Vasilis Katos, Bournemouth University
It’s a crime story fit for the digital era. It was recently reported that a number of restaurants in New York had been targeted by internet scammers threatening to leave unfavourable “one-star” reviews unless they received gift certificates. The same threats were made to eateries in Chicago and San Francisco and it appears that a vegan restaurant received as many as eight one-star reviews in the space of a week before being approached for money.
Chantal Gautier, University of Westminster
In the digital age, online dating and swiping right are the status quo for romance. Practically gone are the days of meeting “the one” in a pub. But what about flirting by the water cooler or over Zoom? The consensual office relationship has been both a romance trope and a taboo for decades.
Catrin Eames, Liverpool John Moores University
Trauma, such as surviving or witnessing road accidents, natural disasters and violence, can shake up our lives, challenging our core beliefs and views of the world.
Bertie Vidgen, Alan Turing Institute and Angus Redlarski Williams, Alan Turing Institute
As the new Premier League football season gets underway, a few things are certain. There will be goals, drama and excitement, and unfortunately, players will be subjected to vile abuse on social media.
Jonquil Lowe, The Open University
The Bank of England has raised its base rate by 0.5 percentage points, the largest single upward jump in 27 years. It takes the base rate to 1.75%, its highest level since 2008. This latest interest rate hike will affect personal finances and reflects the Bank’s efforts to control rampant inflation amid the cost of living crisis in the UK.
James Lovelock, the maverick scientist and inventor, died surrounded by his family on July 27 2022 – his 103rd birthday. Jim led an extraordinary life. He is best known for his Gaia hypothesis, developed with the brilliant US biologist Lynn Margulis in the 1970s, which transformed the way we think of life on Earth.
Eleni Braat, Utrecht University and Ben de Jong, Leiden University
I was naked, tied to a hard chair with handcuffs. Three or four burly fellows in uniform are standing around me, one of them behind me with a truncheon… ‘Sie sind ein Verräter! [You are a traitor!],’ they snap.
Joanna Moncrieff, UCL and Mark Horowitz, UCL
For three decades, people have been deluged with information suggesting that depression is caused by a “chemical imbalance” in the brain – namely an imbalance of a brain chemical called serotonin. However, our latest research review shows that the evidence does not support it.
Martin Bauer, Durham University and Stephen Jones, Durham University
Ten years ago, scientists announced the discovery of the Higgs boson, which helps explain why elementary particles (the smallest building blocks of nature) have mass. For particle physicists, this was the end of a decades-long and hugely difficult journey – and arguably the most important result in the history of the field. But this end also marked the beginning of a new era of experimental physics.
Patricia Riddell, University of Reading
Imagine you have an interview for a new job tomorrow. Some people might think about what kind of questions they will be asked so that they can prepare, or imagine the interview going well. For others, the thought of an interview will cause them to toss and turn all night thinking of every worst case scenario possible – no matter how outlandish these may be. If you’re someone who has a tendency to do the latter, you are prone to catastrophising.