Do you really know?

We know that palm oil cultivation isn’t great for the environment, but it’s also not the best for our health. Despite this, palm oil production continues to soar, reaching a record 77.5 million tonnes in 2023, primarily from Indonesia and Malaysia. It’s the most consumed vegetable oil globally. The main reason is its cost-effectiveness. This vegetable fat is derived from  the fruit of oil palm tre...

There are lots of advantages to renting rather than buying but one of the pitfalls is you have to live with your landlord's style choices. But just because you are renting does not mean you can’t adapt it to your own personal style without jeopardising your deposit. So here are some tips and advice about how to put your own flair into a temporary space.  First of all, if you do want to make change...

Imagine humanity only using half the brains at its disposal to solve the many scientific challenges it faces in the present and future. While such an idea might seem crazy, it’s not so far from reality. Over the years, very few female scientists have got the same level of acclaim as their male counterparts, whether it be in the history books or on award winner lists. As a simple illustration, if y...

“I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream” goes the popular tongue twister, based on a song written in the 1920s by American musicians Howard Johnson, Billy Moll, and Robert A. King. And ice cream is indeed the perfect cold treat for a hot summer’s day, isn’t it? Except when it gets too cold! Sometimes, with the very first mouthful, the sudden chill of brain freeze rushes to your head, ca...

Many men feel self-conscious about the size of their penis, and it’s often down to constant comparisons with other men, driven by pornography. Interestingly, some men have noticed that their penis appears bigger during warmer weather, and online discussions of this have led to the phenomenon becoming known as "summer penis." Is there any basis to those claims though? Just how much bigger can it ge...

According to The Telegraph, Brits eat an average of 220g of meat per day, which is almost double the global average. And agriculture is responsible for 12% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions according to government figures from 2022.  So it’s clear that our food consumption can have a real impact on the environment. While red meat is often labelled as the worst offender environmentally, in reali...

Brits have just experienced the hottest June on record, according to the Met Office. The average mean temperature across the UK was 15.8°C, nearly a full degree higher than the previous record. July is also expected to be hotter than average, and a heatwave isn’t out of the question. So it’s important to be prepared for high temperatures, especially at home. What is the ideal temperature to have a...

Some visitors can be so shocked by the reality of Paris compared to their expectations that they can experience psychiatric breakdowns or symptoms such as hallucinations, depersonalization, anxiety, dizziness and nausea. This is known as the Paris Syndrome. Romance, sophistication, croissants and sipping fine wine with the Eiffel Tower in the background spring to mind when thinking of a visit to P...

It’s known that to beat the heat and avoid dehydration, we need to drink plenty of water. But while some reach for a hot cuppa, others swear by ice-cold beverages, and while this may give you an instant feeling of chill it's sadly just fleeting. The reason being is that our bodies work hard to keep our core temperature steady at around 37°C. So while a cold drink might feel refreshing, it actually...

You know how sometimes you might indulge in a bit too much junk food, or maybe the kids aren’t acing their tests, or perhaps you’re navigating the single life? Hold up—before you start to worry, there’s a seemingly scientific explanation for all of it, and it points to one place: our brains. Neuroscience has become the go-to for decoding life’s issues, spanning medicine, economics, politics, and e...

These tiny insects, which reproduce at an astonishing rate, often invade our kitchens. They are particularly attracted to damp areas, stagnant water, organic waste, and ripe fruit—especially in warm weather. Fruit flies, or midges, can lay up to 100 eggs a day. While studies indicate that flies can carry bacteria, viruses, and parasites, the midges in our homes are generally harmless. They can tra...

We’ve all gotten frustrated after squashing the tenth mosquito ruining a beautiful summer evening — especially after days of relentless itching. Mosquitoes are a global nuisance. In tropical regions, they’re more than just annoying: they can transmit serious diseases like malaria, dengue fever, and Zika virus. But despite all the efforts, these tiny insects continue to thrive — and buzz in our ear...

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, our mouths host no fewer than 700 species of microbes, including “germs like bacteria, fungus and more”. Some are helpful in producing vitamins, or aiding in digestion, for example, but others can cause problems like bad breath. Because many of these microbes live on the tongue, recent years have seen increased use of oral hygiene devi...

Kissing on the lips feels so natural… and yet, it’s far from universal. In some cultures, romantic kissing doesn’t even exist! So why, in our society, has kissing become such a strong symbol of love and passion? It turns out, kissing might be one of the oldest gestures in the human playbook. For decades, historians pointed to ancient Indian texts, the Vedas, written around 1500 BCE, as the earlies...

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? Possibly. ...

All week long we're looking at the 10 words that will be on everyone's lips in 2023. Every year, linguists at Oxford University choose a Word of the Year and in 2022, they allowed the public to vote on the winner for the first time. The 340,000 English speakers who voted were given three choices: metaverse, the #IStandWith hashtag and, drumroll please, the eventual runaway winner…Goblin Mode. The...

Members of Gen Z, when you were kids, you might well have had grand plans for your twenties – owning a house, landing a job, getting hitched, and having kids. But where are you now?  Are you a keen saver eyeing up homeownership, perhaps abiding by some of the methods we've talked about in the past on Do You Really Know?, like loud budgeting, cash stuffing or the 50/30/20 method? Or do you feel pow...

According to the Daily Mail, the “seven year itch” in relationships is now a thing of the past. The average relationship length is just two years and nine months, according to a UK survey from 2014.  Since the late 20th century, long-lasting relationships have tended to be the exception rather than the norm. It’s a trend that has fascinated researchers, with many carrying out studies in search of...

Each year, International Beer Day is celebrated on the first Friday of August. As you may know, beer is produced using only four ingredients: water, hops, malt and yeast, through a process called fermentation. Of course beer is harmful in excessive quantities, but don’t let that give you any misconceptions about fermented foods. Generally speaking, they play an important role in boosting gut healt...

Surely nothing affects taste other than what you actually put in your mouth, right?! Well actually no, that’s not true - at least according to a study published in December 2022 in Food Quality and Preference. The researchers behind that found that the colour of our dishware might influence our perception of taste. And it’s not the first study of its kind; I’m going to tell you about other similar...

The British Expat Report 2024 from money transfer specialists Currencies Direct found that 23% of UK adults are considering moving abroad in the next five years. The most popular reasons cited for wanting to do so were to pursue a better quality of life, the cost of living crisis and (of course!) the weather. But if you identify as LGBT, an additional consideration is of course finding a country w...

ollowing the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022, her son Prince Charles became King at the age of 73. He inherited the many titles that his mother carried throughout her 70-year reign, one of which is the “Defender of the Faith”. That refers to his role as the supreme governor of the Church of England. In 2009, the Church of England stated it had over 26 million baptised members account...

As summer approaches, a lot of people are hitting the gym with the goal of slimming down. Maybe you’re aiming to shed a few pounds and show off a toned figure at the beach. Naturally, the first reflex is often to hop on a treadmill or lift some weights.  But here’s the thing: while exercise is great for you, it’s not always the most effective way to lose weight. To lose fat, you have to burn more...

Polycystic ovary syndrome, also called PCOS, is related to hormonal imbalances in women’s bodies. It’s the leading cause of fertility problems in women and affects one in ten women of childbearing age in the UK, according to the NHS. Despite that, there is very little awareness about the condition. The most important thing there is to know about PCOS is that it leads to excessive production of and...

If you’re a nervous flyer thinking ahead to your next flight, you may have wondered whether it's possible to predict whether you'll encounter any turbulence. Air travel has come under the spotlight in recent weeks, with a number of high profile incidents of flights being hit by turbulence, including one which saw a 71 year old British man in his seventies tragically die from a heart attack. What c...