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Hidden soil allies – fungi that help plants face drought
Nature & Environment

Hidden soil allies – fungi that help plants face drought

...becoming more common, putting agriculture under great stress, but plants are not alone in this struggle. Beneath our feet, in the soil, there is a living network of microorganisms that help crops withstand hardship. Among them, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (often shortened to AMF) are like invisible partners, forming microscopic connections with plant roots. You won’t...
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Article 5 mins
Perseus: what’s in a name?
History & The Arts

Perseus: what’s in a name?

...become the terrifying Kraken, which in fact comes from Norse mythology, while the 2010 film also introduces characters such as the Djinn, from the Arabic tradition. Other recent versions of Perseus have taken a similar ‘pick and mix’ approach to his myths. Percy Jackson, the hero of Rick Riordan’s series of children’s books (the first two of which have also been...
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Article 10 mins
Wangari Maathai: standing up for women and the environment
Nature & Environment

Wangari Maathai: standing up for women and the environment

...becoming bankrupt, family break-up, and even losing her personal freedom by going to jail. Yet she seems to have come out with no bitterness and resumed her peaceful struggle, eventually reaching greater heights, including government minister when democratic reforms came. She made environmental issues not only a concern of Kenya’s but also Africa’s concern, through...
View article Wangari Maathai: standing up for women and the environment
Article 10 mins
Merry microbes: how might festive feasting affect your gut microbiota?
Science, Maths & Technology

Merry microbes: how might festive feasting affect your gut microbiota?

...becomes excessive or uncontrolled, it can contribute to various diseases. Our gut microbial population grows and develops with us. Their population changes throughout our lives, from when we are born until we die. There are multiple factors that can affect our gut microbes, including our age, our sex, how we are born (e.g. vaginal delivery or via caesarean section), where...
View article Merry microbes: how might festive feasting affect your gut microbiota?
Article 5 mins
Nutritional psychiatry is the future of mental health treatment
Health, Sports & Psychology

Nutritional psychiatry is the future of mental health treatment

...becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of using dietary approaches to mental health, calling for their peers to support and research this new field of treatment. [Blueberries] Blueberries are a source of vitamin K, vitamin C, fibre, manganese and other antioxidants It is now known that many mental health conditions are caused by inflammation in the brain which...
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Article 5 mins
The environmental costs of Trump’s wall
Nature & Environment

The environmental costs of Trump’s wall

...become anything more solid than a metaphor for increased border surveillance, aided by technology, to keep illegal immigration under control. However, if a vast concrete wall really is built, and if it is as tall and impenetrable as Trump hopes, it will presumably last for thousands of years. This will have long-term ecological consequences. [A predicted heat map of the...
View article The environmental costs of Trump’s wall
Article 10 mins
‘Social Murder’: the realities of ‘Better Regulation’ in Contemporary Britain
Society, Politics & Law

‘Social Murder’: the realities of ‘Better Regulation’ in Contemporary Britain

...become fashionable – even ‘natural’ - to deride regulation and those who enforce it. At the same time, the scale of deaths to which I pointed above continues – virtually under any political, popular or academic radar. But the story I have summarised here is not one of rules, regulations, red tape. It is a story about social inequality and avoidable
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Article 10 mins
The drive to improve patient safety in the NHS in England
Health, Sports & Psychology

The drive to improve patient safety in the NHS in England

...become central concerns within the NHS policy in England. The same is true in many other healthcare systems. In 2013, the National Advisory Group on the Safety of Patients in England, delivered its report ‘A promise to Learn – a commitment to act’. The Advisory Group was led by the Dr Don Berwick, a renowned doctor and campaigner for improved safety and quality from...
View article The drive to improve patient safety in the NHS in England
Article 10 mins