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Top stories
Note from Sam
It’s a scene many will be familiar with: you buy an ice cream or a bag of fish and chips at the seaside and you soon find yourself fending off the unwanted attention of a hungry seagull. It’s earned gulls a rather negative reputation for grabbing whatever food comes their way. But new research suggests these birds put more thought into their choice of meal than meets the eye.
Paul Graham explains how he found that common herring gulls can work out which foods are worth eating by simply paying attention to what humans are snacking on. He says that this behaviour must come from the gulls’ general intelligence rather than being acquired through a long history of co-evolution with humans – the urbanisation of herring gulls only started 80 years ago.
Plus, a new study has revealed India avoided 1 million tonnes of carbon emissions between 2007 and 2020 through its tiger conservation programme – by preserving forests for the iconic big cat to live in. And if you’re worried about losing your job to artificial intelligence, reading this might ease your concerns.
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Sam Phelps
Commissioning Editor, Environment
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Herring gull at Burghead Harbour, Scotland.
Tom McPherson/Shutterstock
Paul Graham, University of Sussex
Research has found that urban gulls work out what’s good to eat by watching humans.
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Politics + Society
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Nonhlanhla Dube, Lancaster University
Three reasons getting the warring parties to stick to an agreement is so difficult.
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Anna Matveeva, King's College London
Polarisation inside Russia and with Ukrainians and other Europeans is very unhelpful.
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Jonathan Este, The Conversation
A selection of the best of our coverage of the conflict from the past fortnight.
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Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham; Tetyana Malyarenko, National University Odesa Law Academy
The Ukrainian president’s latest diplomatic forays have been effective in boosting support for his country’s territorial integrity.
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Gilbert M. Khadiagala, University of the Witwatersrand
If the African delegation could convince the belligerents to find a peaceful solution, they will make a critical contribution to the climate for mediation.
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Arts + Culture
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Leigh Carriage, Southern Cross University
The legendary singer has died at 83. Her performance practice exemplified fierce hard work.
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Jamie Coates, University of Sheffield; Niamh Calway, University of Oxford
Citizens of former British colonies such as Malaysia and Hong Kong rented vacant fish and chip shops to start their Chinese takeaway businesses.
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Business + Economy
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Jonathan Aitken, University of Sheffield
AI is definitely going to change the workplace, but don’t get too worried about your job.
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Atul K. Shah, City, University of London
Is private sector auditing of large financial institutions fit for purpose?
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Cities
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Andy Newing, University of Leeds
People in rural areas have less access to supermarkets in general. When it comes to online grocery shopping, just over 11% of those have no choice at all.
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Health
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Caroline Copeland, King's College London
The flesh-eating drug Xylazine is causing havoc in the US. Now it’s in the UK.
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Jacqueline Boyd, Nottingham Trent University
Dogs love to sniff, and they’re good at it.
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Viren Swami, Anglia Ruskin University
Body dysmorphia affects about 2% of the population.
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Podcasts
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Mend Mariwany; Nehal El-Hadi, The Conversation
The conditions placed on countries borrowing money from the International Monetary Fund have further disadvantaged these countries economically.
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