insert_link Health / Medical Your skin is a mirror of your health – here’s what yours might be saying Acanthosis nigricans can cause skin to become thickened and velveteen to the touch. TuktaBaby/ Shutterstock Dan Baumgardt, University of Bristol Skin accounts for around 15% of our body mass. It is the largest and most visible organ in the human body. Yet many of the skin’s functions are often overlooked. It’s a sunscreen, a shield from germs, a reservoir of vitamin D and a means of tightly regulating our body […] todayJanuary 31, 2024 25
insert_link Health / Medical Eating leafy greens could be better for oral health than using mouthwash Eating nitrate rich vegetables like lettuce and spinach could hold the key to better oral health. BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Mia Cousins Burleigh, University of the West of Scotland and Siobhan Paula Moran, University of the West of Scotland Over half the adult population in the UK and US have gum disease. Typical treatments include mouthwash and in severe cases, antibiotics. These treatments have side effects, such as […] todayJanuary 31, 2024 15
insert_link Opinion Pieces Why Trump’s control of the Republican Party is bad for democracy Republican elites have embraced Trump as their leader. AP Photo/Alex Brandon Erica Frantz, Michigan State University; Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Yale University, and Joseph Wright, Penn State As former President Donald Trump edges closer to clinching the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, our political science research has shown that a second Trump presidency is likely to damage American democracy even more than his first term did. The reason has less to do […] todayJanuary 31, 2024 13
insert_link Environment The surprising reason why insects circle lights at night: They lose track of the sky A multiple-exposure photograph of insects circling a light at night. Samuel Fabian, CC BY-ND Samuel Fabian, Imperial College London; Jamie Theobald, Florida International University, and Yash Sondhi, University of Florida It’s an observation as old as humans gathering around campfires: Light at night can draw an erratically circling crowd of insects. In art, music and literature, this spectacle is an enduring metaphor for dangerous but irresistible attractions. And watching their […] todayJanuary 31, 2024 17
insert_link Lifestyle What would Carl Jung tell you to do with your spreadsheet of life goals? Throw it away and embrace the feminine Wikipedia/ETH-Bibliothek Aliette Lambert, University of Bath and George Ferns, University of Bath Current debates about gender have become polarised. These divisive arguments tend to focus on narrowly defining “man” or “woman”, rather than considering archetypal underpinnings of the feminine and masculine. For psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung and post-Jungian thinkers, these concepts are crucial to understanding gender and wider cultural dynamics. A Jungian perspective considers the feminine and masculine as […] todayJanuary 31, 2024 16
insert_link Health / Medical Measles is on the rise around the world – we can’t let vaccination rates falter fotohay/Shutterstock Jaya Dantas, Curtin University In recent weeks a series of measles alerts have been issued around Australia, including in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, after the identification of a small number of cases in travellers returning from overseas. Meanwhile, places such as the United States and the United Kingdom have been contending with larger measles outbreaks. In fact, the World Health Organization reported a 45-fold increase in measles […] todayJanuary 31, 2024 14
insert_link Opinion Pieces Intelligence doesn’t make you immune to conspiracy theories – it’s more about thinking style The QAnon conspiracy theory has many powerful supporters. I T S/Shutterstock Darel Cookson, Nottingham Trent University Over the last two decades, and in particular over the last five years, there has been a growing scientific interest in conspiracy theories and people who believe in them. Although, some may think belief in such stories is linked to intelligence, research is beginning to show that how people think could be more important. […] todayJanuary 31, 2024 18
insert_link Environment Ocean heating breaks record, again, with disastrous outcomes for the planet By Elizabeth Claire Alberts via Mongabay New research shows that ocean temperatures are hotter than ever in the modern era due to human-driven global warming. High ocean temperatures are placing a strain on marine life and biological processes while also increasing extreme weather events on land. The world is also seeing an escalation in the frequency and intensity of marine heat waves, events in which sea temperatures exceed a certain […] todayJanuary 31, 2024 11
insert_link Opinion Pieces Labour hasn’t won a UK general election since 2010. Will 2024 be any different? By Rob Manwaring, Flinders University Democracy faces challenges around the globe in 2024: at least 64 countries will ask their citizens to elect a government this year. One of the most keenly observed will be the United Kingdom general election, likely to be held in November. The British Labour party has not won an election since 2010, and has lost the last four elections. At the last election in […] todayJanuary 31, 2024 18
