University of Leeds

Irish president finishes first official visit to GB

Catherine Connolly spent the day at the University of Leeds and the Leeds Irish Centre.

‘Bowie compared us to T Rex. Couldn’t get any better’: the Mekons on how they made Where Were You?

The Mekons discussed the inspiration behind their song "Where Were You?", stating it was about loneliness and contrasted with the prevailing macho rock mentality of the era. Members of the band, who were art students at Leeds University, were influenced by bands like The Clash after seeing them perform.

‘Bowie compared us to T Rex. Couldn’t get any better’: the Mekons on how they made Where Were You?

‘It’s about loneliness, really. It was the total opposite of that “It’s Friday night, let’s have sex” macho mentality that was in most rock music at the time’Most of the people who started the Mekons and Gang of Four were on the same fine art course at Leeds University. In December 1976 we went to see the Anarchy tour at the nearby polytechnic.

Britain’s pothole problem is no quick fix | Letters

Edward Leigh says there must be no cutting corners when rebuilding roads; Anthony Millett says if you are going to do something, do it once and do it properlyEsther Addley (The pothole puzzle: the bumpy ride to fixing Britain’s broken roads, 23 May) quotes Phill Wheat, a professor of transport econometrics at the University of Leeds, describing the “spiral that we could get into” if funding for road maintenance is not increased. In truth, many highway authorities are already well down that...

Wildfire dark brown carbon has strong global warming effects, study finds

The study, led by Dr. Yiming Liu from the University of Leeds, highlights the significant impact of dark brown carbon on climate change, with its warming effect potentially rivaling or surpassing that of black carbon. The findings underscore the need for further research into the effects of wildfire emissions on the global climate.

Britain’s pothole problem is no quick fix | Letters

Who works the hardest in Europe? The countries with the longest and shortest working weeks

People in some European countries work nearly eight hours more a week than those in others, according to Eurostat. Experts point to collective bargaining, part-time work and economic structure as key drivers of the gap. New Eurostat figures reveal stark differences in working hours across Europe.

Hidden store of manganese may have helped Earth get its oxygen

Deep below our feet, manganese may exist in a form we have never seen before, and this underground source of the metal could have played a role in the story of how Earth got its oxygen. Until about 2 billion years ago, Earth’s atmosphere barely contained any oxygen. Then came the Great Oxygenation Event (GOE) when oxygen produced by photosynthesizing microbes started to accumulate, spurring development of more diverse forms of life and changing the planet.

How I use AI to turn failed drugs into new medicines

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Strong El Niño likely this year, climate change could intensify extreme weather: WMO

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Tuesday warned of a likely return of a strong El Niño event this year, raising concerns about more extreme weather worldwide as climate change amplifies its effects, Reuters reported. The UN weather body said there is an 80% chance of El Niño developing between June and August and a 90% probability that it will persist until at least November, marking the clearest indication yet of the weather phenomenon's return. El Niño occurs every 2 to 7...