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Charles Darwin has been widely credited with changing the public perception of earthworms, a creature once thought to be a garden pest on a par with snails and slugs. His 1881 book on worms brought together many decades of observation and sold phenomenally well, perhaps because of a growing interest in gardening.
But a clergyman called Gilbert White was carrying out experiments by candlelight about a century before Darwin, and was never given proper credit. In our latest Insights long read, ecologist Kevin Butt pays tribute to White and explains just why earthworms are so important to life on Earth, as well as revealing the secret worlds they inhabit.
We also look into the psychology of hoarding, as research has found it can begin in childhood or can be triggered by life-altering events later in life. And a new B virus infection in a human has been reported in Hong Kong after a man was attacked by macaque monkeys. One of our experts explains how dangerous the virus is and how likely it is to spread.
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Paul Keaveny
Investigations Editor, Insights
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shutterstock.
Kevin Richard Butt, University of Central Lancashire
My passion for earthworms and ecology led me to continuing Darwin’s experiments in his own ‘back garden’
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ronstik/Shutterstock
Victoria Ruby-Granger, De Montfort University
Hoarding can start in childhood with no trigger, or later in life after life events such as relationship changes.
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Paul Rushton / Alamy Stock Photo
Colin Michie, University of Central Lancashire
B virus is a biosafety category 4 virus. That is, the same level as Ebola and unknown new pathogens.
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World
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Richard Werner, University of Winchester
Raising interest rates can’t stop Japan’s currency from sinking to a record low.
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Andi Hoxhaj OBE, UCL
Tension in the western Balkans, which has been troubled by ethnic tensions since the wars of the 1990s, is becoming an increasing concern for the EU and Nato.
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Nicolas Forsans, University of Essex
Nicolás Maduro cracks down on civil liberties as Venezuela prepares for its presidential election.
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Politics + Society
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Dorje C. Brody, University of Surrey
Modelling bolsters idea that fact checking is a useful defence against the flow of disinformation.
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EJ-Francis Caris-Hamer, University of Essex
Social transitioning usually occurs at home or in schools or workplaces, not in medical establishments.
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Arts + Culture
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Nathalie Weidhase, University of Surrey
The film leans too heavily on the tabloids’ damaging visual narrative instead of venturing to create its own.
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Nathan Abrams, Bangor University
Larry David has called time on the misanthropic cult TV comedy classic after 12 seasons and 120 episodes.
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Chris Greenough, Edge Hill University
Rihanna’s cover for the Spring 2024 edition has come under fire for being sacrilegious and distasteful – but it’s devilishly divine at exposing the misogyny and hypocrisy of organised religion
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Business + Economy
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Christopher Amaral, University of Bath
A recent study of the car loans sector showed that a machine learning algorithm could make decisions that were 34% more profitable than salespeople in dealerships.
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Environment
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Pablo Pereira-Doel, University of Surrey; Xavier Font, University of Surrey
As droughts become more widespread in tourist hotspots, research finds that timers in showers help tourists and university students shorten their showers and save water.
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Health
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Adam Taylor, Lancaster University
Changes to the voice could signal ill health. An anatomist explains.
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Science + Technology
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Kevin Richard Butt, University of Central Lancashire
And why earthworms are careful to select a mate of the same size as themselves.
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8 March - 18 May 2024
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Glasgow
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17 April 2024
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Southampton
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24 April 2024
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Birmingham
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