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The quantity and complexity of commercial wildlife trade laws has grown globally over the past century. A new study examines wildlife trade laws in 11 countries and finds that a country’s Global Biodiversity Index does not correlate with the extent of its legislation that addresses the trade in wildlife. The…

Sediments are more than just layers of mud on the ground. They can reveal a wealth of information about landscapes from millions of years ago right up to the present day. To delve into those layers, scientists like me collect samples by sediment coring in peat bogs, lakes, saltmarshes and…

This article is part of The Conversation’s “Retirement” series where experts examine issues including how much money we need to retire, retiring with debt, the psychological impact of retiring and the benefits of getting financial advice.

When she passed her PhD viva, literature researcher Ally Louks posted a picture of herself and her thesis on X (formerly Twitter) in November 2024. The photo shared her thesis title: “Olfactory Ethics: The politics of smell in modern and contemporary prose”. The post garnered over 11,000 responses, some deeply…

The UK’s food system is fundamentally broken. As a researcher of the global agricultural system, I believe drastic, bold change is needed – and that community restaurants are an important model to consider.

Watching a pet dog run free can be a source of joy for many people. But letting your dog off the leash is not so good for wildlife, especially if you’re in an area set aside for native species.

The fall of President Bashar al-Assad has left a critical question: After a half-century of brutal dynastic rule has come to an end, who speaks for Syrians now?

In the early hours of December 3 1984, 27 tonnes of toxic gas methyl isocyanate leaked from a storage tank at Union Carbide Corporation’s pesticide plant on the outskirts of the central Indian city of Bhopal. Amnesty International estimates that more than 22,000 people have died as a result of…

Extensive flooding of the River Thames and its tributaries across south-east England in February 2014 was caused by extraordinary weather conditions. Very heavy rain had fallen on ground already saturated by multiple storms since the previous December. Hundreds of residents were evacuated and the flooding damaged thousands of homes and…

It is a common refrain to say that geopolitics gets in the way of climate action. From the war in Ukraine to trade tensions, each year seems to bring another immediate priority that diverts focus from the imperative to act on climate change.

Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.