Science of Life We would all like to be productive, to use our time well and to get lots of things done. I know I would – I tend to have a problem with procrastination. But effective techniques to enhance productivity are well known, if only we would use them. Today I will outline…
Science of life Does addiction to drugs destroy the capacity for free will in the addicts, rendering them incapable of saying ‘no’ to drugs? This question is currently before the High Court of the State of Massachusetts, US, and will be adjudicated on shortly. The specific case in question is that of Julie Eldred,…
Euthanasia and assisted suicide are two practices that are growing in popularity worldwide, with the Netherlands having seen a recent surge in the demand for euthanasia, as reported in The Guardian last month. Although euthanasia and assisted suicide are now legal in only a small number of countries, debate is ongoing in many countries, and…
Science of life Motherhood should be a very special time filled with joy and love but many new mothers can labour under such a burden of expectations and pressure to perform to certain standards that they end up feeling bad about perceived underperformance or failure. This phenomenon is very marked in America and is…
We all make mistakes and we all experience failure. Failure is a painful experience and the conventional psychological advice is that we should not dwell on failure and we should try not to feel bad. However, new research just published by Noelle Nelson and others in the Journal of Behavioural Decision Making found that, when…
Science of Life Prof. William Reville Human beings are members of a large group of animals known as mammals and all female mammals have mammary glands (breasts) that produce milk for feeding the young. This natural method of breastfeeding is scientifically well established as the optimal form of nutrition for babies and is enthusiastically…
Science of Life Running is fast becoming the most popular form of exercise – it is estimated that two million people run in Britain and 10 million people in the USA. The aerobic (heart and lung) exercise provided by running is undoubtedly good for your health. However, intense and arduous forms of running, such as…
We often hear that Europe is now in a ‘post-Christian era’ and it is fashionable to attribute Western progress from the Enlightenment onwards to overcoming religious barriers to progress. However, much historical research paints a different picture. Most recently, American sociologist Rodney Stark published a number of books, arguing convincingly that Christianity was directly responsible…
Science of Life Positivity, having a positive and optimistic attitude towards life, has long been considered to be a very good thing and is widely recommended in popular psychology. Innumerable books have been published over the past several decades promoting the value of positivity and positive self-esteem, eg. the classic The Power of Positive Thinking…
Using organ transplants to replace failing human organs and tissues saves and improves the quality of many lives every year. Up until now suitable organs for transplantation have been available only from human donors, and donor organs are in very short supply. The number of people currently waiting for transplants significantly exceeds the supply of…