insert_link Health / Medical Does exercise really do nothing for longevity, as a Finnish twins study suggests? BGStock72/Shutterstock George M. Savva, Quadram Institute Surveys on lifestyle and longevity consistently find that people who do more exercise live longer. So it is surprising to see a report from the Finnish Twins Cohort Study that there is little direct effect of “leisure time physical activity” on lifespan. What makes this study different from others – and is it right? Human behaviour and biology are complex and interact with wider […] todayJanuary 10, 2024 16
insert_link Opinion Pieces Literature inspired my medical career: Why the humanities are needed in health care Medicine is as much about the human experience as it is about biology. Jonathan Knowles/Stone via Getty Images Irène Mathieu, University of Virginia While there is a long history of doctor-poets – one giant of mid-20th-century poetry, William Carlos Williams, was famously also a pediatrician – few people seem to know this or understand the power of combining the humanities and medicine. As a published poet and scholar of the […] todayJanuary 10, 2024 16
insert_link Opinion Pieces South Korea’s gender imbalance is bad news for men − outnumbering women, many face bleak marriage prospects In South Korea, there are nor enough young Korean women for young Korean men to marry. RUNSTUDIO/Getty Images Dudley L. Poston Jr., Texas A&M University South Korea’s bachelor time bomb is about to really go off. Following a historic 30-year-long imbalance in the male-to-female sex ratio at birth, young men far outnumber young women in the country. As a result, some 700,000 to 800,000 “extra” South Korean boys born since […] todayJanuary 10, 2024 8
insert_link Opinion Pieces Bullies in South African schools were often bullied themselves – insights from an expert Bullying is far more complex than current interventions acknowledge. Georgia Court/Getty Images Andrea Juan, Human Sciences Research Council “Pupil stabbed to death at Gauteng school had suffered history of bullying”. “Grade 6 learner commits suicide after bullying”. “Grade 11 learner takes her own life after taunts over her appearance.” These are just some headlines about the occasionally tragic effects of violent school bullying in South African schools – and, unfortunately, […] todayJanuary 10, 2024 16
insert_link Africa Black Panther, Wakanda Forever and the problem with Hollywood – an African perspective Jeanne-Marie Viljoen, University of South Australia Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever were global hits that played out in an imaginary African kingdom and feature a universe of black creative talent. What’s not to love about the franchise? Quite a lot, reckons cultural and literary studies scholar Jeanne-Marie Viljoen. We asked her to explain. What are Black Panther’s limitations when it comes to diversity? Even though the Black Panther […] todayJanuary 10, 2024 24
insert_link Opinion Pieces School uniforms may trigger sensory overload in kids who are sensitive to fabrics – our research can help macniak Lizette Diedericks, University of Pretoria and Karin van Niekerk, University of Pretoria Many people live with what’s known as sensory over-reactivity or over-responsiveness. Those with this condition experience an over-reaction to sensory stimuli, such as touch. When overstimulated, the brain triggers a fight-or-flight response, which can lead to irritability, withdrawing from people, and temper tantrums. Over time individuals can learn to manage this condition, but children often struggle. This […] todayJanuary 10, 2024 15
insert_link Health / Medical Stressed out? Why mindfulness and meditation help us cope with the world By Lucy Draper-Clarke, University of the Witwatersrand In a world fraught with anxiety, stress, and environmental and humanitarian disasters, people are looking for ways to cope. Many have turned to practices originating in ancient eastern philosophies for guidance. Among these is mindfulness, which is linked to meditation. Lucy Draper-Clarke, researcher and author of The Compassionate Activist, spoke to health & medicine editor Nadine Dreyer about looking inwards and cultivating compassion, […] todayJanuary 10, 2024 24
insert_link Lifestyle Being humble is a good new year’s resolution – but it requires knowing what you value most Clay Knight|Unsplash By Darren Bradley, University of Leeds As the new year gets going, many of us make resolutions to better our lives and our selves. Counsellors and psychologists alike will tell you that the key to self-improvement is being humble. Author and coach Anna Katharina Schaffner has described humility as an “ancient virtue” that does not equate with low self-esteem but rather, “is a form of spiritual modesty”. It […] todayJanuary 10, 2024 4
insert_link Health / Medical How living like a hunter-gatherer could improve your health Prostock-studio/Shutterstock By Nicholas Bourne, University of East London; David Clayton, Nottingham Trent University, and Marcello Bertotti, University of East London Many of us want to live long, happy and healthy lives. Yet it’s often confusing to know the best way to achieve this, and many aspects of modern, westernised living conspire to keep us from achieving this goal. The solution may be to step back in time. For the bulk […] todayJanuary 10, 2024 15
