Editor's note

Written 2,800 years ago, The Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus and his ten long years hacking and slaying through countless mythological creatures on the hero’s voyage back to Ithaca. Yet according to new research by Murilo Baptista, Pedro Miranda and Sandro Pinto, The Odyssey may not be pure fiction after all. Drawing on 21st-century insights about complex networks like Facebook, Homer’s 300-plus characters turn out to be connected in ways that are far too realistic to be accidental.

Earlier this year, Grindr, the most popular gay dating app in the world, was acquired by a Chinese corporate group. The move raised privacy concerns about user data and whether China’s track record on gay rights means users should worry. Guido Noto La Diega takes a look at the situation.

If your kids are bombarding you with mind-boggling questions, don’t get in a flap – send their queries over to Curious Kids or just reply to this email, and we’ll find an academic to answer. In our latest instalment, Thomas and Luke, age six, from Sussex, wondered how birds can see where they’re going. It’s a fair question, since many have eyes on the sides of their heads. Hazel Jackson reveals how different types of birds see the world – and how their vision helps them to survive.

Rules that came in to promote independence and enable people with learning disabilities to live “normal” lives means support workers often avoid physical contact that could provide some comfort. Carys Banks has been spending time with people with learning disabilities and their support workers and says sometimes people just need a hug, whoever they are.

Steven Vass

Scotland Editor

Top stories

Thar she blows! Michael Rosskothen

How we showed Homer’s Odyssey is not pure fiction, with a little help from Facebook

Murilo Da Silva Baptista, University of Aberdeen; Pedro Jeferson Miranda, Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa; Sandro Ely de Souza Pinto, Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa

Analyse the great quest of Odysseus with a little 21st-century know how and it's fascinating what you find out.

A comforting gesture can go a long way. Shutterstock.

Sometimes people with learning disabilities need a hug – but support staff aren’t meant to give them

Carys Banks, University of Bath

An empahsis on the autonomy of people with learning disaibilities has put distance between care workers and the people they support.

Shutterstock.

Curious Kids: how do birds see where they’re going?

Hazel Jackson, University of Kent

Not all birds have eyes on the sides of their heads – but even those that do can see straight in front of them.

Arts + Culture

Health + Medicine

Business + Economy

Politics + Society

Science + Technology

Education

 

Featured events

Critical Studies in Television Conference: “State of Play: Television Scholarship in ‘TVIV’”

St Helens Road, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L39 4QP, United Kingdom — Edge Hill University

WEI Fourth Fairness at Work Conference

Alliance Manchester Business School, Oxford Road, Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom — University of Manchester

Professorial Inaugural Lectures: Proton Beam Therapy

Manchester Cancer Research Centre, Wilmslow Road, Manchester, Manchester, M20 4GJ, United Kingdom — University of Manchester

UEA Open Day

University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom — University of East Anglia

More events
 

Contact us here to have your event listed.

For sponsorship opportunities, email us here