insert_link Lifestyle Who created the alphabet? A historian describes the millennia-long story of the ABCs Creating the alphabet took thousands of years. kovalchuk/iStock via Getty Images Plus Jane Sancinito, UMass Lowell Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com. Who created the alphabet and decided its order? – Priti C., age 12, Mumbai, India A, B, C, D, E, F, G – makes you want to hum the […] todayJanuary 29, 2024 11
insert_link Health / Medical Our sense of taste helps pace our eating – understanding how may lead to new avenues for weight loss A team of scientists uncovers a logic the brainstem uses to control how fast and how much we eat. Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images Zachary Knight, University of California, San Francisco As a scientist who investigates hunger and weight control, I’m interested in the way our brains let us know we’ve had enough. As we begin to feel full, we slow down how quickly we eat. For decades, scientists have thought that […] todayJanuary 29, 2024 10
insert_link Lifestyle Disinformation is often blamed for swaying elections – the research says something else Alexandru Nika/Shutterstock Magda Osman, Cambridge Judge Business School Many countries face general elections this year. Political campaigning will include misleading and even false information. Just days ago, it was reported that a robocall impersonating US president Joe Biden had told recipients not to vote in the presidential primary. But can disinformation significantly influence voting? There are two typical styles of election campaigning. One is positive, presenting favourable attributes of politicians […] todayJanuary 29, 2024 13
insert_link Health / Medical Certain indoor air pollutants can be absorbed through the skin – here’s what you need to know Phthalates are one of these pollutants that our skin can absorb. atk work/ Shutterstock Asit Kumar Mishra, University College Cork and Gabriel Bekö, Technical University of Denmark Even though most of us will spend a majority of our lives indoors, that doesn’t mean we aren’t still exposed to air pollution. Indoor air contains a wide array of pollutants including chemicals found in many common household items, building materials and cleaning […] todayJanuary 29, 2024 18
insert_link Lifestyle Pickle, anyone? 3 possible reasons women get cravings during pregnancy wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock Lauren Ball, The University of Queensland and Katelyn Barnes, The University of Queensland From pickles and french fries to oranges and ice cream, women and other people who are pregnant report craving a range of foods while they’re expecting. A food craving is a strong urge to eat a specific food. The intense desire to eat is not necessarily related to hunger and can be difficult to ignore or […] todayJanuary 29, 2024 10
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 20
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 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
