Even moderate alcohol consumption changes the brain's structure. Syda Productions/ Shutterstock Alcohol abuse is a serious problem worldwide. In England alone, over 350,000 alcohol-related hospital admissions – and over 5,000 alcohol-related deaths – were reported in 2018. Long-term alcohol abuseContinue Reading
Shutterstock Rearing animals for food takes time and requires hard work to maintain their health and well-being. Just as in humans, farm animals sometimes get sick and require drugs to treat infections. But organisms that cause infections are becoming increasinglyContinue Reading
Fake benzodiazepines (including diazepam and alprazolam – better known as Xanax) could cause serious harm. PureRadiancePhoto/ Shutterstock Counterfeit, or “fake”, medicines are a growing problem worldwide, from antimicrobials to cancer treatments. They are are designed to look exactly like theContinue Reading
Transgender and gender diverse people are more likely to be autistic. Sandra van der Steen/Shutterstock There is a lot of evidence to suggest that men are more likely to be autistic than women. For every woman who is autistic, evidenceContinue Reading
Strength training can improve bone density, muscle mass, and physical ability in older people. NDAB Creativity/ Shutterstock It’s a common assumption that exercise in older people is difficult and dangerous, so it’s perhaps best avoided. But this is often notContinue Reading
Shutterstock How does walking through a forest make you feel? Peaceful? Blissful? Reflective? For many people, lockdown brought a new appreciation of nature and what it means for our well-being. The health benefits of immersing ourselves in “greenspace” are nowContinue Reading
Monika Wisniewska/Shutterstock Heatwaves undoubtedly bring a certain joy at the opportunity to be out in the sunshine. But as the planet heats and weather records tumble, increasingly normal bouts of baking heat aren’t all sun and games. Aside from theContinue Reading
Some super smellers even associate unpleasant memories or feelings of annoyance with certain smells. Shift Drive/ Shutterstock Do certain smells make you feel uncomfortable, even nauseous? Or is your nose so good that you can detect even the subtlest aromasContinue Reading
Tomas Nevesely/Shutterstock Painkillers such as morphine have transformed the way pain can be controlled – but there are drawbacks, not least the risk of overdose or becoming dependent. The havoc and misery caused by over-prescribing these drugs in the USContinue Reading
Alexithymia is a personality trait characterised by an inability to identify and describe emotions. Rawpixel.com/ Shutterstock Eating disorders have the highest mortality rates of any mental illness. They don’t discriminate, affecting people of all ethnicities, sexualities, gender identities, ages andContinue Reading
