Editor's note

Political parties are trying to put the best possible spin on local election results in parts of the UK. For Labour and the Conservatives, that’s a tough job this weekend. One of the central debates, of course, is whether this vote can be considered to be a verdict on Brexit – and if so, what do the parties do now? That said, it seems that a decade of austerity – which have hit local councils particularly hard – has finally come home to roost for the Tories.

The Greens, though, performed well: the party is celebrating what it’s claiming as “the biggest election night in our history”. Since the school climate strikes and the highly visible activism of Extinction Rebellion, the need for measures to counter climate change is becoming ever clearer to most people. And many are realising this is something that doesn’t just involve governments but every individual on the planet. Here are six ways to make the world a better place.

Munira Abdullah became world famous at the end of last year when the 32-year-old woman from the United Arab Emirates regained consciousness for the first time since she suffered devastating injuries in a car crash in 1992. Was it a “modern miracle” as some sensational news reports claimed? It’s worth looking into this story in more detail to realise the importance of responsible journalism – as well as the value of expert knowledge.

This week we’ve also been talking about why pets have dark eyes and the potential uses of sludge from the sewers. Meanwhile from our colleagues around the world we’ve been reading about a new malaria vaccine being tested in Malawi, the slave trade in Canada and, from the US, all about this weekend’s Kentucky Derby.

Jonathan Este

Associate Editor, Arts + Culture Editor

Activists watch the count in Bath. Rod Minchin/PA Wire

Local elections: what results mean for municipalities in crisis

Philip Haynes, University of Brighton

Do the local election results reflect local realities?

shutterstock

How to stop climate change: six ways to make the world a better place

Rick Stafford, Bournemouth University; Peter JS Jones, UCL

The current system drives social injustice and environmental destruction, a new approach to address both is called for.

Tim Sanders

Can you wake up after decades in a coma? The story behind the headlines

Jenny Kitzinger, Cardiff University

UAE woman Munira Abdulla is fully conscious after 27 years - but reports of her "miraculous" story are misleading.

I spy with my little eye… Shutterstock.

Curious Kids: why do pets have dark eyes while humans have mostly white eyes?

Jonathan Denniss, University of Bradford

Pets, like guinea pigs, lead very different lives to humans – and that's why they need very different eyes, too.

Ancestry ad depicts a white man in 19th-century clothing standing in front of a Black woman holding a ring telling her they can leave and be together in Canada. Ancestry

Ancestry ad gets it wrong: Canada was never slave-free

Cheryl Thompson, Ryerson University

Canadian audiences did not object to Ancestry's ad which romanticized Canada as “Promised land,” but they should have.

 

Featured events

Zuckerman Lecture: Prof Ralph Keeling - Listening to the voice of the Earth

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

Anglo-Saxon Royal Burial Ground at Sutton Hoo

King's Manor, York, York, YO1 7EP, United Kingdom — University of York

Albert Wolters Lecture 2019: Prof Daniel Dennett

Room 301, WKH, Whiteknights, PO Box 217, Reading, Reading, RG6 6AH, United Kingdom — University of Reading

More events
 

Contact us here to have your event listed.

For sponsorship opportunities, email us here