Taung child: the controversial story of the fossil discovery that proved humanity’s common origins in Africa – podcast: The cast of the Taung child skull found in South Africa in 1924. Didier Descouens/Wikipedia Commons, CC BY-SA One hundred years ago, a paper was published in the journal Nature that would radically shift our understandings of …
What COVID diaries have in common with Samuel Pepys’ 17th-century plague diaries: Ground Picture/Shutterstock People keep diaries for all sorts of reasons – to record events, work through difficult situations, or manage stress and trauma. The ongoing COVID inquiry shows diaries also have important political and historic significance. The UK’s former chief scientific adviser Patrick …
Vaccinating livestock against common diseases is a form of direct climate action: PERO studio/Shutterstock Animal diseases have a devastating impact on livestock production. In 2022, for example, 131 million domestic poultry died or were culled as a result of avian influenza (also called “bird flu”). Yet the cost of livestock disease goes beyond a shortage …
Argentina’s Brexit: why new president Milei is threatening to pull out of South America’s common market: Javier Milei, who was elected as Argentina’s new president on November 19, has promised to withdraw from the South American “common market”, Mercosur. This decision could have significant economic and social repercussions for Argentina, potentially similar to when the …
Tornadoes in the UK are surprisingly common and no one knows why: A small tornado recently passed through the town of Littlehampton on England’s south coast. Strong winds smashed windows, moved cars and left one person injured. You might associate tornadoes with the plains of the central US, but they’re surprisingly common in the UK …
Do liposomes make food supplements more effective? A chemistry expert explains common myths about these products: LookerStudio/Shutterstock There has been an explosion in nutritional supplements that promise a superior product because they contain nanoparticles called liposomes. But there’s a lot of misleading information and outright myths about these being shared online, so it’s important to …
Women’s sexual desire often goes undiscussed – yet it’s one of their most common health concerns: Many women are afraid to voice concerns about low desire to their doctors. Lordn/ Shutterstock Female sexual desire is frequently misunderstood. Despite desire (also known as libido or sex drive) being the most common sexual health concern for women, …
Common heart medication less effective in south Asian people – new research: Clopidogrel is prescribed to prevent subsequent heart attacks. Towfiqu ahamed barbhuiya/ Shutterstock People who have recently had a heart attack are often prescribed clopidogrel, a medication that decreases the risk of having another heart attack. While the drug is very effective at preventing …
Ivy, dandelions and other common wildflowers are often seen as weeds – but they’re a crucial resource for pollinating insects: A bumblebee flying over a blooming bramble bush. Legonkov Vladimir Since the end of the second world war, factors such as more intensive farming and urbanisation have reduced the abundance of wildflowers in Britain. In …
A World in Common: Contemporary African Photography – Tate Modern show celebrates new generation of artists, but misses a trick: The last large survey exhibition of African photography by a major western gallery was In/Sight at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in 1996. Twenty-seven years later, Tate Modern is introducing a British audience to …
Street gangs in South Africa and Canada are worlds apart – but they have a great deal in common: A former gang member in Cape Town, South Africa, shows off his tattoos. Courtesy Dariusz Dziewanski At first glance, it would appear that there’s little in common between the vast plains of the Canadian Prairies and …
Common diabetes drug metformin could protect against long COVID: Metformin is a drug commonly taken by patients with type 2 diabetes. pikselstock/Shutterstock There are no drugs to treat long COVID – a condition that affects around 2 million people in the UK alone – so you can imagine the excitement when a cheap diabetes drug …
Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever – why this tick-borne virus could become more common in richer countries: Gertjan Hooijer/Shutterstock Climate change is already having, and will continue to have, a significant effect on global health. This is likely to be greatest in rural poorer populations in sub-Saharan Africa. However, richer countries, such as the UK, will also …
Politicians love to appeal to common sense – but does it trump expertise?: Common sense is broadly defined as a shared set of beliefs and approaches to thinking about the world. elenabsl/Shutterstock Politicians love to talk about the benefits of “common sense” – often by pitting it against the words of “experts and elites”. But …
Depression is more common in the suburbs than in city centres – new research: Copenhagen, where people enjoy each other's company – and the proximity to the water. Fedor Selivanov/Shutterstock The rapid growth of cities comes with many challenges. How can we build greener? And how can we support the health and wellbeing of the people …
Could the common cold give children immunity against COVID? Our research offers clues: Rawpixel.com/Shuttersock Why children are less likely to become severely ill with COVID compared with adults is not clear. Some have suggested that it might be because children are less likely to have diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, …
Delegate common tasks with an open source automation tool: Delegate common tasks with an open source automation tool lnxchk Tue, 02/28/2023 – 03:00 A key precept for site reliability engineering (SRE), platform engineering, and *Ops teams is automating non-essential toil. Think of toil as any tasks that must be done for systems to run smoothly …
Beta blockers: how these common heart medications may reduce the risk of violence: Beta blockers are commonly prescribed for heart problems. Prostock-studio/Shutterstock Beta blockers are medications commonly used for treating cardiac problems such as high blood pressure, chest pain, irregular heartbeat and heart failure. In the US, for example, one in five adults aged 60–79 …