Do humanitarian agencies help refugees become independent? Evidence from history: Refugees take shelter in front of the UN refugee centre in South Africa. Ihsaan Haffejee/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images When 5.3 million Ukrainians entered the EU between February and June 2022, alongside life-saving emergency assistance came similarly crucial support: the right to stay and work …
COVID reinfections could be more severe for some – but overall evidence doesn’t give us cause for concern: Photoroyalty/Shutterstock The COVID pandemic has been going on for well over two years now. During this time, SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) has slowly mutated, allowing it to evade the immune system enough to infect people …
Is intermittent fasting actually good for weight loss? Here’s what the evidence says: Many people find intermittent fasting to be more flexible and easy to follow than other diets. Marcin Malicki/ Shutterstock If you’re someone who’s thought about losing weight or has wanted to get healthier in the past few years, you’ve probably come across …
Plan to slash smoking in England is backed by the evidence – but it could go even further: Shutterstock/chayanuphol If smoking tobacco was invented today, there is little doubt it would be made illegal. The harm it does is simply too great. It is still the biggest cause of preventable illness and death in England, …
Food banks: an MP claimed there’s no massive use for them in the UK – the evidence shows why he’s wrong: Dragana Gordic / Shutterstock There is no “massive use for food banks” in the UK, according to Lee Anderson, the Conservative MP for Ashfield. However, figures and evidence from food bank organisations, charities and …
Hepatitis spike in children linked to dogs – but the evidence is weak: Nina Buday/Shutterstock The recent spike in cases of sudden, severe hepatitis in children around the world has been widely reported. Recently, several news outlets have highlighted a possible link between cases and contacts with pet dogs. However, the data suggesting this link …
Do these three popular anti-ageing skincare ingredients work? Here’s what the evidence says: Anti-ageing skincare products are marketed to people of all ages. Maridav/ Shutterstock For people looking to press pause on ageing, it hasn’t always been as easy as it is today. Throughout history people have used all sorts of outlandish anti-ageing skincare techniques …
Does Tanis reveal the last day of the dinosaurs? An expert explores the evidence: Buried in the rocks in North Dakota lies evidence of the exact day the dinosaurs were obliterated from the planet, some 66 million years ago. That’s the claim of palaeontologist Robert DePalma and colleagues, whose work was captured by the BBC …
The Valneva COVID vaccine has been approved for use in the UK – here’s what the evidence says: Jacob Lund/Shutterstock The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved a new COVID vaccine. VLA2001 is manufactured by French pharmaceutical company Valneva for use in the UK and was approved on April 14 for …
Agriculture is linked with malaria in complex ways: evidence from 16 African countries: When done unsustainably, agricultural development can harm human health. Nikada via GettyImages The African population is expected to triple by 2100. This means that more food, water and agricultural commodities are required. To meet these needs, African governments and development agencies have …
Ukraine: how forensics teams will investigate evidence of atrocities at Bucha: Forensic investigators are reportedly already at work in Bucha, northwest of Kyiv, where grisly evidence has been found that could point to war crimes committed by Russian troops during their occupation of the area. Journalists brought in by Ukrainian troops who have retaken various …
Ukraine war: evidence of atrocities in Kyiv’s suburbs strengthens case for a harder line against Russia: When Ukraine learned on April 2 that the whole Kyiv region had been liberated from Russian troops, there was barely any jubilation. This was mostly because of the gruesome evidence of war crimes left by the Russian occupying force …
Melatonin’s role in protecting the heart – the evidence so far: fizkes/Shutterstock Many people know of melatonin as the sleep hormone – and, indeed, that’s what most of the research on melatonin has focused on. However, melatonin is also an antioxidant, protecting cells from harmful “free radicals” that can damage DNA – and this includes …
Early pregnancy can put young women’s mental health at risk: a review of African evidence: Donwilson Odhiambo/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images The rates of adolescent pregnancies in sub-Saharan Africa are among the world’s highest. The adolescent birth rate is as high as 139 per 1,000 girls in Tanzania and 96 per 1,000 in Kenya. This …
Is sustainable seabed trawling possible? A look at the evidence: Bottom-trawl fishing provides about a quarter of global seafood but is controversial. The heavy nets and dredges that are used to catch species like cod, plaice and scampi also disturb the seabed and kill some of the invertebrates that live there. For instance, a single …
Electroconvulsive therapy: calls to have it suspended ignore the evidence: Arguments to suspend ECT are based on selective and poor-quality assessments of the evidence. Micolas/ Shutterstock Around 2,500 people in England receive electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) every year. This is a last resort treatment, used to help alleviate severe depression in people who have failed to …
Cost of living crisis: historical evidence suggests voters could quickly turn against Tories: Rishi Sunak: the lightbulbs are coming for you. HM Treasury/ Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND After years of being relatively low, inflation is now re-emerging with a vengeance. The Bank of England expects it to rise to more than 7% by the spring of …
Will extra mayors level up left-behind regions? What the evidence tells us: Adding more mayors to English regions is central to the UK government’s “levelling up” plan. From day one, part of the vision has been to expand mayoral devolution – giving more powers to regional combined authorities, rather than just being ruled by Whitehall. …