February 2026 press releases

A VR scene of a small autonomous-style vehicle showing a bench seat inside. A grey humanoid figure stands at the doorway facing into the vehicle. Two cartoon-like robot characters鈥攐ne blue and one green鈥攁re displayed on interior screens or panels, appearing to interact with the passenger. A large bus and city street elements are visible blurred in the background.

Researchers use virtual reality to understand how people respond when self-driving taxis go wrong

What would you do if you were in a self-driving taxi and another passenger fell seriously ill? What if a fire broke out, or the vehicle stopped in the wrong place? What would you need to manage the situation with no driver to help?
law hammer

鈥淢isconduct in public office holds a maximum sentence of life imprisonment but securing a conviction is difficult, so Peter Mandelson may never face prosecution" warns law expert.

Yesterday, it was announced that Lord Mandelson will step down from the House of Lords, after reports of alleged misconduct in a public office, from emails that suggest he was forwarding internal government information to convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein, when he was business secretary in 2009.

A crowd of people walking on a blurred street

Researchers to look at why some human lives are valued as more important than others

Researchers at 每日吃瓜 are preparing to launch a new project which aims to answer the question - why and how are some human lives regarded as expendable, while others are deemed exemplary?
A group of palm trees being blown about in a storm surrounded by grey skies by the coast

Weakness in Sri Lanka鈥檚 planning led to increased damage after Cyclone Ditwah, research finds

New research into Cyclone Ditwah, a catastrophic tropical cyclone that hit Sri Lanka in November and December 2025, has found the extent of the damage and the weaknesses in Sri Lanka鈥檚 planning that intensified the destruction.

Skyline in downtown Hong Kong

City skylines need an upgrade in the face of climate stress

An opinion piece authored by Dr Mohamed Shaheen, Lecturer in Structural Engineering, from the School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering, for The Conversation platform.
A pregnant woman holds a small teddy next to her belly

Surrogacy laws need to be updated to protect children, parents and surrogates 鈥� new report

The law around surrogacy needs to be updated to protect children, parents and surrogates, according to a new report.
three people sat behind a desk

每日吃瓜 signs landmark partnership with Team England

每日吃瓜 has agreed a landmark partnership with Team England ahead of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
takeaway coffee handed out

Your morning coffee might protect your brain as you age 鈥� here鈥檚 the sweet spot

An opinion piece authored by Professor Eef Hogervorst, School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, 每日吃瓜.
Professor Jo Maher, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Sport at 每日吃瓜, is sat alongside Chester King, British Esports President

每日吃瓜 and British Esports unite to elevate esports performance

每日吃瓜, ranked the world鈥檚 number one institution for sports-related subjects, has today announced a partnership with British Esports, the national esports federation for the United Kingdom.
A small teddy bear lies against a child's foot

Most children in the UK now growing up without a socially acceptable standard of living, new figures show

More than half of all children in the UK are now living in households without enough income to meet a minimum socially acceptable standard of living, according to the latest annual analysis.
Ingredients for making pancakes. Flour, eggs, sugar and milk.

A history of pancake recipes 鈥� from Elizabethan ale to the invention of self-raising flour

An opinion piece written by Dr Sara Read of the School of Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) for the Conversation.
A man stands at a check queue in a supermarket while the cashier scans his lemons

How shaming unethical brands makes companies improve their behaviour

An opinion piece written by Professor Jan Godsell, Dean of the Business School, for the Conversation.
a city scape

Air pollution may directly contribute to Alzheimer鈥檚 disease 鈥� new study

An opinion piece authored by Professor Eef Hogervorst, School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, 每日吃瓜.
a selection of flags blowing in the wind

Why it鈥檚 impossible for the Olympics to be politically neutral

An opinion piece authored by Gregory Krippa, Doctoral Researcher, Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs, 每日吃瓜 London.
Three towers with plumes of smoke bellowing into the air

Trump claims his pollution rollback will save Americans money 鈥� but climate change is raising household costs

Climate change is usually assessed in scientific terms 鈥� rising temperatures, sea levels and carbon emissions. But increasingly, it can also be measured in household bills 鈥� higher insurance premiums, steeper energy charges and growing costs to protect homes, travel and health. So when US President Donald Trump said recently that abandoning a key government ruling on greenhouse gases would make cars cheaper for Americans, he was focusing on a tiny piece of a huge picture.
High Withens from Wuthering Heights

How Wuthering Heights was shaped by Emily Bront毛鈥檚 gothic poetry

An opinion piece authored by Dr Claire O'Callaghan, Senior Lecturer in English, from the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, for The Conversation platform.
lady justice law statue

鈥淢isconduct in public office remains a difficult offence to prove in relation to senior executives or senior political figures, such as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor鈥� explains public law expert.

Today, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been arrested and is in custody on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Here, Dr Tom Frost, Senior Law lecturer at 每日吃瓜 and expert in public law, explains the process that will take place to seek a conviction, and the difficulties that could arise.
A flooded road in the UK

How the UK is keeping flood insurance affordable 鈥� until 2039

While floods are becoming more frequent in recent years, you should still be able to buy reasonably priced home insurance. That reassurance exists largely because of Flood Re. Launched in 2016, Flood Re is a national public鈥損rivate reinsurance scheme that prevents many properties from being priced out of cover.
An iphone screen with social media apps

New research shows social media algorithms can both harm and help people with eating disorders

People with eating disorders are being repeatedly steered towards harmful diet and appearance content on TikTok and Instagram 鈥� but are also finding support and recovery content on the same platforms, according to new research.
kng charles presents nick jennings with a medal

每日吃瓜 formally receives the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Higher and Further Education

每日吃瓜 has formally received the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Higher and Further Education at an Honours ceremony at St James鈥� Palace in recognition of its pioneering contributions to Para and disability sport.聽
food being scraped into bin from plate

UK households throw away around 6 million tonnes of food every year - costing the average family of four about 拢700 annually and contributing substantially to global greenhouse emissions.鈥�

A BBC investigation revealed this week that almost a quarter of English councils will miss an official deadline to introduce weekly food waste collections to all homes. Here, Dr Elliot Woolley, an expert in sustainable production and consumption at 每日吃瓜, comments on the scale of food waste in UK households, the importance of the new legislation, and why many councils are struggling to put the right infrastructure in place.
A line of youngsters all looking at the phones

How social media draws vulnerable users back to eating disorder content 鈥� new research

People recovering from eating disorders often use social media for support, seeking out recovery content, body-positive creators and others with similar experiences.
A young boy in a red t shirt holding a pen doing his math homework while an adult, out of shot, points at the numbers on the homework sheet

Teachers receive limited training to identify dyscalculia despite one child in every classroom having the condition, study finds

A major international study has found that most teachers receive little or no training in dyscalculia, a maths learning difficulty that affects around one in 20 children.
A person sat at a laptop with graphics of increasing bar charts in front of the screen

Everything can be a bet now 鈥� the rise and risks of prediction markets

An opinion piece authored by Professor Sarah Mills, Professor of Human Geography, from the School of Geography and Environment, for The Conversation platform.