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Editor's note
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Madagascar is known for its rare and incredible wildlife, from critically endangered lemurs to majestic baobab trees. But even as tourists flock to the east African island, the security situation in some areas has reached crisis point. Julia Jones reports on how bandits, illegal gold miners, and cattle thieves are threatening local people and conservation efforts in one of the planet’s most important places for biodiversity.
Eating three meals a day – plus snacks – might seem perfectly normal, but it’s only fairly recently that humans began having such regular mealtimes. Jenna Macciochi explains how snacking influences inflammation in the body and how this may be having a negative effect on your health.
It’s a very modern fear, that the ever increasing time we spend looking at screens may be damaging our eyesight. But in the 19th century, Victorians had similar concerns – in an era that saw the rise of mass print and interest in eye care. Gemma Almond explains how modern technology sparked very real fears that a nation could go blind.
The UK government has now published the full legal advice it was given on Brexit after it was found to be in contempt of parliament. Legal expert Phil Syrpis explains the key points you need to know and what the wider implications of the document are.
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Jack Marley
Assistant Section Editor
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Top stories
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Ranomafana National Park.
LouieLea/Shutterstock
Julia P G Jones, Bangor University
A recent spate of attacks have left local people scared for their safety in rural Madagascar, threatening vital conservation work in the nearby rainforest.
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shutterstock
Jenna Macciochi, University of Sussex
Just the act of eating each meal places a large degree of physiological stress on the immune system.
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Examination by ophthalmoscope in JF Phillips’ Ophthalmic Surgery and Treatment, 1869.
Wellcome Library
Gemma Almond, Swansea University
Screen time wasn't a issue in the 19th century but that didn't stop concerns over how new developments might damage eyesight
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Don’t forget parliament.
Yui Mok/PA Wire
Phil Syrpis, University of Bristol
An EU law expert on what the attorney general's legal advice on Brexit means and its wider significance for the future.
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Politics + Society
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Georgina Blakeley, The Open University
Left-wing parties in Andalusia were the biggest losers as right-wing parties gained seats in in regional elections in early December.
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Pippa Virdee, De Montfort University
In late November, the foundation stone was laid for a new visa-free corridor between two Sikh gurdwaras on either side of the India-Pakistan border.
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Arie Ruhyanto, University of Birmingham
The government is focusing on economic development, but ignoring human rights abuses, local politics and indigenous peoples.
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Patricio R. Estévez-Soto, UCL
Andrés Manuel López Obrador plans to combine army, navy and Federal Police units in a new 150,000 strong national guard.
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Business + Economy
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Costas Milas, University of Liverpool; Theodore Panagiotidis, University of Macedonia; Theologos Dergiades, University of Macedonia
New research into the Greek crisis from 2012-16 compared how tweets and traditional news affected bond yields among countries in the eurozone peripheries.
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Health + Medicine
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Matthew Smith, University of Strathclyde
A worrying lack of open-minded research means we do not know exactly why food allergy is on the rise.
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Arts + Culture
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Pat Cullum, University of Huddersfield
In his text Fire of Love, Rolle has a few interesting things to say about medieval gender relations.
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Featured events
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Apsley House, Hyde Park, London, City of, W1J 7NT, United Kingdom — Royal Holloway
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Eldon Building, Winston Churchill Avenue, Portsmouth, Hampshire, PO1 2DJ, United Kingdom — University of Portsmouth
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The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom — University of Manchester
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St George's, Brandon Hill, Bristol, City of, BS1 5RR, United Kingdom — Royal Holloway
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