The Conversation

In June 1348, people in England began reporting mysterious symptoms. They started off as mild and vague: headaches, aches, and nausea. This was followed by painful black lumps, or buboes, growing in the armpits and groin, which gave the disease…

The University of Cambridge has announced that all lectures will be offered online for the academic year beginning in October 2020. Other UK universities are expected to adopt similar policies, adopting a format which blends online learning with more traditional teaching. The announcement…

One part of widespread measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 has been the temporary closure of schools. In the UK, they have been closed since March, but the government has recently announced plans for the phased reopening of schools in…

In the kitchen drawer, most of us have a few old mobile phones and tablets. But few probably realise just how much precious metal they contain. Did you know, for example, that it only takes around 41 mobile phones to…

A few months ago, most people had never heard of the R number. Now, thanks to the novel coronavirus, we all know – or think we know – what it means. R is the reproduction number of an infectious disease…

There are 102 candidate vaccines being explored as a means of ending the COVID-19 pandemic, as of April 30. Eight of these have already made it to clinical trials in humans, and another 94 are in the pre-clinical evaluation stage.…

Many new phrases have entered our vocabulary as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. “Zoom fatigue” refers to the mental exhaustion associated with online video conferencing. We can change how we interact on video calls with adapted social…

Should you wear a face mask when you leave your house? It’s the question no one seems to agree on. In France, the government originally said masks were unnecessary, but this week has made it mandatory to wear them on…

Should people be forced to wear face masks in public? That’s the question facing governments as more countries unwind their lockdowns. Over 30 countries have made masks compulsory in public, including Germany, Austria and Poland. This is despite the science saying masks do little to protect…

Many people are talking about universal basic income (UBI) these days. Giving everyone a guaranteed income could be the solution to many economic woes. But one factor that hasn’t been mentioned much in discussions of UBI is how it might…