Vladimir Putin, newly elected as Russian president for a fifth term (and being hailed, apparently, by some ultra-nationalist supporters as “imperator” like the tsars before him) has been leading his country’s May 9 Victory Day celebrations in Moscow. As we’ve come to expect, there’s been the usual mix of pomp, nostalgia and military hardware. It has been said in May each year since Putin sent his war machine across the Ukrainian border in February 2022 that the imperator would want to have a significant battlefield triumph to announce as the country commemorates the Soviet Union’s victory over ..read more

GaudiLab/Shutterstock We all want to feel like we belong. Psychologists have known this for a long time, describing belonging as a fundamental human need that brings meaning to our lives. Traditionally, this need was filled by family and community networks. But as society becomes more individualised, with many people moving away from their community and family, the workplace has become an increasingly important source of meaning, connection and friendship. Many employers know the value of belonging, boasting that their organisation is like a family – a place where everyone is welcome and takes ..read more

Realstock/Shutterstock The last thing anyone wants is for sex to be a headache. For some people, though, an increase in sexual excitement can be a real pain in the neck. Primary headache associated with sexual activity (PHASA) describes at least two bouts of pain in the head or neck brought on by sexual activity. The headache can escalate gradually during sexual activity or it can be an intense headache just before or during orgasm. PHASA can be intense for between a minute to 24 hours or mild for up to three days. The most common type is a rapid intense headache at or around orgasm. These hea ..read more

DavideAngelini/Shutterstock Securing a job that you find meaningful – work that you think is significant and value positively – may be one of your most important career goals. But there can be a negative side to doing work that you’re passionate about. It can lead to placing too much of your sense of self in your work – and strain on your mental health and relationships. People who derive a strong sense of meaningfulness from their work may overidentify with their professional roles. This means that their work becomes their primary, and sometimes only, source of self-definition and self-worth ..read more

Galaxy rotation has long perplexed scientists. Nasa/James Webb Telescope One of the biggest mysteries in astrophysics today is that the forces in galaxies do not seem to add up. Galaxies rotate much faster than predicted by applying Newton’s law of gravity to their visible matter, despite those laws working well everywhere in the Solar System. To prevent galaxies from flying apart, some additional gravity is needed. This is why the idea of an invisible substance called dark matter was first proposed. But nobody has ever seen the stuff. And there are no particles in the hugely successful Standa ..read more

When he died in August 2022 at the age of 88, there was a great outpouring of affection for the British cartoonist and illustrator Raymond Briggs. He was loved by children and adults alike for his detailed, humorous and often poignant portrayals of British life, stinky green-hued creatures, a grumpy Father Christmas, and a magical snowman and the little boy who loved him till he melted. Now, a new exhibition at the Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft brings together items from Briggs’s estate, with over 100 original artworks from his 60-year career. It focuses on his genius for book illustration ..read more

Young Vietnamese people at a demonstration in London. Author's own, Author provided More than 200 mostly young people gathered outside the Vietnamese embassy in London to protest against Vietnam’s ruling communist party, demanding the release of all prisoners of conscience and to call for democratic reforms. What was interesting about this protest, that I attended in December 2023, was the age of the protesters. They were mostly young people who grew up in Vietnam, and this was the first protest many had ever participated in, having only left the country a few years ago. Back in Vietnam, there ..read more

Yuganov Konstantin/Shutterstock Small really does seem to be beautiful in evolutionary terms. The largest dinosaurs, pterosaurs and mammals may look impressive but these giants are vastly outnumbered by microscopic bacteria and single-celled algae and fungi. Small organisms are also ancient and incredibly resilient. The first evidence of single-cell organisms dates from around 3.8 billion years ago, soon after the newly formed Earth had cooled enough for organic life to emerge. Multicellular animals evolved less than a billion years ago, with bigger and more complex animals appearing a little ..read more

Sickle cell disease affects between 12,500 and 15,000 people in England. Ezume Images/ Shutterstock A drug that can treat severe sickle cell disease has recently been given approval by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice). Up to 4,000 patients in England living with sickle cell disease will now be offered voxelotor (also known under the brand name Oxbryta) to alleviate their symptoms. Sickle cell disease is a genetic condition that affects red blood cells, causing them to deform into a sickle shape. This can block blood flow, leading to painful episodes and severe healt ..read more

The weather is warmer and the nights are lighter. What are those black, curved silhouettes looping in the sky? Assuming you are looking at birds and not attending the World Boomerang Championships, those shapes will likely be the UK’s only breeding member of the Apodiformes (a grouping that includes the hummingbirds): the common swift (Apus apus), harbinger of summer. People in the UK tend to think of these birds as theirs, but really, they are tropical African species that spend a few months of the year at temperate latitudes. Competition for food, shelter and mates is intense in the tropics ..read more