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There's no doubt about it: Vladimir Putin will emerge from Russia's elections next week as the country's president for a fourth term. That will make him the country's longest serving ruler since Stalin. Given this inevitable outcome, Alexander Titov writes, why do Russian authorities bother with elections at all? Meanwhile Cameron Ross introduces the other seven contenders for Putin's throne and Cynthia Hooper suggests that a victory will actually turn Putin into a lame duck.
Alzheimer’s is a devastating disease and, despite intensive research, no cure has been found - yet. Rosanna Olsen explains why there's a move towards studying healthy brains and finding ways of detecting the disease before symptoms appear.
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EPA/Sergei Chirikov
Alexander Titov, Queen's University Belfast
Russia operates a system you might describe as 'electoral authoritarianism'.
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There are currently no effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, which causes may elders to live their last years without recognizing their loved ones, and unable to care for themselves.
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Rosanna Olsen, University of Toronto
Study of the "memory centres" of the brain in adults offers hope for detecting Alzheimer's disease earlier -- before the onset of memory loss.
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Politics + Society
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Cameron Ross, University of Dundee
Vladimir Putin is leagues ahead of the rest in opinion polls. But he's more worried about turnout.
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Cynthia Hooper, College of the Holy Cross
The result of Russia's upcoming election is already known: President Vladimir Putin will be re-elected. Will he be content to be a lame duck, or will he undermine democracy to suit his ambition?
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Tshepo T. Gwatiwa, Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement (IHEID); Michael Noel Sam, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies
Free movement in Africa might be needed but more thought is needed for successful implementation.
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Science + Technology
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Karim Sadr, University of the Witwatersrand
Technology which located Mayan cities has been used to rediscover a southern African city from the 15th century.
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Patrick Randolph-Quinney, University of Central Lancashire; Anthony Sinclair, University of Liverpool
Scientists have discovered sophisticated tools in Kenya that are much older than expected.
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Cities
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Anthony Burke, University of Technology Sydney; Prasuna Reddy, University of Technology Sydney
Governments are using Big Data to design improvements and upgrades of cities. But ethical questions need to be considered, lest we end up jeopardising citizens' privacy or deepen social inequalities.
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