Is it OK to cry in front of your children?

Editor's note

Many parents will at some point have shut themselves in a room to cry or left the house in a rage. In fact, the fear that children could somehow be harmed by seeing a parent struggle with negative emotions is common. But what evidence is there that this is actually the case? As John Lambie explains, some clear answers are beginning to emerge from the research.

During his weekly audience at the Vatican, Pope Francis compared having an abortion to “hiring a hitman to resolve a problem”. But as well as stigmatising women who decide to have the procedure, and the doctors who care for them, the Pope’s analogy doesn’t stand up to rational inquiry. Arianne Shahvisi explains why.

Last week’s announcement that two women were to receive Nobel Prizes in chemistry and physics, respectively, was hailed as a sign of advancing equality in science. Shelley Thompson agrees that this could help inspire a new generation of girls to take up science but argues that there are many more ways women in the field need to be made more visible.

Miriam Frankel

Science Editor

Health + Medicine

Stop measuring obesity with a ruler: we’ve discovered a far better predictor of health

Tim Spector, King's College London

Metabolites in a drop of blood may be a better way to determine your metabolic health than body mass index (BMI).
Weight stigma: five unspoken truths

Tara Coltman-Patel, Nottingham Trent University

The results of stigma can be deeply damaging – we all need to show greater sensitivity.
Sending parents letters to fight childhood obesity doesn’t work

Fiona Gillison, University of Bath

Obese people are stigmatised by society – no wonder parents react defensively to letters informing them their child is overweight.

Arts + Culture

The Walking Dead: how apocalyptic dramas help us navigate turbulent times

Catriona Miller, Glasgow Caledonian University

The real focus of end-of-days narratives isn’t the spectacle of collapse, but about what comes after and how it challenges our world view.
Royal Opera House’s £50m makeover aims to shake off ‘posh’ tag

Omar Shahryar, University of York

The Royal Opera House in Covent Garden has spent £50m to rejuvenate its image and shake off its elitist tag.

Politics + Society

Same-sex wedding cake: the Supreme Court’s Lee v. Ashers ruling explained

Jonathan Seglow, Royal Holloway

What a cake can tell us about the law's view of homosexuality, religion, freedom of expression and the value of civic equality
Tensions rise between Colombia, US and Venezuela amid rumours of a military intervention

Louis Monroy-Santander, Durham University

Colombia's new president Ivan Duque has some big issues in his inbox.

Cities
New map of Scotland – as reimagined by an algorithm Alasdair Rae, University of Sheffield; Ruth Hamilton, University of Sheffield An algorithm based on commuting patterns makes new 'Greater Glasgow' the biggest local authority in the UK.

Environment + Energy
Climate change: 1.5°C is worth striving for – but is it feasible? Arthur Petersen, UCL Climate scientists have set out how we could limit global warming, but their scenarios are not at all realistic.

Business + Economy
Brazil faces two very different economic models in Bolsonaro and Haddad Arthur Gomes Moreira, University of Sussex As well as having dangerous social and political consequences, a Bolsonaro presidency would mark a massive shift for Brazil's economy, too.

Science + Technology
Sight-impaired people want to use technology but are excluded by cost and accessibility - new research Yan Wu, Swansea University A new study has been examining what holds back sight-impaired users from using smartphones, computers and the internet.

Education
What Chinese students want from UK universities – new research Yasemin Soysal, University of Essex; Sophia Woodman, University of Edinburgh A staggering 20% of globally-mobile higher education students come from China. Here's what they're looking for.