After a meteoric rise to the top ranks of British academia, scholar Jason Arday was found dead at his London home on Aug. 14, 2026.
Arday had spent weeks fighting plagiarism accusations. The way they took on a life of their own in the media ecosystem is a stark reminder of the steep price people can pay in a culture that has made originality a kind of moral virtue.
Jason Arday’s death at 41 came only days after his resignation from the University of Cambridge. He had been facing intense scrutiny of his academic record and allegations of plagiarism.
Arday’s story had also become fodder for the ongoing accusation by some critics that universities pursuing racial diversity do so at the risk of compromising academic merit.
On August 12, Europe – in particular the Iberian peninsula – will look to the sky to witness a historic solar eclipse. We already know when it will begin, how long it will last, and what part of the sun will be hidden behind the moon. Apps on our phones allow us to calculate the exact moment of greatest darkness, and recommend the best places to see it.
But throughout much of human history, eclipses were far more than an astronomical curiosity. Indeed, they were thought to be powerful events, capable of reordering the world itself.
Australian universities will have to adopt their own definitions of racism as of next year. This includes antisemitism, Islamophobia and racism towards First Nations people.
It’s almost midnight when the phone buzzes – a client text, a comment that needs a reply, a trend that will be stale by morning. For the people who run brand accounts on social media, the workday never really ends.
The United States is one of only a handful of countries that allows companies to hold patents on plant varieties. As a result, a small number of corporations can – and do – suppress competition in the seed industry, stifle innovation and turn taxpayer subsidies intended for farmers into corporate profits.
The United States is one of only a handful of countries that allows companies to hold patents on plant varieties. As a result, a small number of corporations can – and do – suppress competition in the seed industry, stifle innovation and turn taxpayer subsidies intended for farmers into corporate profits.
The days of tuning in to the six o'clock news are long over. News audiences are increasingly fragmented, and more than half of us now get our news from social media. This trend is particularly pronounced for younger people, with three in four coming across news on social platforms.
For many countries around the world, December is an intense, commercialized period of gift-giving. Not just within families but across all sorts of relationships, such as gifts between buyers and service providers.
Gift-giving, the act of presenting someone with a gift is intended to convey thoughtfulness, appreciation, or goodwill. The gift can be a tangible item, experience, personal time or gesture. It’s an age-old tradition found across cultures and societies, carrying various meanings and functions that help shape human relationships.
As part of the UK government’s latest economic plan, disabled people may have to look for jobs they can do from home or face cuts to their benefits. Previously, disabled people with limited ability to work may have received benefits without being required to look for work. Now, Laura Trott, chief secretary to the Treasury, has said that disabled people not in work must “do their duty” and work from home.
Like other countries, the UK implemented a number of initiatives to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s economic circumstances. While we know these schemes supported household finances, now we’re beginning to understand how they affected mental health.
I’m often told that degrowth, the planned downscaling of production and consumption to reduce the pressure on Earth’s ecosystems, is a tough sell. But a 36-year-old associate professor at Tokyo University has made a name for himself arguing that “degrowth communism” could halt the escalating climate emergency.
As high global oil prices, spurred by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, drive up the price of fuel and many other things too, there’s pressure on Australian politicians to offer some relief.
There are calls for the federal government to cut the fuel excise (currently 44.2 cents a litre) and for state governments to also respond.
Neil Young has given Spotify an ultimatum: remove the Joe Rogan Experience podcast or Neil Young walks. In a letter to his management team and label, the 79-year-old rocker lambasted Spotify for spreading Rogan’s misinformation about COVID vaccinations.
“I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform,” said Young to his management team and record label.
In 2009, published genome-wide DNA data was not available for a single ancient human individual. Today, there is genome-wide data available for more than 6,000 ancient humans. This rapid expansion of ancient DNA (aDNA) research enables scientists to uncover more information than ever on past human populations, including their genetic adaptations, patterns of migration and mixing, and even clues about our species’ deep past. But this wide availability of aDNA brings ethical questions on how the data is gathered and used to the forefront.