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Editor's note
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Once every few years, the internet delivers us a hero so awe-inspiring that we all feel a bit better just for having clicked on a few pictures. In their presence, we take a collective moment to consider the questions that really matter. And so it was this week, when we learned about Knickers, a staggeringly large cow who lives in Australia. Families and friends came together to gaze upon Knickers, lurking somewhat awkwardly amid a herd of regularly-shaped cow colleagues in a muddy field. And we all pondered: just how did Knickers get to be quite so vast?
If you’ve not yet seen images of this bumper-sized bovine, I’m excited for you. Join us as we enter a scientific investigation into Knickers and other overgrown animals. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and, if you’re anything like our science editor, you’ll say: “yep, that really is quite a big horse, actually.”
You may also have seen images of angry protestors wearing high-vis jackets and waving placards proclaiming that Emmanuel Macron is not quite all he was cracked up to be as president (a generous translation from the original French). They are the “gilets jaunes” and they’re making life slightly difficult for the once popular leader by blocking roads, smashing speed cameras and bricking up the entrances to regional tax offices. We found out what’s making them so irate.
Most modern humans are sporadically hit with the thought that their phone is listening to them. It’s time to come to terms with the fact that you’ve probably given it permission to harvest a terrifying amount of information from you.
Also this week, we’ve been looking at the economic costs of Brexit and exploring the virtual ecology of Red Dead Redemption 2.
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Laura Hood
Politics Editor, Assistant Editor
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Shutterstock
Jan Hoole, Keele University
An internet-breaking 6'4" steer isn't the only animal to reach gigantic proportions.
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Julien Warnard/EPA
Oliver Davis, University of Warwick
Who are the 'gilets jaunes', what do they want and how has France's political establishment responded to their populist challenge?
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javi_indy/ Shutterstock
Ian McLoughlin, University of Kent
AI advancements can learn a lot about us from our tone of voice -- which could have dark consequences for the future of personal privacy.
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By Markus Schmidt-Karaca / Shutterstock
Anand Menon, King's College London; Matthew Bevington, King's College London
Independent research estimates that Theresa May's deal could reduce UK GDP per capita by between 1.9% and 5.5% over ten years.
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Wild game.
Rockstar Games
Dr Umran Ali, University of Salford
Games have come a long way since their genesis in the 1970s. Today, games designers consult with ecologists and other experts to create worlds that feel alive and real.
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Joyce Harper, UCL
A Chinese scientist claims to have edited human DNA to make us more resistant to HIV. Here's why that's not good news.
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Alison Murphy, University of South Wales
Since 1997, the ways people in the UK define their nationality has rapidly changed.
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Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson, University of Sussex
Sahia and her husband hoped to start a life in Singpur, a village in Bangladesh. But the riverside community found climate change made putting down roots impossible.
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Kathryn Harriss, University of Kent
Meteorite impacts have fundamentally shaped the history of our planet.
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Sarah Jilani, University of Cambridge
It's hailed as one of the greatest works of fiction to emerge from Africa. But Things Fall Apart was written in English, sparking debate about the colonisation of language.
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From our international editions
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Sergio Daniel Michel Chavez, Carleton University
The success or failure of Mexico's new president will have an impact on politics in the rest of Latin America as right-wing forces reclaim power. Is a brighter future for the region possible?
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Robert H. Scott III, Monmouth University; Kenneth Mitchell, Monmouth University
Argentina has been grappling with currency flight and an economy sinking deeper into recession, not to mention the worst drought in decades.
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Featured events
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The Glassroom, Merchiston Campus, Colinton Road, Edinburgh, Edinburgh, City of, EH10 5DT, United Kingdom — Edinburgh Napier University
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Apsley House, Hyde Park, London, City of, W1J 7NT, United Kingdom — Royal Holloway
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Ballsbridge Hotel, Dublin 4, Dublin, Dublin, 4, Ireland — University College Dublin
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Windsor Building Auditorium, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, United Kingdom — Royal Holloway
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