Category: The Conversation

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Edward C. Holmes, NHMRC Leadership Fellow and Professor of Virology, University of Sydney peterschreiber.media/Getty Images In late June, the Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO), a group of independent experts convened by the World Health Organization (WHO), published an assessment of…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dan Baumgardt, Senior Lecturer, School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol Damix/Shutterstock The phrase “summer long balls” might sound like locker-room slang, but it’s increasingly being mentioned on social media and online forums as a seasonal curiosity. In hot weather, men’s scrotums which contain…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Michael Pascal, Lecturer in Psychology , University of Greenwich BLACKDAY/Shutterstock Have you ever wondered why people who nearly die often describe speeding toward supernatural light, or seeing their life flash before their eyes? You may have also heard about the powerful psychedelic dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a class…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Irene Zarza-Rubio, PhD Candidate, Film Theory and Media Industries, University of York After years of multiverse chaos, grim antiheroes and morally ambiguous storylines, superhero films are making a striking return to their emotional and ideological roots. The new iterations of DC’s Superman and Marvel’s The Fantastic…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Tom Stacey, Senior Lecturer in Operations and Supply Chain Management, Anglia Ruskin University RossHelen/Shutterstock The UK government is offering a 10% taxpayer-funded discount on new plug-in cars that cost less than £37,000. It’s an attempt to re-energise the currently flatlining market for new electric vehicles (EVs)…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Nick Dunn, Professor of Urban Design, Lancaster University Nighttime in Jakarta, Indonesia. Akhnaffauzi/Shutterstock For billions of years, life has depended on Earth’s rhythm of day and night. DNA codifies body clocks in all animals and plants, which helps their cells act according to this cycle of…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jonathan Livingstone-Banks, Lecturer & Senior Researcher in Evidence-Based Healthcare, University of Oxford In 2021, varenicline, the most effective single drug for quitting smoking, was withdrawn from the market in the UK because impurities were found at greater levels than is considered safe. Rapidly, varenicline (then sold…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Manal Mohammed, Senior Lecturer, Medical Microbiology, University of Westminster MR.ALONGKORN YOOCHAROEN/Shutterstock Summer is a time for sun-drenched fun. From relaxed days outdoors to packed festival fields and meals under open skies. But with the joy of the season comes an overlooked downside: a heightened risk of…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Rebecca Ellis, Assistant Researcher in Public Health, Swansea University Motortion Films/Shutterstock Modern dating is stressful enough, and that’s even before you throw in premium subscriptions, ghosting and the unwritten rules of flirting. But for autistic people, there are even more variables to consider. Loud venues, ambiguous…

Source: ForeignAffairs4 Source: The Conversation – UK – By Malak Benslama-Dabdoub, Lecturer in law, Royal Holloway University of London The UK will formally recognise the state of Palestine in September unless Israel acts to end the “appalling situation” in Gaza. After an emergency cabinet meeting, Downing Street released a statement saying the UK would recognise…