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The story of Dune, the 1965 sci-fi novel now a blockbuster film, centres on foreign powers descending upon a planet in order to pillage its natural resources and subjugate its people. This story is a familiar one and bears stark similarities to the brutal colonisation of Africa.
But the destruction that can be wrought on a place by such aggressive extractive practices doesn’t necessarily stop if the colonisers are no longer in charge. Oli Mould explains how the new version of Dune also highlights how such colonisation is responsible for much of the environmental destruction we see and experience today. And how we must change our dependence on extracting resources to start a planetary healing process.
Elsewhere, new research shines a light on how your genes influence how effective certain exercises are for you. And, a recent outbreak of the Nipah virus in India has some questioning whether it could lead to another pandemic.
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Naomi Joseph
Commissioning Editor, Arts + Culture
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Chiabella James/2020 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Oli Mould, Royal Holloway University of London
Africa was divided by European imperialists depending on what each desired in natural resources
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Some people may adapt to certain types of exercises more quickly than others.
NDAB Creativity/ Shutterstock
Henry Chung, Anglia Ruskin University; Dan Gordon, Anglia Ruskin University
Our analysis showed 13 genes that were directly responsible for influencing how certain people adapted to different types of exercise.
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Fruit bats are the main animal host of the nipah virus.
BTS-BotrosTravelSolutions / Pixabay
Ian Jones, University of Reading
Virologists are beginning to assess which other viruses could have pandemic potential
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Business + Economy
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Marcus Carter, University of Sydney; Ben Egliston, Queensland University of Technology
Facebook’s parent company is now called Meta, as part if its move to embrace the metaverse - the blurring of the online and real worlds via virtual and augmented reality technologies.
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Kevin Albertson, Manchester Metropolitan University
Does a period of unmanageable debt, runaway energy prices, job instability and a choppy green transition sound like an age of optimism to you?
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Gemma Ware, The Conversation; Daniel Merino, The Conversation
We talk to three experts who argue we governments need to find alternatives for their dependence on economic growth. Listen to episode 39 of The Conversation Weekly.
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Environment + Energy
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Jovana Radulovic, University of Portsmouth
Electric boilers can be a green heating alternative, an expert says.
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Steven McCabe, Birmingham City University
Allotments and repairing old clothes are just aspects of 1970s life that are making a comeback.
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John Weir, University of Hull
Wind turbines need building, heat pumps need installing – but Britain has a chronic skills shortage.
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Politics + Society
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Lata Gautam, Anglia Ruskin University
Data is patchy but this is what we know so far.
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Justin Willis, Durham University
From colonial times in Sudan, power has always come from the barrel of a gun.
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Hind Elhinnawy, Nottingham Trent University
The age-old idea that Afghan women need rescuing from their men is a western construct that ignores the voices of Afghan women.
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Arts + Culture
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Melissa Tyler, University of Essex
Much like west Berlin in Wings of Desire or New York in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, location is one of the main characters in Edgar Wright’s new film, Last Night in Soho. The film’s blend of horror and humour…
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Rebekah King, University of Cambridge
What’s behind Gen Z’s appetite for tarot and spells? 16th century debates about witchcraft help explain why the occult has become viral on TikTok.
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Science + Technology
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Leigh Fletcher, University of Leicester
Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is deep, meaning it may persist even though it is shrinking.
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Featured events
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— Museum of London, 150 London Wall, Barbican, London, EC2Y 5HN, London, London, City of, EC2Y 5HN, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — Gresham College
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— Egham Hill, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — Royal Holloway University of London
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— Online event, Reading , Reading, RG6 6AH, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Reading
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— Egham Hill, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — Royal Holloway University of London
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