Do you really know?

For some people, their mother is someone they admire and hope to become more like. But for others, it’s the complete opposite. They grow up telling themselves one thing: whatever happens, I’m not going to end up like my mum. For some, that feeling can become a real source of anxiety. Psychologists have a name for it: matrophobia. So where does that fear come from? Does this only affect daughters?...

Have you ever been terrified of finding your dog munching on an Easter egg or chocolate treat during the holidays? It’s the kind of thing that can turn a wonderful occasion into a potential disaster. Of course chocolate is a delightful treat for us humans, but it can be extremely harmful to your furry friend, and even fatal in extreme cases. They don’t process the components of cocoa like we do, e...

The clitoris is the only organ in the human body that’s dedicated solely to pleasure. It doesn’t have any muscles or play any role in the body's other functions. And while our understanding of the clitoris has improved in recent years, there's still a lot to learn, as research in this area is relatively new. Until recently, researchers thought that the clitoris had 8,000 nerve endings. For compari...

Many women have heard of the so-called “fertility cliff”, the idea that their chances of getting pregnant drop dramatically after the age of 35 and, people who do choose to have a baby are labeled “geriatric” or “high risk” leading what is called ‘care cascade’ such greater monitoring and testing which can be intrusive and unnecessary.   This concept first came about from a study done in...

According to UK charity The Men’s Health Forum, two thirds of all men are affected by male pattern baldness in their lifetime. That won’t be a surprise to anyone, but would you have guessed that an estimated 50% of women also experience noticeable hair loss according to the Cleveland Clinic. We actually have around 100,000 hair follicles on our head, of which we lose between 50 and 100 e...

As summer heats up, deodorant becomes a faithful ally. But this product can be very dangerous. On May 2022 a 14 year old girl, Giorgia Green, died from inhaling deodorant. The teenager, who was on the autistic spectrum, liked to spray deodorant on her blankets as she found the smell comforting. "The smell of it gave her a certain sense of relaxation," said her father. Sadly her cause of...

Most of us have our smartphones on our person more or less all day, every day. Our photos, payment methods and a lot of personal data are stored on them. So we’re all wary of the risk of having them stolen when out in public. But did you know there’s another way someone can take control of your phone line without you even losing the device? It’s called sim swapping and while it’s not new, it’...

You’re no doubt familiar with what it feels like to be extremely tired after a long sleep. It’s a little like a hangover really: sluggishness, irritability, perhaps a slight headache too. And there’s actually a term for these sensations: sleep drunkenness.  According to the Sleep Foundation, the average adult needs between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night. But optimal sleep duration is unique...

Despite the rising popularity of vegan or vegetarian lifestyles, many people still love the taste and texture of meat, or simply can’t kick the habit, having eaten meat throughout their lifetimes. That explains why the vegan meat substitute market is thriving. These 100% plant-based products are a good source of protein and closely resemble meat in a number of ways. But no doubt many of you who ea...

We spend over a third of our lives sleeping. It allows our mind and body to recharge, which is vital for a number of reasons. It helps our immune system to ward off diseases, and the brain to function properly. And yet as many as 16 million adults in the UK suffer from sleepless nights, according to estimates from the Office for National Statistics. You may have noticed that your own optimal sleep...

Throughout our lives, we meet new people at school, at work or through our hobbies. Some remain acquaintances, while others become close friends. Now, maintaining those relationships isn’t always easy, but evidence has shown just how important having friends can be, given that loneliness can affect both our happiness and health. What role do friends play in our happiness levels then? Does that mea...

Snus originally comes from Sweden, but is also consumed a lot in other Nordic countries like Denmark and Norway, as well as the United States. It’s made headlines in the last few months, with young people using it more and more.  The latest media discussions have centred on a number of Premier League footballers being spotted using snus on camera. It’s a semi-legal cigarette alternative, whic...

It can be embarrassing when your stomach rumbles in public, but it’s a totally natural bodily function. The scientific name for those rumbles or growls is borborygmi, a term invented by the ancient Greeks. We tend to associate stomach rumbles with hunger, but that’s not totally true. In reality, our stomachs rumble regularly, whether we’re hungry or not. It's just that when the stomach is empty, t...

Greying hair can be triggered for a number of reasons, genetics; some people’s hair turns grey earlier than others. Stress, a recent study in mice showed that stress can cause stem cells to leave the hair follicle and migrate to other parts of the body, leaving no cells to produce melanin. Some Illnesses like thyroid disease and of course ageing. But could the days of grey hair be over?...

Ever since they were first introduced in the United States in 1973, barcodes have been part of our everyday consumer lives. They helped stores around the world transition to digital, but their days are numbered.  That’s right, traditional barcodes are due to be gradually replaced by 2D versions as part of a worldwide initiative called Sunrise 2027. It’s led by GS1, the nonprofit standards org...

Launched by a Polish startup in 2017, PimEyes is a powerful facial recognition software tool, which uses reverse image search technology. Just like with Google image search, users can submit an image of a person’s face and Pimeyes will find all images of that person online, providing links to the websites where they are located. It can be helpful for locating images that are difficult to find else...

Picture a packed football stadium. One fan stands up, hoping to start a Mexican wave. Nothing happens. Ten people join in? Still nothing. Twenty? No. But once around thirty people rise together, the wave spreads through the crowd. Physicists have studied this phenomenon in stadiums around the world and found a surprisingly consistent pattern: it takes about thirty people to get a wave going. That'...

If you have heard of Munchausen Syndrome before, it’s far more likely you’ve seen it represented in popular culture than in real life. Like a lot of psychological syndromes, it’s used as a dramatic device in many films and series, like Sharp Objects or The Politician to name just a couple.  The most recent example is The Act, which was created by Nick Antosca and Michelle Dean, and first appe...

YouGov data from 2019 showed that 49% of Brits shower once per day, while 20% do so 4 to 6 times per week. And 6% even shower more than once per day! That’s despite dermatologists saying that we don’t really need to shower every day. According to health professionals, both routines come with certain benefits. You might want to know the pros and cons of each option. For example, a morning shower ca...

Natural disasters lead to damaged property, loss of life, psychological trauma, displaced individuals and families, among other consequences. According to the World Meteorological Organisation, the number of natural disasters has increased five times since 1970. Researchers from all over the whole world have dedicated their careers to studying natural disasters. And they all agree on one thing. Th...

A lot has changed in the workplace since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Companies have had to figure out how to best manage remote work for their employees, all the while supporting their career development and helping them feel more satisfied at work. Well, the concept we’re going to talk about today may be just what’s needed to address those challenges. It’s a modern HR strategy kno...

Eating a healthy diet that includes a lot of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and fish can help you keep your brain in tip-top shape. There are plenty of brain boosting foods but here are five that you might want to start including.  First of all, oily fish. When people talk about brain foods this is often at the top of the list. This type of fish includes salmon, trout, tuna, herring,...

We've all been there. You wake up in the middle of the night and simply can’t get back to sleep, no matter how hard you try to relax. Suddenly, a problem that seemed insignificant earlier feels enormous. You overthink it and imagine the worst. Then morning arrives, and you realise you’d blown it out of all proportion. It’s a very common experience: anxious, irrational thoughts can feel much more i...

Over the course of our lifetime, we around 34,000 litres of urine, according to Business Insider. Urine evacuates the nitrogen-containing waste produced by the organs and expelled into the blood, like urea and uric acid for example. It's also made up of water and mineral salts. It tends to be a clear shade of yellow, ranging from pale to dark at different times of the day. Nevertheless,...

Although it is quite usual to find insects in markets in both Africa and Asia it is rather more unusual for people in the West to eat them. However, with increased awareness of animal welfare and environmental concerns around eating meat people are beginning to think more seriously about insects as food rather than something to be swatted. The problem is that a lot of people find eating bugs prett...