Life Changes
Healing Through Storytelling: Lessons from The Odyssey
The journey of Odysseus in Homer's 'The Odyssey' offers profound insights into healing...
- Details
- Written by: Annalijn I Conklin, University of California, Los Angeles; Nita Forouhi, University of Cambridge, and Pablo Monsivais, University of Cambridge
In a study of over 25,000 adults with detailed information about their eating habits, people with a greater diversity of foods in their diet showed a 30% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes over a ten-year period.
- Details
- Written by: Shilo Rea, Carnegie Mellon University
Ordering lunch at least an hour before you eat could help you cut calories and avoid unhealthy impulse choices.
- Details
- Written by: Beth Darnall, Ph.D.
If you take prescription opioids, you may have experienced withdrawal symptoms at some point—perhaps when you forgot to take a scheduled dose of medication. Opioid withdrawal is highly unpleasant. If you experience withdrawal symptoms, this does not meant that you cannot get off opioids...
- Details
- Written by: Stephanie Desmon, Johns Hopkins University
"It doesn't matter how old you are or if you're in a wealthy country or a poorer one or if you've had it before—you can get it again," says Sarah M. Bartsch. "And it is really unpleasant. But if we don't focus on norovirus and teach people how to prevent it, little headway will be made to combat it."
- Details
- Written by: Alexandra Alvergne, University of Oxford
It is a popular belief that women who live together synchronise their menstrual cycles, and that it’s mediated by their pheromones – the airborne molecules that enable members of the same species to communicate non-verbally.
- Details
- Written by: Nora Caron
Ever since I was a child, I chased the sun. I was ecstatic in the summer and miserable in the winter. My parents would have to chase after me to wear a hat and long sleeves because I wouldn’t think about sunburns or skin cancer at all, all I could think about was JOY.
- Details
- Written by: Andy Fell, University of California, Davis
A new study of pigeons in New York City shows that levels of lead in the birds track with neighborhoods where children show high levels of lead exposure.
- Details
- Written by: Ben Baumberg Geiger, University of Kent
For those of us that partake, drinking alcohol is often seen as a balancing act that weighs up the pleasures of drinking against the pains. Government regulation is often seen the same way, weighing the benefits of pleasure and freedom of the individual on one hand against the cost of crime and health harms on the other
- Details
- Written by: Stephanie Desmon, Johns Hopkins University
Asthma patients who live near major Pennsylvania fracking sites are as much as four times more likely to suffer attacks than those farther away, a new study shows.
- Details
- Written by: Suzie Ferrie, University of Sydney
A recent article in The Guardian said coffee stunting kids' growth is just a myth promoted by 19th-century manufacturers of a coffee substitute. So does this mean the long-thought wisdom that coffee is bad for kids is a lie?
- Details
- Written by: Senaka Ranadheera, Victoria University; Duane Mellor, University of Canberra, and Nenad Naumovski, University of Canberra
Most of us know eating fruit daily is a great way to try to stay healthy, with the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating encouraging us to eat two serves a day.
- Details
- Written by: Chris Hammond, King's College London and Katie Williams, King's College London
Over the last century, myopia (short-sightedness) has risen to epidemic proportions. In South-East Asia nearly 90% of school leavers are now affected. In the West the figures are not as dramatic, but it appears to be similarly increasing.
- Details
- Written by: Nicola Jones, University of Warwick
A study of 12,000 people found that those who started eating more fruits and vegetables felt much happier.
- Details
- Written by: Chris Hamlett, Nottingham Trent University
It is one of the distinct sounds of summer: the noise of people tapping the tops of their cans of fizzy drink before opening them. But does this widespread ritual really stop a can of beer or pop from gushing over?
- Details
- Written by: Lewis Mitchell, University of Adelaide
Since its public launch 10 years ago, Twitter has been used as a social networking platform among friends, an instant messaging service for smartphone users and a promotional tool for corporations and politicians.
- Details
- Written by: Vardhman Rakyan, Queen Mary University of London
The most exciting recent development in human genetics research has been the ability to perform large-scale systematic studies of genetic variation in thousands of people.
- Details
- Written by: Mike Williams, Rice University
What you say when a doctor asks how you feel is as good—or perhaps even better—than any test to predict long-term illness or death.
- Details
- Written by: Richard Steed, University of Copenhagen
Being overweight and not getting enough exercise are considered major contributors to insulin resistance and, ultimately, type 2 diabetes. But new research suggests specific imbalances in gut bacteria play a role, too
- Details
- Written by: Alex Jones, Swansea University
Our facial appearance influences how we feel about ourselves – and other people’s faces influence who we choose to approach or avoid and who we’d like to form romantic relationships with.
- Details
- Written by: Gretchen Tietjen, and Monita Karmakar, University of Toledo
Child abuse and neglect are, sadly, more common than you might think. According to a 2011 study in JAMA Pediatrics, more than five million U.S. children experienced confirmed cases of maltreatment between 2004 and 2011. The effects of abuse can linger beyond childhood – and migraine headaches might be one of them.
- Details
- Written by: Timothy Woodman, University of Bath
If you’ve ever tasted a really hot chilli you’ll know just how potent the effects can be. The burning heat sensation on the lips, on the tongue – and if you are not careful, on other more sensitive areas, such as the eyes – can be severe and last for a painfully long time.
