FEATURES

Friday, 03 January 2020 05:39

Is technology ruining travel?

Michael Bociurkiw With many of us unlocking our phones almost 50 times a day and devoting five hours of our day to screens, I suppose it was inevitable that revenue-hungry airlines would enable our smartphone and social media addictions by offering Wi-Fi in the skies. Quickly disappearing is what many of us road warriors regarded as one of the last bastions of calm — the airplane cabin. In the wild west days of Wi-Fi, as it was making its first appearance on airplanes, I recall boarding the business class cabin of a long-haul Turkish Airlines flight between Istanbul and North…

Friday, 03 January 2020 05:38

The real reason you have bad breath

Few things make us as paranoid as the thought that our breath could be in some way offending (or even turning the stomach) of the person we're speaking to. This is why the oral hygiene market is loaded with breath fresheners that come in just about every form imaginable, including gum, candy, minty toothpaste, and mouthwashes. "Bad breath, also known as halitosis, is a common complaint in one-third of the population," periodontist Wayne Aldredge says (via Johnson & Johnson). Bad breath is caused by bacteria that have taken residence in various areas inside your mouth, and which breaks down everything…

Thursday, 02 January 2020 05:46

Here’s what happens in the brain when we disagree

Summary: When people disagree, their brains become less sensitive to the strength of other peoples’ opinions. Source: The Conversation We’ve all been there. You are in the middle of a heated disagreement when you lose respect for the opposing party. Whether it is about the latest election or childcare, you feel like your considered arguments are not appreciated – perhaps even ignored. But did you ever wonder what exactly is happening in the mind of the person on the other side? In a recent study, just published in Nature Neuroscience, we and our colleagues recorded people’s brain activity during disagreements…

Thursday, 02 January 2020 05:45

The reason why airplane seats are blue

While airlines can have varying levels of services and amenities on flights, some things remain constant. The food is generally not great, the bathrooms are cramped, and seating anywhere other than first class can be uncomfortable. You may have noticed one other fairly consistent feature, this one aesthetic in nature. Most airplane seats are blue. Carriers like Southwest, American Airlines, and United Airlines all feature the shade in their fleet. And there’s a good reason why. It’s the most practical color. First, blue seats are among the easiest to keep clean—or at least the best way to give off the…

Tuesday, 31 December 2019 05:48

Malaria-infected mosquitoes have a new secret weapon against insecticide

Malaria is still a major issue in many parts of the world, including West Africa. Health officials are doing their best to come up with ways of halting the spread of the disease, and there are a number of options on the table. Eradicating malaria is a tall order and to truly understand how it spreads, researchers are focusing on the insects that are most often responsible for new infections. Mosquitoes, of course, are the biggest culprit, and a new study suggests that the insects have developed a scary way to defend themselves against insecticides commonly used to fight them…

Tuesday, 31 December 2019 05:46

Why sleeping well should be number one New Year's resolution for 2020

An expert revealed the eight reasons why sleep is good for your health She said it improves concentration, mood and stops you from getting sick Sleep also strengthens memory and makes you more likely to eat healthily Experts have revealed why good quality sleep is the number one resolution you should set this January 1 - and why it could lead to better concentration, a stronger memory and a longer life. A recent Sleep Health Foundation of Australia study of 10,000 women found that those experiencing sleep difficulties were 10 times more likely to experience ongoing problems a decade later.…

Sunday, 29 December 2019 04:08

How long is the sermon? Study ranks Christian churches

How long should a sermon be? The major branches of Christianity in the U.S. have sharply different traditions, with sermons at historically black Protestant churches lasting — on average – nearly four times as long as Roman Catholic sermons. That’s among the findings of an analysis by the Pew Research Center — billed as the first of its kind — of 49,719 sermons delivered in April and May that were shared online by 6,431 churches. Pew described its research as “the most exhaustive attempt to date to catalogue and analyze American religious sermons.” According to Pew, the median length of…

Sunday, 29 December 2019 04:06

Intermittent fasting may help you live longer and improve health

While many fad diets, like keto, have been proven unsustainable or even, in some cases, harmful, intermittent fasting has by and large held up to scientific testing Intermittent fasting consists of either daily time-restricted feeding of 6-8 hours or 5:2 fasting, where people eat one moderate-sized meal two days each week Johns Hopkins University neuroscientist Dr Mark Mattson says in new study that benefits of fasting regimen includes improvements in 'glucose regulation' Intermittent fasting also improves blood pressure and heart rate, study shows Mattson also writes that 'intermittent fasting could be part of a healthy lifestyle' A new study has…

Saturday, 28 December 2019 04:27

How renting an isolated cabin forced me to appreciate silence

Laura Delarato Afraid of confronting my own thoughts, I've always used noise as a means to distract myself. It’s 2 a.m. and I’m wired, listening to my own thoughts race as I lie awake in the middle of the woods. The quietness has gotten to me, and I’m unable to shut my brain off from all the insecurities I’ve tried to bury over the years. Silence, I begin to realize, is something I struggle with deeply. Back in early fall, a friend and I decided to spend a weekend in an isolated cabin in the Catskills. We booked it through…

Saturday, 28 December 2019 04:25

Why your fingers swell up when you eat salty food

Ever eat a bag of chips or a bunch of mozzarella sticks, only to look down and realize your fingers have swollen to twice their normal size? It’s not your imagination — your fingers really are getting larger. One of the many side effects of eating excess sodium is that your body puffs up, and the effect is most noticeable in extremities such as your fingers and toes. Here’s why this happens. When you eat something filled with sodium, the sodium enters your bloodstream. According to the National Institutes of Health, your body typically maintains its balance of salt and…

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Thursday, 26 December 2019 05:28

Christmas Day in a Christian-Muslim household

Muslim-majority Burkina Faso has been hit by a wave of violence by militant Islamists in recent years. Christmas Eve saw more than 30 people, mostly women, killed in a suspected jihadist attack. But behind such grim headlines lies a more complex picture. The country has a history of religious tolerance, and it is not uncommon to see families made up of both Muslims and Christians, who make up about 23% of the population. Journalist Clair MacDougall visited one such family in the capital, Ouagadougou. Five-year-old Iris Osnia Ouattara is being raised by her parents in Burkina Faso in both the…

Thursday, 26 December 2019 05:26

My patient almost died from a mistake I made. I apologized and it changed my life

Perfectionism is encouraged in the medical profession, and understandably so. If a doctor prescribes the wrong medication or skips a crucial step in surgery, the effect can be catastrophic. The stakes are so high that being human can seem like nothing but a liability. We physicians don’t want to admit to our patients — or ourselves — that no matter how hard we try, there are no guarantees. Mistakes will inevitably happen. One cold, gray morning, when I was a fellow in gynecologic oncology, I walked into the hospital not yet knowing that I was about to come face-to-face with…

Tuesday, 24 December 2019 06:02

Trump's impeachment shows the jarring effects of politics on the brain. Here's how

President Donald Trump's impeachment is historic. If you already have a political identity, it's unlikely to change your views. That's because of how the human brain works. We filter the world through our identities. President Donald Trump's impeachment is historic. It's only the third time in US history that it's happened. And if you already identify as a Republican or Democrat (or progressive or conservative or communist or libertarian or liberal or alt-right or dirtbag left), it's not going to nudge your opinion of him 1 inch. That's because people don't make decisions about things because of some flat evaluation…

Sunday, 22 December 2019 06:12

Reinhard Bonnke: The man who changed the face of Christianity in Africa

German-born evangelist Reinhard Bonnke, who attracted massive crowds in Africa during decades of preaching, is being mourned by millions of Christians across the continent following his death aged 79. Kenyan writer Jesse Masai looks back at his influence. With comparisons ranging from British "Prince of Preachers" Charles Spurgeon to American televangelist Billy Graham, Bonnke's status as the father of modern-day crusade preaching and healing in Africa is not in dispute. Across the continent, huge week-long church rallies are now commonplace, characterised by mass mobilisation, big tents, colourful podiums, sophisticated public address systems, local language translators and, in some instances, evangelists…

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