Eating yoghurt is one way of getting more _Lactobacillus acidophilus_ into your diet. Josep Suria/ Shutterstock Your gut is like a bustling city of trillions of microscopic inhabitants – including bacteria. While some of these bacterial inhabitants are villains, causing illness, infection and disease, others are good – supporting ourContinue Reading
Slouching has long been considered a bodily representation of negativity. Mike_shots/ Shutterstock Often a posture assigned to teenagers and disaffected youth, slouching is traditionally considered to be a “bad” posture – with some claiming it will damage your spine and cause pain. The term itself hails from medieval Norse meaningContinue Reading
myboys.me/Shutterstock I like to start my day with a bowl of cereal. It’s quick, light and, if I make the right choice, good for me. I also have the freedom to make a less healthy choice – but when I go to the supermarket and look over the array ofContinue Reading
Ek Ing/Shutterstock A recent study reported that sildenafil, sold under the brand name Viagra, and other medicines from the same group called phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. But other research has found no effect. Why isn’t the picture clear? And what can be concluded aboutContinue Reading
Scientists in the Netherlands have discovered a hollowed-out bone containing black henbane seeds at a Roman archaeological site. For centuries, the plant has been associated with medicine and magic. Black henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) contains toxic and potentially deadly compounds called tropane alkaloids. These compounds include hyoscyamine and scopolamine, which areContinue Reading
There is no clearer marker that we are now in the “after” phase of the pandemic, than the proliferation of public inquiries, reports on lessons learned and post hoc analyses. To reassess and agonise over how reasonable lockdown was is now a near-constant in the media, particularly in the UK.Continue Reading
GOLFX/Shutterstock As Kate, a participant in our research on birth experiences, struggled with the pain she was experiencing during labour, the midwife was stern. She referred to Kate as a “silly girl” and told her she needed to calm down. Finally, the anaesthetist arrived to give Kate an epidural. HeContinue Reading
Spice is the name given to a diverse group of drugs called 'synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists'. Axel Alvarez/ Shutterstock Five teenagers in London were hospitalised recently after smoking vapes containing the drug known as spice. This incident is only the latest in what appears to be a growing problem inContinue Reading
King Charles’ cancer diagnosis means the royal family has joined the approximately 3 million families in the UK affected by the disease. His family has already gathered around in support. William, Prince of Wales, has taken over some public duties for his father. And younger son Harry, who lives inContinue Reading
Stefani Reynolds / AFP If you think memes are simply online images of cute cats and celebrities with funny captions, then you might be surprised to learn that they can have a more sinister function. Our research shows that memes form part of a highly sophisticated strategy to spread andContinue Reading
