By Derek Gatherer, Lecturer at Lancaster University.

In the first episode of BBC historical drama Wolf Hall, based on Hilary Mantel’s novel of the same name, Thomas Cromwell returns home to find his wife and two daughters have all died during the night, victims of a pestilence – the “sweating sickness” – that is scything through the Tudor world.

By Jillian Scudder, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Astrophysics at University of Sussex

The universe is such a big place that it is easy to get baffled by the measurements that astronomers make. The size of UY Scuti, possibly one of the largest stars we have observed to date, is certainly baffling.

By Mark Beeson, Professor of International Politics at University of Western Australia

Of the many things academics obsess about, few rank more highly than citation counts. We all like to think our work is at least read by our peers, even if it doesn’t actually change the world. Google Scholar has become one of the more important indicators of our relative standing, although it can be a rather humbling one at times. The simple fact is that most of us simply don’t make it into what we might call the intellectual Premier League.

By Simon J Cox and Steven Johnston

The Raspberry Pi has been a great success, selling millions since launch in 2012 and igniting hobbyists' imagination everywhere. The Pi is a tiny computer at a tiny price, but now the arrival of a seriously upgraded Raspberry Pi 2 has brought the performance that the first lacked, in a package the same size at the same cost of US$35.

By Sonia Oreffice, Professor of Economics at University of Surrey

Carl Djerassi, who died recently aged 91, has been honored globally for his work.

By Helen King, Professor of Classical Studies at The Open University 

Gwyneth Paltrow stirred up an interesting discussion with her latest recommendation for the spa fan: the Mugworth V-Steam. As she put it: “You sit on what is essentially a mini-throne, and a combination of infrared and mugwort steam cleanses your uterus, et al. It is an energetic release …”