insert_link Health / Medical Women are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s – but our research suggests a specific brain enzyme could help protect them Shutterstock/Pavlova Yuliia Silvia Maioli, Karolinska Institutet The most common form of dementia, Alzheimer’s, is a progressive, life limiting, neurodegenerative condition, which damages and destroys parts of the nervous system, especially the brain, over time. Women are most likely to be affected. They make up two-thirds of people with Alzheimer’s. It is not yet understood why women have greater risk of developing the disease – but there does seem to be […] todayJanuary 29, 2024 21
insert_link Health / Medical The contraceptive pill also affects the brain and the regulation of emotions Like natural hormones, known as endogenous hormones, the artificial hormones contained in the pill, known as exogenous hormones, can have effects on the brain. (Shutterstock) Alexandra Brouillard, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and Marie-France Marin, Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) Oral contraceptives, also known as birth control pills, are used by more than 150 million women worldwide. Approximately one-third of teenagers in North America and Europe use them, […] todayJanuary 29, 2024 26
insert_link Business / Economics Women still face gender inequalities at work post-pandemic Women are still feeling the effects of COVID-19 , which resulted in job losses and reduced opportunities for women in the workforce. (Shutterstock) Claudine Mangen, Concordia University The COVID-19 pandemic brought the longstanding economic inequalities between women and men into sharp focus. From the onset of the pandemic, up until the summer of 2022, economic gender gaps continued to widen. Lockdowns and economic uncertainties created a perfect storm, leading to […] todayJanuary 29, 2024 5
insert_link World How art can challenge election-time rhetoric about immigrants By Lois Klassen, Simon Fraser University The coming year is expected to be one of unprecedented election activity worldwide. And as politicians gear up for the polls, immigrants are being pushed into the spotlight. In the United States, Donald Trump has vowed to expand his Muslim ban and bar Palestinian refugees from Gaza if he is re-elected. In Germany, anti-immigration rhetoric has been on the rise ahead of regional […] todayJanuary 29, 2024 4
insert_link Lifestyle Deepfakes: How to empower youth to fight the threat of misinformation and disinformation Deepfakes pose a profound social threat, and education along with technology and legislation matters for containing and addressing this. (Shutterstock) Nadia Naffi, Université Laval The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2024 has issued a stark warning: misinformation and disinformation, primarily driven by deepfakes, are ranked as the most severe global short-term risks the world faces in the next two years. In October 2023, the Innovation council of Québec shared […] todayJanuary 29, 2024 3
insert_link South Africa The World Court rescues international law from the Gaza rubble At the International Court of Justice, Nadeli Pandor, left, South Africa’s foreign minister, and Vusimuzi Madonsela, who led South Africa’s delegation to the reading of the court’s order concerning their country’s case accusing Israel of genocide, Jan. 26, 2024. The court found the allegations of such acts “plausible.” UN Photo/ICJ-CIJ/Frank van Beek. Courtesy of the ICJ In a speech on Dec. 4, 1997, commemorating the International Day of […] todayJanuary 29, 2024 7
insert_link Opinion Pieces ICJ ruling is a victory for human rights and justice “The Peace Palace, seat of the International Court of Justice, the Hague, Netherlands. The court is the principal judicial body of the United Nations.” Photo: United Nations via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Deed) By GroundUp Editors via GroundUp The ruling on Friday by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is a victory for human rights and justice. Fifteen of the seventeen judges found that South Africa made a plausible case that the dreadful […] todayJanuary 29, 2024 13
insert_link Opinion Pieces UN genocide ruling won’t change Israel’s behaviour: three reasons why By Anthoni van Nieuwkerk, University of South Africa South Africa took Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the latter’s military operation in Gaza, which South Africa calls acts of genocide. The excessive bombing campaign and wilful destruction of property, life and limb is hardly in dispute. Israel calls it legitimate acts of self-defense, following Hamas’s murderous incursion from Gaza on Israeli terrain on 7 October […] todayJanuary 29, 2024 6
insert_link Environment Climate change made 2023 Amazon drought 30 times more likely, scientists say The river that supplies water to the Kokama Indigenous People of the Porto Praia community was mostly dry in October of 2023. Image © Marizilda Cruppe / Greenpeace. By Carla Ruas via Mongabay Global warming was the main driver of the severe drought that parched the Amazon River Basin in 2023. That is the alarming conclusion of a new report from World Weather Attribution (WWA), a team of international climate scientists […] todayJanuary 29, 2024 11
