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October 2021
How Jamie Spears Spied on Britney Spears Through iCloud
Dr Leonie Tanczer explains how iCloud can be used to spy on people's iPhones and how it abuses the device's expected functionality. Read: Vice
August 2021
Climate change: Five things we have learned from the IPCC report
Professor Arthur Petersen says "I think there's not one single kind of new surprise that comes out, it's the over-arching solidness that makes this the strongest IPCC report ever made". Read: BBC News
Climate change: New report will highlight 'stark reality' of warming
Professor Arthur Petersen says that there has been reluctance among the IPCC to include a plausible upper limit on sea-level rise in previous IPCC reports. Read: BBC News
July 2021
What we can learn about risk from the COVID experience
Humans don’t perceive risk accurately, and it’s important that we learn the right lessons about risk from the Covid-19 pandemic, says Professor Geoff Mulgan. Read: The Conversation
Systems Approach to Net Zero
Professor Jeremy Watson discusses a system approach to get to Net Zero including the main challenges to get to net-zero, decarbonising buildings, and government action and priorities. Listen: Foundation for Science and Technology
June 2021
How France is testing free public transport
Fare-free public transport has potential benefits for low-income households and struggling high streets, says Dr Jenny McArthur. Read: BBC Worklife
A widespread internet outage affects major websites
Following the major Fastly outage, Professor Madeline Carr says there needs to be a level of accountability for companies that provide the infrastructure for websites. Read: New York Times, More: Vanity Fair
It’s far too easy for abusers to exploit smart toys and trackers
Dr Saheli Datta Burton and Professor Madeline Carr expand on their recent research on the need to standardise the minimum security requirements for smart toys and health trackers. Read: The Conversation, More: Yahoo News
Shell ordered to cut its emissions – why this ruling could affect almost any major company in the world
Professor Arthur Petersen discusses the wide-ranging implications following the ruling by a Dutch court that the major oil and gas company, Royal Dutch Shell, must implement stringent carbon dioxide emissions cuts within the next few years. Read: The Conversation, More: Carbon Brief, QRIUS
May 2021
How people think about risks, politics, and sustainable development
Professor Arthur Petersen and PhD Candidate, Frank Chuang, argue that to resolve sustainability disputes, from sustainable mobility to development, we need to understand each other’s worldviews and ideals. Read: The Science Breaker
April 2021
From bioweapons to super soldiers: how the UK is joining the genomic technology arms race
PhD candidate, Yusef Paolo Rabiah writes that there are signs that the UK will be bolder and less accountable in its genetic defence research than many other countries. Read: The Conversation, More: Australian Times
Abusers could exploit fitness trackers to control victims
A report by Dr Saheli Datta Burton, Dr Leonie Tanczer, Professor Madeline Carr and Dr Srinidhi Vasudevan (UCL STEaPP) and Professor Stephen Hailes (UCL Computer Science) has found that fitness devices and children’s smart toys, as well as other connected devices, can be easily manipulated by domestic abusers seeking to access private information and control victims. Read: The Independent (in print), More: Daily Telegraph, The Sun, The Times (all in print)
March 2021
The Guardian view on urban insecurity: build a feminist city
The Guardian highlights Dr Ellie Cosgrave's research on inclusion in urban planning, including her 2019 TED talk on The Feminist City, and why it is vital to developing cities and towns that are safe for women and girls. Read: The Guardian
Safe city design
Dr Ellie Cosgrave discusses how town planning can be used to help create safer spaces for women. Listen: BBC Woman's Hour (19 mins), More: BBC You and Yours (from 11 mins 46 secs); BBC News, The Times (£)
February 2021
My Perfect City: Communities in Barcelona
Dr Ellie Cosgrave tests the credentials of the Barcelona “village city” model and considers Addis Ababa’s attempts to build brand new liveable condominiums. Listen: BBC World Service: The Compass
January 2021
My Perfect City: Women entrepreneurs in Kochi
Dr Ellie Cosgrave assesses Kochi’s achievements as a hub for women-led businesses, which not only boosts the economy but has lasting development benefits for society as a whole. Listen: BBC World Service: The Compass
World Health Organization 'Should Do More To Help Poor Countries' Rather Than Criticize Rich Ones
Dr Juilus Mugwagwa argues WHO needs to play its part in ensuring poorer countries develop the mechanisms and structures to be able to deploy the vaccines to their populations. Read: Newsweek