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Editor's note
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It’s common for city dwellers to find the experience of cycling in traffic intimidating and dangerous. Urban areas are built for cars, and instead of challenging that status quo, we’ve adapted to it. This has enabled a certain type of cycling culture to emerge in our metropolises. To get around on two wheels, you need to be fast, bold and prepared to take on drivers – your competition for road space.
It’s worth questioning whether, in accepting this system, we are also designing out women cyclists, who are proven to take a completely different approach to biking. We also heard this week that a large group of people are potentially being inadvertently designed out of taking part in the fitness tracker revolution. These wearable devices are amazing for managing our exercise, diet and general wellbeing. So it’s far from ideal to hear that
some of them are giving less accurate readings to people of colour.
Boris Johnson’s working majority in parliament has been cut to just one since the Liberal Democrats took the Brecon and Radnorshire seat in a by-election this week. This was an odd contest, for sure. The vote was held in the first place because constituents signed a petition to eject the local Conservative MP for misusing funds. The local Conservatives then took the interesting decision to stand that same MP again. Oh, and at one point a campaign bus was found in a hedge. We’ve looked at what this singular electoral event means for all the parties involved — including the emerging ‘Remain Alliance’.
There’s surely no one left on the planet who doesn’t know that children need a nutritious lunch when they’re at school. So how come the food they are provided with is still so bad? It’s not just about spending, there are complex human behaviours behind this enduring problem.
This week we’ve also dug up some interesting people in Egypt, asked chickens how they’re feeling and really just tried to get some sleep.
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Laura Hood
Politics Editor, Assistant Editor
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Tejvan Pettinger/Flickr
Katja Leyendecker, Northumbria University, Newcastle
A substantial building programme is needed to rearrange our cities to benefit all types of journeys – not just commutes.
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Zivica Kerkez/Shutterstock
Tim Collins, Manchester Metropolitan University; Sandra Woolley, Keele University
People with darker skin tones get less reliable readings from fitness trackers.
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Jane Dodds celebrates her victory in Brecon and Radnorshire.
Ben Birchall/PA
Matthew Cole, University of Birmingham
The Remain Alliance is excited but, given the odd circumstances of this campaign, the Conservatives could have done a lot worse.
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Neolithic skull.
Joel D. Irish, Liverpool John Moores University; Czekaj- Zastawny Agnieszka, Polish Academy of Sciences; Jacek Kabacinski, Polish Academy of Sciences
Stone Age people in Egypt showed great respect for their dead, providing a glimpse of what was to come in the Dynastic period.
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Hurricanehank/Shutterstock
Mary Baxter, Queen's University Belfast
Understanding happiness in chickens could tell us how to improve their housing.
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Shutterstock/Sam Wordley
Michael Gradisar, Flinders University; Rachel Hiller, University of Bath
It's not just babies who have trouble sleeping.
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Matt Hayward, University of Newcastle; Joseph K. Bump, University of Minnesota
An exhaustive search involving 44,000 field staff, 318,000 habitat surveys and nearly 35 million photos has revealed India's tiger population is on the rise.
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Charalampos (Babis) Rallis, University of East London
An enzyme called TOR could hold the secret to a longer, healthier life.
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Edward Truch, Lancaster University
The values of a national park, translated to an urban context, to make life better for local people.
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Kate C. Tilleczek, York University, Canada
Researchers examined how youth on three continents think about digital technology today and conducted an experiment to learn what youth said after living without their phones for a week.
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Rodney Ramcharan, University of Southern California
The Fed's decision to cut interest rates for the first time since 2008 could lead to economic policies that are even more reckless.
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Featured events
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Rewley House, 1 Wellington Square, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 2JA, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Oxford
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