Last Saturday I discussed the the unhappiness of teenagers. I would now like to pursue the subject Why has their unhappiness reached such huge proportions? Many reasons have been put forward: a rise in the divorce rate, a shift away from intrinsic to extrinsic goals, which can lead to a sense of not being able to …
It was water scarcity that destabilized Syria, sparked a war, and sent more than 1 million refugees fleeing into Europe. Analysts have attributed the Arab Spring revolutions in several countries to shortages of water, and thus grain and rapidly rising food prices, pushing about 150 million people into poverty, according to the World Bank. Now, …
Something is undermining young people’s mental health, especially that of girls. A study conducted by Jean Twenge, professor of psychology at San Diego State University, looked at four studies covering 7 million people, ranging from teens to adults in the US. Among her findings: high school students in the 2010s were twice as likely to …
Nigeria is in the grip of a kidnapping epidemic. “From the fluvial habitats of the Niger Delta to the hubs of Lagos,” no citizen is safe from this menace. More than 1,500 people are kidnapped every year, “either to be held hostage until ransomed by moneyed relatives” or to be killed by ritualists who believe …
Women trying to conceive have long been told to eat well, and cut down on alcohol, to increase their chances of having a healthy baby; now it seems the same kind of advice could be applicable to men. A study has found that when obese men lose weight, the DNA in their sperm undergoes “epigenetic …
