Opinion – new ‘weight-loss device’ is not enough to tackle obesity
Researchers have developed a new ‘weight-loss device’ that forces the wearer’s jaw shut, apparently providing a means of slimming down. It has faced significant backlash online. Remember that scene from the 2005 adaption of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory where a young Willy Wonka was forced to wear an...
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Why Japanese Gen Zers are avoiding falling in love
More Japanese people are single than ever before, with new pop-up services and clubs opening to fill the void. Is Japan heading toward a loveless future? In Japan, about 60% of unmarried women and 70% of unmarried men between the age of 18-34 years are single. The reason for this...
Climate change could shift American Alligator’s sex ratio
Our warming planet could alter the sex ratios of some reptile species, shifting their populations to be either entirely male or female. There are a ton of consequences to climate change, nearly all of them detrimental to our wellbeing and way of life. Whether it’s damaged coral reefs, rising sea...
Biodegradable chewing gum could save our sidewalks
Chewing gum, the sticky bane of sidewalks and park benches across the globe, now has biodegradable ingredients to rival stubborn oil-based synthetics. Turns out the asymmetrical spots we see every day squished into our sideways, public monuments, and benches, may actually outlive us if failed to be scraped away and...
Floating Wall-E buoys are saving seabirds from bycatch death
Ornithological scientists have in essence created open sea scarecrows to deter seabirds from ending up in fishing nets. I know how it sounds, but data shows they’re proving surprisingly effective. Remember Pixar’s adorable waste collecting hero Wall-E? Well seabirds are utterly terrified of it, apparently. In response to alarming ornithological figures...
Gen Z company HiP launches new vegan chocolate
Founded by Gen Zer James Cadbury, HiP is a new vegan confectionary company that says it aims to ‘reinvent chocolate’ by replacing dairy ingredients with plant-based oat milk. Anyone who’s ever dabbled in veganism knows it can be a tricky transition, particularly when trying to find alternatives to your favourite...
Scientists communicate with lucid dreamers in breakthrough study
Scientists have managed to achieve two-way communication with lucid dreamers for the first time. Specialists are now drafting up a whole new avenue for dream analysis. While it’s hard to find value in listening to a family member or colleague’s subconscious adventures from the night before, understanding the hallucinatory world inside our dreams remains high on the bucket list for both neuroscientists and psychologists alike. Understanding the meaning behind our dreams...
Scientists have developed spinach that can send emails
Believe it or not, scientists have engineered spinach plants that can send emails and help detect abnormalities in soil. It could be used to help tackle climate change in the future. Ever wondered what your salad is thinking at lunch time? Do you often wish it could communicate with you via the digital convenience of email? What do you mean no? Regardless of your personal thoughts on talking vegetables, scientists at...
Solar powered pods provide sanctuary to homeless in Germany
Solar powered pods are offering rough sleepers an overnight sanctuary, as efforts to ‘start contact’ with the homeless community are boosted in the German city of Ulm. The German city Ulm, located about 75 miles west of Munich, has built a series of state-of-the-art pods for its homeless community to sleep in. Scattered throughout local parks and other areas known to be frequented by the city’s homeless population, the aptly named...
Enormous vulva sculpture sparks controversy in Brazil
Installed days after President Bolsonaro vowed never to legalise abortion in Brazil, Juliana Notari's hillside artwork has divided the country. Though we’re less than a week into 2021, it appears as though the prize for this year’s most controversial public sculpture has already been claimed. Sparking a fierce online debate between Bolsonaro-supporting right and the left-wing cultural community, Juliana Notari’s newly installed 33m-high concrete red vulva has been met with...
