Author: The Conversation

  By Luke Martell

A special group of people appear to have genes that protect them from the worst effects of Alzheimer’s disease

  By Vandinika Shukla & Bruce Schneier

500 years ago, Machiavelli warned the public not to get complacent in the face of self-interested charismatic figures

  digital voting technology and social media can be a force for good – and bad

Traditional institutions represent, for many African citizens, the most immediate form of governance.

  The WikiLeaks founder has been granted leave to appeal the order to extradite him to the US. What happens now?

  Elsewhere

to boost moms’ and kids’ well-being

Organisms that produce synthetic fuel and suck carbon out of the air are just some of the possibilities of ‘engineering biology’ Life has transformed our world over billions

Youth electoral participation (or non-participation) is also defined by a country’s electoral system

Fewer young South Africans are doing as well as their counterparts from 30 years ago. They are hardest hit by unemployment

Political trust is paradoxical. No one should be entrusted with power without conditions

Polls predict total wipeout for the Tories – and Britain’s constitution with its first-past-the-post electoral system makes it a real possibility

Since no technology can be entirely tamper-proof, each election outcome should undergo manual audit verification to ensure accuracy, regardless of the results