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Alcohol addiction: could the brain’s immune system be the key to understanding and treating alcoholism?
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 abuse can have many harmful effects on our body. But oneContinue Reading
Video games affect your moral development but only until you’re 18 – new study
Pixel-Shot/Shutterstock, Author provided Young people have probably spent much more of their time than usual playing video games over the last few months thanks to the coronvirus pandemic. One report from telecoms firm Verizon said online gaming use went up 75% in the first week of lockdown in the US.Continue Reading
Universities should learn from assessment methods used during the pandemic – and cut down on exams for good
sakkarin sapu/Shutterstock Timed written examinations continue to dominate university assessment. In most professions, the need to recall and write down specific information from memory under timed conditions is rare. Yet every year across the world students are crammed into exam halls to do just that. The coronavirus pandemic gave universitiesContinue Reading
Many UK healthcare workers may have had coronavirus without knowing it – new survey of smell loss
Loss of smell is a recognised symptom of COVID-19 in the UK. However, it was only added to the official list of symptoms on May 18, a full month after the World Health Organization recognised it as a symptom. Before this time, any member of NHS staff reporting a lossContinue Reading
Meet the artist embroidering Belarus’ protests · Global Voices
For Rufina Bazlova, if the revolution can’t be live-tweeted, it must be embroidered instead A clash between riot police and protesters, embroidered in traditional Belarusian style by Rufina Bazlova. Image (c): Rufina Bazlova, used with permission. At first glance, no two words may seem as far removed as protest andContinue Reading
Belarus election: contested result sparks massive unrest as Europe’s ‘last dictator’ claims victory
Alexander Lukashenko, the authoritarian leader of Belarus who came to power in 1994, has won his sixth presidential election. The preliminary results show a landslide victory, giving Lukashenko 80% of the vote and his main opponent, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, just 10%. Nationwide protests have broken out in response and we shouldContinue Reading
Antibiotic resistance: how drug misuse in livestock farming is a problem for human health
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 increasingly resistant to the available drugs. This antimicrobial resistance increases theContinue Reading
Pious, assertive, and ‘mother of all Bolivians’: The (expensive) political narrative of President Jeanine Áñez · Global Voices
Helicopter flights to bless different cities cost more than USD 20,000 Jeanine Áñez assuming Bolivia’s presidency on 12 November 2019, with her daughter Carolina Ribera to her left. Image by Wikimedia Commons, open content modified by Global Voices. Throughout her campaign and current presidency, President Jeanine Áñez has created an image ofContinue Reading
Rise in fake benzodiazepines in the UK may put people at risk of serious harm
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 the real thing, but typically contain the wrong type or amountContinue Reading