For those who chafe against mandatory coronavirus restrictions, Sweden has stood out as a promised land where no one is forced to lock down or wear a mask and the promise of herd immunity is constantly said to be within reach. But unfortunately for Swedes, the country’s hands-off approach to COVID-19 has led to a dramatic surge in new cases and deaths recently.

What’s behind the government’s reluctance to enforce restrictions? Like Japan, which despite previously having done well in containing coronavirus is currently facing down a third wave, Sweden’s COVID-19 response is based on an appeal to national exceptionalism which can prove all too inflexible when an epidemic accelerates.

Avoiding certain types of food can go beyond being a “picky eater” – some people suffer from ARFID, a relatively newly discovered eating disorder. And try out these neat visual illusions that help demonstrate how perception works.

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Megan Clement

Commissioning Editor, COVID-19

Kimimasa Mayama/EPA

Sweden and Japan are paying the price for COVID exceptionalism

Paul O'Shea, Lund University

These countries forged their own path on coronavirus and attributed early successes to national character. Now they are facing more cases and deaths than ever.

The brain is a mystery. Orla/Shutterstock

Visual illusion that may help explain consciousness – new study

Henry Taylor, University of Birmingham; Bilge Sayim, Université de Lille

How we perceive what's going on in the periphery can reveal a lot about our conscious minds.

ARFID sufferers have an inherent fear of food and the act of eating. Photographee.eu/ Shutterstock

ARFID: the eating disorder that makes people fear food

Luise Marino, University of Winchester

Avoidant restrictive intake food disorder is a relatively new condition that researchers are only beginning to understand.

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