Special Reports

Thursday, 04 January 2024 04:44

Children born poor have little margin for mistakes or bad decisions, regardless of race

Gary Fields Alfred King was lying in the parking lot of a small apartment building, mortally wounded when police in Alexandria, Louisiana, got to the intersection of 12th and Magnolia streets shortly before 1:30 a.m., Jan. 20. The 34-year-old was the first fatal shooting of 2023 in the small city where I grew up and a large portion of my family lives. Alfred’s death was similar to some I have covered since my first in 1985, a 38-year period when hundreds of thousands of people of all races and ethnicities have died violently in the U.S. I know the details…

Sunday, 31 December 2023 04:20

This is what your napping habit is actually doing to your brain and body

This is the justification you need for your next nap. We are a nation of nappers. Dads ‘resting their eyes’ in front of the TV, commuters getting a quick 30 minutes in while heading home from work and young children needing to recharge their batteries. If there’s one thing we’re going to do, it’s sleep it off. In fact, according to Online-Bedrooms.co.uk, one in five of us have a nap lasting between 20-30 minutes every single day. Guilty. But, is it good for us? Should we be saving that sleep for our actual bedtime? Well, if you keep your naps…

Wednesday, 27 December 2023 04:38

Where does the modern state come from? Economists attempt to answer a profound political question

It is part metaphor, part myth and part history. Thomas Hobbes thought life there was nasty, brutish and short. John Locke disagreed, proclaiming that it was where people first learnt how to own things. Jean-Jacques Rousseau described it as the place where people were born free, before they became ensnared in chains. Robert Nozick thought that people were so desperate to escape it, there was an inevitable result: the creation of a state. Ideas about the “state of nature”—how people lived before politics organised itself into governments—have held the attention of philosophers for centuries. Discovering whether it played out as…

Sunday, 17 December 2023 04:35

The more fertile you are, the sooner you may die - Study

The genes that boost fertility mean you're more likely to die younger, according to a new study. One of the puzzles of evolution is why we peter out into old age once we can no longer reproduce. Now, scientists believe that aging may actually be a consequence of how we evolved to reproduce, and it's all a result of natural selection over millions of years. A study analyzing the genes of 276,406 UK Biobank participants found that people carrying gene variances promoting reproduction are less likely to survive to old age. "We confirm a hypothesis called the antagonistic pleiotropy hypothesis,…

Friday, 15 December 2023 04:46

From N4.5k to N25k for antibiotic drug, N8k to N70k for inhaler - Nigerians resort to herbal concoctions as costs of drugs skyrocket

When Sodiq Ajibade emerged from a Lagos pharmacy holding asthma medication, one drug on his prescription was missing because he did not have the money to buy it. The price of some medicines has risen almost tenfold in Nigeria in the past few months, forcing patients like Ajibade to cut his dose or turn to traditional alternatives. Pharmaceutical industry officials said the plunge in the value of the naira after the removal of currency controls in June has sent prices of new stocks rocketing. British drug maker is moving from GSK-controlled local operating companies in Nigeria to a third-party direct…

Monday, 06 November 2023 04:43

State of democracy declines worldwide amid tainted elections, eroding freedoms - Report

The state of democracy is diminishing around the globe as dozens of nations experienced recent declines in democratic values, including tainted elections and restrictions on individual freedoms, according to a new study published Thursday by a Swedish political advocacy group. The analysis by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance said democratic norms and standards were faltering in nearly half of the 173 countries it surveyed due to weakening government checks and balances, corruption, rigged elections, and a general lack of accountability from elected leaders who flout the law. A collective focus on major crises, including inflation, climate change,…

Sunday, 08 October 2023 05:11

Neighborhood woes: How living conditions impact brain structure and diet

Summary: Living in disadvantaged neighborhoods not only influences food choices and weight gain but can also alter the brain’s microstructure. Researchers found that poor food quality, high-calorie intake, and inactive environments common in such areas disrupt brain regions crucial for emotion, cognition, and reward processing. A direct link was established between brain cortex changes and high trans-fatty acid intake, prevalent in such neighborhoods. These findings emphasize the urgent need to improve dietary quality in deprived areas for better brain health. Key Facts: Disadvantaged neighborhoods can lead to changes in the brain’s cortex related to reward, emotion, and cognition due to…

Friday, 06 October 2023 04:21

Let it shine: the unexpected benefits of sun exposure on skin

Shades? SPF50 suncream? Wide-brimmed hat? For decades, it has been drilled into us that if the sun is out, we’d better slip on protective clothing, slop on suncream and slap on a hat to stay safe. There’s little doubt that too much sun exposure – and particularly sunburn – increases our risk of developing skin cancer. It also prematurely ages the skin. But scientists are increasingly questioning the mantra that sunlight is an evil to be avoided at all costs, and investigating the brighter side of sun exposure. It’s not just about vitamin D. Though important for strong bones and…

Tuesday, 03 October 2023 04:31

Your dementia risk is highest if you sit for longer than this each day

The chances of developing dementia increase if you spend the day sedentary Experts say this risk increases the longer you spend at a desk or driving Spending more than 10 hours a day sitting down in front of the TV or driving increases the risk of dementia, a study suggests. Researchers have discovered the chances of developing the condition increase dramatically among adults who spend the majority of their day engaged in sedentary behaviours. A team from the University of Southern California and the University of Arizona analyzed data on more than 50,000 British adults aged 60 and over. They…

Sunday, 01 October 2023 04:31

A third of trans children given puberty blockers saw their mental health deteriorate, analysis shows

A third of trans children treated with puberty blockers had their mental health deteriorate while on the medication, a new analysis of a landmark study reveals. The original study found that 44 children, aged 12 to 15, who took the controversial drugs experienced no change — good or bad — to their mental health. This report, produced by experts from the NHS's Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) at Tavistock and University College LondonHospitals (UCLH) in 2021 eventually led to a lowering of the age children could access puberty blockers. But a fresh analysis of the data used in the report …

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Friday, 15 September 2023 04:39

Social isolation contributes to brain atrophy and cognitive decline in older adults, study says

A 6-year longitudinal neuroimaging study in Germany found that social isolation contributes to brain atrophy (progressive loss of brain tissue) and cognitive decline in humans. More socially isolated individuals tended to have smaller volumes in the hippocampus, reduced cortical thickness, and poorer cognitive functioning. Results indicate that dementia risk might be reduced by promoting better social connectedness, particularly among older adults. The study was published in eLife. As the average duration of human life increases, there are more and more individuals experiencing cognitive and brain changes associated with old age. These changes are multifaceted and can vary from person to…

Friday, 08 September 2023 04:52

Western countries are facing their own century of humiliation

A rising great power fills the ports of a decaying empire with its merchants and goods. Its ambassadors mock the diplomatic and political traditions of their hosts and refuse to be bound by them. Soon, the great power is openly allowing poisonous drugs to be pushed on the old empire’s streets, refusing to do anything to stop their spread. China in 1839? Or Britain and America in 2023? A century and a half on from Britain’s wicked traffic in soul-destroying drugs, ruthless imperial commerce is wreaking its revenge on the West. Britain’s primary motive in the Opium Wars was of…

Wednesday, 06 September 2023 04:46

What are healthy fats? They're essential, and here's one you should consume more of

Fat has had quite the parley in dietary discussion spaces – the low-fat movement starting in the 1980s told us we should eliminate fat, while high-fat diets like keto tell us the opposite. How do you know where the answers lie? The reality is, fat is engrained in American diets. It’s in the oil we use in the pan, the fish we cook, the vegetables we eat (think avocado). It’s also an essential part of a healthy diet and is crucial for energy, cell function, hormone production and nutrient absorption. What are the healthiest fats? Not all fats are created…

Sunday, 03 September 2023 04:28

Ultra-processed food more dangerous than previously thought, according to new studies

While there's been lots of press in recent years about the harms of ultra-processed food (UPFs), a new study might be more damning than ever: As reported by Andrew Gregory at The Guardian, "ultra-processed food significantly raises the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attacks and strokes," according to two new separate studies presented at this month's annual European Society of Cardiology conference in Amsterdam. One study — which monitored 10,000 women over the course of 15 years — found that those who consumed a higher amount of UPFs were 39% more likely to have high blood pressure…

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