Why some people don’t trust science – and how to change their minds: Nasa/wikipedia During the pandemic, a third of people in the UK reported that their trust in science had increased, we recently discovered. But 7% said that it had decreased. Why is there such variety of responses? For many years, it was thought that …
Interest rates have stopped rising, but 2023 hikes could still cause recession for some economies: Central banks in the US, UK and Europe have been trying to slow inflation without creating a recession. eamesBot/Shutterstock Central banks on both sides of the Atlantic kept their main interest rates unchanged for the fourth successive month in December …
Gingerbread is a delicious yet ancient staple of the holiday season — and its spices may have some surprising health benefits: The gingerbread house traces its origins to 18th-century Germany. Tatiana Gordievskaia/ Shutterstock No confectionery symbolises the holidays quite like gingerbread. While most of us associate gingerbread with edible houses and spiced loaves of cake-like …
Why some people from the north of England end up leaving everything to King Charles when they die: What connects an ex-miner and lifelong republican, who once manned the protest lines at Orgreave, with King Charles III? The surprising answer, as the Guardian reported, is that the ex-miner’s estate now forms part of a fund …
Nanoplastics linked to Parkinson’s and some types of dementia – new study: meeboonstudio/Shutterstock Since it was first produced at the start of the 20th century, synthetic plastic – and especially plastic packaging – has been an ever-present fixture in everyday life. Yet all the convenience plastic has given us comes at a price. When plastic …
COVID inquiry heard Boris Johnson ‘struggled’ with graphs – if you do too, here are some tips: In March 2020, the UK government’s chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance, presented to the nation a graph showing “the shape of an epidemic”. The red line depicting the number of predicted COVID cases rose to a steep peak …
Palestine march: some opponents are politicising the Cenotaph to sow divisions – and it could work: Poppy wreaths placed around the Cenotaph on Whitehall. David Burrows|Shutterstock The pro-Palestine protest planned to take place in London on Armistice Day has met with opposition from politicians and media pundits alike. Organisers of the Armistice Day protest calling …
Is some of the body that collided with Earth to form the Moon still recognisable inside our planet?: Scientists have dated the birth of the Solar System to about 4.57 billion years ago. About 60 million years later a “giant impact” collision between the infant Earth and a Mars-sized body called Theia created the Moon. …
Earth has many objects in orbit but definitely only one Moon – despite what some people think: Wherever you view it from on Earth, it's the same Moon. Fernando Astasio Avila / Shutterstock Big Brother has always chosen its contestants for entertainment value rather than for intellectual debate. This was recently highlighted in a discussion …
How we’re building the world’s biggest optical telescope to crack some of the greatest puzzles in science: ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope. ESO/wikipedia, CC BY-SA Astronomers get to ask some of the most fundamental questions there are, ranging from whether we’re alone in the cosmos to what the nature of the mysterious dark energy and dark …
Some African governments are spending millions to spy on their citizens – stifling debate and damaging democracy: Governments around the world use surveillance technology to monitor external threats to national security. Some African governments are also spending vast sums on mass surveillance of their own citizens. They are using mobile phone spyware, internet interception devices, …
South Africa power outages: some improvement but a long way to go before the grid is stable: Over the past few months, South Africa’s power generation sector has performed better than expected. Four factors explain this: an acceleration of solar power installations, less frequent breakdowns at power stations, a less restricted supply of diesel and …
Why some people got blood clots after the AstraZeneca vaccine – new clues: AstraZeneca in partnership with the University of Oxford developed one of the first vaccines against COVID. The vaccine, which used an adenovirus to smuggle instructions into human cells to make antibodies against the novel coronavirus, saved countless lives. But a problem soon …
Football and big money: what some professional players in Ghana told us about handling their finances: Footballers are among the best paid sportsmen in most parts of the world. The unfortunate reality, however, is that the retirement experiences of many former professional footballers have been awful. Within the sports media landscape, there have been reported …
Cosmetic surgery boosts some people’s mental health – but for others it makes problems worse: Many hope having cosmetic surgery will bring real mental health improvements. Oleksandr Berezko/ Shutterstock Demand for cosmetic procedures are higher than ever. From breast augmentations to “tweakments” such as lip fillers and Botox, more and more people around the world …
Book review: African thinkers analyse some of the big issues of our time – race, belonging and identity: The subjects of race, identity and belonging are often fraught with contention and uneasiness. Who are you? Who belongs? Who is native, or indigenous to a place? These perennial questions arise around the world. They are the …
Creatine supplement may help relieve some long COVID symptoms: Creatine helps muscles recover between workouts. BongkarnGraphic/Shutterstock Creatine supplements are popular among fitness enthusiasts. It’s no wonder, with research showing it may help improve strength and power, and support recovery between workouts. Given its many benefits, a team of researchers recently decided to investigate whether it …
Threats of failure motivate some students – but it’s not a technique to use on the whole class: Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock It is the start of a new academic year, and a fresh group of students will be beginning study towards their GCSEs. After two years, they will be taking exams with important consequences: the …