Positive thinking

Raffaella Ocone, Heriot-Watt University - United Kingdom One question that arises from the announcement by the UK government that new diesel and petrol cars will be banned by 2040 is what it means for biofuels. If cars running on fossil fuels will be substituted by electric cars, it could imply that all liquid transport fuels will be eliminated. Around 5% of the volume of the average British tank of petrol or diesel comes from biofuels at present. It is produced from various sources, including corn, wheat, sugar beet and waste ranging from rotten vegetables to used cooking oil. Biofuels in the UK by feedstock type RAENG report The large-scale use of biofuels dates back to the 1970s, when they were first introduced in Brazil through government incentives to build vehicles that could run on 100% ethanol produced mainly from sugar cane. Brazil remains a leader in biofuels, despite ups ...

Anika Kn ü ppel, UCL The thought of a cupcake, skillfully frosted with fluffy vanilla icing, may put a smile on your face, but research suggests that, in the long term, a sweet tooth may turn that smile into a frown – but not for the reasons you think. In a new study , published in Scientific Reports, my colleagues and I found a link between a diet high in sugar and common mental disorders. The World Health Organisation recommends that people reduce their daily intake of added sugars (that is, all sugar, excluding the sugar that is naturally found in fruit, vegetables and milk) to less than 5% of their total energy intake. However, people in the UK consume double – in the US, triple – that amount of sugar. Three-quarters of these added sugars come from sweet food and beverages, such as cakes and soft drinks. The rest come from other processed foods, such as ketchup. At the same time, one in six people worldwide suffers from a common mental disorder , such as a moo...

Fabienne Cazalis , Ecole des Hautes É tudes en sciences sociales (EHESS) - France This article was co-written by Adeline Lacroix, who works with Fabienne Cazalis and was recently diagnosed with Asperger syndrome. A second year master’s student in psychology, she is working on a scientific literature review about the characteristics of high-functioning autistic women. Let’s call her Sophie. The description we’ll give could be that of any woman who is on the autistic spectrum without knowing it. Because they’re intelligent and used to compensating for communication impediments they may not be consciously aware of, these women slip through the cracks of our still-too-inefficient diagnostic procedures. Studies reveal one woman for every nine men is diagnosed with so-called “high-functioning” autism, that is, autism without intellectual disability. If we compare this to the one woman for every four men diagnosed with the more readily identified “low-functioning” autis...

Charlotte O'Brien, University of York - United Kingdom It has emerged that the team being sent to Brussels to lead on talks to take Britain out of the EU includes just one woman – out of nine named negotiators. This imbalance is not only embarrassing. It’s negligent. Failing to include women on the frontline of this incredibly important process jeopardises the quality of the negotiations. Men don’t know (or do) what’s best for women Having women on your team matters – and not just because of optics. It affects the quality of the laws that are made. The Equal Pay Act of 1970 and the Sex Discrimination Act of 1975 were both passed by parliaments that were 96% male and 4% female. Both pieces of legislation are great achievements on the surface but both were deeply flawed. The original equal pay rules required a job evaluation survey , effectively meaning that women had to seek permission from their employers (back then: men) to mount an equal pay claim. Unti...

1.  “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”   2.  “I freed thousands of slaves, and could have freed thousands more, if they had known they were slaves.”    3.  “If you hear the dogs, keep going. If you see the torches in the woods, keep going. If there's shouting after you, keep going. Don't ever stop. Keep going. If you want a taste of freedom, keep going.”    4. "I grew up like a neglected weed, ignorant of liberty, having no experience of it." 5. "I had crossed the line of which I had so long been dreaming. I was free; but there was no one to welcome me to the land of freedom. I was a stranger in a strange land." 6.  “I have heard their groans and sighs, and seen their tears, and I would give every drop of blood in my veins to free them.” 7.  “Farewell, ole Ma...

     Agnieszka Golec de Zavala, Goldsmiths, University of London and Dorottya Lantos, Goldsmiths, University of London Can we really unlock our personal power by adopting “powerful” body postures? Unfortunately, the findings that link these so-called “power poses” beloved of certain politicians with a real sense of power and control are difficult to replicate . We may not yet understand the mechanism through which body postures influence our psychological states, but our recent study suggests that we may draw insights from the rapidly expanding research on the psychological benefits of yoga. In our study, some participants performed two simple yoga poses for two minutes, while others performed “power poses” for two minutes. Afterwards, those who held the yoga poses reported improved subjective feelings of energy, sense of power, and self-esteem compared to the other group. What could lie behind this apparent boost? One theory is that yoga’s...

1. "Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence." 2. "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart." 3. "Life is either a great adventure or nothing." 4. "Life is an exciting business, and most exciting when it is lived for others." 5. "What I am looking for is not out there, it is in me." 6. "It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision." 7. "We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world." 8. "All the world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming." 9. "Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye." 10. "The highest result of education is tolerance." Helen Keller

1. "For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." 2. "Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace." 3. "No country can really develop unless its citizens are educated." 4. "Where globalization means, as it so often does, that the rich and powerful now have new means to further enrich and empower themselves at the cost of the poorer and weaker, we have a responsibility to protest in the name of universal freedom." 5. "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." 6. "As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest." 7. "Our single most important challenge is therefore to help establish a social order in which the freedom of the individual will truly mean the freedom of the individual....

Dr Heidi Seage, Cardiff Metropolitan University  The UK’s diet industry is thriving to say the least. More than half of British adults try to lose weight by controlling their calorie intake each year. Unfortunately, losing weight is not as easy as turning down a biscuit, or opting for salad. And even those who have been successful in their dieting endeavours find it difficult to do.  So why is it that even when we have the best of intentions, dieting is so difficult? Why can’t we control those cravings? 1. Food cues We’ve all done it: walked past a tasty-looking supermarket stand, or smelled something delicious and immediately started drooling over whatever treat is on display, regardless of calorie content or nutrition. Sensory food cues like these can be difficult to ignore and aren’t just triggered by taste or smell – advertising or brand logos can tempt us in too. When we are hungry, the hormone gherlin stimulates the brain , which means that we notice ...

Gill Livingston, UCL - United Kingdom Dementia is by no means an inevitable result of ageing. In fact, one in three dementia cases can be prevented, according to new findings published in The Lancet . For the report – the first for The Lancet Commission on Dementia Prevention and Care – my colleagues and I analysed a number of studies and developed a model showing how lifestyle changes, at different ages, can reduce a person’s risk of developing dementia. We considered potentially reversible risk factors from different life stages – not just old age. Based on this, we propose a new model to demonstrate the possible impact of eliminating these risk factors across the lifespan. We have detailed the compelling international evidence for nine lifestyle factors that may reduce, or increase, an individual’s risk of developing dementia. These are more childhood education, exercise, being socially active, stopping smoking, managing hearing loss, depression, diabetes...

1. "There is nothing like a dream to create the future." 2. "It is from books that wise people derive consolation in the troubles of life. " 3. "He who opens a school door, closes a prison." 4. "Initiative is doing the right thing without being told." 5. "Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent. " 6. "Life is the flower for which love is the honey. " 7. "Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face. " 8. "One can resist the invasion of an army but one cannot resist the invasion of ideas. " 9. "Peace is the virtue of civilization. War is its crime. " 10. "A noble soul and real poetic talent are almost always inseparable." Victor Hugo

Clare Allely, University of Salford Terror recruits often seem to come from vulnerable backgrounds. But new research suggests that those with traits of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) could be more at risk of being radicalised. It follows a number of high-profile cases where autism appears to have played a role in the offender’s behaviour. So if people with ASD could be at higher risk, how can we protect them from falling under the spell of terror organisations such as the so-called Islamic State? Terrorism involves committing violent acts for political, religious or ideological reasons. It can either be committed as part of an organised group or alone but it is traditionally characterised and understood as a group phenomenon . But a new type of terrorist threat has emerged in recent years – the “ lone wolf ”. Over the last decade, the rise of lone wolf terrorists has necessitated the need for an understanding of the pathway from radical ideology to radical violence...