We need to stop the data economy, before humanity pays the ultimate price

If you've watched Netflix's documentary The Social Dilemma, you'll know that it paints a terrifying – and accurate – picture of the damage that digital technology is causing to individuals and societies.

Research emphasises need for COVID-19 vigilance in tight-knit communities

Small, close-knit communities are at high risk for rapid, intense COVID outbreaks, especially if they haven’t yet experienced outbreaks of COVID-19, shows a new study by the University of Oxford and Northeastern University, Boston.

Survival instincts for the planet: is human nature with us or against us?

Human nature is often blamed for many of the ills in society and politics, with seemingly devastating results. For example, the cognitive biases that we all share as human beings—such as overoptimism, loss aversion, or group bias—are argued to contribute to policy failures, crises, wars, and environmental ruin.

Reenergising antibiotic policy: hallmarks for a sustainable antibiotic future?

Study highlights climate mitigation potential of encouraging Earth’s forests to regenerate naturally

Allowing forests to grow back naturally should be regarded alongside other measures like large-scale tree-planting as a critical nature-based approach to mitigating climate change, according to a major new study that maps potential above-ground carbon accumulation rates for forest regrowth across the globe.

New report reveals two-thirds decline in wildlife populations on average since 1970

Global populations of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish have suffered an average two-thirds decline in less than half a century due in large part to the very same environmental destruction which is contributing to the emergence of zoonotic diseases such as COVID-19, according to the WWF’s Living Planet Report 2020.

EU-Mercosur Trade Deal fails to meet sustainability criteria on human rights, ecosystems and climate

An international group of researchers has concluded that an upcoming trade agreement between the EU and Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay (the Mercosur bloc) fails across sustainability criteria.

Women’s Equality and Inequality to be addressed in new research programme

The Oxford Martin School has launched a new programme on Women’s Equality and Inequality, focused on social mobility and education.

Biobank data reveal long-term exposure to traffic noise may impact weight gain in the UK population

Transport noise is a major problem in Europe, with over 100 million people living in areas where road traffic noise exceeds levels greater than 55dB, the health-based threshold set by the EU.

Intergenerational wealth transfers drive inequality in Britain

This direct transmission of wealth across generations impacts directly on the extent of wealth inequality, concludes a report published today by researchers at the University of Oxford’s Department of Social Policy and Intervention and the Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, supported by the Nuffield Foundation.

Immediate action needed to stem the flow of plastic into the ocean finds report

A new analysis by The Pew Charitable Trusts and SYSTEMIQ, in collaboration with the University of Oxford, University of Leeds, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and Common Seas, found that the annual flow of plastic into the ocean could nearly triple by 2040.

We still don’t know if warmer weather slows down the spread of COVID-19

The arrival of summer in the Northern Hemisphere has caused increased interest, from both the research community and the public at large, about the possibility that warmer weather might slow the spread of COVID-19.