The Conversation

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The Conversation NEWS AGENCY

Articles by The Conversation

Four dangers lurking in your garden – and how to protect yourself

June 6, 2023

Even in times past, the garden could be quite the health hazard. One of the first patients to be treated with penicillin was a police officer who had apparently contracted sepsis after a scratch from a rose thorn

June 1, 2023

Plastic recycling is failing – here’s how the world must respond

June 5, 2023

Growing mountains of plastic waste are accumulating in the poorest countries as affluent nations such as the UK ship their recycling overseas. But some nations are importing far more plastic waste than they can possibly recycle.

June 1, 2023

Is it true the faster you lose weight the quicker it comes back? Here’s what we know about slow and fast weight loss

June 4, 2023

Slow weight loss is generally perceived as better for your health and more sustainable

May 29, 2023

Pandemic babies’ developmental milestones: Not as bad as we feared, but not as good as beforeSubscriber Only

June 3, 2023

The rates of anxiety and depression among pregnant individuals were two to four times higher during the early phase of the pandemic compared to numerous pregnancy studies prior to the pandemic.

May 31, 2023

The FDA finally approved Elon Musk’s Neuralink chip for human trials. Have all the concerns been addressed?

June 3, 2023

The device itself is a coin-sized unit called a Link. It's implanted within a small disk-shaped cutout in the skull using a precision surgical robot.

May 30, 2023

Exercise linked to higher pain tolerance – new study

June 2, 2023

The study, published in the journal PLOS One, found people who regularly exercised had a higher pain tolerance compared with those who hardly exercised

May 27, 2023

Why more foam makes for the best beer-drinking experience – and always has

June 1, 2023

The foamy head was at one time called a “collar” – a term that first appeared in print in John Steinbeck's 1945 novel Cannery Row

May 27, 2023

Doctor dog: how our canine companions can help us detect COVID and other diseases

May 31, 2023

Our furry friends can also use their sniffing power to learn how people are feeling. For example, they can detect the scent of fear in human sweat

May 27, 2023

Babies crawl, scoot and shuffle when learning to move. Here’s what to watch for if you’re worriedSubscriber Only

May 30, 2023

Some children, however, move differently, and some seem to skip the crawling stage altogether. Just as there is no specific day in the first year that all babies move off their play mat to explore, there is no one way of moving across the room.

May 28, 2023

Turmeric: here’s how it actually measures up to health claims

May 30, 2023

While turmeric is reported to contain over 100 different compounds, most of its reported health benefits are linked to specific compounds called curcuminoids (the most abundant being curcumin)

June 3, 2023

Headaches after exercise: here’s why they happen – and how to prevent them

May 29, 2023

While symptoms vary from person to person, exertion headaches typically involve a pulsating feeling on both sides of the head, which some describe as similar to a migraine

May 25, 2023

Five rare and unusual psychiatric syndromes – including one where people believe they are dead

May 28, 2023

Some psychiatric disorders are so rare that most experts might not have come across them in their careers.

May 28, 2023

TikTok promotes vaping as a fun, safe and socially accepted pastime – and omits the harms

May 27, 2023

Positive social media messages around vaping may particularly impact young people, who are the most frequent users of social media. In some cases, these messages have even been shown to blatantly target teens

May 19, 2023

Ableism and disablism – how to spot them and how we can all do better

May 26, 2023

What do these terms mean? And how can we all do better to dismantle them? Two types of discrimination Ableism and disablism both refer to types of disability discrimination

May 16, 2023

Do high top shoes actually reduce ankle sprain risk? Here’s what the research says

May 25, 2023

Ankle sprains can be painful, debilitating and may result in ongoing ankle problems. In fact, people with a history of a previous ankle sprain are more likely to sprain an ankle again in future

May 16, 2023

What’s the latest on GMOs and gene-edited foods – and what are the concerns? An expert explains

May 24, 2023

Critics argue these foods could pose risks to human health and the environment. Proponents point to their potential for enhancing yields, reducing food waste, and even combating climate change

May 16, 2023

Exhausted, disconnected and fed up – what is ‘parental burnout’ and what can you do about it?Subscriber Only

May 23, 2023

Although the exploration of parental burnout is relatively new, research has identified it as a prevalent issue across global communities and cultures. It's reported in countries around the world, with the highest prevalence rates rising to 8 per cent of parents in Poland, the United States and Belgium.

May 22, 2023

Is loneliness really as damaging to your health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day?

May 23, 2023

Mental health conditions can also be triggered by loneliness, including loss of hope, depression, problems with sleep, alcohol abuse and other psychiatric disorders.

May 15, 2023

Gene therapy helps combat some forms of blindness – and ongoing clinical trials are looking to extend these treatments to other diseases

May 22, 2023

While not every form of blindness can be cured, recent scientific breakthroughs have uncovered new ways to treat some forms of inherited blindness through gene therapy.

May 15, 2023

African scientists are working to pool data that decodes diseases – a giant step

May 21, 2023

This information aids in developing diagnostics, treatments and vaccines. It also helps public health authorities to guide and prepare their public health systems for effective outbreak detection and response

May 19, 2023

Methane must fall to slow global heating – but only 13 per cent of emissions are actually regulatedSubscriber Only

May 21, 2023

This is a useful goal, but our new research shows that something is still missing: stringent policies to eliminate methane emissions.

May 21, 2023

How does food get contaminated? The unsafe habits that kill more than 400,000 people a year

May 20, 2023

The most common cause of food contamination is poor food handling. This includes not washing your hands at the appropriate time – before eating and preparing food, after using the toilet, or after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.

May 20, 2023

Winnie and Nelson: new book paints a deeply human portrait of the Mandela marriage and South Africa’s struggleSubscriber Only

May 19, 2023

Winnie and Nelson were consummate performers who wanted the story of their marriage to tell the story of South Africa's struggle for freedom

May 18, 2023

South African diamonds adorn the crown of King Charles – why they’re unlikely to be returned

May 19, 2023

The largest of these, Cullinan 1, known as the Star of Africa, was set at the top of the sceptre presented to Charles during the coronation ceremony

May 19, 2023

Tiredness of life: The growing phenomenon in western society

May 18, 2023

This need not be the consequence of a lifetime of suffering, or a response to intolerable physical pain. Tiredness of life also seems to arise in people who consider themselves to have lived fulfilling lives

May 9, 2023

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