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Editor's note
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The great discoveries of our time are often lauded as triumphs of the scientific method. But what about the creative inspiration that sparks the initial idea? Tom McLeish, who has experienced scientific theories coming to him on wooded hillsides and in dreams, laments our lack of consideration of what comes before the methodology, because science, he argues, demands just as much creative inspiration as art.
When we try to imagine future civilisations living in harmony with nature, we often struggle. That’s because the past is taught as a history of empires, kings and conquest, where “progress” often had terrible outcomes for different cultures and other species. To imagine a future beyond the ravages of climate change, we should rethink the lessons human history has taught us, says Amanda Power.
The pressure in the deepest parts of the ocean is so intense it can distort the molecules that make up living creatures – so how do fish and other species survive there? Claire Lacey explains, in the latest instalment of Curious Kids, a series by experts, for children.
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Josephine Lethbridge
Interdisciplinary Editor
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Top stories
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IR Stone/Shutterstock.com
Tom McLeish, University of York
We talk about artistic inspiration all the time – but science demands inspiration too.
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‘American Progress’ by John Gast.
Wikipedia
Amanda Power, University of Oxford
Progress, in historical terms, has so often meant clearing places of their native inhabitants – both human and non-human.
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Angler fish haunt the deep seas.
Shutterstock.
Claire Lacey, University of St Andrews
The pressure in the deepest part of the ocean can be 1,000 times greater than the pressure we experience at sea level – but creatures that live and visit there have some very special features.
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Environment + Energy
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Richard Betts, University of Exeter
Wildfires broke out across the British Isles during a recent heatwave. But the burning question of the link to climate change does not have an easy answer.
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Health + Medicine
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Andre Spicer, City, University of London
Pagers may be old school, but they have many advantages over mobile phones.
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Suzanne Hagan, Glasgow Caledonian University
Most diabetic assessment of the eyes concentrates on retina health, but for type 2 sufferers, dry eye disease could be far more concerning.
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Politics + Society
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Hussein Kassim, University of East Anglia
Even if parliament votes to delay Brexit beyond March 29, the EU27 would have to unanimously agree. Would they?
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Denny Pencheva, University of Bristol
A close reading of news articles and editorials from 2006 and 2013 shows that UK newspapers have systematically ignored the evidence to influence the public against EU migrants.
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Lee Jarvis, University of East Anglia; Tim Legrand, Australian National University
The proscription of terrorist groups are part of the process through which a country demonstrates its self-identity.
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Ghaliya Djelloul, Université catholique de Louvain
Demonstrations against the current regime have opened up a space for debate and self-expression in Algeria, recalling the crucial need for a free and involved civil society.
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Kristofer Allerfeldt, University of Exeter
KKK membership is falling rapidly across the US, according to a respected report. Ideas of hate, though, remain.
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