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Isolation has long fascinated psychologists. Until recently, it was such a rare phenomenon that researchers had to seek out Arctic explorers and astronauts to learn how it changes the human brain. Now, of course, we’re all experts in the stress, fatigue and cognitive clunkiness that lockdown can breed. I now know just how much I relied on the company of others to keep sharp.
Happily, the mental effects of isolation aren’t forever. Researchers from Glasgow have found that whatever cerebral sluggishness we’ve developed reverses remarkably quickly once we begin socialising again. This will come as a relief to anyone who, like me, has been misplacing their keys with alarming regularity since December.
Elsewhere, resourceful scientists have found a way to engineer home COVID-19 tests out of used coffee machine capsules, while observations of some snoozing octopuses have revealed that these enigmatic cephalopods may experience fleeting dreams.
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Alex King
Commissioning Editor, Science + Technology
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Emerging from isolation has a profound effect on our cognitive functions.
Koldunova Anna/Shutterstock
Christopher Hand, Glasgow Caledonian University; Greg Maciejewski, University of the West of Scotland; Joanne Ingram, University of the West of Scotland
The study found people bounce back from their mental sluggishness soon after emerging from isolation.
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Nespresso machines, which brew espresso and coffee from coffee capsules, can be used for covid tests.
Manu Padilla/Shutterstock
Mark Lorch, University of Hull
Wax, vials, a coffee capsule and boiling water are the main components of a brand new COVID-19 test.
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Octopuses might be able to dream.
Shutterstock/Henner Damke
Alexandra Schnell, University of Cambridge
Colour-changing patterns in snoozing octopuses are characteristic of two alternating sleep states.
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Politics + Society
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Raminder Kaur, University of Sussex; Gill Margaret Hague, University of Bristol
The widely contested report has caused outrage across the UK. But is it inaccurate?
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Wendy Sims-Schouten, University of Portsmouth
The pandemic has seen more children experience mental health troubles. Modelling compassion and fostering self-esteem will help
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Claire Pierson, University of Liverpool
A year since the law was changed, women were still not getting access to abortion services.
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Ben Waltmann, Institute for Fiscal Studies
The government’s race report suggests ethnic minority graduates gain less from university because of poor course choices. Our findings show that’s not quite true.
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Arts + Culture
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Lakshmi Priya Rajendran, Anglia Ruskin University
The British-Iraqi architect left behind a trail of extraordinary buildings. More than her built legacy, though, it is her maverick problem solving – and her determination – that continues to inspire
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Nick Davies, Glasgow Caledonian University; Daniel Baxter, Glasgow Caledonian University
Your guide to what is going to become of the great British summer bonanza.
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Science + Technology
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Gemma Ware, The Conversation; Daniel Merino, The Conversation
Plus why the situation for Rohingya Muslims living in Bangladesh has gone from bad to worse. Listen to episode 9 of The Conversation Weekly podcast.
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Evangelos Boulougouris, University of Strathclyde
Driven by the promise of efficiency, container ships have grown to monstrous proportions over the past 15 years.
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Environment + Energy
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Peter Howson, Northumbria University, Newcastle
NFTs don't even exist in the real world, but the market around them has a big effect on the planet.
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Enrica Papa, University of Westminster; Peter White, University of Westminster
Long-overdue changes are afoot in Britain's bus networks.
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Featured events
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Sustainable Places Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Cardiff [Caerdydd GB-CRD], CF10 3BA, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — Cardiff University
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Online, Online, Oxfordshire, Online, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Oxford
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Whiteknights House, PO Box 217, Reading, Reading, RG6 6AH, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Reading
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Aston University, Aston Triangle, Birmingham, Birmingham, B4 7ET, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — Aston University
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