Editor's note

Most people think of yogurt as a healthy food, but a comprehensive survey of yogurts sold in the UK found that more than 90% have high levels of sugar. This is especially true of organic yogurts and yogurts aimed at children, say Bernadette Moore and Barbara Fielding. To get the benefit of yogurt, which includes healthy bacteria for your gut, it’s best to go for unsweetened natural or Greek yogurt with fruit for sweetness. Just don’t eat it near cleaning products. New research shows that common household cleaning products can change your gut microbiome for the worse. Rachael Rigby explains how this might even lead to obesity in children.

Oil and gas companies have long employed security to ensure stability of operations in insecure regions. But with weapons and technology supplied by the Kremlin, Russian energy giant, Gazprom, effectively has its own corporate militia. Nicolai Due-Gundersen charts the company’s melding of business and security that may soon play a major role in Russia’s energy plans in Syria.

If you’re a fan of TV’s Poldark or Bodyguard you will have seen lead male characters stripping down in scenes written to raise the temperature of viewers. While female objectification sparks concern about the danger it can put real women in, for men the power is reversed. But it doesn’t mean the sexual objectification of men is just a bit of fun, says Peter Lucas. As more men experience perfectionism-driven social anxiety and mental illness, some double standards are difficult to defend.

Clint Witchalls

Health + Medicine Editor

Top stories

Aric Riley/Flickr

High levels of sugar in organic and children’s yogurts – new survey

Bernadette Moore, University of Leeds; Barbara Fielding, University of Surrey

Is yogurt as healthy as you think?

Put down that bleach. Ruslana Lurchenko/Shutterstock

Household cleaning products could be making children overweight

Rachael Rigby, Lancaster University

A sanitised environment can mean fewer helpful bacteria. That has some surprising consequences for the health of children.

In the corridors of power: Russian president Vladimir Putin with Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller. Kremlin

Armed by the Kremlin, Gazprom could be the new force in Syria when the troops leave

Nicolai Due-Gundersen, Kingston University

Armed and backed by some of the world's largest known oil and gas reserves, Gazprom would be more powerful than US mercenaries such as Blackwater, and also closely linked to the Kremlin.

Lana Veshta/Shutterstock

Why the sexual objectification of men isn’t just a bit of fun

Peter Lucas, University of Central Lancashire

Perfectionism-driven social anxiety means young men will also be susceptible to ideological scripting of behaviour on TV.

Business + Economy

Science + Technology

Politics + Society

Health + Medicine

Arts + Culture

Education

 

Featured events

Youthquake

Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, Edinburgh, City of, EH99 1SP, United Kingdom — The Conversation

Schools’ Poetry Performance with: JOHN HEGLEY

Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom — University of Manchester

Walter Carroll Lunchtime Concerts: Quatuor Danel with Michelle Assay (piano)

Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom — University of Manchester

Just translation? Language rights as human rights

Julian Study Centre, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk, NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom — University of East Anglia

More events
 

Contact us here to have your event listed.

For sponsorship opportunities, email us here