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Eggs and Health: Unscrambling the Message
It’s hard to keep up with the message on eggs. Are they good for you or not? In the 1960s, people were told: “Go to work on an egg”. But in the 1970s the public was advised to avoid eggs because they were linked to high blood cholesterol. The negative press on eggs continued in… Read More
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Women Can Build Positive Body Image by Controlling What They View on Social Media
Social media use is often described as being problematic for mental health and body image. But is all social media use bad? Our new research shows that viewing body positive Instagram content may actually improve women’s body image, at least in the short term. With more awareness, social media users might be able to curate… Read More
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Food Allergies: What You Need to Know About the Role Your Skin Plays
Food allergies are on the increase worldwide, ranging from minor inconvenience to possible sudden death, and leading to warnings of an “allergy epidemic”. The most severe form of allergic reaction – anaphylaxis – can occur repeatedly or without warning. The reasons for the rise in allergies are complex, but the skin is now recognised to… Read More
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4 Simple Food Choices That Help You Lose Weight and Stay Healthy
It’s difficult to lose weight. And it’s even harder to keep it off. Many people achieve short-term weight-loss only to return to their previous lifestyle choices – and their previous weight – over time. This can lead to yo-yoing between weight loss and weight gain. One of the problems is that weight-loss diets aren’t sustainable.… Read More
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Don’t Have Time to Exercise? Here’s a Regimen Everyone Can Squeeze in
Have you recently carried heavy shopping bags up a few flights of stairs? Or run the last 100 metres to the station to catch your train? If you have, you may have unknowingly been doing a style of exercise called high-intensity incidental physical activity. Our paper, published today in the British Journal of Sports Medicine,… Read More
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Health Check: Do We Really Need to Take 10,000 Steps a Day?
Regular walking produces many health benefits, including reducing our risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and depression. Best of all, it’s free, we can do it anywhere and, for most of us, it’s relatively easy to fit into our daily routines. We often hear 10,000 as the golden number of steps to strive for… Read More
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Virtual Reality Adds to Tourism Through Touch, Smell and Real People’s Experiences
Back in 2001, an acquaintance who worked for Lonely Planet told me about a surprise discovery. The travel guide business had an audience of people who would buy their travel books, but never travel. Lonely Planet dubbed them “virtual tourists”. Now Lonely Planet, and others, have become excited by tourism powered by virtual reality (VR)… Read More
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Humans and Machines Can Improve Accuracy When They Work Together
Whether artificial intelligence systems steal humans’ jobs or create new work opportunities, people will need to work together with them. In my research I use sensors and computers to monitor how the brain itself processes decision-making. Together with another brain-computer interface scholar, Riccardo Poli, I looked at one example of possible human-machine collaboration – situations… Read More
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Can Robots Ever Have a True Sense of Self? Scientists Are Making Progress
Having a sense of self lies at the heart of what it means to be human. Without it, we couldn’t navigate, interact, empathise or ultimately survive in an ever-changing, complex world of others. We need a sense of self when we are taking action, but also when we are anticipating the consequences of potential actions,… Read More
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Trump’s Executive Order Is About More Than Free Speech on Campus
*Updated March 25, 2019 On March 21, President Trump signed an executive order, which, in part, aims to protect free speech on college campuses by threatening to withhold federal research funding to public colleges and universities that don’t give a stage to controversial speakers. “We will not stand idly by and allow public institutions to… Read More
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Robots Star in Ads, But Mislead Viewers About Technology
Nowhere is the advance of technology more evident than in the rise of robots and artificial intelligence. From smart devices to self-checkout lanes to Netflix recommendations, robots (the hardware) and AI (the software) are everywhere inside the technology of modern society. They’re increasingly common in ads, too: During the 2019 Super Bowl alone, seven ads… Read More
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National Service for the Environment – What an Army of Young Conservationists Could Achieve
The school climate strikes show that young people want to fight climate change, but their enthusiasm for collective action is largely untapped. A volunteer conservation army could mobilise their talent and passion by channelling it into work to restore ecosystems. The Green New Deal – endorsed by US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and numerous presidential candidates… Read More
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Wastewater is an Asset – It Contains Nutrients, Energy And Precious Metals, and Scientists Are Learning How to Recover Them
Most people think as little as possible about the wastewater that is produced daily from their showers, bathtubs, sinks, dishwashers and toilets. But with the right techniques, it can become a valuable resource. On average, every Americans uses about 60 gallons of water per day for purposes that include flushing toilets, showering and doing laundry.… Read More
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CRISPR Gene Editing: Why We Need Slow Science
In a newly published article in Nature, a group of prominent scientists and ethicists have called for a moratorium on clinical research using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing. This moratorium deals with the use of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing of the germline — changing heritable DNA in sperm, eggs or embryos to make genetically modified children. In other… Read More
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Gene Drive Technology Makes Mouse Offspring Inherit Specific Traits From Parents
As mouse geneticists, we spend a lot of time waiting for mice to make more mice. Their small size, ease of care and willingness to mate have made mice the “mammal of choice” for scientists for more than a century. Indeed, these wriggly fur balls that strike fear in the hearts of some are owed… Read More
