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If you’re anything like me, you may have rolled your eyes when you heard that Vladimir Putin had claimed repeated organ transplants could make someone live to 150. It sounds straight out of a gothic novel, but humanity has long had an obsession with this particular quest for eternal youth.
From 1920s “monkey gland” operations to today’s blood-based “biohacks,” attempts to use transplants to achieve immortality refuse to die. But, as biomedical scientist Dan Stratton explains, transplants save lives – they don’t turn back time.
Putin might have other things on his mind this week after Donald Trump finally imposed sanctions on Russia. But will they have any effect?
And 50km from Bangkok, the village of Khun Samut Chin is slowly being swallowed by the sea. Its residents have already moved four times so now, with little help from the state, they’re finding other ways to stop their community disappearing beneath the waves.
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Katie Edwards
Commissioning Editor, Health + Medicine
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Chizhevskaya Ekaterina/Shutterstock
Dan Stratton, The Open University
Vladimir Putin claims organ transplants could make us live to 150. But even healthy organs fail with time – ageing can’t be fixed with spare parts.
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US sanctions have targeted Rosneft and Lukoil, RUssia’s two largest pol exporters.
EPA/Maxim Shipenkov
Sergey V. Popov, Cardiff University
The good news: at least the US is acting against Russia.
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Danny Marks and a researcher walking along a small wooden pathway to the village.
Danny Marks
Danny Marks, Dublin City University
Thai villagers are not giving up on saving their homes from coastal erosion.
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World
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Tom F. Wright, University of Sussex
America was founded on the idea of rejecting a monarchy.
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Jonathan Este, The Conversation
The Russian president has long seemed able to persuade Donald Trump to his point of view. The Ukrainian president appears to be catching on.
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Peter Lee, University of Portsmouth
Weather conditions on the front lines are making it increasingly difficult for Ukraine to use drones effectively as winter approaches.
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Vince Pescod, The University of Law
The US president’s critics say he is using the justice deparment to persecute his political enemies.
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Morgane Dujmovic, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)
During my year aboard the Ocean Viking, we collected the harrowing stories of 110 people rescued by the ship in the central Mediterranean.
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Politics + Society
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Philip Newall, University of Bristol; Jamie Torrance, Swansea University; Leonardo Weiss-Cohen, University of Nottingham
Different messages are more effective for different audiences.
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Mark McKinty, Queen's University Belfast
From grand old dukes to disgraced spares, the title has a long and chequered history.
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Arts + Culture
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Louis Bayman, University of Southampton
Our cinema expert brings you the best (and a few of the worst) at this year’s film festival in the capital.
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Robert Dover, University of Hull
Honey traps are laid, cyber attacks are enacted and it seems MI5 have to rely upon Slough House to bail them out once again.
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Monica Germanà, University of Westminster
Del Toro’s film presents the Arctic of the 1800s as a barren wasteland, which overlooks the existence of Indigenous peoples who have lived there for millennia.
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Daniel O'Brien, University of Essex
Dylan Southern’s film is a sharply crafted adaptation of Max Porter’s poignant book, grounded in powerful performances.
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Education
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Elizabeth Gregory, University of Manchester
Students may be able to choose several V-levels in different subjects or even mix and match them with A-levels.
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Alice Bradbury, UCL
The phonics screening check is so closely correlated with month of birth that it can be argued that it is a test of age rather than decoding.
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Health
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John Groeger, Nottingham Trent University
Is it equally detrimental to us all – or do some groups of people suffer more than others?
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Rachel Woods, University of Lincoln
One night of sweets won’t harm your child. But daily sugar overload can affect sleep, health and even mood.
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Rosalie Hayes, Queen Mary University of London; Sara Paparini, Queen Mary University of London; Sophie Strachan, Queen Mary University of London
Cabotegravir’s approval is the first time an alternative to oral Prep has been made available on the NHS.
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Science + Technology
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Lara Warmelink, Lancaster University
Coming clean about something you’re hiding can help when you’re under pressure.
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Podcasts
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Gemma Ware, The Conversation
Cryptocurrency expert Larisa Yarovaya explains the risk and rewards of bitcoin treasury companies on The Conversation Weekly podcast.
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