FEATURES

Monday, 03 February 2020 05:52

Venezuela’s capital is booming. Is this the end of the revolution?

Anatoly Kurmanaev and Isayen Herrera American sanctions, intended to oust an authoritarian president, forced changes that have eased tensions and improved life — for some. Others see a more unequal country that has turned away from its socialist-inspired revolution. Swaying to the D.J. and sipping cocktails on the open terrace of a mountain side bar, a party of private-school teenagers in Prada sneakers and Chanel bags looked down over the shantytowns of Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, spread over the valley below. On the poorer outskirts of the city, residents continue to struggle with water shortages and malnutrition. And in the countryside…

Sunday, 02 February 2020 03:57

The best sleep position for feeling good the next day, according to experts

It happens at least once a month like clockwork: I wake up from a solid eight-hour sleep, only to realize I’ve pulled my back and I can’t lift my arm beyond shoulder height. Sure, it’s frustrating because the pain shoots through my body like a knife, but even more so because I know the issues are a result of me sleeping on my stomach — the only position I’m able to fall asleep in. My sleep posture is far from ideal, since a large body of science concludes that sleeping on your stomach puts pressure on the respiratory system, nerves,…

Sunday, 02 February 2020 03:48

Why proving your partner wrong is never effective

Seth Meyers There is an alternative to trying to prove your partner wrong. As a psychologist who works with clients, issues between romantic couples often come to life in session. Recently, a client shared how her husband is unappreciative and critical of her, which causes her to become defensive and to prove him wrong through logic and data points. Specifically, she'll recite the multiple ways she should be appreciated and provide examples of how he is regularly critical. Unfortunately, her attempts to prove him wrong always fail, as her defensiveness causes him, in turn, to fight even harder to prove…

Thursday, 30 January 2020 05:15

Just how much water should you drink daily?

Before you read this article, can I just check you’ve drunk enough water today? You might want to refill your bottle because, remember, if you wait until you feel thirsty, you may already be dehydrated. No one is sure where this advice came from, but it’s all over the internet. “Nowadays this is not considered sensible,” says Stuart Galloway, an associate professor in physiology, exercise and nutrition at the University of Stirling. “As humans, we have this homeostatic system, so when we need water, we feel thirsty.” Drinking when you are thirsty, he says, maintains your body’s water level within…

Wednesday, 29 January 2020 05:45

Nigeria and the Oxford English Dictionary 'rub minds'

Ask a Nigerian what corrupt politicians do with public funds and he or she may say, “They chop it.” The Oxford English Dictionary agrees. Hailing from the streets of Nigeria, “to chop” - meaning to illicitly make money, and “rub minds” - a synonym for “confer”, are among 29 distinctive aspects of Nigerian English to obtain pride of place in the august dictionary. “By taking ownership of English and using it as their own medium of expression, Nigerians have made, and are continuing to make, a unique and distinctive contribution to English as a global language,” the dictionary said in…

Tuesday, 28 January 2020 05:59

From bat to snake to humans - coronavirus is a real life sci-fi nightmare

John Naish The machine disturbs a bat feeding in a banana tree causing it to flee. The bat flies over a pig pen, dropping a piece of the fruit – which is gobbled up by a hungry piglet. That piglet is destined for a restaurant in Macau where its carcass is prepared for cooking by the chef. Called from the kitchen to meet a customer, he fails to wash his hands and greets the unfortunate woman with a friendly handshake. And so she becomes Patient Zero, the first person to be infected with a lethal new virus – caused by…

Tuesday, 28 January 2020 05:57

Coronavirus: How to protect yourself from infection

The spread of the coronavirus across China and to at least 10 other countries including the US, South Korea and Japan has prompted experts and health authorities to offer advice on how to reduce the chances of contracting the illness. All but four of the 80 reported deaths so far have been recorded in Hubei province where the outbreak started. Experts have warned, however, that about 100,000 people may already be infected – far more than the 2,700 cases reported by China’s National Health Commission in China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. World Health Organization is recommending that people take…

Monday, 27 January 2020 06:01

Hairy situation: Scientists explain how stress-related graying occurs

Marie Antoinette’s hair turned white overnight, according to folklore, before she was executed by guillotine in 1793 during the French Revolution. The ill-fated queen embodied an extreme example of the phenomenon of stress-induced graying of the hair. The biological mechanism behind such graying had long remained a mystery. But researchers said on Wednesday they have figured out how it happens: it is driven by the body’s “fight-or-flight” response to danger. The researchers used mouse experiments to look at how stress affects the stem cells in hair follicles that are responsible for making melanocytes, the pigment-producing cells that give hair its…

Sunday, 26 January 2020 06:07

Why you sometimes twitch awake right before you fall asleep

Your thoughts begin to gently drift off the plane of reality and you’re about to transition from that dreamy state to complete sleep. Then — suddenly — a part of your body twitches and you’re dramatically jerked awake. Sound familiar? What you’re most likely experiencing is something called a “hypnic jerk,” according to Ellen Wermter, a board-certified family nurse practitioner and Better Sleep Council spokesperson. A hypnic jerk is a form of myoclonus, which is essentially just “a fancy way of saying ‘muscle twitch,’” Wermter told HuffPost. (Another form of myoclonus is the hiccups.) “These twitches are not voluntary, and…

Saturday, 25 January 2020 06:01

The food you eat during flights tastes different. This is why

Not many people are fans of airline food, but as it turns out, you don't taste food in the air the same way you do on the ground. Several factors on the plane — including the background noise, pressurized cabin, and dry air — all suppress your ability to taste sweet and salty food by at least 30%. Airline caterers often modify their recipes to accommodate for the loss in taste. Ever look at the beverage cart on a plane and see it piled high with tomato juice? It's not a common juice, like orange or apple. So why are…

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Thursday, 23 January 2020 05:22

Highly likable people avoid these 12 behaviours

Be great to work with, not grating. Succeeding in business is hard, why make it harder with even occasional repugnant behavior? Time and again over my 30 year career I've seen that likable people who are easy, fun to work with, and are easy to rally around have far more successful careers than curmudgeons. The sticks-in-the-mud might win the occasional promotion or get that better project in the short run, but over the long haul, likable people win out. I've worked with all kinds of bosses, even some that made the boss from Office Space look like boss of the…

Wednesday, 22 January 2020 06:15

How balancing 'warming' and 'cooling' foods could benefit your health

Many of us find ourselves trying to eat a more balanced diet with the turn of the new year, but here’s another type of balance you may want to consider: balancing warming and cooling foods. Achieving balance in the body is at the heart of traditional Chinese medicine, and what you eat plays a key role in reaching that level of equilibrium. “Chinese medicine is based on the philosophy of the yin and the yang, two opposing yet complementary forces that make up life and energy,” saidFelicia Yu, physician and assistant clinical professor of health sciences at the University of…

Sunday, 19 January 2020 06:28

Avoid these five risk factors and live longer, study says

How would you like to add 7 to 10 healthy, disease-free years to your life as you age? Try eliminating these five bad health habits: smoking, not exercising, being overweight, drinking too much alcohol and eating an unhealthy diet. That's the takeaway from a new study that analyzed the impact of those behaviors on the chance of living a longer life free of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and other chronic diseases. "We found that following a healthy lifestyle can substantially extend the years a person lives disease-free," said senior author Dr. Frank Hu, who chairs the department of nutrition at…

Saturday, 18 January 2020 05:58

This is what happens to your body when you eat cucumbers daily

Do you love cucumbers? Really, really love them, to the point where you eat them every single day? Cucumbers, after all, are one of those "just ok" kind of vegetables that are acceptable as part of a salad, a veggie tray, or a cocktail garnish (they even make an appearance in Meghan Markle's fave summertime libation), but in their plain, un-pickled state, they don't tend to be the kind of thing anyone gets too excited about. Perhaps it's time to reconsider the cuke. For one thing — who knew? — as the Times of India tells us, the cucumber is…

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