Not many of us are in a hurry to get older. After all, ageing doesn’t just mean grey hairs and wrinkles — it can also mean years of poor health. In fact, ageing actually increases our risk of developing a range of diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline. And if that wasn’t a problem enough, it’s not always clear who may develop these illnesses.
While of course we know of certain risk factors that may increase a person’s chances of developing certain age-related diseases, a team of researchers at the University of Nottingham may actually have identified a better way of predicting long-term health — for men, at least. And it may be as simple as measuring levels of a particular hormone (not testosterone) in a man’s blood.
With all the rain we’ve been having lately, you might be wishing the weather was back to being as hot and dry as it was this summer. But since it doesn’t look like the forecast will change anytime soon, perhaps it’s time to embrace it by learning a few things you probably didn’t realise you didn’t know about rain.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is set to deliver his autumn budget statement later today. We already have a good sense of what to expect (spending cuts and tax rises) but the news could still shake the financial markets. We’ll be publishing reactions to the announcement from a panel of experts later in the day.
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Heather Kroeker
Commissioning Editor, Health + Medicine
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Who is likely to develop age-related disease could be predicted years in advance by looking at INSL3.
Evgeny Atamanenko/ Shutterstock
Ravinder Anand-Ivell, University of Nottingham; Richard Ivell, University of Nottingham
Our study found that low levels of INSL3 hormone were associated with greater risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and frailty in men.
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UK weather can often be on the damp side.
Jaromir Chalabala/Shutterstock
Rob Thompson, University of Reading
On average, Sydney and Rome get more rain than London each year.
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Rishi Sunak’s government is set to deliver its first budget statement on November 17 2022.
I T S / Shutterstock
Matthew Watson, University of Warwick
Sunak and Hunt may hope for some normality after the budget, but markets may not be so content with the details.
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Ukraine Invasion
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Kenton White, University of Reading
The world held its breath when a Russian-made missile landed in Poland. What would it take for Nato to intervene militarily?
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Politics + Society
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Nicola Power, Lancaster University
Group psychology can explain why emergency services failed to cooperate effectively in the aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing.
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Clare Cunningham, York St John University
Linguistic analysis shows that activists and politicians have very different messages when it comes to the environment.
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Arts + Culture
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Karen Lury, University of Glasgow
Underneath the schmaltzy appeal of the 2022 John Lewis Christmas advert is a frustrating distraction from the far from picture-perfect reality for children in care.
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Sarah-Jane Coyle, Queen's University Belfast
Verbatim theatre has traditionally tackled social issues but Wagatha Christie is bucking this trend and offering audiences some light entertainment.
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Jess Cotton, University of Cambridge
The upcoming auction of Joan Didion’s belongings, from oversized sunglasses to iconic furniture only adds to our romanticised vision of the author’s persona.
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Simon Potter, University of Bristol
The BBC has underestimated the public response to local radio cuts, says an expert.
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Business + Economy
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Paul Whiteley, University of Essex
The OBR’s official inflation forecasts include economists’ expectations, but what about yours?
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Environment
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Peter Manshausen, University of Oxford; Duncan Watson-Parris, University of Oxford; Philip Stier, University of Oxford
The best way to cut air pollution is to burn less fossil fuel.
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Nick Bernards, University of Warwick
The new Global Shield won’t work as ultimately rich countries and companies must foot the bill.
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Health
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Colin Davidson, University of Central Lancashire
Many studies have looked at the potential benefits of ayahuasca, but few have analysed its side-effects.
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Science + Technology
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Penny Spikins, University of York
Neanderthals were wiped out by chance changes in the environment. The rise of Homo sapiens wasn’t inevitable.
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