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Nanotechnology is the use of materials that are one-billionth of a metre (a nanometre) in size. One of its potential uses is to clean up whatever is contaminating water supplies. Analytical chemist Philiswa Nomngongo, a leading researcher in nanotechnology for water in South Africa, tells The Conversation Africa what kinds…

Suggesting that a river could be alive has the potential to change everything. Robert Macfarlane, one of Britain’s best-read writers on the natural environment, has done just this in his latest book.

Ahead of a public event in London on May 8 on what the latest research can tell us about the state of democracy, The Conversation asked Scott Williamson, Associate Professor in Comparative Political Economy at the University of Oxford, to help us understand why people don’t always immediately push back…

The Trump administration’s cuts to funding for American universities and research have left many scientists reeling and very worried. At the National Institutes of Health, which has an annual budget of US$47 billion to support medical research both in the U.S. and around the world, nearly 800 grants have been…

Rapidly phasing out fossil fuels and limiting energy consumption to tackle climate change is “a strategy doomed to fail” according to former UK prime minister Tony Blair.

In 1989, the science fiction author Ursula K. Le Guin published The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction. In it, she notes that many stories depend heavily on a hero with a sword or weapon as a central object, while bags seem boring and insignificant.

The second Trump administration has announced various anti-climate policies under its “America first” strategy. Leaving the Paris agreement, kicking off a trade war, shutting down USAid and drilling for more oil and gas will not only undermine the US’s international reputation but will undermine the global effort to combat climate…

Labor will be encouraged by the Liberals’ victory in Canada’s election, undoubtedly much helped by US President Donald Trump.

Another election, another wave of unsolicited political texts. Over this campaign, our digital mailboxes have been stuffed with a slew of political appeals and promises, many from the new party Trumpet of Patriots (backed by Clive Palmer, a veteran of the mass text campaign).

Hospital visits usually involve a medical emergency or appointment. The last thing on most patients’ minds will be how the building works. We expect the lights to be on, medical equipment to work, a comfortable room temperature, healthy food, an appropriate layout with efficient routes between departments and all the…

Climate breakdown poses immense threats to global economies, societies and ecosystems. Adapting to these impacts is urgent. But many cities and countries remain chronically unprepared in what the UN calls an “adaptation gap”.