Ouija boards: three factors that might explain why they appear to work for some: The Ouija board was first developed in 1890. Couperfield/ Shutterstock Despite being around for more than 100 years, Ouija boards (a wooden board covered with the letters of the alphabet, the numbers 0-9 and the words “yes”, “no” and “goodbye”) continue …
Life expectancy improves in some countries after big drops in 2020 – but US and others see further falls: Hyejin Kang/Shutterstock The COVID pandemic triggered an unprecedented rise in deaths around the world, leading to falls in life expectancy. In research last year, we found that 2020 saw significant life expectancy losses, including more than …
Base jumping: what we can learn from some of the world’s most extreme athletes about overcoming doubt: David Gallagher, Author provided You can be on that exit point for five minutes, battling all these voices in the head, and all of a sudden, a calmness comes over you, and you realise … it’s good, let’s …
Why some Welsh people want the title Prince of Wales abolished: Prince William has been given the title of Prince of Wales. 360B/Shutterstock On September 9 2022, the new King Charles III installed his son and heir, Prince William, and William’s wife Katherine as the Prince and Princess of Wales. It is a title held …
Some coronaviruses kill, while others cause a common cold. We are getting closer to knowing why: Some human coronaviruses cause seasonal colds or other mild symptoms. Others can be severe and even fatal. Jdidi wassim/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images It’s hard to imagine a time when “coronavirus” wasn’t a household word. But for a long …
Nigeria ticks some boxes as a democracy. Why this hasn’t translated into a better life for most: Regular elections have not translated to development in Nigeria. Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images Since gaining independence on 1 October 1960, Nigeria has struggled to maintain a democratic government. The election of 1999 offered renewed hope after …
Four things that cost more if you’re already poor – and some simple ways to help fix this: Shutterstock/Ink Drop As the UK faces the sharpest increase in the cost of living in a generation, households across the country are feeling the pinch. Those already on low incomes are affected most, not just because they have …
Some plants can short-circuit the toxic effects of metals – now scientists are trying to harness their power: Heavy metals can be toxic to plants – and humans, too. Andrii Yalanskyi/Shutterstock At first glance, it’s hard to see what gold, iron, lead, arsenic, silver, platinum and tin have in common. A look at the periodic …
Comments policy: We still want to hear from you – we just needed to make some changes: shutterstock A recent spam attack led us to closing comments on all articles across The Conversation’s seven sites. Now that things have settled down we have introduced a more nuanced approach in a bid to manage the threat …
Nigeria’s endless lecturer strikes: insights from some essential reads: Photo by Pius Utomi Ekpei /AFP One thing that is synonymous with public universities in Nigeria is strikes. Since 1999, the public university system has lost about 57 cumulative months to industrial action. This always comes about as a result of under-funding. Lecturers’ unions have called …
Boris Johnson’s pandemic legacy – where he went wrong managing COVID (and some things he got right): The UK sees a change of leadership on September 6 2022, with Liz Truss selected by Conservative Party members to replace Boris Johnson as the UK prime minister. Johnson’s term of course coincided with the emergence of the …
China has waived the debt of some African countries. But it’s not about refinancing: Chinese president Xi Jinping addressing the China-Africa Summit via a video link from Beijing on 17 June 2020. Huang Jingwen/Xinhua via Getty Images In mid-August, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs surprised the world with a series of announcements. Wang Yi, Beijing’s …
Chemical imbalance theory of depression: clearing up some misconceptions: fizkes/Shutterstock The scale of the response to our recent study finding that there was no support for the idea that low serotonin causes depression – the so-called “chemical imbalance” theory of depression – was enormous. Our paper is one of the 400 most shared of the …
How the kimono became a symbol of oppression in some parts of Asia: Now a symbol of Japanese culture, the Kimono has Chinese roots. supawat bursuk/Shutterstock A woman in Suzhou, China, was reportedly detained recently for “provoking trouble”. Her alleged crime was being spotted outside wearing a kimono. The woman was dressed like a character …
Drought: why some UK trees are losing their leaves in August: Britain is suffering its worst drought since the 1970s, with dry weather expected until October. Many parks and lawns are now more straw than grass, but some trees and other plants have responded in a more surprising way: by losing their leaves. It is …
As tech giants face a financial downturn, some new players are focusing on people over profit: Emerging technology business models aim to empower consumers Harbucks / Shutterstock The tech industry has been rocked by recent economic woes. While once thought of as close to recession proof, companies from Netflix to Meta are suddenly experiencing serious …
ADHD drug shows promise in treating some symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease – new research: Noradrenergic drugs were shown to improve some brain function and feelings of apathy. Africa Studio/ Shutterstock The search for a way to treat Alzheimer’s disease has puzzled scientists for decades. This may be why some researchers are shifting their focus slightly, …
Ukraine: survey shows British people, and especially Tory voters, feel very differently about some refugees than others: As of late May, in the three months since Russia invaded Ukraine, 6.8 million refugees had fled the war into other countries. The majority, some 3.6 million people, headed to Poland, while another million went to Romania. European …