Childhood bad dreams linked to Parkinson’s

Abidemi Otaiku, a neurologist at the University of Birmingham, studies the as-yet-unexplained link between frequent bad dreams and brain disorders. Last June he reported a link between bad dreams in older age and the imminent risk of developing Parkinson’s disease in healthy people. This was followed in September by a study where he found a link between frequent bad dreams in adulthood and dementia.

Otaiku’s latest research is the most surprising by far. He has found that children who have frequent bad dreams are over six times more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease by the age of 50 compared with children who never have bad dreams. While this sounds alarming, the absolute risk is thankfully small.

Another of our authors has made a convincing case that he has solved the mystery of an Old English poem, Wulf and Eadwacer, whose meaning has eluded scholars for years. And elsewhere, we investigate what's happened to the cockney dialect, whose demise has been forecast because it's being supplanted in the capital by multicultural London English. Turns out, cockney's not dead. It just upped sticks.

Clint Witchalls

Health + Medicine Editor (UK edition)

Pressmaster/Shutterstock

Bad dreams in children linked to a higher risk of dementia and Parkinson’s disease in adulthood – new study

Abidemi Otaiku, University of Birmingham

Children who had persistent bad dreams were over six times more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease than children who never had bad dreams.

Odoacer (left) and Theoderic (right) in a woodcut from the Hartmann Schedel (1493). INTERFOTO / Alamy Stock Photo

Wulf and Eadwacer: why I think I’ve solved the mystery of this Old English poem

Ian Shiels, University of Leeds

Here, possibly four centuries before women are given a significant voice in heroic poetry in Germany and Scandinavia, a queen speaks out in an English version of a Gothic story.

Brian Harris/Alamy

The cockney dialect is not dead – it’s just called ‘Essex’ now

Amanda Cole, University of Essex

When over a million east Londoners moved to Essex in the second half of the 20th century, they took their accent with them.

Politics + Society

Omagh police shooting: why attack comes at a difficult time in Northern Ireland

Peter John McLoughlin, Queen's University Belfast

Political instability is a powerful tactic when a Brexit deal is on the horizon.
Ukraine: Beijing’s peace initiative offers glimpse at how China plans to win the war

Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham

Beijing’s 12-point proposal is a broad-brush plan for an end to hostilities which positions China as a key power broker.
China: why Beijing has decided this is the year to ‘unify’ with Taiwan

Jose Caballero, International Institute for Management Development (IMD)

China’s leaders could use an attack on Taiwan as a distraction from economic issues at home.

Arts + Culture

The art of balding: a brief history of hairless men

Glen Jankowski, Leeds Beckett University

Historically, baldness was treated with neutrality, as a regular part of daily life. Ancient Egyptians had different balding hairstyles
Dystopian games: how contemporary stories critique capitalism through deadly competition

Tom Boland, University College Cork

Bloody games where there can be only winner critique the ‘winner takes all’ mentality fostered under capitalism.

Business + Economy

The American right has gone to war with ‘woke capitalism’ – here’s what they get wrong

David Bach, International Institute for Management Development (IMD)

Republicans like Governor Ron DeSantis are trying to bring down sustainable “ESG” investing.
How a digital pound could work alongside cryptocurrencies

Ganesh Viswanath-Natraj, Warwick Business School, University of Warwick

The UK economy could benefit from a digital pound, but is there a role for crypto?
The UK’s four-day working week pilot was a success – here’s what should happen next

Miriam Marra, University of Reading

A four-day week boosts productivity and employee wellbeing, but it should be carefully planned and tailored to individual company needs.

Environment
Ireland has lost almost all of its native forests – here’s how to bring them back Martha O'Hagan Luff, Trinity College Dublin How to reforest the Emerald Isle without simply turning it into a conifer plantation.

Health
Doctors are leaving Ireland and heading for Australia in droves – here’s why Niamh Humphries, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences Ireland has a long history of doctor emigration, but something needs to be done to encourage doctor retention and return

Science + Technology

Driverless cars: what we’ve learned from experiments in San Francisco and Phoenix

Jack Stilgoe, UCL

Trials in US cities of self-driving taxis could have implications for road users around the world.
How to avoid falling victim to an online scam – research says slow down

Yaniv Hanoch, University of Southampton; Nicholas J. Kelley, University of Southampton

Hoax websites are becoming more popular with fraudsters. So it’s more important than ever to protect yourself.

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