23/11/2023

The pill: a discovery that changed women’s lives

Summary: The first oral contraceptive pill was introduced in the early 1960s, giving women the possibility to control their own fertility. Hormonal contraceptives can help reduce medical concerns like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, and premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Hormonal contraceptives can have side effects such as breakthrough bleeding, nausea, headaches, breast tenderness, and decreased libido. There are misconceptions surrounding fertility, […]

Viviana D'Otolo Health and Medicine 0 4 min read
09/11/2023

The skeptic’s repertoire – euphemisms & weasel words

Summary: There are numerous speech stratagems which can be used to influence opinions and manipulate the message. Euphemisms are substitutes for potentially offensive or upsetting language. Weasel words are terms whose goal is to be ambiguous and avoid true meaning. Both euphemisms and weasel words are used to obscure reality but the speakers’ intentions are different. This series of articles […]

Jacek Jabłoński The Skeptic’s Repertoire 0 3 min read
27/09/2023

The use of gut Probiotics, how beneficial are they?

Summary: Probiotics are consumable living microorganisms and are often offered as a treatment for gastrointestinal syndromes. The use of probiotics has been proven to be beneficial in a selective number of cases but does require a fully individualised treatment. Long-term studies on the effects of probiotics are limited, and more research is needed to determine their overall efficacy and safety […]

Marijn Wilmink Health and Medicine 0 8 min read
13/09/2023

Exploring endometriosis: a surprisingly common disease

Summary: Endometriosis is a common chronic inflammatory disease affecting one in ten menstruating women. Symptoms include painful menstruation, fatigue and infertility, which impacts day-to-day life, personal relationships and work productivity. Diagnosis can be a long and tricky process, but improvements made in imaging technology could reduce invasive diagnostic procedures. Treatment options include hormonal birth control as medication, other hormone treatment […]

Nicolina Zjacic Health and Medicine 0 9 min read
02/08/2023

Will honey improve your cough?

Summary: There is no strong evidence supporting the efficacy of many over-the-counter cough medications.  Research suggests that honey may be beneficial and can be tried as a home remedy to relieve acute cough in children, however, the studies have limitations. Honey might help by soothing throat irritation and inflammation. Children younger than one-year-old should not be served honey due to […]

Hana Zdimerova Health and Medicine 0 6 min read
05/07/2023

The skeptic’s repertoire – correlation vs causation

Summary: There are numerous logical and rhetorical fallacies which can influence public debates or private opinions. Logical fallacies are mistakes in reasoning which make arguments and opinions false. Both correlation and causation are used in research to describe the relationship between variables but can be mistaken for one another. Correlation is a connection between two things while causation is a […]

Jacek Jabłoński The Skeptic’s Repertoire 0 3 min read
21/06/2023

Study drugs – can we enhance our performance?

Summary: Substances that act to enhance cognitive activity fall under the term “nootropics” and comprise a wide array of compounds with diverse effects on the brain. Global increase in cognitive pharmaceutical doping among students poses a health concern. Nootropics might affect cognitive function directly (tweaking chemical messengers or neurons in the brain) or indirectly (via the blood circulatory system or […]

Jeremy Yeoh Health and Medicine 0 4 min read