The creation of a landmark gene editing drug used to treat a baby with a rare genetic mutation which could help transform personalized medicine. Blood tests showed baby KJ had sky-high levels of ammonia, a toxic substance the body usually expels. The root cause was his genes - or more particularly a specific gene mutation. The race was on to try and treat him before his condition took a firm hold. His doctors came up with a radical solution - for the first time ever, they designed and applied a ...
Jun 10, 2025•23 min
The economic fortunes of the Southern Africa country of Botswana were transformed back in the mid 1960s when shortly after gaining independence from Britain, its first diamond mine was discovered. A partnership with the world’s biggest diamond firm DeBeers ensured Botswana’s diamonds gained global attention and with some of the world’s biggest diamonds been mined in the country, it now ranks just below Russia in terms of its importance in the industry. But post pandemic, the global market has se...
Jun 03, 2025•23 min
Fungal diseases are becoming more common, more dangerous, and more difficult to treat. There’s concern that they may cause the next global pandemic. Rising global temperatures, better survival rates for vulnerable patients, and increased medical interventions contribute to the rise in fungal infections. Access to effective diagnostics and treatment remains limited, with significant disparities between high and low-income countries. Treating fungal infections is becoming more challenging as they ...
May 27, 2025•23 min
A domestic rice shortage in Japan has caused supermarket shelves to empty and prices to double. Rice is more than a staple food in Japan—it carries deep cultural, historical and even spiritual significance. The rice crisis highlights broader weaknesses in Japan’s economy. Japan imports over half of its food and has experienced persistent inflation. The country’s economic resilience is being tested by supply chain pressures, demographic shifts, and increased trade tensions. Efforts to address the...
May 20, 2025•23 min
“Measles is back, and it’s a wake-up call,” proclaimed one regional director from the World Health Organisation who went on to add, “without high vaccination rates, there is no health security.” Measles is a childhood disease which can be deadly. We’ve been successfully vaccinating against it for decades. So much so that many younger physicians have never seen a child with the disease. But recently, the recorded number of cases has been rising - and this is a global trend. Measles is one of the ...
May 13, 2025•23 min
Serbia’s citizens have been protesting for over six months, taking part in demonstrations around the country in reaction to their government’s alleged corruption. Though the country’s president, Aleksandar Vučić, has attempted to appease them, the movement shows no sign of slowing down. Situated in the Western Balkans, Serbia has had a long history of conflict; from the Ottoman Empire to the dissolution of Yugoslavia, but the ongoing civil unrest comes at a crossroads moment for President Vučić....
May 06, 2025•23 min
Scientists at a bio-technology firm made headlines when they announced the “de-extinction” of the dire wolf, a species of wolf that went extinct on Earth over 10,000 years ago. Colossal Biosciences examined DNA from ancient dire wolf fossils and used it to create wolf puppies with traits of the extinct species. The gene editing technology sparked curiosity around the world, and although the new wolves were not exact replicas of the originals they had similar traits. The development raises seriou...
Apr 30, 2025•23 min
Earlier this month President Trump announced radical new taxes on foreign imports amounting to what he described as ‘Liberation Day' for the United States. It was a promise he made to American voters during last year’s election campaign but the scale of the tariffs caught many countries by surprise. Global financial markets plunged as investors braced themselves for a shock to the flow of international trade. Faced with prolonged market turmoil, within days the US president paused most of his pl...
Apr 22, 2025•23 min
For Russia’s President Putin, the return of President Donald Trump to the White House ushered in a new world order. This has created new diplomatic space for Russia, as Trump’s world view seems more closely aligned with Moscow’s ambitions. Support for Ukraine has diminished, peace talks have been floated, and speculation has grown about a lasting ceasefire. While the relationship between Washington and Moscow appears to be warming, recent tensions show how unpredictable diplomacy between the two...
Apr 15, 2025•23 min
SpaceX has revolutionised space travel, making reusable rockets a reality and dramatically reducing the cost of reaching orbit. But two high-profile Starship explosions have raised concerns about the company’s approach to innovation and risk. Commercial spaceflight has rapidly expanded, with private companies looking to harness space resources and build new economies beyond Earth. Reusability has been a game-changer, significantly lowering launch costs and enabling more ambitious missions. Space...
Apr 01, 2025•23 min
In November, a far right, pro-Russia figure came from almost nowhere to become favourite for the presidency. Calin Georgescu, with no affiliated political party and whose campaign had been largely on social media, won the first round of Presidential elections in Romania. The result sent shockwaves across the continent. But serious allegations surfaced over the legitimacy of Georgescu’s campaign, resulting in Romania’s Constitutional Court annulling the vote and barring Georgescu from standing. A...
Mar 26, 2025•23 min
European leaders have had cause to rethink their roles within Nato recently, in light of statements coming from the US Government. The Trump administration’s dealings with Russia to try and broker a peace deal in Ukraine, have called into question America’s support for the alliance. But whilst the Trump administration say they are not pulling out of Nato and remain committed to the defence partnership with Europe, they have warned that they will "no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship whi...
Mar 18, 2025•23 min
At the beginning of this year, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a bill into law which allows for private land to be seized by the government. Known as the Expropriation Act, it’s a power that many democratic governments around the world can exercise – the seizure of private property for public use in return for compensation. But in South Africa’s case, the plan is not to offer compensation, in certain circumstances, such as if land was needed for public use and all other avenues t...
Mar 13, 2025•23 min
Undersea cables form the backbone of global communication, with over 95% of global internet traffic relying on hundreds of fibre-optic cables criss-crossing the globe. But recent incidents such as disruption to cables in the Baltic Sea have highlighted concerns over their security and raised the possibility of ‘grey zone warfare’. We examine who owns and runs this vast global network, what happens when things go wrong, and what the future holds for underseas cables. Are they powerful enough to s...
Mar 05, 2025•23 min
The International Criminal Court was founded to prosecute the world’s worst crimes—genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. It has secured historic convictions, but its effectiveness is under scrutiny. US opposition has been a long-standing challenge. Donald Trump previously rejected the ICC’s legitimacy, and now, early in his second presidential term, he has imposed sanctions on its top prosecutor. The move echoes past tensions but raises new concerns about the court’s ability to func...
Feb 25, 2025•23 min
Women have been using the female contraceptive pill for over 60 years, and many other options have followed. Yet, after decades of research, there is still no male version of a birth control pill. Male options for contraception are limited to the condom, vasectomy or withdrawal. However, clinical trials are underway around the world testing new innovations in male contraception. New options may be less than a decade away but, when they arrive, will people want to take them? In this edition of th...
Feb 18, 2025•23 min
The Panama Canal, a crucial artery for global trade, is at the centre of growing tensions between the United States and China. Donald Trump has claimed that Chinese companies exert undue influence over the waterway, accusing Panama of overcharging US businesses. But does the US still have a legitimate stake in the canal? With Trump demanding action, Panama faces a difficult choice. Could a renegotiation of tolls or a review of Chinese port contracts ease US concerns? Contributors: Will Freeman, ...
Feb 11, 2025•23 min
In the decade that followed the Great Financial Crisis, inflation rates remained low and steady, and in some cases even threatened to turn negative, as economies around the world struggled to recover. This era came to an abrupt end in recent years following the double economic shocks of the Covid pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Many central banks and senior policymakers were caught on the back foot as inflation rates soared to levels not seen for nearly half a century in some countrie...
Feb 04, 2025•23 min
China has approved the construction of what will become the world’s largest hydropower dam in Tibet. Located in the lower reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo river, it could generate three times more energy than the Three Gorges Dam – also built by China - and currently the worlds’ biggest. This Inquiry examines how important hydropower is for China’s economy, whether it will meet its climate goals and whether this new dam is a “safe project that prioritises ecological protection” as China claims. We...
Jan 28, 2025•23 min
In December 2024, the decades-old Assad regime in Syria fell following 13 years of brutal civil war. The Islamist rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, seized power in the capital Damascus, having co-ordinated a lightning offensive along with other opposition forces across the country. This week on The Inquiry, we examine how recent events led to the current situation, who the main players are vying for control, and the many challenges facing both the new government and the Syrian people. Presenter...
Jan 21, 2025•23 min
Drinks with toxic ingredients have been linked to deaths and poisonings in Turkey, Laos and India in 2024. Fake alcohol is unrecorded and unregulated alcohol that hasn’t been registered in official statistics for sales, production or trade. The range of unrecorded alcohol includes alcohol smuggled across borders, counterfeit alcohol and homemade brew. This week of The Inquiry we look at how toxic and widespread fake alcohol is. What are the health risks of drinking contaminated alcohol? Bootleg ...
Jan 14, 2025•23 min
Cancer is a disease that will affect 1 in 5 people in our lifetime, and it’s estimated that around 20 million people worldwide will be diagnosed with some form of cancer in 2025. But how might a vaccine help in the treatment of cancer? Numerous trials began testing the viability of cancer vaccines in 2024, including one for melanoma and another for lung cancer. With all the promise that these new cancer vaccine trials bring for cancer patients, we explore the different ways in which vaccines cou...
Jan 07, 2025•23 min
Robert F Kennedy Jr, nephew of America's 35th President, John F. Kennedy, has been nominated to be the next US health secretary by President-elect Donald Trump. The post oversees everything from medical research to food safety and public welfare programmes. Kennedy has been the face of “Make America Healthy Again”, a movement dedicated to “public health, sustainable practices and a government that truly serves the people”. This week of The Inquiry, we look at how MAHA wants to tackle chronic dis...
Jan 02, 2025•23 min
The Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, sandwiched between China and India, is perhaps best known around the globe for its unconventional measure of national development: Gross National Happiness. The concept was introduced back in 1972 by the fourth King of Bhutan, Jigme Singye Wangchuck. It assesses the country’s overall wellbeing on the basis of sustainable and equitable socio-economic development; environmental conservation; preservation and promotion of culture; and good governance. But the Bhutan...
Dec 24, 2024•23 min
Accusations of sabotage have been made after a Chinese merchant ship cut through two important undersea cables in the Baltic Sea. Eight of the nine states in the Baltic are members of Nato but Russia has access to the sea from St Petersburg and for its Kaliningrad exclave. With previous incidents of damage to underwater pipelines and cables, there is concern that the security of critical underwater infrastructure is at risk from ‘grey zone’ activities - damaging but deniable incidents below the ...
Dec 17, 2024•23 min
When Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired his finance minister, Christian Lindner last month, Germany’s ‘traffic light’ government collapsed, an uneasy coalition between parties with differing perspectives and strained relations, the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Free Democrats. At the heart of the political dispute lie deeply opposing views about spending plans, and how to fund much needed investment in infrastructure projects such as transport, education, green energy and digital technology, in...
Dec 10, 2024•23 min
The car industry across the European Union employs over thirteen million people, both directly and indirectly, that’s around six percent of the bloc’s workforce. But in recent years, Europe’s manufacturers have been struggling to cope with issues like economic downturns, clean energy requirements and the digital revolution. Some of the oldest, biggest carmakers are considering plant closures and job cuts in order to try and stay afloat. They are also facing fierce competition in the electric veh...
Dec 03, 2024•23 min
When protests against decades of rule by the Assad family were crushed by Syrian government forces in the spring of 2011, opposition groups took up arms and the country descended into civil war. The conflict drew in Syria’s Kurds, jihadi groups including Islamic State and al-Qaeda, and the international community. 13 years on President Assad controls around two thirds of the country, but northern Syria remains out of the regime's grip and is highly volatile. Internal divisions, international inf...
Nov 27, 2024•23 min
Aerospace giant Boeing has had big problems to overcome since the crashes of two of its 737 Max aircraft. Its situation was compounded this year with another safety scare and a strike losing it billions of dollars. It has a new CEO who has pledged to return the company to its engineering roots and away from cost cutting and in October, Boeing managed to raise 21bn US dollars by issuing new shares in the company. However, catching up on lost production will take time and money and financially the...
Nov 21, 2024•23 min
Earlier this year the global video sharing platform You Tube dominated TV viewership in the United States, knocking Disney off the top spot and leaving major media names like Netflix, Paramount, Amazon and Fox in its wake. In a first for the streaming platform, the time people spent watching YouTube on television accounted for 10.4 percent of total TV in the month of July. In terms of its world reach, the platform is now available in more than one hundred countries and pulls in nearly three bill...
Nov 14, 2024•23 min
