When Children Lead in Crisis: What the Pandemic Revealed About Young People, Empathy, and the Future of Disaster Literacy

In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, a familiar narrative took hold across the world. Children, it was often said, were among the most vulnerable. Their schools closed, their routines vanished, and their social worlds shrank overnight. Yet beneath this narrative, another quieter story unfolded, one that challenges how we think about children in times of crisis. Instead of remaining passive recipients of care, many young people stepped forward as helpers, problem-solvers, and advocates for others at risk of the deadly virus.

As generative AI becomes ever more convincing at mimicking human text, many universities and academic institutions have come to rely on AI detection tools to police academic integrity. However, recent research has clearly demonstrated that these tools are not only ineffective, they are also amplifying systematic injustices in academia. Jenni AI presents a smarter workspace for drafting, citing, and proofreading: helping students and researchers make the best possible use of AI tools while ensuring their academic integrity is preserved.

Mental health is increasingly recognised as a vital part of human well-being, yet the legal systems that protect people with mental illness have often developed slowly. In South Africa, the story of mental health legislation is a powerful example of how societies move from fear and control toward dignity and rights. The research of Prof. Letitia Pienaar of the University of South Africa explores this transformation and reveals how law, history, and human experience have shaped the country’s modern approach to mental health care. Her work shows that progress has been significant, but it also highlights the continuing challenges in turning legal promises into real protection for vulnerable people.

On a sweltering summer day, most of us notice the obvious effects of heat. We feel slower, more irritable, and eager to escape the sun. What is less obvious is how these same conditions quietly reshape our behavior behind the wheel. A recent study led by Prof. José Ignacio Nazif-Muñoz of the University of Sherbrooke in collaboration with Prof. Jose Guillermo Cedeño Laurent of Rutgers University explores this hidden connection, revealing how heatwaves and urban heat patterns influence road safety across five cities in Québec. The findings offer a timely reminder that climate change is not only an environmental issue but also a public safety concern that touches everyday life in unexpected ways.

Ko si predstavljamo raziskave, povezane z vesoljskimi odpravami, pogosto pomislimo na rakete, astronavte in tišino orbite. A se nekatere najpomembnejše ugotovitve o življenju zunaj Zemlje odvijajo daleč od vesolja, v tihih sobah, kjer ljudje več tednov nepretrgoma ležijo. To so študije dolgotrajnega ležanja, edinstven raziskovalni model, ki simulira učinke mikrogravitacije na človeško telo tako, da udeležence prosi, naj dlje časa ostanejo v ležečem položaju. Čeprav so te študije zasnovane z namenom raziskovanje mišic, kosti in presnove, ustvarjajo tudi nenavaden družbeni svet. Kaj se zgodi z medčloveškimi odnosi, ko je gibanje omejeno, rutine in dojemanje časa pa se spremenijo.

The story of climate change is often told through numbers. Rising temperatures, increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide, and tightening timelines toward global climate targets dominate headlines. Yet behind these numbers lies a quieter, more complex story of engineering innovation. It is a story about how we might redesign industrial systems to reduce emissions without dismantling the infrastructure that modern life depends on. At the center of this effort is carbon capture, a technology that has shifted from theoretical promise to practical necessity.

In many people’s minds, the arts and the sciences still occupy separate worlds. Science is often imagined as precise, objective, and technical, while the arts are seen as expressive, subjective, and emotional. These stereotypes are reinforced by the way higher education is organized, with students urged to specialize early and remain safely within disciplinary boundaries. Yet the challenges that shape contemporary life rarely respect those boundaries. Climate change, biodiversity loss, public health crises, and social inequality are problems that demand not only data and analysis, but also imagination, empathy, and the ability to communicate across cultures and perspectives to achieve meaningful change. In this context, the growing movement to integrate arts and sciences in higher education is not a luxury or an experiment. It is a necessity.

Deep inside the body of a developing bird lies a small, often overlooked organ that quietly orchestrates one of the most essential processes of life: the making of immune cells. This organ, known as the bursa of Fabricius, is not widely known outside scientific circles, yet it plays a central role in shaping how birds defend themselves against disease. Within its folds, an intricate story unfolds, one that blends biology, chemistry, and the remarkable choreography of migrating cells.

Steel is everywhere. It forms the skeletons of skyscrapers, the frames of cars, the rails beneath trains, and the machines that build modern economies. Yet behind this essential material lies a difficult truth. Steelmaking is one of the world’s most carbon intensive industries. Each ton of conventional steel can release nearly two tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. As countries race to reduce emissions and limit climate change, transforming the way steel is made has become an urgent challenge.

In the landscape of childhood cancer, there are diseases so rare that even many physicians will never encounter a single case. Yet within these rare diagnoses lie some of the deepest biological insights and some of the most urgent clinical challenges. Choroid plexus carcinoma, often abbreviated as CPC, is one such disease. It is a malignant brain tumor that arises predominantly in very young children, most often under the age of four. Though rare, it is biologically revealing, clinically formidable, and, in recent years, the focus of a determined effort to change its outcome.