Dyspraxia affects children’s wellbeing – here’s how parents and caregivers can help: Vietnam Stock Images/Shutterstock It’s likely at least one child in every classroom has movement difficulties in the form of developmental coordination disorder (DCD), also known as developmental dyspraxia. DCD is a disorder that affects a child’s ability to perform and learn everyday tasks …
What women say about how breastfeeding affects their body image: Krakenimages.com/Shutterstock The benefits of breastfeeding are well known – but the UK has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world. The WHO recommends that babies should be exclusively breastfed up to the age of six months (when they can start having food in …
El Niño may be drying out the southern hemisphere – here’s how that affects the whole planet: FoxPictures / shutterstock It is a well-known fact that water is the key to life on Earth. But it is less well known that only about 1% of all water on the planet is fresh water available to …
Antimatter: we cracked how gravity affects it – here’s what it means for our understanding of the universe: Insertion of the ALPHA-g apparatus. Cern, CC BY-SA A substance called antimatter is at the heart of one of the greatest mysteries of the universe. We know that every particle has an antimatter companion that is virtually …
Chronic pelvic pain affects up to 26% of women – our latest research brings us closer to better treating it: A lack of understanding about chronic pelvic pain has left women with limited treatment options. Studio Romantic/ Shutterstock Chronic pelvic pain affects between 5% and 26% of women worldwide. It can be associated with conditions …
How ‘drinkflation’ affects the price of your pint: Is 'drinkflation' a thing? Cast Of Thousands/Shutterstock The cost of living crisis has seen the prices of many goods and services rise sharply in the past 18 months, but food and drink prices have been particularly hard hit. Some food producers have responded by reducing the size …
How holidaying in developing countries affects local inequality: A few years ago, one of us (Alex) went for a vacation to the Dominican Republic. The motivation was similar to millions of other tourists every year: escape the daily routine, enjoy the sun and beaches, and gather some strength to face another cold winter. Unfortunately, a …
Children’s movement affects health and development but research is lacking in Africa: here’s why: Shutterstock Children’s health and development depend on how much time they spend doing physical activity, being sedentary and sleeping. Research on movement behaviours in children is essential. It helps us to understand what influences these behaviours, and their contribution to health …
How food insecurity affects people’s rights to choose whether or not to have children, and how they parent: Nicoleta Ionescu/Shutterstock Food insecurity – difficulties getting enough nutritious food for a healthy life – is a growing problem globally. It has been linked to many health and social problems including malnutrition, difficulties managing diabetes, impaired development …
‘It felt like how I looked was part of the decoration’: how getting wed affects women’s body image: annie_zhak/Shutterstock Weddings are supposed to be joyful, but this joy can be accompanied by a lot of stress. Alongside choosing the menu, flowers and decorations and sorting the table plan, body image – how we think and …
Ghana school students talk about their social media addiction, and how it affects their use of English: Education stakeholders should pay attention to students' use of social media. Wikimedia Commons Social media networks such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, YouTube and Instagram have been shown to have significantly transformed student behaviour. But the focus has been …
Eco-anxiety: climate change affects our mental health – here’s how to cope: A climate protest in Ontario, Canada. Ali Jabber/Shutterstock As a psychologist, I have been researching, writing and talking about psychological and social responses to climate change for over ten years. An increasingly common response appears to be extreme worry. The University of Bath …
Long COVID: what we know about how the condition affects mental health: Long COVID affects millions of people around the world. Maridav/Shutterstock Many people have persistent symptoms after recovering from COVID, a condition termed “long COVID”. The UK’s Office for National Statistics estimates 1.8 million people in the UK have long COVID symptoms at least …
Climate change affects mosquito behaviour. This may make it harder to end malaria in South Africa: Global climate is changing rapidly. This has a range of public health implications. CDC/ James Gathany Changes in climatic factors – such as higher temperatures and increased rainfall – affect the developmental, behavioural and distribution patterns of insects like …
Here’s why so many medications are out of stock — and what to do if it affects you: It's unlikely shortages will go away anytime soon. asobov/ Shutterstock Millions of people worldwide who use certain common medicines may be finding it more difficult to get their normal prescriptions dispensed. This comes after pharmacies across the …
We studied how COVID affects mental health and brain disorders up to two years after infection – here’s what we found: COVID has been linked with a higher rate of psychiatric and neurological disorders. SewCream/Shutterstock The occurrence of mental health conditions and neurological disorders among people recovering from COVID has been a concern since early …
How news affects people’s expectations and drives economic change: Immediate reactions to announcements about the future can significantly affect the future economy. Tero Vesalainen/Shutterstock News of a big pay rise might see you booking the nearest fancy restaurant for a slap-up meal to celebrate, or encourage you to go on a shopping spree even before …
Cooking with ‘dirty’ fuels affects women’s mental health: Dirty fuels are still popular in large parts of Africa Wikimedia Commons About 2.6 billion people – nearly half of the global population, most of them in Africa, Asia and central and south America – rely on biomass fuels, like wood and charcoal, or kerosene to cook …