Can your brain make you see ghosts? The science behind the Bloody Mary legend
There’s real science behind this urban legend. Kiselev Andrey Valerevich/ Shutterstock It’s Halloween night. Someone has dared you to turn off the lights and stand in front of the mirror. The rules are simple, stare into your reflection and say her name three times. Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary. Bloody Mary. According to the creepy urban […]
Embrace lazy autumn gardening to protect wildlife
Serenity Images23/Shutterstock As winter approaches, many of us start clearing leaves and tidying up our gardens. But these jobs can remove vital winter habitats for wildlife, particularly with increasingly volatile weather conditions. Residential gardens cover 4.6% of Great Britain’s land area – over three times the size of the UK’s National Nature Reserves – so […]
Fries, cold spoons and eyebrow clamps: investigating the internet’s migraine remedies
Online migraine hacks promise relief, but a plausible explanation isn’t proof that a remedy works. Stock-Asso/Shutterstock If you’ve ever had a migraine, you’ll understand the appeal of anything that promises to make it stop. Even when that advice involves attaching hair clips to your eyebrows. Social media has plenty of suggestions. Some people swear by […]
Supporting children with dyslexia starts with preparing their teachers
PeopleImages/Shutterstock A child pauses at a word, tries it, then looks to the teacher for help. Telling the word to the child can get the sentence moving. Working out what to teach so the child can read similar words independently takes a different kind of expertise. That expertise is especially important for children with dyslexia, […]
Public libraries are doing more for their communities, but they need support
Bestkadr Public libraries remain a vital part of community life, providing free information and reading materials to everyone. Their role is particularly important amid a long-term decline in reading for pleasure among children and young people. But our research indicates that England’s public library collections are being hollowed out through long-term underinvestment. In June 2026, […]
Andy Burnham has maintained the public’s approval through his first 100 days as the UK’s PM – that’s unheard of these days
In his first 100 days in office, Andy Burnham has challenged the economic consensus shared by UK governments in recent decades and set up a prime ministerial office outside London with a remit to rewire the state and devolve power. He has also reopened the debate on Brexit and set in motion the biggest social […]
Israeli election: why nobody has been talking about Palestinian statehood
As Israelis head to the polls on October 27 one major issue that has not received serious attention during the campaign is Israel’s flat rejection of Palestinian statehood. This puts Israel seriously at odds with world opinion. As it stands, 159 countries around the world recognise Palestinian statehood, including diplomatic heavyweights such as the UK […]
How the body clock could help personalise depression treatment
The body’s internal clock influences when people feel sleepy and alert. Researchers are investigating whether differences in these rhythms could help explain responses to antidepressants. Photoroyalty/Shutterstock A person with depression might sleep much longer than usual and still wake feeling exhausted. Later that evening, when they want to go to bed, they may find themselves […]
Stanford prison experiment: why do controversial psychology studies still have such a hold on us?
Netflix Two of the most famous experiments in psychology, the Stanford prison experiment and Stanley Milgram’s obedience studies, have been called a sham, a lie and a fraud. Retraction Watch, a site that tracks withdrawn research papers, has hosted an argument for retracting the Stanford paper. Psychologists have even been told that almost everything they […]
Long COVID linked to greater risk of high blood pressure
People with long COVID had a 14% higher risk of hypertension than those who did not have long COVID. Kostikova Natalia/ Shutterstock Long COVID is often associated with symptoms such as persistent fatigue, shortness of breath and brain fog. But evidence increasingly shows that long COVID may have a broad effect on the cardiovascular system, […]