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1. How parasites and bacteria could be changing the way you think and feel

   From losing inhibitions to dementia – Lecturer in Genetics Dr Robbie Rae explores the role small critters play in a range of illnesses and behaviours

2. Safari tourism may make elephants more aggressive – but it’s still the best tool for conservation

   Going on safari in Africa offers tourists the opportunity to see some of the most spectacular wildlife on Earth – including African elephants, but as it becomes more popular worldwide, it’s worth remembering that we often don’t know how tourism affects the animals we observe.

3. Will genetically modified pets soon be reality or do they already live among us?

   Demelza Kooij's film The Breeder considers the darker implications of our cultural fetish with cute.

4. How monkeys make friends and influence each other

   For us humans, getting involved in an aggressive conflict can be costly, not only because of the risk of injury and stress, but also because it can damage precious social relationships between friends – and the same goes for monkeys and apes.

5. 5 reasons to love maggots

   Whether they are working away in the farmer’s field or being used as evidence in court, maggots are helping us in our day-to-day lives in surprising ways. Isn’t it time you gave these misunderstood creatures the credit they deserve?

6. Here’s how your holiday photos could help save endangered species

   Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the world – 42m people visited sub-Saharan Africa in 2018 alone. Photographs on social media are already being used to help track the illegal wildlife trade and how often areas of wilderness are visited by tourists.

7. Human ancestors had the same dental problems as us – even without fizzy drinks and sweets

   Prehistoric humans and their predecessors may have had a very different diet but their teeth suffered in similar ways to ours, writes anthropology lecturer Dr Ian Towle

8. Decorated snail shell in a cave in Iraq could be evidence of Paleolithic bling

   A tiny artefact with complex incisions tells us about prehistoric ornamentation, writes Professor Chris Hunt

9. My experience working with orangutans

   MRes English student, Lindsay Wilkinson shares her insights into the orangutan volunteer project in Indonesian Borneo.

10. Knife crime and gangs: how a decade of bad policy left deprived young people without real choice

    England’s dramatic rise in gang-related knife crime has been called a “disease” by the UK home secretary, Sajid Javid, and amid the daily drama of Brexit the prime minister, Theresa May, has called a summit of 100 experts to Downing Street to discuss the issue.