off-beat

The picture for 2026 is complicated. Although flooding can kill overwintering eggs and adults, a mild wet winter will have reduced slug mortality. It may also affect slug predators.

There are upsides to this modern soundscape. In busy workplaces or homes, shaping the auditory environment can restore a sense of control and reduce disturbance – especially from intelligible speech. What we listen to can be a key tool for emotional self-regulation.

After being abandoned by his mother and rejected by the rest of his troop, his zookeepers provided Punch with an orangutan plushie as a stand-in mother. Videos of the monkey clinging to the toy have gone viral worldwide. But Punch’s attachment to his inanimate companion is not just the subject of a heart-breaking video. He’s a reminder of the importance of emotional nourishment.

This species was once abundant along the coasts of South Africa and Namibia. But the population has fallen by about 78 per cent over the last 30 years.

The elephant, located in the Piazza della Minerva in front of the basilica, holds the obelisk on its back.

The Kalevala, a poetic masterpiece of nearly 23,000 lines, first appeared in 1835. Now, nearly 200 years later, those “luckless lands of the North” are an increasingly tense border zone. On one side sits Finland, affluent and famously “happy.” On the other side sits the Republic of Karelia that today is part of the Russian Federation. But on February 28, both will unite in celebration of Kalevala’s anniversary and the cultural-political independence it helped achieve.

Mini-sabbaticals. Adult gap years. Micro-retirement. Extended career breaks go by many names and take many forms. Creating space for a reset, whether mental, physical or spiritual, is the common thread.

The turkey vulture’s keen sense of smell was put to use by oil company engineers in 1930s California. Workers were having trouble with leaks along a 42-mile-long natural gas pipeline but noticed that vultures would often congregate around these leaks. The engineers used this to their advantage, observing the vultures to pinpoint and repair leaks.

As a physical piece of a person that would outlast their human life, a lock of hair symbolised immortal love. Locks of hair were generally gifted by women to men and sometimes at the request of their male suitors. These could be rubbed, stroked, sniffed and gazed upon as the recipient thought about the person who had sent it.

In a study that tracked romantic couples over a year, relationships were about 2.5 times more likely to end during the two weeks surrounding Valentine’s Day than during the fall or spring.

The story of the Green River shows that processes deep within the Earth can have profound impacts for life on the surface.

Female genital mutilation is not tradition; it is violence. Southeast Asia has the tools to act, but action must come with urgency. A coordinated regional strategy, backed by strong legislation, accountability, and support for survivors, will be key to ending FGM/C and protecting future generations.