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People who can speak a second language sometimes like to point to research that shows bilingualism appears to make you smarter (or at least means you perform better in certain cognitive tasks). If I were bilingual I’d probably feel smug too. The problem is, however, that lots of other studies show bilingual people perform no better than us more linguistically challenged folk. Even the evidence that learning another language changes your brain structure presents a mixed picture.
So what’s going on? A new generation of research has shown that bilingualism can come in many different forms. And its wider effects likely depend on exactly how you learn and use your different languages. This is helping us build a much clearer picture of exactly what being bilingual means for your brain.
Another area where there doesn’t appear to be a scientific consensus is in the response to the pandemic. Danny Dorling writes that what to do about COVID-19 has divided many scientists into rival camps – and their combative rhetoric is no good for anyone.
And, meanwhile, Hollywood looks set to do particularly badly from the pandemic because its absence from international screens is paving the way for other countries’ film industries to flourish.
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Stephen Harris
Commissioning + Science Editor
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XiXinXing/Shutterstock
Vincent DeLuca, University of Birmingham
Why the benefits of bilingualism aren't consistent.
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Mariscal/EPA
Danny Dorling, University of Oxford
Let's not shut the debate down.
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No laughing matter: Charlie Chaplin in The Kid (1921).
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Gianluca Sergi, University of Nottingham
What Hollywood studio bosses seem not to realise is that they're trying to save US$1 billion but could lose ten times as much as a result.
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Health + Medicine
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Darrin Baines, Bournemouth University
The Test and Trace fiasco shows what happens when a government demands certainty from an unpredictable virus.
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Sarah Pitt, University of Brighton
Both Moderna and AstraZeneca have used cutting-edge designs to reduce their vaccines' development time.
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Katherine Appleton, Bournemouth University; Emmy van den Heuvel, Bournemouth University
Protein is extremely important for our health as we age.
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Environment + Energy
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Jake M. Robinson, University of Sheffield
We must turn pledges into immediate action and restore our ecosystems on a global level.
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Christine Janis, University of Bristol
Why were mammals travelling south through newly-formed Panama so much more successful than those heading north?
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Hannah Budnitz, University of Oxford; Emmanouil Tranos, University of Bristol; Lee Chapman, University of Birmingham
One in five now work exclusively from home in the UK. But remote workers still drive about as often as commuters – though for different reasons.
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Education
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Jenna Mittelmeier, University of Manchester; Miguel Antonio Lim, University of Manchester; Sylvie Lomer, University of Manchester
Shifts in global politics and other countries' response to the coronavirus may have made the UK a more attractive option for international students.
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Daniel Adamson, Durham University
Many young people learn about the Holocaust in school, but their knowledge and understanding of the subject can be limited and based on inaccuracies and misconceptions.
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Business + Economy
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Antonio Savoia, University of Manchester; Kunal Sen, United Nations University; M Niaz Asadullah, University of Malaya
After the pandemic, South Asian governments must spend money on making public services work, rather than relying on GDP growth to pull people out of poverty.
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Politics + Society
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Richard Thomas, Swansea University; Allaina Kilby, Swansea University; Matt Wall, Swansea University
Voters are told little about policy issues as journalists focus on the 'contest'.
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Featured events
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Online, Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9HD, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Leeds
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Swansea University , Singleton Park, Swansea, Swansea [Abertawe GB-ATA], SA3 3DX, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — Swansea University
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Blavatnik School of Government, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX2 6GG, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Oxford
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Sustainable Places Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Cardiff [Caerdydd GB-CRD], CF10 3BA, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — Cardiff University
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