|
Germany has decided to lower its voting age to 16 for the upcoming European Parliament elections – a move that is bold in more ways than one. While this is not the first time a European nation has included under-18s in its vote, Germany’s cohort is large, larger even than the whole populations of some other member states. It’s also a risk because, as Gabriele Abels from the University of Tübingen points out, this group of GenZers is being heavily courted by the far right on social media. By bringing young voters in, the establishment may be be opening up new avenues of support for the controversial Alternative für Deutschland party.
Could AI be preventing us from making contact with aliens? The director of Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics certainly thinks that’s a distinct possibility. And we identify a serious problem with the recent reconstruction of a 75,000-year-old Neanderthal woman’s face – she looks far too friendly.
This is a big year for elections, when recognising misinformation and having access to the facts takes on outsized importance. Please support our work to better inform the world by donating to The Conversation today.
Donate
|
|
Laura Hood
Senior Politics Editor, Assistant Editor
|
|
|
|
Top stories
|
EPA/Clemens Bilan
Gabriele Abels, University of Tübingen
The far-right Alternative for Germany is courting the youth vote on TikTok with great success, ahead of the elections in June.
|
sdecoret/Shutterstock
Michael Garrett, University of Manchester
AI may be destroying civilisations before they get a chance to explore space properly.
|
The recreated head of Shanidar Z, made by the Kennis brothers for the Netflix documentary ‘Secrets of the Neanderthals’ based on 3D scans of the reconstructed skull.
BBC Studios/Jamie Simonds
Fay Bound Alberti, King's College London
Scientists can’t yet tell how soft tissue overlayed bones, so this reconstruction is inevitably based on artistic licence.
|
World
|
-
Mohamad El Kari, King's College London
Lebanon’s precarious sectarian balance is tipping as militias take hold again.
-
M. Sudhir Selvaraj, University of Bradford
Narendra Modi looks set to win a third term in power. One of his strategies for success is to exploit the country’s religious differences.
-
Jennifer Mathers, Aberystwyth University; Allyson Edwards, Bath Spa University
Putin has encouraged a group of young people to hand out a special ribbon representing the ‘glories’ of Russian history.
|
|
Politics + Society
|
-
Erin Sanders-McDonagh, University of Kent
Until government addresses the link between cuts to funding public services and the rise in knife crime, the violence children and young people are facing will continue.
|
|
Arts + Culture
|
-
Joshua S. Bamford, University of Oxford
The synchronisation involved in music and dance may be the “active ingredient” in their social bonding effects.
|
|
Business + Economy
|
-
Rhys ap Gwilym, Bangor University; Linda Osti, Bangor University
Day trippers often use local resources without making any economic contribution.
-
Francesca Sobande, Cardiff University
Beauty brand Dove hit the headlines for rejecting AI in its marketing – but there’s more to the claims than meets the eye.
|
|
Education
|
-
Stephen Gorard, Durham University
Basing admissions to some schools on faith fragments the education system.
|
|
Environment
|
-
Jack Marley, The Conversation
Your home was designed for another era, here’s what’s needed now.
-
Georgina Robinson, Durham University
Also known as alkaline hydrolysis or aquamation, the process is much better for the environment than burial or cremation.
|
|
Health
|
-
Michael Head, University of Southampton
AstraZeneca withdrawing it COVID vaccine from the market has nothing to do with blood clots.
-
Donal O'Shea, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences
New AI-based research suggests chemicals known for their negative health effects are produced in the most popular flavoured vapes. We need for tighter regulation on vapes – fast
-
Rebecca Shepherd, University of Bristol
Viewers were concerned that the reality TV star struggled to breathe in her ultra-tight corset while posing on the red carpet
|
|
Science + Technology
|
-
Mike Cook, King's College London
The tech company has been seeking to licence content from a variety of media companies.
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
