Category: Life & Health
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Tick-tock goes the body clock
You can sleep when you’re dead, they say. In the meantime, though, circadian rhythms are best not tampered with.
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Why we sleep one third of our time
You may think you’re resting, but your brain is fulfilling critical tasks from building memories to reinforcing learning to clearing toxins.
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“Modern life is just too interesting to sleep longer”
We spend one third of our time sleeping, but scientists still don’t know why. A prominent researcher reviews the most likely explanations.
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The shades of grey
The vision of a world in which everyone lives longer and better is attractive – but for societies the changes will be over-whelming. An ethicist and a sociologist discuss the implications.
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When 80 became the new 40
Life spans in the developed world have doubled over the past two centuries — and scientists are working hard to decipher the code of aging.
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How old are you really?
Age is so much more than years elapsed since your date of birth.
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The sweet smell of sweat
Everyone knows that animals use odours to communicate. Now a growing body of research suggests that humans do, too.
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Master of fragrances
The exclusive creator of Hermès perfumes Jean-Claude Ellena revisits his brilliant career, revealing a glimpse of his perfumer’s palette.
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Humans, dogs – and now e-noses
Canines still take the lead when it comes to sniffing out smells. But the latest research shows that machines are closing the gap.
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Think yourself healthy
The vagus nerve, which connects the brain to various organs, plays an essential role in the mind-body relationship. Can you train it to make you happy?
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The invisible killers
With its horrible symptoms and 80% mortality rate, Ebola fever is especially frightening. The cases in Spain and the U.S. served as a reminder that procedures for strict disinfection, while simple on paper, are less so in practise. Even the Western health system cannot entirely protect us from this virus.
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Beating the Superbugs
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are on the rise, but the pipeline for new drugs is drying up. Researchers are developing new strategies to avoid a resurgence of illnesses that once seemed easy to cure.
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“The field has finally reached scientific maturity”
Happiness can be understood objectively, says pioneer researcher Ruut Veenhoven.
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Happy? Your smartphone will know
New technologies and citizen science offer innovative ways to track and quantify emotions. They are uncovering new ingredients in the recipe for happiness.
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New ways of fighting bacteria
Four novel approaches to keep killers in check.
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A world of invisible colours
Chemical cameras reveal a world that is invisible to the human eye. Smaller and cheaper devices are now finding uses from agriculture to cancer diagnostics.
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Microscopy: Going beyond the limits of light
Super-resolution techniques have pushed back the limits of optics, becoming an essential tool in the life sciences.
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Power from thin air
Mobile devices need energy – lots of it. Instead of focussing only on improving battery performance, some scientists are looking at the ambient energy that is all around us.
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The power of thought
An amazing project may enable paralysed humans to walk again, with the help of an exoskeleton controlled directly by their thoughts.
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“New social norms will have to be accepted”
The latest portable technology will connect humans from head to toe. But it could also endanger both our safety and our social lives, warns Wijnand IJsselsteijn.