New Training Approach Claims Anyone Can Become More Creative

We tend to split people into creative and non-creative types, but does this distinction actually exist? A recently devised training method hints that just about anyone can tap into their creativity – if they’re given the right methods to unlock it.   The new method hones in on narrative cognition – in its simplest terms, … Read more

Wild Paper Claims Psychopathy May Not Be a Mental Disorder, But Something Else

For more than half a century, the kinds of antisocial personality traits we think of as psychopathic – such as a lack of remorse, aggression, and disregard for the wellbeing of others – have been associated with mental illness.   The line between broken and useful traits can be hazy in biology, leaving open the … Read more

Popular Health Claims, Such as a Woman’s Fertility Dropping at Age 30, Are Wildly Overblown

Why do fitness device makers claim you need to take 10,000 steps every day? Do you also really need to drink eight glasses of water daily? The scientific basis for popular health claims is often thin. A piece in the New York Times, for example, notes that the idea of 10,000 steps was based more … Read more

Health Check newsletter: What do leukaemia cure claims really mean?

By Clare Wilson A lab technician works on a research process to find new CAR-T cells and RNA THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images Hello, and welcome to this week’s Health Check, the weekly newsletter that gives you the health and fitness news you can really trust. To receive this free, weekly newsletter in your inbox, sign … Read more

The Black Death Plague Didn’t Actually Kill Half of Europe, New Study Claims

In popular imagination, the Black Death is the most devastating pandemic to have ever hit Europe. Between 1346 and 1353, plague is believed to have reached nearly, if not every, corner of the continent, killing 30-50 percent of the population.   This account is based on texts and documents written by state or church officials … Read more

Can electric fields help plants grow? New claims met with caution

A study suggests that a small device powered by wind and rain can boost crop yield, but other researchers have cast doubt on the findings Life 13 January 2022 By Adam Vaughan Pea plants growing in a greenhouse Andreeshcheva Katerina/Shutterstock A team of researchers claims to have shown that a high-voltage electric field generated using … Read more

We May Be Prescribing Antidepressants Wrong, Claims Concerning New Review

Millions of people take antidepressants each day, but a major new review of the data brings up some concerns with how the drugs are currently prescribed.  In fact, when taken over long periods for mild and moderate depression, antidepressants may be doing patients more harm than good, the review explains.   That’s not to say … Read more