The kettle is a household staple practically everywhere – how else would we make our hot drinks?
But is it okay to re-boil water that’s already in the kettle from last time? While bringing water to a boil disinfects it, you may have heard that boiling water more than once will somehow make the water harmful and therefore you should empty the kettle each time.
Such claims are often accompanied by the argument that re-boiled water leads to the accumulation of allegedly hazardous substances including metals such as arsenic, or salts such as nitrates and fluoride.
This isn’t true. To understand why, let’s look at what is in our tap water and what really happens when we boil it.
What’s in our tap water?
Let’s take the example of tap water supplied by Sydney Water, Australia’s largest water utility which supplies water to Sydney, the Blue Mountains and the Illawarra region.
From the publicly available data for the January to March 2025 quarter for the Illawarra region, these were the average water quality results:
pH was slightly alkaline
total dissolved solids were low enough to avoid causing scaling in pipes or appliances
fluoride content was appropriate to improve dental health, and
it was “soft” water with a total hardness value below 40mg of calcium carbonate per litre.
The water contained trace amounts of metals such as iron and lead, low enough magnesium levels that it can’t be tasted, and sodium levels substantially lower than those in popular soft drinks.
These and all other monitored quality parameters were well within the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines during that period. If you were to make tea with this water, re-boiling would not cause a health problem. Here’s why.
It’s difficult to concentrate such low levels of chemicals
To concentrate substances in the water, you’d need to evaporate some of the liquid while the chemicals stay behind. Water evaporates at any temperature, but the vast majority of evaporation happens at the boiling point – when water turns into steam.
During boiling, some volatile organic compounds might escape into the air, but the amount of the inorganic compounds (such as metals and salts) remains unchanged.
While the concentration of inorganic compounds might increase as drinking water evaporates when boiled, evidence shows it doesn’t happen to such an extent that it would be hazardous.
Let’s say you boil one litre of tap water in a kettle in the morning, and your tap water has a fluoride content of 1mg per litre, which is within the limits of Australian guidelines.
You make a cup of tea taking 200ml of the boiled water. You then make another cup of tea in the afternoon by re-boiling the remaining water.
On both occasions, if heating was stopped soon after boiling started, the loss of water by evaporation would be small, and the fluoride content in each cup of tea would be similar.
But let’s assume that when making the second cup, you let the water keep boiling until 100ml of what’s in the kettle evaporates. Even then, the amount of fluoride you would consume with the second cup (0.23mg) would not be significantly higher than the fluoride you consumed with the first cup of tea (0.20mg).
The same applies to any other minerals or organics the supplied water may have contained. Let’s take lead: the water supplied in the Illawarra region as mentioned above, had a lead concentration of less than 0.0001mg per litre. To reach an unsafe lead concentration (0.01mg per litre, according to Australian guidelines) in a cup of water, you’d need to boil down roughly 20 litres of tap water to just that cup of 200ml.
Practically that is unlikely to happen – most electric kettles are designed to boil briefly before automatically shutting off. As long as the water you’re using is within the guidelines for drinking water, you can’t really concentrate it to harmful levels within your kettle.
But what about taste?
Whether re-boiled water actually affects the taste of your drinks will depend entirely on the specifics of your local water supply and your personal preferences.
The slight change in mineral concentration, or the loss of dissolved oxygen from water during boiling may affect the taste for some people – although there are a lot of other factors that contribute to the taste of your tap water.
The bottom line is that as long as the water in your kettle was originally compliant with guidelines for safe drinking water, it will remain safe and potable even after repeated boiling.
Faisal Hai does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
The U.S. Senate narrowly approved on July 16, 2025, a bill that would claw back federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which distributes money to NPR, PBS and their affiliate stations. The US$9 billion rescission package will withdraw $1.1 billion Congress had previously approved for the CPB to receive in the 2026 and 2027 fiscal years. In addition, it makes deep foreign aid cuts. All Democrats present voted against the measure, joined by two Republicans: Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. As long as the House, which approved a previous version, votes in favor of the Senate’s version of the bill by midnight July 18, Trump will be able to meet a budgetary deadline by signing the measure into law in time for it to take effect.
What will happen to NPR, PBS and local stations?
NPR and PBS provide programming to local public television and radio stations across the country. The impact on them will be direct and indirect.
Both NPR and PBS receive money from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, an independent nonprofit corporation Congress created in 1967 to receive and distribute federal money to public broadcasters. More than 70% of the money it distributes flows directly to local stations. Some stations get up to half of their budgets from the CPB.
But NPR and PBS get much of their funding from foundation grants, viewers’ and listeners’ donations, and corporate underwriting. And local public radio and TV stations also get support from an array of sources besides CPB.
“There’s nothing more American than PBS,” said the network’s CEO, Paula Kerger, at a congressional hearing on March 26, 2025.
The nearly 1,500 public media stations in the U.S. rely on a mix of NPR, PBS and third-party producer programming, such as American Public Media and PRX, for the programs they offer. Local stations also produce and air regional news and provide emergency broadcasts for the government.
In rural areas with few broadcast stations and spotty cellphone coverage, public broadcast stations are vital sources of information about important community news and updates during emergencies. Federal support is essential for the programming and day-to-day operations of many local stations and allows for the maintenance of equipment and personnel to operate these vital community resources.
We believe that stations in communities that most need them, especially in rural locations, would be hit especially hard because they rely heavily on CPB funding.
Why is public media necessary when there’s news on the internet?
As journalism revenue has plummeted, public broadcasting has remained a vital source for news in communities across the nation. This is especially true in rural communities, where economic and political pressures have threatened the survival of local journalism.
In addition, with much online news coverage placed behind paywalls, public radio and television plays an important role in making quality journalism available to the American public.
Want crucial information about water systems in your drought-prone community? Public radio station KVMR in Nevada City, Calif., has a program for you. KVMR screenshot
Why did Congress approve these funds 2 years ahead?
Dozens of Native American stations are at risk of closing once the CPB is defunded. Native Public Media, a network of 57 radio stations and four TV stations, is a key source of news and information for tribal communities across the nation and relies on CPB support.
U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican, publicly stated that he secured an agreement with the White House to move $9.4 million in Interior Department funding to two dozen Native American stations. But there is no provision related to this promise within the legislation.
Allison Perlman is the co-chair of the Scholars Advisory Committee of the American Archive of Public Broadcasting.
Josh Shepperd and Allison Perlman are under contract to co-author an update of the history of public broadcasting for Current, public media’s trade journal, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Josh and Allison are not paid employees or vendors of either institution.
Source: The Conversation – in French – By Martine Lagacé, Professeur titulaire, communication et psychologie sociale, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
En 2024, une étude empirique a permis de dresser un portrait nuancé de la réalité des femmes de 45 ans et plus.(Unsplash)
Elles sont qualifiées, engagées, et pourtant souvent invisibles. Les femmes de 45 ans et plus représentent une force croissante sur le marché du travail québécois. Mais leur expérience suffit-elle à les protéger des préjugés liés à l’âge et au genre ?
Au Québec, on observe une augmentation continue du nombre de personnes âgées de 55 à 69 ans qui demeurent sur le marché du travail, particulièrement chez les femmes. Chez ces dernières, le taux d’activité est, en effet, en croissance constante, particulièrement dans la tranche d’âge de 55 à 59 ans (+ 30 points selon l’Institut de la statistique du Québec).
Malgré tout, ce renfort démographique n’est sans doute pas suffisant pour faire oublier les préjugés liés à l’âge et au genre.
Mieux comprendre l’expérience des travailleuses d’expérience
En 2024, une étude empirique, pilotée par notre équipe de chercheurs et mandatée par le Comité consultatif pour les travailleuses et travailleurs de 45 ans et plus, a permis de dresser un portrait nuancé de leur réalité. L’objectif : cerner leur expérience subjective du marché du travail. Comment perçoivent-elles leur emploi ? Qu’est-ce qui les motive à continuer ? Quels obstacles rencontrent-elles, et comment envisagent-elles la retraite ?
Pour répondre à ces questions, 455 femmes âgées de 45 ans et plus travaillant sur le territoire québécois ont répondu à un questionnaire auto-rapporté. Pourquoi ce seuil d’âge ? Car une littérature abondante suggère que dès l’âge de 45 ans, les travailleurs risquent d’être la cible de comportements et de manifestations d’attitudes âgistes.
Dès l’âge de 45 ans, les travailleurs risquent d’être la cible de comportements et de manifestations d’attitudes âgistes. (Unsplash), CC BY
Des 455 participantes, la majorité (55 %) était âgée de 45 à 54 ans, et plus d’un tiers détenaient une formation universitaire. En outre, 88 % de ces femmes se disaient en « bonne » ou « très bonne » santé, physique et mentale. Les quatre secteurs de travail les plus représentés dans l’échantillon étaient l’éducation (28,3 %), la santé (19,4 %), les ventes et services (19,2 %) ainsi que l’administration (80 %). Enfin, la majorité des participantes (58 %) travaillaient dans le secteur public.
Travail valorisant et motivation intrinsèque : un duo gagnant
La majorité des répondantes (84 %) se disent satisfaites ou très satisfaites de leur emploi, surtout lorsqu’elles sont motivées par des raisons personnelles ou sociales : sentiment d’accomplissement, contribution à une mission, défis stimulants.
À l’inverse, celles qui mentionnent la rémunération comme motivation principale se déclarent généralement moins satisfaites. Une tendance qui s’aligne avec la théorie de l’auto-détermination : les motivations extrinsèques, comme l’argent, ne suffisent pas à combler les besoins fondamentaux d’autonomie, de compétence et de lien social.
L’âgisme et le sexisme
Bien que la majorité des participantes soient globalement satisfaites de leur emploi, 27 % d’entre elles qualifient le marché du travail d’âgiste et/ou sexiste envers les travailleuses plus âgées, et près de 20 % évoquent des obstacles concrets. Voici quelques-uns de leurs commentaires :
Dans mon milieu, il y a définitivement un changement face aux femmes de 50 ans et plus. J’ai vu une attitude âgiste chez les hommes qui sont en position d’autorité.
La stigmatisation liée au fait d’être une femme affecte la façon dont mes collègues la perçoivent dans une certaine mesure.
Dur, car l’âge ne joue pas en notre faveur. Le choix est restreint, malgré l’expérience et la maturité, c’est encore un monde où des hommes de 45 ans ont plus de chance d’obtenir des postes de cadre.
Cette perception de discrimination, fondée sur l’âge et/ou le genre, s’exprime aussi sous la forme d’une fracture générationnelle : les travailleuses plus âgées se sentent désavantagées et expriment leur frustration en comparant leur situation à celle des plus jeunes, que ce soit pour les façons de faire au travail ou encore pour les conditions de recherche d’emploi.
Les travailleuses plus âgées se sentent désavantagées et expriment leur frustration en comparant leur situation à celle des plus jeunes. (Vitaly Gariev sur Unsplash), CC BY
Voici certains témoignages de participantes :
Nous sommes en constante compétition. Les employeurs ne veulent pas prendre de risque d’engager une femme de plus de 45 ans. Et la nouvelle génération est très différente.
Très honnêtement, je pense qu’il est difficile pour une femme de cet âge de réintégrer le marché du travail après une perte d’emploi.
Les retombées de la discrimination fondée sur l’âge
Les résultats de l’étude montrent aussi que les participantes qui se sentent victimes de l’âgisme éprouvent une moins grande satisfaction au travail. Elles sont aussi plus nombreuses à envisager un départ à la retraite à court terme, c’est-à-dire au cours de la prochaine année, par comparaison avec celles qui n’éprouvent pas ce sentiment (soit 12,7 % pour les premières et 6,1 % pour les secondes).
Plus encore, les résultats montrent un lien significatif entre le ressenti d’âgisme et la perception de relations plus difficiles, plus tendues avec les gestionnaires, particulièrement avec les plus jeunes. « Il y a beaucoup de micro-gestion, des enjeux de communication, peu d’écoute et de reconnaissance de notre expérience », nous a dit l’une des participantes.
Déjà des milliers d’abonnés à l’infolettre de La Conversation. Et vous ? Abonnez-vous gratuitement à notre infolettre pour mieux comprendre les grands enjeux contemporains.
Enfin, lorsqu’elles sont questionnées sur l’importance de la transmission de leurs connaissances aux plus jeunes travailleurs, la majorité répond par l’affirmative (72 %). Toutefois, celles qui se perçoivent victimes de l’âgisme témoignent du même coup d’un certain manque de réceptivité des plus jeunes travailleurs à l’égard de ces connaissances ainsi que d’une dévalorisation de leur expérience par l’employeur.
Repenser la culture du travail
Dans l’ensemble, ces résultats, même à partir d’un échantillon restreint, corroborent de nombreuses études montrant la persistance de l’âgisme au travail, doublée, pour les femmes, des stéréotypes de genre, en dépit de leur expérience. Cette réalité dépeinte par ces femmes, on peut le présumer, pèse sur leurs décisions d’interrompre malgré elles leur carrière.
La persistance de l’âgisme au travail, doublée, pour les femmes, des stéréotypes de genre, en dépit de leur expérience, teintent la carrière des femmes. (Unsplash), CC BY
L’âgisme ciblant les travailleuses d’expérience demeure un phénomène sous-estimé. Ses conséquences sur le bien-être de ces travailleuses, comme pour la santé des organisations n’en sont pas moins négatives. Or si l’on veut réellement reconnaître la contribution de ces femmes, il est urgent de repenser la culture de nos environnements de travail dans un esprit d’inclusion et d’équité.
Le point de départ pour ce faire n’est autre qu’une prise de conscience, de la part des employeurs comme des travailleurs, de la prévalence des préjugés âgistes et sexistes, et des pratiques discriminatoires qui peuvent en découler.
Martine Lagacé a reçu un financement du Comité consultatif pour les travailleuses et travailleurs de 45 ans et plus pour effectuer cette étude.
Source: The Conversation – in French – By Martine Lagacé, Professeur titulaire, communication et psychologie sociale, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa
En 2024, une étude empirique a permis de dresser un portrait nuancé de la réalité des femmes de 45 ans et plus.(Unsplash)
Elles sont qualifiées, engagées, et pourtant souvent invisibles. Les femmes de 45 ans et plus représentent une force croissante sur le marché du travail québécois. Mais leur expérience suffit-elle à les protéger des préjugés liés à l’âge et au genre ?
Au Québec, on observe une augmentation continue du nombre de personnes âgées de 55 à 69 ans qui demeurent sur le marché du travail, particulièrement chez les femmes. Chez ces dernières, le taux d’activité est, en effet, en croissance constante, particulièrement dans la tranche d’âge de 55 à 59 ans (+ 30 points selon l’Institut de la statistique du Québec).
Malgré tout, ce renfort démographique n’est sans doute pas suffisant pour faire oublier les préjugés liés à l’âge et au genre.
Mieux comprendre l’expérience des travailleuses d’expérience
En 2024, une étude empirique, pilotée par notre équipe de chercheurs et mandatée par le Comité consultatif pour les travailleuses et travailleurs de 45 ans et plus, a permis de dresser un portrait nuancé de leur réalité. L’objectif : cerner leur expérience subjective du marché du travail. Comment perçoivent-elles leur emploi ? Qu’est-ce qui les motive à continuer ? Quels obstacles rencontrent-elles, et comment envisagent-elles la retraite ?
Pour répondre à ces questions, 455 femmes âgées de 45 ans et plus travaillant sur le territoire québécois ont répondu à un questionnaire auto-rapporté. Pourquoi ce seuil d’âge ? Car une littérature abondante suggère que dès l’âge de 45 ans, les travailleurs risquent d’être la cible de comportements et de manifestations d’attitudes âgistes.
Dès l’âge de 45 ans, les travailleurs risquent d’être la cible de comportements et de manifestations d’attitudes âgistes. (Unsplash), CC BY
Des 455 participantes, la majorité (55 %) était âgée de 45 à 54 ans, et plus d’un tiers détenaient une formation universitaire. En outre, 88 % de ces femmes se disaient en « bonne » ou « très bonne » santé, physique et mentale. Les quatre secteurs de travail les plus représentés dans l’échantillon étaient l’éducation (28,3 %), la santé (19,4 %), les ventes et services (19,2 %) ainsi que l’administration (80 %). Enfin, la majorité des participantes (58 %) travaillaient dans le secteur public.
Travail valorisant et motivation intrinsèque : un duo gagnant
La majorité des répondantes (84 %) se disent satisfaites ou très satisfaites de leur emploi, surtout lorsqu’elles sont motivées par des raisons personnelles ou sociales : sentiment d’accomplissement, contribution à une mission, défis stimulants.
À l’inverse, celles qui mentionnent la rémunération comme motivation principale se déclarent généralement moins satisfaites. Une tendance qui s’aligne avec la théorie de l’auto-détermination : les motivations extrinsèques, comme l’argent, ne suffisent pas à combler les besoins fondamentaux d’autonomie, de compétence et de lien social.
L’âgisme et le sexisme
Bien que la majorité des participantes soient globalement satisfaites de leur emploi, 27 % d’entre elles qualifient le marché du travail d’âgiste et/ou sexiste envers les travailleuses plus âgées, et près de 20 % évoquent des obstacles concrets. Voici quelques-uns de leurs commentaires :
Dans mon milieu, il y a définitivement un changement face aux femmes de 50 ans et plus. J’ai vu une attitude âgiste chez les hommes qui sont en position d’autorité.
La stigmatisation liée au fait d’être une femme affecte la façon dont mes collègues la perçoivent dans une certaine mesure.
Dur, car l’âge ne joue pas en notre faveur. Le choix est restreint, malgré l’expérience et la maturité, c’est encore un monde où des hommes de 45 ans ont plus de chance d’obtenir des postes de cadre.
Cette perception de discrimination, fondée sur l’âge et/ou le genre, s’exprime aussi sous la forme d’une fracture générationnelle : les travailleuses plus âgées se sentent désavantagées et expriment leur frustration en comparant leur situation à celle des plus jeunes, que ce soit pour les façons de faire au travail ou encore pour les conditions de recherche d’emploi.
Les travailleuses plus âgées se sentent désavantagées et expriment leur frustration en comparant leur situation à celle des plus jeunes. (Vitaly Gariev sur Unsplash), CC BY
Voici certains témoignages de participantes :
Nous sommes en constante compétition. Les employeurs ne veulent pas prendre de risque d’engager une femme de plus de 45 ans. Et la nouvelle génération est très différente.
Très honnêtement, je pense qu’il est difficile pour une femme de cet âge de réintégrer le marché du travail après une perte d’emploi.
Les retombées de la discrimination fondée sur l’âge
Les résultats de l’étude montrent aussi que les participantes qui se sentent victimes de l’âgisme éprouvent une moins grande satisfaction au travail. Elles sont aussi plus nombreuses à envisager un départ à la retraite à court terme, c’est-à-dire au cours de la prochaine année, par comparaison avec celles qui n’éprouvent pas ce sentiment (soit 12,7 % pour les premières et 6,1 % pour les secondes).
Plus encore, les résultats montrent un lien significatif entre le ressenti d’âgisme et la perception de relations plus difficiles, plus tendues avec les gestionnaires, particulièrement avec les plus jeunes. « Il y a beaucoup de micro-gestion, des enjeux de communication, peu d’écoute et de reconnaissance de notre expérience », nous a dit l’une des participantes.
Déjà des milliers d’abonnés à l’infolettre de La Conversation. Et vous ? Abonnez-vous gratuitement à notre infolettre pour mieux comprendre les grands enjeux contemporains.
Enfin, lorsqu’elles sont questionnées sur l’importance de la transmission de leurs connaissances aux plus jeunes travailleurs, la majorité répond par l’affirmative (72 %). Toutefois, celles qui se perçoivent victimes de l’âgisme témoignent du même coup d’un certain manque de réceptivité des plus jeunes travailleurs à l’égard de ces connaissances ainsi que d’une dévalorisation de leur expérience par l’employeur.
Repenser la culture du travail
Dans l’ensemble, ces résultats, même à partir d’un échantillon restreint, corroborent de nombreuses études montrant la persistance de l’âgisme au travail, doublée, pour les femmes, des stéréotypes de genre, en dépit de leur expérience. Cette réalité dépeinte par ces femmes, on peut le présumer, pèse sur leurs décisions d’interrompre malgré elles leur carrière.
La persistance de l’âgisme au travail, doublée, pour les femmes, des stéréotypes de genre, en dépit de leur expérience, teintent la carrière des femmes. (Unsplash), CC BY
L’âgisme ciblant les travailleuses d’expérience demeure un phénomène sous-estimé. Ses conséquences sur le bien-être de ces travailleuses, comme pour la santé des organisations n’en sont pas moins négatives. Or si l’on veut réellement reconnaître la contribution de ces femmes, il est urgent de repenser la culture de nos environnements de travail dans un esprit d’inclusion et d’équité.
Le point de départ pour ce faire n’est autre qu’une prise de conscience, de la part des employeurs comme des travailleurs, de la prévalence des préjugés âgistes et sexistes, et des pratiques discriminatoires qui peuvent en découler.
Martine Lagacé a reçu un financement du Comité consultatif pour les travailleuses et travailleurs de 45 ans et plus pour effectuer cette étude.
Los 70 alumnos y alumnas que han participado en la cuarta edición del Curso de verano de The Conversation ‘La aventura de divulga ciencia en español con éxito’ en el Palacio de la Magdalena (UIMP) con autoridades, ponentes y Jorge Drexler como invitado de honor. UIMP, CC BY
“Clavo mi remo en el agua, llevo tu remo en el mío / Creo que he visto una luz, al otro lado del río.”
Jorge Drexler, “Al otro lado del río”
Con esos versos –entonados a capela por Jorge Drexler ante un aula entregada– se produjo uno de los momentos más conmovedores del curso La aventura de divulgar ciencia en español con éxito, celebrado del 9 al 11 de julio en el Palacio de la Magdalena de Santander. La sede veraniega de la Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo (UIMP) se convirtió durante tres días en un laboratorio de ideas, gracias a una iniciativa impulsada por The Conversation España, con el respaldo de la Fundación Lilly y la Fundación Ramón Areces.
Lo que allí se vivió fue mucho más que una serie de conferencias y talleres: fue un contagio de conocimiento y entusiasmo por la vida y la ciencia.
La inauguración corrió a cargo del vicerrector del Campus de Las Llamas de la UIMP Francisco Matorras; Rafael Sarralde, el director general de The Conversation; Manuel Guzmán, Gerente en Fundación Lilly; Carolina Pola, colaboradora del comité científico de la Fundación Ramón Areces, y las codirectoras del curso Elena Sanz y Lorena Sánchez. UIMP, CC BY
Lenguaje, cerebro y música: la mente en escena
Uno de los momentos más inspiradores fue el encuentro entre el neurofisiólogo y popular divulgador Xurxo Mariño y el músico y médico de formación Jorge Drexler. A medio camino entre el concierto y la charla científica, ambos desplegaron una conversación fascinante sobre cómo emerge la mente humana.
“El oficio del artista consiste en implantar una parte de su mente en otras personas”, explicó Mariño. “No se puede gozar de Beethoven sin ser un poco Beethoven”, respondía Drexler.
“La creatividad ocurre cuando disminuye la actividad de la corteza prefrontal: se apaga el director de orquesta del cerebro y se abren otras conexiones”, decía Xurxo Mariño. Y puso como ejemplo un momento muy concreto: el instante nada más despertar. Drexler, entonces, cantó con ayuda del público la canción que le valió un Óscar en el año 2005, nacida en un estado de duermevela. “Escribí Al otro lado del río a la luz de la mesita de noche”, confesaba.
Genes, mutaciones y el futuro humano
La genetista y catedrática de la Universidad de Barcelona, Gemma Marfany, arrancó la charla inaugural del curso con una afirmación contundente: “El genoma es una máquina perfecta, pero tiene errores”.
La genetista Gemma Marfany durante una apasionada conversación en Caballerizas, lugar de encuentro de los ponentes en el Palacio de la Magdalena. The Conversation, CC BY
Gemma Marfany habló de mutaciones, de edición genética con CRISPR –“el bisturí con GPS”– y de los dilemas éticos de la selección genética, que permitirá resolver múltiples enfermedades, pero también rediseñar nuestra especie.
“No queremos ser inmortales, queremos ser eternamente jóvenes”, sentenció, en referencia al sueño (o pesadilla) de modificar el ADN humano para mejorar el cuerpo, la mente y, quizá, el destino.
Con ejemplos como la película Gattaca o la historia de Carlos II el Hechizado, un rey que sufrió la maldición de la endogamia de la Casa de Habsburgo, Marfany dejó claro que la genética explica el pasado y condiciona el porvenir: “si modificas tu ADN, estás cambiando el ADN del futuro”.
Océanos, cosmos y física cuántica: lo que aún no sabemos
En una jornada dedicada a los grandes enigmas de la ciencia, la oceanógrafa Núria Casacuberta Arola habló del mar como “el corazón del clima”, advirtiendo que en lo profundo del océano hay más incógnitas que certezas. “Ha habido más personas en la Luna que en la fosa de las Marianas”, recordó Casacuberta Arola, subrayando el desconocimiento sobre el agua que regula la vida en la Tierra.
Nuria Casacuberta Arola ha sido galardonada con la Beca de Retorno de la Fundación Ramón Areces, gracias a la cual trasladará sus actividades científicas al Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC) en Barcelona. La oceanógrafa propuso en el curso un viaje espacial al fondo de los océanos. The Conversation, CC BY
Pablo Martínez Ruiz del Árbol, investigador del Instituto de Física de Cantabria. The Conversation, CC BY
Pablo Martínez comparó la física cuántica con el sushi: “para mi padre, que es de un pueblo de La Rioja, la cuántica es como el sushi, algo que te saca de tu zona de confort”. Y el astrofísico David Galadí, con humor y rigor, confesó que quizás en el futuro nos vean como “gente muy lista que llegó a conclusiones equivocadas”.
La ciencia, coincidieron ambos, solo puede actuar con humildad ante lo infinito por descubrir. Porque por cada conocimiento acumulado, “ampliamos lo que sabemos que no sabemos”, matizaba Martínez.
El astrofísico David Galadí describió la incertidumbre en astrofísica para explicar el universo. The Conversation, CC BY
Corazón, medicina y mentoria: lecciones de una vida
El cardiólogo Valentín Fuster, una de las voces más esperadas, impartió una lección de sabiduría y humanidad en su conversación con la periodista experta en salud Cristina Sáez.
“Con franqueza, soy cardiólogo, pero no entiendo el corazón, un órgano que se mueve cada segundo y no se estropea hasta el final de una vida. He contribuido a entenderlo, pero aún no sabemos realmente cómo funciona: el corazón es un milagro”, confesó.
Valentín Fuster llegó desde Nueva York a Santander. ‘Si hago este viaje es porque considero esencial la divulgación de la ciencia’. UIMP, CC BY
Valentín Fuster narró su trayectoria desde sus inicios, cuando su camino era el de un tenista profesional. “Un año suspendí una asignatura y mi padre puso fin al tenis. Siempre confié en mi padre. Y siempre he hecho lo que me han dicho las personas en las que he confiado”.
Así comenzó la carrera del hombre que introdujo en el mundo la medicina preventiva, que supo encontrar en el colesterol la razón de los infartos de miocardio, y que peleó contra gigantes hasta conseguir la polipíldora para tratar problemas de corazón. El estudio SECURE, publicado en The New England Journal of Medicine, mostró una disminución del 33 % en la mortalidad cardiovascular en comparación con el tratamiento habitual.
La periodista Cristina Sáez, coautora con Valentín Fuster de su libro de memorias, condujo la conversación. UIMP, CC BY
Valentín Fuster habló de la importancia de tener un mentor, de la necesidad de cuidar al paciente como un todo –físico y emocional– y de los peligros de una sociedad que promueve el consumo hasta enfermarnos.
Para él, la clave para una vida íntegra está en lo que llama las “cuatro T”: tiempo para reflexionar, talento cultivado con humildad, transmitir positividad y ser un tutor para los demás.
Cristina Saéz mencionó el altruismo de Valentín Fuster en el trato a pacientes de toda condición social: “Para mí no existen nombres, existen personas, porque si miras por dentro, todos somos iguales”, dijo Fuster.
Pero el corazón no es solo un órgano que late: es un icono universal del amor. Y de amor habló el psicólogo y divulgador Luis Muiño, uno de los conductores de Entiende tu mente, el pódcast en español sobre psicología más escuchado del mundo. Muiño narró, por ejemplo, la historia del matrimonio mudo chino. Mudo, porque durante 60 años no se dirigieron la palabra. Entonces alguien les preguntó por qué seguían juntos. Él respondió: “porque la amo”. Y ella: “porque sé lo que piensa”. Luis Muiño abrió un intenso y apasionado debate con el alumnado planteando preguntas como: ¿por qué nos atrae lo prohibido? ¿Qué podemos hacer los ciudadanos del siglo XXI con las hormonas del Paleolítico? ¿Por qué vemos lo que queremos ver cuando amamos?
Luis Muiño desgranando la ciencia del amor. The Conversation, CC BY
Ciencia con alma
El curso se nutrió de expertos, pero también de historias humanas. Como la de una alumna que recordó a su madre con alzhéimer, que solo conecta con el presente cuando canta canciones del pasado, “y entonces se emociona”. O la de otra alumna que trabaja como intérprete en contextos extremos, por ejemplo, cuando a alguien le detienen en un país en conflicto y no habla el idioma. Ella trataba de buscar una metáfora para definir su papel, algo que le pedía Emilio José García, responsable de la unidad de cultura científica del Instituto Astrofísico de Andalucía (IAA) al frente del taller Cómo hacer una charla de divulgación que no se olvide. La alumna buscaba una metáfora para definirse y alguien del publico propuso: “sois ángeles”.
Emilio José García (IAA) ofreciendo las claves para una charla de divulgación que no se olvide. The Conversation, CC BY
También pidió metáforas Estrella Montolío, catedrática de la Universitat de Barcelona, para su taller sobre la ciencia del lenguaje aplicada a la divulgación. Entre las que escribieron los alumnos está: “Los alimentos transgénicos son como Severus Snape, señalados como perversos y malvados, pero en realidad ambos están protegiendo a las personas”.
Estrella Montolío, catedrática de Lengua Española de la Universidad de Barcelona, recogió metáforas científicas en su taller sobre la ciencia del lenguaje aplicada a la divulgación. The Conversation, CC BY
Herramientas para divulgar
En el curso se entregó al alumnado el libro Comunicando ciencia con ciencia. Promovido por la Fundación Lilly, ha sido elaborado por 36 coautores expertos en comunicación científica.
Marcos Pérez, director de los Museos Científicos de A Coruña y presidente de la Asociación Española de Comunicación Científica (AEC2), Cristina Rico, coordinadora Senior de Programas y Actividades en Fundación Lilly, y Elena Sanz, directora de The Conversation, presentaron el libro Comunicando ciencia con ciencia. The Conversation, CC BY
Las caras de asombro con mayúscula, y exclamaciones consecutivas, se produjeron durante el taller de uso de inteligencia artificial para divulgar ciencia que impartió Carmen Torrijos, lingüista computacional de Progidioso Volcán. En apenas dos horas, como prometió, hicimos un artículo, gráficos, un pódcast y una presentación en PowerPoint sobre la situación de Isla Calima, un archipiélago inexistente, que Carmen Torrijos presentaba amenazado por el cambio climático, y que sirvió como ejemplo para experimentar lo que las inteligencias artificiales generativas son capaces de hacer.
Carmen Torrijos mostró herramientas de inteligencia artificial aplicables a la divulgación de ciencia. The Conversation, CC BY
Durante tres días, el curso fue una constelación de voces, ciencia y emociones. Una muestra de que la divulgación científica en español puede ser, además de rigurosa, profundamente humana.
Las codirectoras del curso Elena Sanz y Lorena Sánchez, con Xurxo Mariño y Jorge Drexler en el punto y final de La aventura de divulgar ciencia. The Conversation, CC BY
In Reframing Blackness, writer and curator Alayo Akinkugbe explores the way that art history is taught, and the impact this has had on what we see in national museums in western cities. This teaching has often led to the exclusion of blackness from mainstream art spaces. Akinkugbe challenges this by shifting our gaze – to see blackness first.
Her book interrogates the place of blackness in relation to art history in several ways. First, she observes that the lack of black curators within national museums in western cities means that blackness is subject to “reactive responses”.
For example, when there was a global outcry after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, institutions reacted by foregrounding their efforts to support black artists and pledging commitments for future initiatives.
But many of these initiatives remain on the surface level and temporary, rather than permanently embedded into the institutional fabric. In my experience, long-term change is unlikely to occur when progress is measured by individual projects, while the decision-making remains in the same hands.
Next, the book draws on Akinkugbe’s experience as a history of art student at the University of Cambridge, during which time there was a call to “decolonise” the curriculum.
She then explores the intersection of race, gender and class, highlighting the double-bind of racial and gender bias that black women may encounter. She suggests ways to shift the gaze by focusing on people of colour depicted in historic artworks, including Portrait d’une Femme Noire (Portrait of a Black Woman) (1800) by Marie-Guillemine Benoist.
Along the way, we are acquainted with figures that have always been present on museum and gallery walls – albeit often ignored or faded into obscurity. Akinkugbe speculates about who some of these unnamed figures were, and what worlds they inhabited.
In Jacques Amans’ painting, Bélizaire and the Frey Children (1837), for example, Bélizaire, a black enslaved child, was over time painted over and faded into the background.
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Akinkugbe provides an overview of exhibitions held between 2022 and 2024 at the Royal Academy in London and the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. And she has conversations with curators at other museums, whose work contributes to the understanding of the complexity of black life experiences reflected in contemporary art.
By engaging in dialogue with the curators of these pivotal exhibitions, Akinkugbe demonstrates a shared commitment to uncovering what has been overlooked – and a commitment to deepening the discourse around blackness.
Cautious optimism
Reframing Blackness draws attention to important considerations for museums, curators and higher education institutions. There’s also food for thought for students who are keen to understand some of the factors that have contributed to the historic exclusion of blackness within museum walls and art education.
The book raises key questions that black cultural producers have grappled with in the UK since the 1960s, at the height of the Caribbean artists movement, and during the British black arts movement of the early 1980s. These movements created vital opportunities for discussion around issues of racial justice, visibility and representation.
Following the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement in mainstream media in 2020, institutions reacted with pledges for self-reflective work that would lead to more black artists’ work being exhibited and collected. Numerous large exhibitions across national museums followed – some of which are discussed in the book, as are the departmental overhauls of art curricula within higher education.
Portrait d’une Femme Noire by Marie-Guillemine Benoist (1880). Louvre Museum
I share in some of Akinkugbe’s optimism – but I do so cautiously.
Following the call to decolonise the curriculum, some art departments in UK higher education have expanded their geographic focus beyond the west. Others have stated their intention to address the legacies of enslavement and colonialism through a commitment to diversity and equality in their job advertisements. Some have done both.
But there are a few hurdles that may limit these efforts. First, newer courses that may not attract sufficient interest are often the first to be cut when budgets are constrained.
Second, if courses offer additional modules that attempt to cover vast areas in the global south, there is a risk of overgeneralising entire continents, marginalising them further. Such symbolic gestures fall short in an attempt to challenge art historical frameworks.
Finally, by adding works by black scholars to reading lists as supplementary instead of core reading, their contributions are treated as being on the margins rather than key producers of knowledge.
Museums have a responsibility to reflect the communities they serve, in a way that respects the individual and collective autonomy of that community. This may be counterintuitive to the museum’s original purpose, which may have been to serve the upper class, showcasing its founders’ interests.
Museums are better equipped to engage communities as partners in shaping their future when permanent staff reflect the diversity of these communities across the intersections of race, gender, class, sexuality and disability. Museum directors have a duty to serve these communities with a long-term commitment to care and accountability.
This book asks us to see blackness first. Akinkugbe guides us closer to a vision that does not require black people to reinsert ourselves, but insists on our resolute presence – both then and now.
This article features references to books that have been included for editorial reasons, and may contain links to bookshop.org. If you click on one of the links and go on to buy something from bookshop.org, The Conversation UK may earn a commission.
Wanja Kimani does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
They persist because they’re made of plastic, a durable material that won’t easily degrade. Plastic can last for decades to hundreds of years. Therefore, governments and manufacturers are eagerly encouraging the use of non-plastics as more “sustainable” alternatives, with the UK banning plastic in wet wipes in 2024.
These textiles can be made from plant or animal fibres such as cotton and wool, or they may be chemically and physically modified, such as rayon or viscose. They are often labelled “biodegradable” on product packaging, suggesting they are environmentally friendly, break down quickly, and are a safe alternative to plastics. But is this really the case?
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My research focuses on investigating the environmental impact of these non-plastic textiles and their persistence in waterways. My colleagues and I have found that some non-plastic microfibres can be just as problematic or even more harmful than plastic.
While non-plastic textiles are not as long-lived as plastics, with many composting within weeks to months, they can last long enough to accumulate and cause damage to plants, animals and humans. Studies by scientists at the University of Stirling show that biodegradable wet wipes can last up to 15 weeks on beaches, where they can act as a reservoir for faecal bacteria and E.coli. Other studies have highlighted non-plastic textiles lasting for two months or more in rivers and oceans, where they break up into hundreds of thousands of microfibres.
These microfibres are so prevalent in waterways that they have contaminated animals across the food chain, from filter-feeding mussels and oysters to top predators such as sharks and the seafood we eat.
They are also found in remote locations as far away as the Arctic seafloor and deep sea, thousands of miles from civilisation. These discoveries highlight that non-plastics last longer than we think.
The dangers of non-plastics
Once exposed to aquatic life, non-plastic microfibres can be easily ingested or inhaled, where they can become trapped in the body and cause damage. During their manufacture, textile fibres can be modified with various chemical additives to improve their function, such as flame retardants, antibacterials, softeners, UV protection and dyes.
Researchers like me, have only just begun to explore the dangers of non-plastics. Some have shown that non-plastic microfibres and their additives can damage the digestive system, cause stress, hinder development and alter immune responses in animals such as shrimp, mussels, and oysters. However, other studies have shown little to no effect of non-plastic microfibres on animals exposed to them.
We do not yet know how much of a threat these materials are to the environment. Only the manufacturers know exactly what’s in the textiles we use. This makes it hard to understand what threats we are really facing. Nevertheless, assumptions that non-plastics are environmentally friendly and an easy alternative to plastic materials must be challenged and reconsidered.
To do this, we need to push for greater transparency in the contents of our everyday items and test them to make sure that they are truly sustainable and won’t harm the world around us. So next time you are browsing the supermarket aisles and come across a pack of “biodegradable” or “environmentally friendly” wet wipes, just question, are they really?
Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?
Daniel James Jolly receives funding from the University of East Anglia, Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, and the NERC ARIES doctoral training pathway as part of his PhD studentship.
He is a student member of the UK Green Party.
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You know when the Kremlin is worried about something – it starts talking about nuclear weapons. And so it was, just two days after Donald Trump revealed he had decided to lift his administration’s pause on the supply of US-made weapons to Ukraine, that Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, raised Russia’s nuclear doctrine. In response to a handy question from a friendly reporter as to whether Russia’s nuclear doctrine was still active, Peskov said: “Russia’s nuclear doctrine remains in effect, and thus, all its provisions continue to apply.”
By saying “all its provisions”, he was emphasising the changes made in December last year which significantly lowered the bar for Russia to use its nuclear deterrent. It states that Russia “reserves the right to employ nuclear weapons” in response to nuclear weapons or “other types of weapons of mass destruction” against itself or its allies.
Whether Putin and his team consider the sorts of weapons the US is prepared to allow Ukraine to use against Russia as weapons of mass destruction is not clear as yet. The US president specifically said that a fresh supply of Patriot systems was already en route to Ukraine from Germany. But he also hinted that other more offensive weapons could also be in the mix. And in a July 4 phone call he is reported to have asked the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, whether he could hit Moscow or St Petersburg, to which Zelensky replied: “Absolutely. We can if you give us the weapons.”
Trump is reported to have gone on to say that it was important to “make [Russians] feel the pain”.
At the beginning of the week, the US president was also keen for Russia to feel the economic pain of indirect sanctions, with 100% tariffs promised against any country buying Russia’s oil. Could this be a turning point?
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Interesting question, says David Dunn. Dunn, professor of international relations at the University of Birmingham, says Trump’s decision – if he follows through with it – pretty much brings the US back in line with its policy under the Biden administration. Particularly now that Trump appears to have ruled out, for the time being, allowing Ukraine to use long-range offensive missiles against targets in Moscow.
As Dunn points out, there’s no sense that Trump has changed his overall tack on what he is looking for from Putin: a ceasefire, rather than, as Biden repeatedly insisted, a settlement that respects Ukrainian sovereignty and restores the land occupied illegally by Russian troops.
Meanwhile the economic pain he promised to inflict on Russia has been scheduled to begin in 50 days. This – as many commentators have been quick to point out – has irresistible echoes of his off-again, on-again tariff regime. So will these sanctions actually happen?
The Russian stock market certainly wasn’t that worried. Shortly after trump made his announcement, the Moscow stock exchange increased by 2.7% and the rouble strengthened. Oil markets also appear to have relaxed, suggesting traders see no imminent risks. Maybe this is another case of “Taco” (Trump always chickens out)?
Patrick O’Shea, an international relations and global governance specialist at the University of Glasgow, believes that the markets’ reaction is more than just indifference to what Trump was threatening. It was relief.
“Trump’s threat isn’t just non-credible, the positive market reaction in Russia suggests it is a gift for Moscow,” O’Shea writes. “The 50-day ultimatum is seen not as a deadline but as a reprieve, meaning nearly two months of guaranteed inaction from the US.”
What has not been widely reported in the UK is that a bipartisan bill making its way through the US congress would have been far more punitive that anything Trump is threatening. Now this has been paused pending Trump’s initiative in 50 days’ time.
Back in Europe, meanwhile, Ukraine’s allies got together in Rome last weekend to discuss what will be needed to rebuild the war-torn country and how to raise the necessary funds. Stefan Wolff was watching proceedings and believes that while countries in the “coalition of the willing” are ready to open their coffers to help Ukraine get back on its feet, the funds so far pledged will not touch the sides.
Ukraine’s allies at the conference have pledged more than €10 billion (£8.7 billion). But, Wolff – an expert in international relations at the University of Birmingham who has contributed regular analysis of the war in Ukraine – points out that this sum looks minuscule alongside the World Bank’s latest assessment that Ukraine will need at least US$524 billion (£388 billion) over the next decade to fund its recovery.
There have been some fairly upbeat forecasts about Ukraine’s potential for growth. The IMF forecasts growth for Ukraine of between 2% and 3% for 2025, which is likely to grow to over 4% in 2026 and 2027. But it cautions that this will not happen without considerable overseas support. And an end to the war. Neither is certain anytime soon.
To Washington, where the US president is having what would probably count as the worst week of his second administration so far. Large sections of his faithful Maga base are in almost open revolt at his seeming reluctance to release what have become known as the “Epstein files”. You may remember he littered his election campaign last year with dark hints about the revelations the files must surely contain about the possible involvement of the rich and powerful in child-sex exploitation. But this week he essentially said it was old news, which was “pretty boring”, adding that “I think, really, only pretty bad people, including fake news, want to keep something like that going.”
This is not only at odds with what he spent much of 2024 saying. It also flies in the face of what his own attorney general, Pam Bondi, said in February when she said Epstein’s client list was “sitting on [her] desk right now to review”. Now of course, the justice department says there is no list. This is not what much of his base wants to hear.
Rob Dover, an intelligence specialist at the University of Hull who has researched conspiracy theories and the people who obsess about them, says this is a dangerous moment for the Trump presidency. He points to Maga unrest over Trump’s decision to bomb Iran and to resume military aid to Ukraine, both of which appear to contradict his pledge to keep the US out of foreign conflicts. Trump’s “big beautiful bill”, which has cut medicaid and other benefits to the poorest people in the US, will also inflict hurt on many is his base. Even his recent musing that he agrees with his health secretary’s questionable assertion that Coca-Cola should be made with sugar cane not corn syrup to “make America healthy again” is sure to anger corn farmers in the Midwest, another core Trump constituency.
“Maga is not a uniform group in belief or action. But if Trump loses either the loyalty of some or they refuse to flex their beliefs as they have done before, it will be politically dangerous for him,” Dover concludes.
I had the great good fortune to visit Sarajevo in December last year where I spent a few days exploring, taking a walking tour of the old town and a wider tour of the whole city which took us across the notional border with the Republika Srpska, one of the two main constituent parts of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The country was created by the Dayton accord, bringing an end to the ethnic conflict in the mid-1990s that saw whole populations displaced as ethnic Serbs and Croats sought to create new pure mini-states by expelling mainly Muslim Bosniaks.
When visiting, I felt a pervading sense that the two parts of the new country sit uncomfortably next to each other – and in recent months the friction has intensified considerably. Birte Julia Gippert of the University of Liverpool, who has researched extensively the conflict in the Balkans and the attempts to bring peace to the region, explains how the situation has become so tense.
Conflict in Syria escalated again this week, with Israeli warplanes launching airstrikes against government buildings in Damascus this week. A Netanyahu government minister, Amichai Chikli, referred to Syria’s leader, Ahmed al-Shara, as “a terrorist, a barbaric murderer who should be eliminated without delay”.
Mixed up in all this is sectarian fighting in southern Syria was has been going on sporadically since al-Shara took power at the end of last year. But, as Ali Mamouri of Deakin University explains, Israel wants to see the emergence of a federal Syria, which the new regime has ruled out. It also want to retain influence in the region and secure its northern border with Syria.
While a ceasefire is in place for now, Mamouri sees the situation as extremely fragile with further clashes “not only possible but highly probable”.
The UK government has announced that the voting age will be lowered to 16 at the next election as part of a wider effort to restore trust in and “future-proof” democracy.
Votes at 16 has grown from a niche concern to become a salient – if contentious – issue supported by most UK political parties and electoral reform groups. The Conservative party remains a holdout – but has never acknowledged the contradiction of its continued opposition to the universal lowering of the voting age while empowering the Scottish and Welsh parliaments to enact the measure during its time in government.
This is a policy response to concerns about declining youth democratic engagement since the late 1990s. Since 1997, the UK general election turnout rate for those aged 65 years and over has consistently been at least 20 percentage points higher than for those aged 18-24.
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Some opponents argue that the Labour government is lowering the voting age to 16 for its own electoral interest, but we should remember this was a clearly stated election manifesto commitment. Votes at 16 was part of the package that delivered Labour to government in 2024 on a huge majority.
That said, public opinion remains steadfastly opposed. The government will need to handle this tension carefully, ensuring that 16- and 17-years-olds are not treated as second-class members of the electorate as this debate pushes forward.
For and against
As when the voting age was universally lowered to 18 in 1969, the case for change has pivoted on perceptions of maturity and markers of adulthood. There was considerable political and public consensus in the 1960s that 18 was the appropriate age of majority and enfranchisement. This link has endured, and many people continue to think under 18s are too socially and politically immature to vote responsibly or regularly.
Supporters of reform emphasise the need to align enfranchisement with other rights realised before or at age 16 – such as paying tax, medical consent, working, autonomy to make decisions about future education and work lives, and undertaking military (if not frontline) service.
Opponents respond by noting the age of majority remains 18, and that the minimum age for many protective and social rights, such as marriage and leaving full-time education, has been pushed upwards to 18 in the past decade or so.
But while 18 remains the legal marker of adulthood, transitions from youthhood to adulthood have become extended and complex. There is no single age point at which young people realise all the social and economic rights and responsibilities associated with adulthood.
Biological maturation extends from late-stage childhood until early adulthood (mid-20s). Traditional markers of adulthood such as financial independence, owning a property, or getting married and having children are occurring later in life than in previous generations.
It is more than 50 years since parliament last reflected and reviewed how society understands, and frames, issues of adulthood and citizenship linked to the ages of majority and enfranchisement. Lowering the voting age to 16 offers a timely opportunity to do so again.
Extensive parliamentary debate lies ahead as this bill makes its way through to becoming law. MPs should take that time to discuss and build consensus around what British democracy should offer young people, and how enfranchisement should be conceptualised for future generations.
Lowering the age is just the start
Now that 16- and 17-year-olds are part of the electorate, we can hope that political parties will improve their responsiveness to the interests of young people.
Unfortunately, where the voting age has already been lowered, we’ve not yet seen parties address their skewed decision-making, representation or electoral behaviour, which continues to favour older voters. The average age of elected representatives has remained around 50 years of age in all UK national and devolved parliaments, and higher in local government. Few young people join political parties or are active in their campaigning.
There is also significant evidence that, regardless of whether the voting age has been lowered or not, young people are not appropriately supported to be politically and media literate to understand how and when to vote, and to make informed and independent voter choices.
So, lowering the voting age should only be the first step in a more concerted effort to improve political literacy and democratic engagement as young people grow up. This should begin in primary, not secondary, school and continue through further and higher education.
Elected representatives should hold regular school surgeries where they meet children and young people, and listen and respond to their issues and concerns. Young people need to learn to discuss political issues in school settings, and political parties should host election hustings in schools and colleges. Young people should also be involved in decision-making in their schools and communities.
Lowering the voting age offers an opportunity to reinvigorate how we host elections to ensure young people enjoy voting for the first time – and encourage their future participation.
Making electoral registration automatic, as the government has promised, will help. But joining the electoral roll is a significant civic moment in young people’s lives. Schools should host electoral registration ceremonies where pupils are welcomed into the electorate by local elected representatives, and automatically given a voter authority certificate so they have an appropriate piece of voter ID.
Political parties need to embrace this once-in-a-generation opportunity that voting age reform presents to secure the future health of British democracy.
Andrew Mycock does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Earth’s continents may look fixed on a globe, but they’ve been drifting, splitting and reforming over billions of years – and they still are. Our new study reveals fresh evidence of rhythmic pulses of molten rock rising beneath east Africa, reshaping our understanding of how continents break apart.
Our findings could help scientists understand more about volcanic activity and earthquakes.
There are around 1,300 active volcanoes on the Earth’s surface. Active volcanoes are those thought to have had an eruption over the last 12,000 years or so. Of these volcanoes, over 90 lie on the East African Rift Valley – the seam along which Africa is splitting apart. This weak seam of crust may even allow a new ocean to form over the next few million years.
Although ocean formation is happening around the world, and has been for several billion years, there are few places on Earth where you can study different stages of continental breakup at the same time. This is because they normally become submerged under water as the Earth’s crust thins, and seawater eventually inundates the rift valley.
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The Rift Valley is different. There is, at its northern end (in Ethiopia) a place called Afar, which sits at the meeting point of three rifts. These are called the Red Sea Rift, the Gulf of Aden Rift, and the Main Ethiopian Rift (see the map below).
The Red Sea Rift has been spreading for the last 23 million years, and the Main Ethiopian Rift for the last 11 million years. There are active volcanoes across all three of these rifts. In Afar, all three rifts are at least partly exposed, with the Red Sea Rift and Main Ethiopian Rift having the most exposure.
Volcanic rocks that erupt when Earth’s tectonic plates spread apart provide a window into the inner Earth that wouldn’t otherwise be accessible. Each lava flow and volcano has its own story that is recorded in the rock and we can learn about that through geochemistry – the concentrations of the elements that make up the rock – and mineralogy – the minerals within the rock.
Analysing these things can tell us about the depth at which the melting rock formed and roughly where in the Earth’s mantle it formed. In our new study, we analysed over 130 new lava samples, obtained from the Afar rock repository at the University of Pisa and our own fieldwork.
We used these samples to investigate the characteristics of the mantle beneath this rifting, when tectonic plates are moving apart from each other. These samples are from Holocene eruptions (rocks younger than 11.7 thousand years old) from across Afar and the East African Rift.
Geodynamic model, showing what happens in the mantle (brown) as the plates (green) rift apart. At approximately five seconds (equivalent to 35 million years) into the video the seafloor ridge has formed.
Since the 1970s, scientists have believed that there is a mantle plume beneath the Afar region. Mantle plumes are a portion of abnormally hot mantle (around 1,450°C) or unusual composition of the mantle (or both) below the Earth’s surface. Scientists think it pushed some of the mantle to the Earth’s surface. Our study not only confirms the presence of a mantle plume in this region, but also gives scientists details about its characteristics.
We discovered that the mantle plume beneath the region rises beneath the tectonic plates in pulses, and the pulses have slightly different chemical compositions.
There are mantle plumes around the world. They can be identified in the geological record as far back as several billion years. Each of the plumes has different characteristics – with their own unique chemical composition and shape.
One mantle plume still active today is the one lying below the Hawaiian islands. These islands are part of the Hawaiian Emperor chain, formed over the last 80 million years or so, and are still forming today. The islands originate from the Pacific tectonic plate slowly moving across the top of a mantle plume, making lava bubble up, erupt and eventually solidify as rock.
This plume melts the Earth’s mantle and forms magma, which over long periods results in the formation of an island chain or breaks up continents. It can also form volcanoes along a rift in the Earth’s crust, as we see in east Africa. The Hawaiian plume signature comes from two chemical compositions rising up through the mantle together like two vertical strands.
In our study, we created several scenarios of what the plume looks like and then used mathematical modelling to see which plume scenario best fit the sample data. Using this data-driven approach, we show that the most likely scenario is a singular plume that pulses with different chemical compositions.
The three rifts in Afar are spreading at different rates. The Red Sea Rift and Gulf of Aden Rift are moving faster at about 15mm per year (that’s half the rate your fingernails grow at) compared to the Main Ethiopian Rift moving at about 5mm per year. We deduced that the pulses are flowing at different speeds along the stretched and thinner undersides of the tectonic plates.
All this shows us that the motion of tectonic plates can help focus volcanic activity to where the plate is thinner.
This finding has important implications for how we interpret volcanic and earthquake activity. It may indicate that volcanism could be more likely to occur in the faster spreading and thinner portions of the rift, as the flow beneath replenishes the magma more frequently.
However, the eruptions here may be less explosive than the slower spreading rifts. This fits observations that explosive eruptions occur more frequently in the Main Ethiopian Rift (which sits on a thicker part of the plate and where the volcanoes are more mature), compared to the Red Sea Rift.
Our understanding of the link between continental rifting and mantle plumes is still in its infancy but research is already providing insights into how tectonic plates affect mantle plumes and how this might be recorded in the future seafloors of Earth.
Emma Watts works for Swansea University. She receives funding from Natural Environment Research Council and the UK Research Council.
Derek Keir works for the University of Southampton. He receives funding from the Natural Environment Research Council.
Thomas Gernon works for the University of Southampton. He receives funding from the WoodNext Foundation, a donor-advised fund program, and from the Natural Environment Research Council.
