Expert Request – Monday 3 March

If you are interested in writing an article for a request below, please email the contact listed in the request to find out more. Please note, article requests are fulfilled on a first-come, first-served basis. You can pitch an article directly to The Conversation via the detail listed here.

1. Health + Medicine: Heston Blumenthal spoke to the BBCabout his bipolar disorder diagnosis. We’re looking for an expert to explain bipolar and why suicides are so high for this condition.

Timescale: ASAP | Contact: Clint Witchalls

2. Health + Medicine: People hospitalised after taking hallucinogens are nearly three times more likely than the average person to die in the next five years (chiefly by suicide), according to a new study. Why might this be? And what risks does this pose for hallucinogen use in psychotherapy?

Timescale: ASAP | Contact: Clint Witchalls

3. Science + Technology: We’re looking for an expert to write about a new study showing the cacao tree may be 7.5 million years old.

Timescale: this week | Contact: Jenna Hutber

4. Science + Technology: We’re looking for a shark expert to write about a new study into how bioluminescence shaped the evolution of sharks.

Timescale: this week | Contact: Jenna Hutber

5. Health + Medicine: [REPEATED] Americans born before 1968 are advised to get a measles vaccine booster as they may have been vaccinated with an inactivated virus rather than the attenuated virus. Is it the same in the UK? Were people born before 1968 also vaccinated with the inactivated measles virus? We’re looking for an immunologist to comment.

Timescale: this week | Contact: Clint Witchalls

6. Science + Technology: We’re looking for psychedelics and neurobiology experts who also work with Indigenous knowledge.

Timescale: flexible | Contact: Jenna Hutber

7. Insights: We’re looking for experts who have researched or are researching all aspects of the dark web and are interested in working on longform stories.

Timescale: flexible | Contact: Paul Keaveny