The Latest Breaking News from the European Research Council

A Mouse Study Suggests Inherited Genes Help Decide Whether DNA Damage Becomes Cancer

In mice, four genetic backgrounds given identical DNA damage developed tumors that evolved differently, suggesting inherited genes shape cancer paths.

Medical Daily · Jul 29

Friendship, honey and the simple life: 100 years of Winnie-the-Pooh

Isn’t it funny How a Bear likes honey Buzz buzz I wonder why he does Just over a century ago, the satirical writer and playwright A.A. Milne, suffering from the after-effects of fighting in the trenches of World War I, started writing some poems for his only child, Christopher Robin.…

The Conversation · Apr 13

What makes a city beautiful? Here’s what ratings of thousands of urban landscapes reveal

Some buildings leave such an impression when you visit them that they can be forever summoned to the mind’s eye. For us, these include the soaring dome of St Paul’s cathedral in London, the Georgian grandeur of Royal Crescent in Bath, and the ascending towers and pinnacles of King’s College…

The Conversation · Feb 26

Kenya’s peacebuilding efforts hold valuable lessons for the rest of the world, but gaps remain

Kenya has been praised as a “model for the world” when it comes to peacebuilding efforts to manage outbreaks of violence within its borders. The country has systematically put in place a peacebuilding architecture rooted in a history of local peace initiatives. These date back to the early 1990s.

The Conversation · Jun 16, 2025

Two lizard-like creatures crossed tracks 355 million years ago. Today, their footprints yield a major discovery

The emergence of four-legged animals known as tetrapods was a key step in the evolution of many species today – including humans.

The Conversation · May 14, 2025

Homo sapiens regularly crossed the Pyrenees during the Ice Age – here’s what they took with them

A fine mist accompanies the clan as the sun rises and they begin their journey. There are 12 people in total, some of them adults, some children, and others so small that they have to travel on the backs of the women.

The Conversation · May 7, 2025

The 30,000 year old vulture that reveals a completely new type of fossilisation

A surprising discovery in the feathers of a fossil vulture from central Italy has revealed that volcanic deposits can preserve delicate tissue structures in unprecedented detail, offering new insights into the fossilisation process.

The Conversation · Mar 18, 2025

Bogus scientific papers are enriching fraudsters and slowing lifesaving medical research

Over the past decade, furtive commercial entities around the world have industrialized the production, sale and dissemination of bogus scholarly research. These paper mills are profiting by undermining the literature that everyone from doctors to engineers rely on to make decisions about human lives.

The Conversation · Jan 31, 2025

Sierra Leone’s bushmeat markets pose serious health hazards – we studied two for six months to find solutions

You are walking through the bustling centre of Bo, Sierra Leone’s third largest city.

The Conversation · Jun 4, 2024

There are more than 300 ways to work flexibly – here are four tips to make it work for you

Did you know that, according to a recent study, there are more than 300 ways to work flexibly? The list of possible flexible work practices used by an increasingly diverse and ageing workforce has grown significantly since many people were forced to work from home during COVID lockdowns.

The Conversation · Jan 9, 2024