A book that criticizes alternative medicine to treat conditions that have names but no criteria is controversial - because it runs up against a supplement and alternative medicine enabled by governments that believe science can't be trusted
A new America? Warner Bros. PicturesBy Peter Bloom, The Open University"Interstellar" has been praised for its attempt to make the “hard science” of astrophysics both accessible and exciting to a popular audience. Through cutting-edge special effects, it takes audiences on a journey through space and time. It does so by drawing on groundbreaking scientific theories involving relativity, wormholes, black holes and the power of gravity.
You're twice as likely to chat about vaping than you were in 2013. Tibanna79By Robbie Love, Lancaster UniversitySelfies were so 2013. But vaping’s in: Oxford Dictionaries have announced vape as its international Word of the Year 2014. The runners up are bae, budtender, contactless, indyref, normcore and slacktivism.
E-cigarettes should not be sold in Australia, as a therapy or a consumer product. gdvcom/ShutterstockBy Ross MacKenzie; Benjamin Hawkins, London School of Hygiene&Tropical Medicine, and Thomas Novotny, San Diego State University
Jimi Hendrix is a member of the so-called 27 Club. A very exclusive club, as it turns out. EPA/Eduardo MirandaBy Dianna Kenny, University of SydneyI refuse to join any club that would have me as a member. – Groucho MarxNow he’s gone and joined that stupid club. I told him not to … – Kurt Cobain’s mother upon hearing of the death of her sonWhat do Otis Redding, Gram Parsons, Nick Drake, Jimmy McCulloch, James Ramey (aka Baby Huey), Bryan Osper, and Jon Guthrie have in common?
You might never know that you're hard of thinking. Robin Zebrowski/Flickr, CC BY-NCBy Stephan Lewandowsky, University of Bristol and Richard Pancost, University of BristolIt is an unfortunate paradox: if you’re bad at something, you probably also lack the skills to assess your own performance. And if you don’t know much about a topic, you’re unlikely to be aware of the scope of your own ignorance.
Nationals MP George Christensen told Parliament that the hot temperatures of 1896 have been "wiped from the official record". It's a bit more complicated than that. AAP Image/Lukas CochBy Neville Nicholls, Monash University
Pfizer's evergreening tactics have made it the target of protests. Michael Fleshman/Flickr, CC BY-SABy Hazel Moir, Australian National University and Deborah Gleeson, La Trobe UniversityEfforts by pharmaceutical companies to extend their patents cost taxpayers millions of dollars each year. In some cases they also mean people are subjected to unnecessary clinical trials.
Knockaloe Camp. Stefan ManzBy Stefan Manz, Aston UniversityThe German-Jewish painter and writer Paul Cohen-Portheim had spent a peaceful summer in 1914 visiting friends in Devon and enjoying the beautiful south-west coast. But his idyllic holiday came to an abrupt end after Britain’s entry into war on August 4. Despite there being no suggestion of any sympathy towards his homeland’s military ambitions, Cohen-Portheim was classified as an “enemy alien” and prevented from leaving the country.
Wearable tech isn't just for humans any more. whistle.comBy Clara Mancini, The Open UniversityWith the likes of Google Glass, Fitbit, and Emotiv wearables are now a familiar concept. Perhaps less known is that animals have been fitted with wearable technology for decades.
The human Y chromosome has retained only 3% of its ancestral genes. So why is it a shadow of its former self? Rafael Anderson Gonzales Mendoza/Flickr, CC BY-NC-SABy Jenny Graves, La Trobe UniversityThe Y chromosome, that little chain of genes that determines the sex of humans, is not as tough as you might think. In fact, if we look at the Y chromosome over the course of our evolution we’ve seen it shrink at an alarming rate.
Hang on? Oh, there you are… ESA, Author providedBy Monica Grady, The Open UniversityPhew, what a day it was yesterday. Ended up having a quiet drink at the hotel. Last drink of the day – a nice cup of tea!
It’s a known fact that exercise is addictive. But CrossFitters – those who take part in CrossFit’s brutal workouts and stringent diet – are infamous for their fanatical devotion to their fitness philosophy. They can be found doing pull-ups and heavily weighted squats, flipping tires or hitting them with a sledgehammer, climbing ropes, tossing medicine balls, and “going Paleo.”
