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The Norse god Odin still looms large in western popular culture. In Marvel’s Thor films, he’s portrayed by a gnarled Anthony Hopkins as the greatest warrior in all the nine realms of Norse mythology. In the wildly popular God of War video games, he’s an arch villain – the “all-father”, who must be defeated to claim victory. But despite his contemporary popularity, Odin is remarkably ancient. And as researchers recently found, he’s even older than historians first thought. A new discovery places the earliest recorded mention of Odin in the early fifth century. And there was more to the deity than power and might. He was also a shapeshifter, a shaman and maybe even gender fluid – as our expert
explains.
Leading theories in the realm of Alzheimer’s research generally suggest that the disease is caused by an abnormal accumulation of certain proteins, which lead to tangles in the brain. But a new theory suggests a different trigger – damage to the brain’s energy-producing structures.
Elsewhere, the government continues to operate a deterrence approach to the small boats crossing the Channel in hope of asylum. But, as a border policing expert explains, cracking down on smuggling just makes gangs more organised and the routes more dangerous.
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Anna Walker
Senior Arts + Culture Editor
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Marianne Hem Eriksen, University of Leicester
The discovery of the oldest recorded mention of the Norse god Odin pushes the age of this deity back at least 150 years.
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Afshan Malik, King's College London
Mitochondria, which are found in every cell in the body, play an important role in brain function.
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David Suber, UCL
Arresting smugglers is difficult, and doesn’t make migrants less likely to seek out their services.
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Environment
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Sajida Gordon, Nottingham Trent University
By understanding clothing care labels, you can extend the lifespan of your clothes.
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Mark Zeitoun, University of East Anglia
The first UN conference dedicated to water in nearly half a century is being held in New York.
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Heikki Hiilamo, University of Helsinki
Targeted income support could help tackle big social and ecological challenges.
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Frank Jotzo, Australian National University; Mark Howden, Australian National University
A child born now is likely to suffer, on average, three to four times as many climate extreme events in their lifetime as their grandparents did.
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Politics + Society
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Carl Miller, King's College London
New research shows that antisemitic posts surged as the ‘free speech absolutist’ took over the social media giant. And it has settled at a higher level since.
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Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham
The list of crimes for which Putin is considered complicit is long. The question is whether he can be held accountable.
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Tim Bale, Queen Mary University of London
Nicola Sturgeon has quit and now her husband Peter Murrell has resigned as chief-executive following news the SNP has lost more than 30,000 members since December 2021.
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Science + Technology
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Richard Ramchurn, University of Nottingham
A new film changes its story based on the emotions expressed by the viewer.
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Health
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Samuel J. White, Nottingham Trent University; Philippe B. Wilson, Nottingham Trent University
Air pollution can increase COVID risk by weakening our immune defences and exacerbating underlying health conditions.
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Arts + Culture
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Arianna Maiorani, Loughborough University; Chun Liu, Loughborough University
The language of dance is often lost on a general audience. Now new research has used sensor suits to discover patterns of movement-based communication in ballet performance.
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Business + Economy
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Nikolaos Papanikolaou, Newcastle University
The two central banks were due to raise rates aggressively, but then came the banking crisis.
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Monomita Nandy, Brunel University London; Suman Lodh, Kingston University
Small companies should think hard about their finances and how to make them more secure, particular in uncertain times.
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