Category Archives: Health

Health Technology: “The Science Behind Artificial Blood” (WSJ Video)

The coronavirus pandemic led to shortages in the blood supply across the U.S. Scientists around the world are working on a potential solution. The Future of Everything looks at the process of making artificial blood.

Illustration: Timothy Wong

Health: “6 Tips For Better And Longer Sleep” (Video)

Want to not only fall asleep quickly but also stay asleep longer? Sleep scientist Matt Walker explains how your room temperature, lighting and other easy-to-fix factors can set the stage for a better night’s rest.

Sleeping with Science, a TED series, uncovers the facts and secrets behind our nightly slumber. (Made possible with the support of Beautyrest)

Check out more: https://go.ted.com/sleepingwithscience

Health Video: “The Stages Of REM & Non-REM Sleep”

Did you know you go on a journey every night after you close your eyes? Sleep scientist Matt Walker breaks down the difference between REM (Rapid-Eye Movement) and non-REM sleep, what occurs during each stage of sleep — and why it’s important to get enough of both. Sleeping with Science, a TED series, uncovers the facts and secrets behind our nightly slumber. (Made possible with the support of Beautyrest)

Check out more: https://go.ted.com/sleepingwithscience

Health Videos: “How Caffeine And Alcohol Affect Your Sleep”

Caffeine wakes you up, and alcohol makes you nod off, right? It’s not that simple. Sleep scientist Matt Walker takes us into the eye-opening ways that these drinks affect the quantity and quality of our sleep. Sleeping with Science, a TED original series, uncovers the facts and secrets behind our nightly slumber. (Made possible with the support of Beautyrest)

Check out more: https://go.ted.com/sleepingwithscience

Health Videos: “How Much Sleep Do You Really Need?”

You know you need to get enough sleep, but the question remains: How much is enough? Sleep scientist Matt Walker tells us the recommended amount for adults and explains why it’s necessary for your long-term health. Sleeping with Science, a TED original series, uncovers the facts and secrets behind our nightly slumber. (Made possible with the support of Beautyrest)

Check out more: https://go.ted.com/sleepingwithscience

New Travel Videos: Will Venice See Mass Tourism Return Post-Lockdown?

As the 77th edition of the Venice Film Festival opens this Wednesday, life is slowly returning to normal in the northern Italian city, which was hard hit by the Covid-19 crisis. It’s the first time since the start of the pandemic that a major international festival is allowing the public to attend. This comes as good news for Venice, whose economy relies heavily on mass tourism, despite adverse effects on the environment and locals. Can La Serenissima steer away from this model and invent a new one? Our correspondents report.

Healthy Diet Podcasts: “Spoon-Fed” Author & Professor Tim Spector

According to a recent study, obesity increases the risk of dying of Covid-19 by nearly 50%. Governments around the world are now hoping to encourage their citizens to lose weight. But with so much complex and often contradictory diet advice, as well as endless food fads, it can be hard to know what healthy eating actually looks like. 

How many pieces of fruit and vegetables should you eat a day? Will cutting out carbs help you lose weight? Is breakfast really the most important meal of the day? Speaking to Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London about his new book Spoon-Fed, Madeleine Finlay asks why we’re still getting food science wrong, and explores the current scientific evidence on snacking, supplements and calorie labels. 

Tim Spector is a Professor of Genetic Epidemiology and Director of the TwinsUK Registry at Kings College, London and has recently been elected to the prestigious Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He trained originally in rheumatology and epidemiology. In 1992 he moved into genetic epidemiology and founded the UK Twins Registry, of 13,000 twins, which is the richest collection of genotypic and phenotypic information worldwide. He is past President of the International Society of Twin Studies, directs the European Twin Registry Consortium (Discotwin) and collaborates with over 120 centres worldwide. He has demonstrated the genetic basis of a wide range of common complex traits, many previously thought to be mainly due to ageing and environment. Through genetic association studies (GWAS), his group have found over 500 novel gene loci in over 50 disease areas. He has published over 800 research articles and is ranked as being in the top 1% of the world’s most cited scientists by Thomson-Reuters. He held a prestigious European Research Council senior investigator award in epigenetics and is a NIHR Senior Investigator. His current work focuses on omics and the microbiome and directs the crowdfunded British Gut microbiome project. Together with an international team of leading scientists including researchers from King’s College London, Massachusetts General Hospital, Tufts University, Stanford University and nutritional science company ZOE he  is conducting the largest scientific nutrition research project, showing that individual responses to the same foods are unique, even between identical twins. You can find more on https://joinzoe.com/ He is a prolific writer with several popular science books and a regular blog, focusing on genetics, epigenetics and most recently microbiome and diet (The Diet Myth). He is in demand as a public speaker and features regularly in the media.

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