science wire

A letter written in 1868 by Charles Dickens, the bicentenary of whose birth falls today, to his son Henry, who had newly arrived at Cambridge, reveals a touching concern for Henry's welfare in matters physical, moral and spiritual.

In the same month when the Church of England General Synod will discuss the next phase of a radical change in the formation of those training for ministry, Westcott House Theological College in Cambridge has received an unprecedented level of confidence in a Ministry Council Inspection Report.

A study of the rise of the British Empire is likely to show that mass global trading was big business at the time.

Why did Renaissance shoppers fill their baskets with rosaries, crucifixes, Christ-dolls and devotional paintings? A new study by historian Mary Laven investigates the significance of Catholic clutter, as she explains.

In public programs, Stanford scholars share their views on the groundbreaking artistic endeavors of photographer Walker Evans.

The Scott Polar Research Institute is proud to have provided the inspiration for a major new composition by leading British composer, Cecilia McDowall.

Professor Musa W Dube of the University of Botswana will preach a University Sermon in Great St Mary's, the University Church, on Sunday 5 February at 11.15 a.m. The title of her

Audiences are spellbound by Meryl Streep's performance as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. As a PhD student looking at British politics in the same era, Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite was keen to see how the movie portrayed the woman who changed the face of Britain.

Liberal-democratic attitudes in the Middle East and North Africa aren't universal, say two University of Toronto sociologists.

A project concluding this weekend examines why women choose to convert to Islam - and what the experience is like.

“I’m glad I got away from the Germans and I’m grateful to the Swedes that I’m alive and that they have taken such good care of me.

Religious freedom in Europe and North America is being endangered by the courts, an Oxford University academic has claimed in a new book.

History holds key to future energy policy, says report Policymakers should look to history to learn how best to tackle the challenges of a low carbon economy, says a new report co-authored by University of Sussex energy analyst Professor Jim Watson.

A mass grave found in Dorset could belong to a crew of Viking mercenaries who terrorised Europe in the 11th century - according to a new documentary on National Geographic which pieces together the story behind the burial. Clearly these men had shown a level of bravery similar to the Jomsviking code." —Britt Baillie A crew of Viking mercenaries - some of the fiercest and most feared killers in the medieval world - could be the occupants of a mysterious mass grave in the south of England, according to a new theory.

One of the most admired and loved leaders of second-wave feminism is coming to Stanford this week as part of the 40th anniversary celebration of Ms.

Romantic notions of heroism - the captain refusing to leave his sinking ship, women and children being ushered to safety - have been shattered by reports emerging from the Costa Concordia.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. A Penn State Extension field demonstration of technology designed to reduce odors and nutrient losses from agricultural fields will be a featured segment on the History Channel's "Modern Marvels" program.

The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at the University of California, Berkeley's Bancroft Library, the latest addition to the city's burgeoning downtown arts and culture district, is opening to the public on Sunday, Jan.

Research by a legal historian at the University of Warwick has uncovered a real-life 19th century couple whose tragic tale could have been taken straight out of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist. While researching the extent of cohabitation in the 19th century, Professor Rebecca Probert came across the story of a couple whose fate almost mirrors that of the Dickens' character Bill Sykes and his prostitute girlfriend Nancy.

An unpublished Rupert Brooke poem will sit alongside some of Cambridge University Library's greatest treasures when a free exhibition of highlights from its priceless collections opens to the public today.

Until recently, most archaeologists viewed human-animal relationships primarily in terms of their dietary role.

Board chair and vice chair issue statement on questions about Paterno Alumni Town Hall meetings begin in Pittsburgh Panel discussion 'Responding to Child Sexual Abuse' set for Jan.

A comprehensive exploration into Gothic cathedrals and their place in medieval society will be the focus of a series of Cambridge University Slade Lectures in Fine Art entitled The Gothic Cathedral: A New Heaven and a New Earth.

Stanford historian Richard White explores the role of the railroad in shaping the modern American West.

An exhibition hosted by the Institute of Archaeology is to remember the experiences of refugees who sought shelter in Oxford during World War II.

Astronomers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the University of Arizona have released the largest data set ever collected that documents the brightening and dimming of stars and other celestial objects—two hundred million in total.

King's College London has appointed Julia Crick as Professor of Palaeography and Manuscript Studies in the School of Arts & Humanities.

The UC San Diego Holocaust Living History Workshop (HLHW) launches a new series of events this winter, the "Witnessing History" series, focused on the topic of experiencing history in the making.

" What is it? This image of a bear hunt is taken from one of three remarkable wall paintings in the Murals Room at Madingley Hall.

A click up the Eighties: Archive's digital project opens up our recent past to a wider audience The words and voices of ordinary people commenting on the extraordinary events of the 1980s as they liv

An ANU historian is swapping the sweltering Australian summer for the icy sheets of Antarctica as part of a historic journey commemorating the nation's first expedition to the great southern continent.

Unlike Jonas, most people have never heard of Menelik or the Battle of Adwa. When asked about relations between Italy and Ethiopia, it would be more likely for the average person to think of Italy's invasion of the African country in the 1930s, when the Europeans were victorious.

In the ninth of a series of reports contributed by Cambridge researchers, historian Catherine Porter visits the Democratic Republic of Congo to people in the city of Lubumbashi about their political and cultural identity.

In the fourth of a series of reports contributed by Cambridge researchers, historian Gabriela Ramos travels to a village high in the Andes to taste the heady mix of worship and wonder that surrounds a regional festival honouring the Virgin Mary.

Each year hundreds of people queue day and night in the cold to experience the magic of the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols in King's College Chapel.

AUSTIN, Texas — Small groups of workers can use communication tactics to agitate for democracy, transparency and fighting spirit within their unions, according to the new book "We ARE the Union

In a corner of Verity Platt's Goldwin Smith Hall office sits a large plaster reproduction of a famous classical sculpture fragment, the Belvedere Torso.