For many women, childbirth is transformative. For Dr Erin Maglaque from our Department of History, it also sparked an exploration into how history has shaped understanding, expectation and perceptions of the female body.

Durham University Business School is celebrating Durham University’s rise to 85th in the QS World University Rankings 2027. The University has climbed nine places, strengthening its position among the world’s top institutions.

Scientists say the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (Amoc), a crucial circulation of water that helps to keep northern Europe warm, is weakening, but it struggles to make the headlines. Dr Fionagh Thomson, a Visiting Research Fellow in our Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy and Institute for Computational Cosmology, looks at Amoc’s image problem.

The Centre for Sustainable Development Law and Policy (CSDLP) was delighted that Prof Petra Minnerop presented at the Second Conference on Attribution Science and Climate Law, hosted by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and the Columbia Climate School at Columbia University in New York on 10–11 June 2026.

Professor Carlos Frenk – who is behind one of the foremost theories of the evolution of the Universe – has been knighted in The King’s Birthday Honours.

With Korea’s recent association to Horizon Europe, Professor Claire O’Malley, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Global), recently visited Seoul where she met with university leaders, research funding agencies, our alumni community and the National Museum of Korea to further enhance our research, academic, and cultural partnerships.

Professor Claire O’Malley, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Global), visited Japan to strengthen further our research partnerships. In line with the outcomes of the January 2026 UK-Japan Summit, the visit focused on advancing our research collaborations in clean energy and hydrogen, biotech, agriculture, and food security. 

What do scientists really think about signs of alien life? Professor Peter Vickers, Head of our Department of Philosophy, takes a look.

Professor Anna Rowlands, in our Department of Theology and Religion/Centre for Catholic Studies, has helped Pope Leo XIV launch his first social encyclical focused on being human in a time of AI. Here she talks about the importance of Magnifica Humanitas (Magnificent Humanity).

Our Vice-Chancellor Professor Karen O'Brien, with Professors Chris Day, Peter Mathieson, Evelyn Welch, and Shearer West, vice-chancellors of the universities of Newcastle, Edinburgh, Bristol, and Leeds, respectively, have written on UK-EU partnership for The Coimbra Group.

This international conference is organised by Professor Arlene Holmes-Henderson (Durham University, UK) and Dr André Simões (University of Lisbon, Portugal) as part of their collaboration funded by The Centre for Classical Studies (CEC), in the School of Arts and Humanities at the University of Lisbon. It occurs during Arlene’s term as the Gulbenkian Foundation’s Visiting Professor in the Humanities in 2026-2027.

Professor Elisa Morgera conducted an academic visit to Australia in mid-May in her capacity as UN Special Rapporteur on Climate Change and Human Rights, contributing to national and international discussions on human rights, climate governance, and the energy transition.