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Editor's note
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Doing our bit to help address the spread of coronavirus means getting a lot better at washing our hands. I was in the ladies’ bathroom at a gig this week and we all talked loudly about which songs we sang to ourselves to make sure we are “doing our 20 seconds” with soap and hot water. Some were reciting ‘happy birthday’, others the national anthem. I’ve even heard of some people running through Lady Macbeth’s famous soliloquy as they scrub.
But we also need to improve our drying technique. Research on the best options in hospitals is particularly useful at a time when we’re all more sensitive about spreading infection. And it seems paper towels – rather than hand dryers – are the way to go.
Our network has been producing round-the-clock coverage to help you separate fact from fiction about Covid-19. You can read it all here.
It’s International Women’s Day tomorrow so we’re bringing you a fascinating read on the central role women played in establishing Islam in the UK. New findings from archival research has uncovered the work of several key figures who challenged patriarchal thinking when the country’s earliest mosques were being established in Liverpool and Woking.
Hollywood is obsessed with remakes, as we know – and that often involves reproducing films from around the world as English language versions. With Swedish classic Force Majeure now screening as ‘Downhill’ to disappointed reviews, we’ve run down six cinematic classics that are worth watching in their original form rather than their anglicised updates.
Also this week, we’ve been looking to medieval scholars to help us predict the weather, finding out what makes something “offensive” and highlighting the problem with Jeff Bezos’ pledge to give billions to fight climate change.
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Laura Hood
Politics Editor, Assistant Editor
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shutterstock/santypan
Julian Hunt, Swansea University; John Gammon, Swansea University
Our findings also highlight that hot air hand dryers and cloth roller towels can be a problematic way of drying your hands.
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Group photo outside the Memorial Hall at the Shah Jahan Mosque complex in Woking.
Woking Mission Photos Index
Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor, Coventry University
My new research highlights a little known story of women’s roles in British Muslim history.
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The 2014 Swedish comedy-drama has been remade for English audiences in 2020 as Downhill.
Magnolia Pictures
Deborah Shaw, University of Portsmouth
There are lots of movies labelled as "world cinema" that have been unfairly eclipsed by their inferior English remakes
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Hands up if you have been offended on social media.
pathdoc/shutterstock
Tahmineh Tayebi, Aston University
It's all about context.
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Reporting dreary weather for many centuries.
Shutterstock/ahupepo
Anne Lawrence-Mathers, University of Reading
How science has been used to predict wind and rain for over 1,000 years.
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Jeff Bezos wants to save the world – it’s been good to him, after all.
Michael Reynolds / EPA
Heather Alberro, Nottingham Trent University
Jeff Bezos $10 billion pledge is great, but is no match for a properly democratic transition.
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Ahmad Firas Khalid, McMaster University
In a health crisis, decisions about treatment and containment must be made quickly. It’s crucial those decisions be based on research evidence, but fast and easy access is not always available.
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Richard Faragher, University of Brighton
The Health of Nations report outlines the UK's plans for extending the number of years people live in good health.
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Donald Hirsch, Loughborough University
All eggs in supermarket Morrisons will soon be free range. But this – and other measures intended to promote ethical consumption – could impact badly on the worst off.
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Rafael Euba, King's College London
There are many ways to be happy, but we can also find comfort in the knowledge that our constant dissatisfaction is what makes us human.
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Lynn M. Thomas, University of Washington
The long history of racist beauty standards alone cannot explain the ongoing global use of harmful skin lighteners.
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Featured events
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Old Addenbrookes Site, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB2 1AG, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Cambridge
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East Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB11PT, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — Anglia Ruskin University
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East Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB11PT, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — Anglia Ruskin University
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East Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB11PT, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — Anglia Ruskin University
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