Placebos reduce feelings of guilt – even when people know they’re taking one

By Jeremy Howick

Guilt is a double-edged sword. It can be a reminder to improve and a motivation to apologise. It can also lead to pathological perfectionism and stress and is also closely associated with depression and post-traumatic...

Strikes: how rising household debt could slow industrial action this year

By Giorgos Gouzoulis

After decades of declining real wages and deteriorating working conditions, strike activity has spiked over the last year, particularly in the United Kingdom. From nurses and teachers to railway and postal workers,...

Finding Britain's 'shadow woods' offers the fastest way to reforest the countryside

By Ian D. Rotherham

When William the Conqueror surveyed his new kingdom in 1086, from lowland to upland, Britain was covered with trees. In low-lying Yorkshire, the East Anglian Fens and the Somerset Levels, wet woods of tall white willows...

US will give military tanks to Ukraine, signaling Western powers' long-term commitment to thwarting Russia

By Monica Duffy Toft

President Joe Biden announced on Jan. 25, 2023, that the U.S. would send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys repeated requests for more military tanks to help wage its war...

Beirut port disaster: former Lebanon prime minister charged with homicide

By John Nagle

The investigation into the Beirut port explosion has taken a new turn, with the judge overseeing the probe charging a former prime minister and two other former ministers with homicide with probable intent. The...

Why do cats and dogs get the zoomies?

By Susan Hazel Et Al

Does your cat or dog suddenly get a burst of energy and perform athletic feats around the house that would make even a gold medallist jealous? Welcome to the world of zoomies. Zoomies involve intense periods of...

Interest rate hikes: The Bank of Canada's 'resolute' fight against inflation could threaten its credibility

By Ellen D. Russell

The Bank of Canada resolutely declared it will fight inflation by raising interest rates. To demonstrate its unwavering commitment to reaching the banks two per cent inflation target, todays eighth consecutive interest...

The Doomsday Clock is now at 90 seconds to midnight — the closest we have ever been to global catastrophe

By Jack L. Rozdilsky Et Al

On Jan. 24, history was again made when the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists organization moved the seconds hand of the Doomsday Clock closer to midnight. It is now at 90 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been...

Economists have misunderstood a key indicator – and it's a big problem

By Tiago Cardao-Pito

In studies, forecasts and recommendations to governments, markets are seen as capable of processing so-called rational information. Economists claim that firms market prices result from rational expectation about their...

What we mean when we talk about romantic comedies

By Celestino Deleyto Alcalá

Death to romantic love, declared a celebration of a feminist Valentines Day promoted by a group of students on posters visible in Zaragoza (Spain) in the days leading up to 14 February 2020. The feminist slogan reminded...

Free online courses could be a path to higher education in African countries but awareness is low

By Mphoentle Puleng Modise

Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the largest regions in the world and has the lowest rates of participation in higher education anywhere in the world. The World Bank reported in 2020 that only 9.4% of the regions tertiary...

Ukraine war: why Zelensky's corruption purge could be key to the outcome of the conflict

By Stefan Wolff Et Al

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has announced a sweeping clear-out of senior national and regional government officials and the appointment of a new supervisory board for the state-owned natural gas giant,...

Starbucks fans are steamed: The psychology behind why changes to a rewards program are stirring up anger, even though many will get grande benefits

By H. Sami Karaca Et Al

Starbucks, the coffee chain giant, is modifying its rewards program, and the news is full of stories of outraged consumers. The main focus of their ire is that, starting Feb. 13, 2023, it will cost twice as many of the...

Calls for Pope Benedict's sainthood make canonizing popes seem like the norm – but it's a long and politically fraught process

By Joanne M. Pierce

Like many others around the world, I watched the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI live on the internet. Before the service began, an unexpected announcement came over the loudspeakers requesting that members of the...

The SAT and ACT are less important than you might think

By Mary L. Churchill

College admission tests are becoming a thing of the past. More than 80% of U.S. colleges and universities do not require applicants to take standardized tests like the SAT or the ACT. That proportion of institutions...

Emotional 'blunting' and antidepressants – new research suggests why this is happening

By Barbara Jacquelyn Sahakian Et Al

Reinforcement sensitivity is an important behavioural process that allows us to learn from our environment through either positive/rewarding or negative feedback. When we get together with friends or go for a run,...

Dante was the founder of Italy’s right-wing, claims culture minister – an expert explains why he’s wrong

By Stefano Jossa

Dante was the founder of right-wing thinking in our country. So proclaimed Italys culture minister, Gennaro Sangiuliano, at an electoral meeting of the prime minister Giorgia Melonis party, Fratelli dItalia, in...

Ghana’s domestic debt restructuring has stalled: four reasons why

By Theophilus Acheampong

Ghana is facing multiple financial and economic challenges and has requested a US$3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help it restore macroeconomic stability. This will include bringing public...

Alcohol bans and law and order responses to crime in Alice Springs haven't worked in the past, and won't work now

By Thalia Anthony Et Al

Since colonisation, interventions to curb Aboriginal crime and alcohol have been deployed to control and harm First Nations communities and people. Nowhere is this more true than in the Northern Territory. When these...

Food shortages: five ways to fix 'unfair' supply chains

By Adegboyega Oyedijo Et Al

UK food prices soared by more than 16% in 2022 as record inflation pushed up the prices of everything from bread to beans. Tesco chairman John Allan recently suggested that suppliers could be using this situation to...

The Last of Us: fungal infections really can kill – and they’re getting more dangerous

By Rebecca Drummond

Millions have been tuning in every week to watch the highly anticipated TV adaptation of The Last of Us. The show depicts a post-apocalyptic world where society has collapsed due to the outbreak of a dangerous,...

How the ‘circus’ became the metaphor of choice in political rhetoric

By Eleanor Lybeck

In his 2023 New Years Speech, Labour leader Keir Starmer reiterated his criticism of the Tory circus as he lamented the apparently unbreakable but entirely avoidable cycle of crises at Westminster. Nothing has changed,...

Should Australia let Kanye West in?

By Mary Crock

Just one year after then-Immigration Minister Alex Hawke moved to expel tennis star Novak Djokovic from Australia on character grounds, his Labor successor, Andrew Giles, is faced with another controversial visitor in the...

With inflation still rising, the RBA will almost certainly lift interest rates in February

By Isaac Gross

Interest rates are almost certain to rise again in February, after the latest Consumer Price Index figures showing inflation hit 7.8% in 2022 its highest rate in 33 years. The data from the Australian Bureau of...

Escaped pet parrots threaten New Zealand’s vulnerable native birds – why a ban is the best solution

By Margaret Stanley Et Al

Birds sold in the pet trade are often colourful and charismatic creatures. Some can even be taught to talk, and they often provide owners with much-needed companionship. But there are negative aspects of the pet trade...

Targeted policies can help decarbonize Canada one home at a time

By Ekaterina Rhodes Et Al

Be it through the food we eat, vehicle we use or way we live, we use fossil fuels and emit greenhouse gases in various activities in our daily lives. We need to reduce emissions across sectors, starting with our homes....

ChatGPT: Chatbots can help us rediscover the rich history of dialogue

By Geoffrey M Rockwell

It is time to take human-AI dialogue seriously again. With the release of sophisticated chatbots like OpenAIs ChatGPT, effective human-AI dialogue has become interesting and accessible to everyone. Even to students writing...

War leaves a toxic legacy that lasts long after the guns go quiet. Can we stop it?

By Stacey Pizzino Et Al

The number of armed conflicts currently raging around the world is the greatest since the end of the Second World War. These wars can leave toxic environmental legacies and cause untold damage to human...

Why loneliness is both an individual thing and a shared result of the cities we create

By Jennifer Kent Et Al

If youre feeling lonely, youre not alone. Loneliness is an increasingly common experience, and it can have severe consequences. People who feel lonely are at higher risk of serious health issues, including heart disease,...

Monterey Park: A pioneering Asian American suburb shaken by the tragedy of a mass shooting

By James Zarsadiaz

For Americans of Asian descent, Monterey Park a town near Los Angeles, located in the San Gabriel Valley is a cultural center. It embodies the modern Asian American experience; that is, a place where Asians in America...

Scottish elections: young people more likely to vote if they started at 16 – new study

By Jan Eichhorn Et Al

Around the world, interest in lowering the voting age is growing. Major efforts to change the laws are underway in Canada and New Zealand, while Germany recently lowered the voting age for European parliament...

Russia rekindles old friendship with South Africa, its ally against apartheid

By Stephen Chan

The recent announcement that the South African, Russian and Chinese navies will conduct joint exercises off the east coast of South Africa between February 17 and 27, has alarmed the United States. Washington has condemned...

Football and politics in Kinshasa: how DRC's elite use sport to build their reputations and hold on to power

By Kristof Titeca Et Al

Football in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as in much of the world is intertwined with politics. In the central African country, football clubs have long been a way for the regime in power to build political...

Directors need limits to how many boards they sit on. Stretching their time too thinly is risky

By Rehana Cassim

Experienced directors of companies are in high demand in countries around the world. For this reason, many hold multiple directorships. Theres an upside to this. Directors with multiple directorships are able to gain...

Device transmits radio waves with almost no power – without violating the laws of physics

By Joshua R. Smith Et Al

A new ultra-low-power method of communication at first glance seems to violate the laws of physics. It is possible to wirelessly transmit information simply by opening and closing a switch that connects a resistor to an...

Veganism: why we should see it as a political movement rather than a dietary choice

By Alasdair Cochrane Et Al

The start of a new year these days signals the launch of Veganuary, a campaign which encourages people to give up animal products for the month of January. But while this time of the year sees a focus on diet, as...

Solving period poverty is about more than just making products free

By Sophie King-Hill

Upwards of 2.8 billion people do not have access to safe sanitation. A third of the worlds population doesnt have a toilet. This broad, international issue links to poverty, destitution and environmental risk. It also...

We tested the wastewater from planes to detect COVID among travellers – here's what we found

By Kata Farkas Et Al

Small traces of many pathogens, such as viruses we may be infected with, are excreted when we go to the toilet. Ultimately, these agents find their way to municipal wastewater treatment plants where sewage samples can be...

Why forecasting snow is so difficult in the UK

By Rob Thompson

Cold winter weather in the UK almost always brings with it talk of snow. British people tend to approach weather forecasts of snow with a combination of excitement and trepidation. Who doesnt like the sight of unspoilt...

Young port workers in the maritime city of Makassar lack digital skills. Vocational schools can be the solution

By Sherah Kurnia Et Al

The city of Makassar in South Sulawesi, Indonesia has seen fast economic growth in the past few years. In 2019, the provinces growth reached 6.9% higher than the 5% national rate with rapid infrastructure development,...

The future of work: how John Curtin was calling for a new cooperative work ethic 80 years ago

By Caryn Coatney

A boom in 2023 predictions is spurring more tips about thriving in fast-changing workspaces. But the talk about an Australian workplace revolution is not new and a prime minister once offered a media model for renewing...

Fantasy football can negatively affect your wellbeing, but research shows it doesn't have to

By Luke Wilkins

Erling Haaland or Harry Kane? Mo Salah or Marcus Rashford? Use the triple captain chip or save it? This weekend (and pretty much every weekend until the end of May), millions of people around the world will be making...

How long does it take for skin to repair after sun exposure?

By Katie Lee Et Al

Its impossible to avoid the Aussie sun entirely, but Australians are well aware of the dangers of too much exposure. Some 40 years of Slip Slop Slap (and more recently added, Seek and Slide) campaigns have reinforced this,...

Why Russia's war in Ukraine today is so different from a year ago

By Alexander Hill

Vladimir Putins special military operation in Ukraine is approaching its first anniversary. The war being fought by Russian forces today is, however, very different from that being fought when it first invaded...

Why can't the West agree on how much military support to send to Ukraine?

By Matthew Sussex

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been under tremendous pressure to supply Leopard tanks to Ukraine. The government in Kyiv has long argued it desperately needs them to regain territory seized by Russia in its 2022...

Ozempic helps people lose weight. But who should be able to use it?

By Natasha Yates

Semaglutide, sold in the forms of Ozempic and Wegovy, shot into public consciousness as an effective weight-loss medication last year, thanks to spruiking from social media influencers and people such as Elon Musk. The...

Our Solar System is filled with asteroids that are particularly hard to destroy, new study finds

By Fred Jourdan Et Al

A vast amount of rocks and other material are hurtling around our Solar System as asteroids and comets. If one of these came towards us, could we successfully prevent the collision between an asteroid and Earth? Well,...

Why the tween years are a 'golden opportunity' to set up the way you parent teenagers

By Catherine Wade

The teenage years can be among the trickiest times for a parent. You have been used to being your childs voice of reason. Then, all of a sudden, your authority is challenged by their peers, social media and huge...

The food systems that will feed Mars are set to transform food on Earth

By Lenore Newman Et Al

Could we feed a city on Mars? This question is central to the future of space exploration and has serious repercussions on Earth too. To date, a lot of thought has gone into how astronauts eat; however, we are only...

More means less: Extended copyright benefits the corporate few, not the public

By Lisa Macklem

Who benefits from Canadas recent extension of copyright? Dead authors? Students? Marginalized writers? If you answered no to all of these, youd be correct. At the beginning of January, Canada extended its copyright...