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The dead civet was a mystery. How did a Vietnamese mammal that mainly ate earthworms succumb to bird flu? Diana Bell, a biologist who studies emerging infectious diseases, pondered in 2005 whether this discovery meant the H5N1 strain of avian influenza posed a bigger threat to the world’s wildlife than previously imagined. Nearly two decades later, her worst fears have all but come true.
Bird flu is decimating wildlife populations from the high Arctic to the Antarctic mainland, afflicting species already on the brink like polar bears. To halt this hidden pandemic, Bell urges radical reform to poultry farming worldwide, including an end to megafarms that contain up to a million birds. Without action on these viral incubators, Bell warns H5N1 may mutate and become even more infectious – to both humans and other species.
What were birds up to while their dinosaur relatives ruled the Earth? Palaeontologist Abi Crane invites you on a bird watching tour of the prehistoric world. Expect six-foot tall penguin-like creatures with sharp teeth and claws – and even some species that wouldn’t look out of place today. Elsewhere, after the US and several other countries evacuated their embassy staff in the country, we learn why Haiti has become hostage to
criminal gangs.
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Jack Marley
Environment + Energy Editor
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Sea lions killed by bird flu in Chile, April 2023.
Patricio Banda/EPA-EFE
Diana Bell, University of East Anglia
Bird flu is decimating species already threatened by climate change and habitat loss.
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Archaeopteryx and Hesperornis should be on the lists of any dino bird watcher.
Abi Crane, University of Southampton
If you love learning about dinosaurs don’t let crowdpleasers like the T Rex distract you from the fascinating birdlife that once roamed the Earth.
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Johnson Sabin / EPA
Nicolas Forsans, University of Essex
Haiti is facing a wave of chaos as gang violence grips the country.
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Politics + Society
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Paolo Aversa, King's College London
Only five female racing drivers have ever entered a world championship grand prix – of whom just two qualified and raced.
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John Coxhead, University of East London
Police are still reeling from a decade of austerity funding cuts.
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Kirsten Stevens-Wood, Cardiff Metropolitan University
From conscientious objectors to hippies and seniors, intentional communities offer refuge and purpose for people seeking a different way of life.
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Arts + Culture
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Natalie Braber, Nottingham Trent University
This could see different festivals, folklore or traditional tales, Morris dancing and certain skills and crafts protected.
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Esme Miskimmin, University of Liverpool
In the game, power is found in a natural world that is not tampered with or controlled – just as in Jansson’s stories.
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Business + Economy
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Conor O'Kane, Bournemouth University
Championed by Thatcher, Reagan and Elon Musk, there’s a marked tendency to reduce Hayek to less than the sum of his parts.
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Jose Caballero, International Institute for Management Development (IMD)
More than 6 million people have fled Venezuela seeking better living conditions – now they are boosting economic growth in their host countries.
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Cities
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Smytta Yadav, University of Sussex
Urbanisation in India is causing Adivasi communities to lose connections to ancestral lands – and to traditional knowledge and belief systems. Urban Hinduisation plays a big role in this.
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Environment
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Wendy Ward, Sheffield Hallam University
Every wardrobe tells a story and reconnecting with the clothes you already own could reduce your need to buy more fast fashion. Here are three ways to fall back in love with your wardrobe.
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Triona Fitton, University of Kent; Alida Payson, Cardiff University
Secondhand markets are built to increase consumption, not cut it back.
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Health
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Fiona Woollard, University of Southampton
Women’s bodies are sexually objectified no matter what the context – and it’s a serious health issue
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Daniel Bailey, Brunel University London
We really ought to be sitting less. Seriously.
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Simon Nicholas Williams, Swansea University
On the fourth anniversary of the pandemic, a public health researcher offers four principles for a healthier future.
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Justin Roberts, Anglia Ruskin University; Henry Chung, University of Essex; Joseph Lillis, Anglia Ruskin University
Nutrition plays a very important role in the muscle building process.
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Stephen Khan, The Conversation
It is in three core approaches to delivering value to readers that I find a definition of ‘academic journalism’.
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