Features

The book - Becoming a Scientist - is aimed at young adult readers and was written by the University of Cambridge's Prof Adrian Liston, and illustrated by Yulia Lapko - a business administrator for the pathology department.

Both their routes could be deemed unconventional as Prof Liston was expected to join his truck-driving family's business in Australia, while Ms Lapko fled her native Ukraine in 2022 following invasion.

Prof Liston said as a youngster he did not even know what a scientist was, and hoped the stories showed the "many different pathways".

The union representing tens of thousands of dockworkers across the US has agreed to suspend its strike while negotiations continue.

Members of the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) walked out on Tuesday at 14 major ports along the east and Gulf coasts, halting container traffic from Maine to Texas.

The union says it has reached a tentative agreement on wages and will go back to work on Friday until 15 January, when they will return to the bargaining table to negotiate "all other outstanding issues".

For nearly a century, people around the globe have celebrated World Animal Day. Launched in 1925, the annual event on 4 October is designed to raise awareness of animal rights issues and help improve the treatment and wellbeing of wildlife. Today, the international effort includes more than 90 ambassadors in 70 countries, and in recent decades, travel has increasingly played a pivotal role in wildlife conservation.

Growing up in Los Angeles, I mostly ignored nature. "I'm a city person" I'd say to anyone who tried to drag me on a hike. But during lockdown, I noticed finches nesting on my balcony. I hung bird feeders and downloaded an app to ID bird calls, hoping for something to keep me away from doomscrolling.

The finches made for a soothing distraction, but things really changed when I spotted a cute "critter cam" account on social media. People weren't just feeding birds, they were filming them – even setting out a tiny hot tub for the birds to splash around in.

How Japan's "most famous" artist, and others, are subverting the country's cute "kawaii" aesthetic to question the world we live in.

In Ancient Babylonia, soups and stews reigned supreme. Food historians are now using taste-tests to recover their forgotten flavours.