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It would be easy to conclude that Advent calendars — usually with 25 compartments that reveal a treat, image or scripture, used to count down the days from Dec. 1 to Christmas Eve — represent just another way Christmas is ruined by commercialization. They’ve strayed far from their beginnings as…

In the early 2000s, a major women’s health study — Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) — made headlines. As an ongoing study launched in the ‘90s, the WHI asked: could menopause hormone therapy (MHT), used to ease menopause symptoms, also protect against serious health problems in later life?

In November 2025, Lahore, the second-largest city in Pakistan, registered a “hazardous” air quality index of 509, according to IQAir, a global air quality monitoring organisation. The number speaks for itself. Eyes sting, throats burn and headlights blur into halos. In winter, the city feels as though it has slipped…

At the end of the year, many families reunite to enjoy time together. These times can be happy, yet sometimes they reveal tensions, unsatisfied needs and difficult relationships. The reality is that being together does not necessarily mean you are connected. Families can be both joyful and anguished or distressed…

Conflict between humans and baboons can tear communities apart. Shirley C. Strum has studied wild olive baboons in Kenya for more than 50 years. In that time she’s come to understand the species intimately. In this article she argues that humans have taken from nature (without asking) for too long.…

Kidnapping for ransom has a long history in the west African Sahel. In 1979, a rebel group led by Chad’s future president Hissène Habré kidnapped a French archaeologist and a German medical doctor in the north of the country. The kidnappers asked for the release of political prisoners, among other…

Astro-tourism is a niche form of tourism where visitors explore the night sky through stargazing events, guided tours, educational presentations and digital astronomy experiences. Unlike mass tourism, astro-tourism focuses on learning rather than just sightseeing.

In the past decade, AI’s success has led to uncurbed enthusiasm and bold claims – even though users frequently experience errors that AI makes. An AI-powered digital assistant can misunderstand someone’s speech in embarrassing ways, a chatbot could hallucinate facts, or, as I experienced, an AI-based navigation tool might even…

Zohran Mamdani as a creepy trick-or-treater, Gavin Newsom body-slamming Donald Trump and Hakeem Jeffries in a sombrero. This is not the setup to an elaborate joke. Instead, these are all examples of recent AI-generated political videos. New easy-to-use tools – and acceptance of those tools by politicians – means that…