We are not here to advocate for the arms industry or its CEOs, writes STEVE HANDFORD, and that means we must take a stand against the government’s spending on war
I will survive
Working out the survival rates of medieval manuscripts needed surprise input from those studying animal diversity – and reminds us on the left to make sure we keep our own story safe, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and JOEL HELLEWELL

HISTORIANS must work with limited information about the past.
First, what is set down is a biased subset to begin with. The experiences of the working class in England before the Industrial Revolution, for example, are much harder to reconstruct than the royal court.
Second, even written records can be lost, crumble away in attics, or be burned in library fires. So the evidence that does survive today from the past is a proportion of what once existed. But what is that proportion?
More from this author

A small Japanese trial has reported some positive results for stem cell therapy to treat spinal-cord injuries

Man-made canals like Panama and Suez face unprecedented challenges from extreme weather patterns and geopolitical tensions that reveal the fragility of our global trade networks, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT

It’s sunny times for the solar industry which is expected to continue to grow rapidly — but there are still major environmental issues with how solar cells are made, explain ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT

Fraud in Alzheimer’s research raises difficult questions about the current state of science, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT