All about physical, mental and social wellbeing.
There’s a lot of hype around vitamin D. We’ve long known it’s essential for healthy bones, but over the last decade it’s been claimed low vitamin D levels are linked to a whole host of other illnesses. How clear are those links and how many of us really need vitamin D supplements? Get some rays Also known as the sunshine vitamin, there are two ways to get vitamin D. The first is the same way […]
We’re all aware of fake watches, sunglasses and handbags. But what about fake food? Counterfeit food is more common than you might think. Fishy business It’s estimated the fake food industry is worth more than US$40 billion each year. Seafood, coffee and oils are some of the foods most likely to be counterfeited, but it doesn’t end there. You may remember the ‘horsegate’ crisis of 2013 when it was discovered some ‘beef’ for sale in […]
Imagine every time you hear the word chair, your mouth fills with the taste of strawberries. Or to you, Tuesdays are red and the letter T is male, light blue, trustworthy and loyal. Sound strange? Welcome to the fascinating world of synaesthesia. Blended senses If someone scratches a blackboard with his or her nails, I taste iron. The intro of “Time” by Pink Floyd is golden yellow and blue. One synaesthete’s experiences Scientists have […]
Are you irresistible to mosquitos? We all know someone who gets covered in bites every time they venture outside. Why are some of us so much tastier than others? The deadliest animals Only female mosquitos bite: they need the protein that comes from a blood meal to make their eggs. But there are thousands of species of mosquito, and they have different ideas about who and what is tasty. Some prefer birds, some frogs, some […]
Have you ever felt like a fraud? That you aren’t good enough, experienced enough or smart enough to be doing what you’re doing? Join the club. Feeling like a phoney On the outside you appear confident, composed and on top of your game. But on the inside you are wracked with self-doubt. You feel like a fraud and as though someone is about to tap you on the shoulder and ask you what you think […]
We all know horoscopes are bunk. But research suggests the season you were born may say something about you after all. What’s your star sign? Is checking your horoscope a guilty pleasure? Most of us agree: there’s no science behind the star sign columns that abound in newspapers, magazines and online. But that doesn’t mean people don’t read them. One study found more than 20% of adults read their horoscope often. There’s also been plenty […]
We’ve all heard the five-second rule: as long as the food has been on the ground for less than five seconds, you’re safe to eat it. But are you? Birth of an urban myth When it comes to the origin of the five-second rule, stories abound. Genghis Khan often stars in these accounts, with claims it was originally known as the Khan rule. This rule apparently came into play at 13th-century victory banquets when Khan […]
Ever had the creepy feeling someone was staring at you, only to turn around and discover it was true? Is it possible to ‘feel’ someone watching you? I see you They say the eyes are the windows to the soul: eye contact is one of the most powerful forms of human communication. Unlike all other primates, human eyes make it extremely obvious which direction we are looking: the exposed white area around the coloured iris gives […]
We all know the sweet relief that comes from scratching an itch. But why does scratching feel so good? And why does it make the itch worse? Why so itchy? An itch is simply a sensation on the skin leading to the desire to scratch. But the science of itching is far from simple – it’s been the subject of decades of research (there’s even a scientific research journal called Itch). Researchers discovered the first […]
Sherpas – sometimes called superhumans – are extraordinary mountaineers who are at home in the peaks of the Himalayas. What is it about Sherpas that enables them to power on at such high altitude? The top of the world Standing at 8,848 m above sea level, the peak of Mt. Everest is not a welcoming place for humans. We need oxygen, and up there, oxygen levels are only a third of those found at sea […]
Espresso Science 