Have a nice weekend.
|
Laura Hood
Politics Editor, Assistant Editor
|
|
|
Top story
|
pathdoc/Shutterstock
Robin Bailey, University of Central Lancashire
Daydreaming may seem like a fun, harmless way to pass time, but evidence suggests that it could be bad for your mental health.
|
Science + Technology
|
Jan Hoole, Keele University
A new study of ancient Botai horses turns our knowledge about wild and domestic horses on its head.
| |
Jacqueline Boyd, Nottingham Trent University
New research explains that dogs may have evolved to eat faeces as a way to prevent the spread of disease.
|
|
|
Health + Medicine
|
-
Tony Rao, King's College London; Ian Hamilton, University of York
Cannabis use among the baby boomer generation is on the rise, here's why.
-
Nigel Holt, Aberystwyth University
Anticipating a future event is just as good for you as the thing itself.
|
|
Arts + Culture
|
George Corbett, University of St Andrews
Divine inspiration was at the centre of music for thousands of years – until post-war conservatoires got other ideas.
| |
Kayonda Hubert Ngamaba, University of York
Considering factors that contribute to happiness and life satisfaction.
|
|
|
|
|
-
Martin Edwardes, King's College London
Ursula le Guin gave us an anarchist society on another world; we brought it back to Earth.
-
Matthew Potter, Northumbria University, Newcastle
Five decades on from the original series our idea of what makes civilisation has broadened.
-
Candida Moss, University of Birmingham
The discovery of the signature of Christianity's favourite prophet has caused a stir, but what does it mean?
|
|
Environment + Energy
|
Brendan Canavan, University of Huddersfield
If you want to live like a local when on holiday, you should defecate like one.
| |
George Ferns, Cardiff University
Oil companies are pushing the world to believe they are the solution to, not the cause of, climate change.
|
|
|
|
|
-
Chris Turney, UNSW; Jonathan Palmer, UNSW; Mark Maslin, UCL
Nuclear bomb tests potentially mark the start of a new geological epoch: the Anthropocene.
-
Annalisa Savaresi, University of Stirling; Ioana Cismas, University of Stirling; Jacques Hartmann, University of Dundee
After a long run of devastating typhoons, one country is holding the world's biggest corporations to account on climate change.
-
Olalekan Adekola, York St John University
Talk of ethnic and religious conflict between Muslim Fulani herders and local Christian farmers misses the full picture – this is about resources.
|
|
Politics + Society
|
-
Brian Ward, Northumbria University, Newcastle
It's 200 years since the legendary African American abolitionist and ex-slave Frederick Douglass crossed the Atlantic and found freedom in northeast England.
-
Alun Hardman, Cardiff Metropolitan University
Sometimes diplomacy won the day, sometimes it didn't.
-
Marina Shapira, University of Stirling
New data shows another drop in the number of EU citizens coming to the UK since Brexit.
|
|
Education
|
-
Keith Topping, University of Dundee
The latest What Kids Are Reading report finds that secondary school students aren't challenging themselves – and it could limit their choices later in life.
|
|
Business + Economy
|
-
Alexandre Nobajas, Keele University
Unless the UK can strike a deal quickly, British water will no longer be recognised on the coveted European list of recognised mineral sources.
-
Daniele Bianchi, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick
Venezuela's Petro cryptocurrency is a clever way to raise money by getting around international sanctions against the country.
|
|
| |
Featured events
|
|
Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom — University of Manchester
|
|
|
John Rylands Library, The University of Manchester, Deansgate, Manchester, Manchester, M3 3EH, United Kingdom — University of Manchester
|
|
University of Leeds, School of Civil Engineering, LT B (3.25) Lecture Theatre 76, Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, United Kingdom — University of Leeds
|
|
|
Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom — University of Manchester
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
