Category: Analysis
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Mission to Mars: how space exploration pushes the human body to its limits
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Damian Bailey, Professor of Physiology and Biochemistry, University of South Wales European Space Agency, CC BY-NC-ND On January 14 2004, the United States announced a new “Vision for Space Exploration”, promising that humans would not only visit space but live there. Two decades later, Nasa’s Artemis…
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Benedict Cumberbatch, John Grisham and Ursula K. Le Guin’s fantasy maps: what to watch, read and see this week
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jane Wright, Commissioning Editor, Arts & Culture, The Conversation The more I see Benedict Cumberbatch on screen the more I marvel at his talent as an actor. Recently I have watched him in Eric on Netflix, as an unravelling Sesame Street-style puppeteer looking for his abducted…
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The Children’s Booker prize will include works of translation – here are five expert recommendations to get your kids excited
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sophie Heywood, Associate Professor in the Department of Language and Cultures, University of Reading The Children’s Booker hopes to get more kids reading. PeopleImages/Shutterstock The buzz around the newly announced Children’s Booker has focused on its potential to “tell kids they matter”, as they get their…
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How your brain keeps falling for the latest beauty fads – and what you can do about it
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Laura Elin Pigott, Senior Lecturer in Neurosciences and Neurorehabilitation, Course Leader in the College of Health and Life Sciences, London South Bank University Our brain’s perception of beauty can be re-trained. bigbambe/ Shutterstock Beauty standards have always evolved, but in today’s social media age, they shift…
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US squeeze on Venezuela won’t bring about rapid collapse of Maduro – in fact, it might boomerang on Washington
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Robert Muggah, Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow na Bosch Academy e Co-fundador, Instituto Igarapé; Princeton University A man rides past a poster of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and an anti-tank barricade in Caracas on Oct. 28, 2025. Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images The U.S. military buildup…
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What is DNS? A computer engineer explains this foundational piece of the web – and why it’s the internet’s Achilles’ heel
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA – By Doug Jacobson, University Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Iowa State University Amazon Web Services, hosted in data centers like this one in Virginia, supports thousands of websites, apps and online services – but not during its recent DNS outage. Nathan Howard/Getty Images When millions of…
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25 Years of the International Space Station: What archaeology tells us about living and working in space
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA – By Justin St. P. Walsh, Professor of Art History, Archaeology and Space Studies, Chapman University The International Space Station has housed visitors continuously for roughly 25 years. NASA The International Space Station is one of the most remarkable achievements of the modern age. It is the largest,…
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Symbolism of cemetery plants: How flowers, trees and other botanical motifs honor those buried beneath
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA – By Shelley Mitchell, Senior Extension Specialist in Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Oklahoma State University The popularity of rural cemeteries spurred the development of the first city parks. Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images If you visit a cemetery, look closely and you’ll likely notice many flowering plants…
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It’s always been hard to make it as an artist in America – and it’s becoming only harder
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Joanna Woronkowicz, Associate Professor of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University About 2.4 million Americans are artists, or 1% of the workforce. Ian Forsyth/Getty Images “Being an artist is not viewed as a real job.” It’s a sentiment I’ve heard time and again, one that…
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Back pain during pregnancy is often dismissed as a passing discomfort − a nurse explains why it should be taken seriously and treated
Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Julie Vignato, Assistant Professor of Nursing, University of Iowa Serious and even debilitating back pain during pregnancy is extremely common. Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/DigitalVision via Getty Images About half to three-quarters of expectant mothers experience pain during pregnancy that is largely untreated, contributing to preventable…