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I have one child – and I’m not really planning on having any more. While I’m more than content with my little family, I can’t pretend I haven’t thought at length about the decision. I’m still thinking about it. No one asks – or wonders, really – why someone has two children. But the perception remains that having just one is an unusual choice. What will they be like, growing up with no siblings?
Luckily for me and my countless internet searches on the topic, this is where rigorous research steps in. Unlike the questionable studies carried out in the 19th century – which started some negative and very persistent myths about only children – modern research has shown that only children are just like everyone else. Dr Alice Goisis’ work adds further evidence. Her research with colleagues has found that only children’s cognitive development is more affected
by their parents’ relationship and the finances of their family than whether or not they have siblings.
Instead, then, I’m going to worry about the vast rise in numbers of Asian hornets in the UK, and the threat they pose to bees across Europe: eating them as well as scaring them away from flowers. And I’ll be marvelling at how flowers
themselves survived the mass extinction event that saw off the dinosaurs.
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Grace Allen
Education and Young People Editor
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Motortion Films/Shutterstock
Alice Goisis, UCL
Only children’s cognitive development by age 11 is more affected by things like their parents’ relationship and wealth than whether they have brothers and sisters.
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The Asian hornet is a species of hornet indigenous to south-east Asia.
ThomasLENNE/Shutterstock
Philip Donkersley, Lancaster University
Invasive Asian hornets are a top predator of bees in the UK – and sightings are starting to soar.
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Zamurovic Brothers/Shutterstock
Jamie Thompson, University of Bath
The fossil record tells conflicting stories about what happened to flowering plants after the asteroid.
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Politics + Society
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Jennifer Mathers, Aberystwyth University
The joint statement that emerged from the G20 summit in New Delhi reflected the growing influence of the global south in world affairs.
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Nora Siklodi, University of Portsmouth; Nándor Révész, University of Portsmouth
Commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s 2023 state of the union speech saw her press for expansion for the union’s own good.
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Peter Whitewood, York St John University
Vladimir Putin’s propaganda about the Russian invasion of Ukraine reflect themes once propagated by Vladimir Lenin.
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Antonia Finnane, The University of Melbourne
A new draft law on public security includes a clause criminalising the wearing of clothes that might be ‘hurtful to the spirit and sentiments of the nation’.
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Arts + Culture
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Farnush Ghadery, London South Bank University
Social movements around the world use music in their struggle for freedom and equality.
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Deborah Shaw, University of Portsmouth
As a passionate and partisan defender of Allende’s socialism, Guzmán’s films celebrate popular protest and struggles for democracy and equality in Chile.
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Mike Jones, University of Tasmania
A focus on relationships is relatively new. But if museums are to remain relevant, trusted institutions they need to move beyond traditional models of authority.
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Business + Economy
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Stephen Morgan, University of Nottingham
As a key UK trading partner, the government should tread carefully when addressing the very real risks posed by China.
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Christina Philippou, University of Portsmouth
The new market has helped some Premier League clubs to balance their books.
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Health
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Mohammad Saleh Farazi, London South Bank University; Bez Sea, Université de Montpellier; Irene Georgescu, Université de Montpellier
Patient online comments are often underused, if they are used at all.
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Nick Fuller, University of Sydney
Our metabolism naturally slows down as we age and becomes dysfunctional after dieting. Here’s what you can do to give yours a boost.
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Science + Technology
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Ian Whittaker, Nottingham Trent University
The results are intriguing, but analysing the atmospheres of exoplanets is no easy task.
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Worth another look
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Carl Emmerson, Institute for Fiscal Studies
The reintroduction of the pensions triple lock means the increase in weekly payments could vastly outpace earnings growth
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