|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Editor's note
|
A German proposal to ban all petrol and diesel cars by 2030 sounds like great news for the environment. Energy expert Dénes Csala is more sceptical. His research shows that millions of new electric cars will ultimately have to be powered by coal or gas – which could cause more harm than good. The Lada Niva, meanwhile, never pretended to be particularly eco-friendly. Yet this Soviet relic may be the best 4x4 ever, says long-time fan Chris Ebbert.
The East India Company in the BBC's latest period drama, Taboo, is a malevolent force. It certainly makes for riveting television. But of course, history wasn't quite like that. Although some historical inaccuracies are fair game, argues Andrea Major, pantomime villains obscure the true horrors of colonial exploitation.
The European parliament has voted to begin drafting a set of regulations to govern the development and use of artificial intelligence and robotics, considering also the idea of “electronic personhood”. Christopher Markou considers the implications of a world with machines that possess all the attributes of humans.
|
Will de Freitas
Environment + Energy Editor
|
|
|
Top story
|
Bjoern Wylezich / shutterstock
Dénes Csala, Lancaster University
The country's ambitious plans for sustainable transport and renewable energy must work in sync.
|
Arts + Culture
|
-
Andrea Major, University of Leeds
The BBC's Taboo is a timely reminder of the violent origins of globalisation, but its villains allow the viewer to disassociate imperial misdeeds from mainstream British history.
-
Stephen Crabbe, University of Portsmouth
Japanese tattoos have been popular in the UK since King George V. But things are different in Japan.
|
|
Science + Technology
|
-
Christopher Markou, University of Cambridge
We have long believed ourselves to be the only intelligent beings on Earth – that may soon change and the consequences will be dramatic for law, politics and society in general.
-
Stephen Pumfrey, Lancaster University
Scientists first started disagreeing about whether the moon should be a planet in Galileo's day.
|
|
Business + Economy
|
-
John Williams, University of Leicester
Ten months after guiding outsiders Leicester to the Premier League title – arguably the greatest shock in the history of the English game – the club’s manager has been unceremoniously sacked.
-
David Bailey, Aston University
A weak pound is likely to lure more international bidders to UK shores. Time then to make sure we have our defences in place.
|
|
Health + Medicine
|
-
Bill Keevil, University of Southampton
Lack of knowledge and perceived cost issues could be holding back the fight against the superbugs.
-
Philip Murphy, Edge Hill University
Understanding which groups of children are more likely to smoke cannabis in late adolescence raises interesting questions.
-
Michael Mackley, University of Oxford
Genomes can reveal a lot about disease risk. But people need to think carefully about what they want to know.
|
|
Politics + Society
|
-
Parveen Akhtar, Aston University
Sufis have remained defiant after a suicide bombing at a shrine in Pakistan.
-
Balsam Mustafa, University of Birmingham
A victory in its second-biggest city would be a spectacular turnaround, but the country still has years or even decades of rebuilding ahead of it.
-
Simon Usherwood, University of Surrey
The party picked the wrong candidate and the wrong tactics in this byelection, and it showed in the result.
-
Ben Williams, University of Salford
It held on in Stoke, but Labour has suffered a humiliating defeat to the governing party in Copeland.
-
Karl Pike, Queen Mary University of London
We know where Jeremy Corbyn stands on certain issues, but where is the vision? What are the ideas?
|
|
Environment + Energy
|
-
Chris Ebbert, Nottingham Trent University
The Lada Niva is 40 years old – and it could just be the best 4x4 ever made.
-
Elizabeth Lewis, Newcastle University
We're more likely to remember a storm with a human face – and will prepare for it.
|
|
|
Featured events
|
|
51 Gordon Square, London, London, City of, WC1H 0PN, United Kingdom — UCL
|
|
Room ARC/014, Alcuin Research Resource Centre, Alcuin College, York, York, YO10 5DD, United Kingdom — University of York
|
|
51 Gordon Square, London, London, City of, WC1H 0PN, United Kingdom — UCL
|
|
51 Gordon Square, London, London, City of, WC1H 0PN, United Kingdom — UCL
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|