Chronicle of Higher Education: Although massive open online courses ( MOOCs) have become extremely popular in the US, the UK has been slow to embrace that educational model. MOOCs are defined by several key features: They are open to anyone, don’t cost anything, allow any number of participants, and don’t usually offer college credit. Now, however, two schools in the UKâmdash;the University of Edinburgh and the University of Londonâmdash;have started offering such courses through an American company called Coursera. Next year more schools will be signing on through a new company, called FutureLearn, that is being created by the UK’s Open University. Yet, according to Martin Bean, the OU’s vice chancellor, the UK version will feature a “distinctly British” twist on the American model.
The finding that the Saturnian moon may host layers of icy slush instead of a global ocean could change how planetary scientists think about other icy moons as well.
Modeling the shapes of tree branches, neurons, and blood vessels is a thorny problem, but researchers have just discovered that much of the math has already been done.
January 29, 2026 12:52 PM
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