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About a fortnight ago I was given a Fitbit for my birthday. I’ve had it strapped to my wrist ever since, counting the number of steps I take and performing a whole lot of other functions which I don’t fully understand. Trying to increase the tally of steps each day has become quite addictive, to the extent that I am pushing myself to spend more time on the hoof. But can you have too much of a good thing? How should one regulate one’s training regime to ensure getting the best out of all that effort without overdoing it?
An elite athlete might train as much as ten to 14 times a week to get into peak shape for an event. But for the rest of us, it’s important to take into account the type of training we do and what we want to achieve. Our experts believe the key thing is to balance exercise and relaxation, setting realistic goals and ensuring we leave long enough between sessions for our bodies to recover.
A less ambitious way to get plenty of exercise is to share your life with a dog. But how to make sure they live a healthy and fulfilling life? Our expert has the lowdown on how to keep your hound fit in both mind and body.
The contents of our food waste bins could power our houses, thanks to the wonders of biogas. This is a mixture of gases produced by microbes that live on organic raw materials that can be stored in secure containers and used when needed. We’ve known about this for thousands of years, but it is now being used increasingly in community initiatives. You can read all about it here.
This week we also looked into 18th-century suicide inquests to consider the plight of elderly people with dementia in the Georgian era; we heard from an expert in planetary geoscience on his five favourite
geological structures in the solar system; and we heard the story of the women behind the first domestic violence refuges in the UK.
Meanwhile, from our colleagues around the world, a look forward to the Canadian election next month, an assessment of the new roadmap to peace in Mali, and a look at the nasty little beetle which is killing America’s ash trees.
You can keep up with our coverage of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan here. And do try to make time to listen to our podcast, The Conversation Weekly, which is all about the origins of the Taliban
this week.
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Jonathan Este
Associate Editor, International Affairs Editor
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You probably won’t need to train as much as Jakob Ingebrigtsen to get in shape.
VALDRIN XHEMAJ/ EPA
Matthew Wright, Teesside University; Jonathan Taylor, Teesside University
The amount of exercise you need to do depends on your training goals.
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Golden years.
tetiana_u/ Shutterstock
Jacqueline Boyd, Nottingham Trent University
Many of the advice given to humans works for dogs, too.
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The food waste households create could be turned into a source of sustainable energy.
Lukasbieri/Pixabay
Ananya Mukherjee, University of Surrey
Biogas is often overlooked as a source of renewable energy, but it could be a solution to dealing with the 9.5 million tonnes of food waste created by the UK every year.
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Many elderly ended up in workhouses as they were unable to work normal jobs and therefore cover the costs of living.
Chronicle/Alamy
Ella Sbaraini, University of Cambridge
The quality of life for the elderly in Georgian England was so bad many chose suicide.
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Ligeia Mare on Titan.
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASI/Cornell -
David Rothery, The Open University
From the tallest cliff in the solar system to its largest impact basin, geological processes on other worlds are very similar to those on our own planet.
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Gill Margaret Hague, University of Bristol
The battle against gender-based violence never ends but the work of the women who set up the first refuges in the 1970s deserves wider recognition.
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Larry Savage, Brock University
Labour unions and other progressive organizations in Canada have increasingly embraced strategic voting as a preferred strategy to defeat Conservative politicians. But does the tactic really work?
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Stephen L. Esquith, Michigan State University
Whatever its flaws, it doesn’t mean the government action plan should be ignored or opposed. Rather, more needs to be done to achieve its goals.
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Kristine Grayson, University of Richmond
Biological control strategies curb pests using other species that attack the invader. A biologist explains why it can take more than a decade to develop an effective biological control program.
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Gemma Ware, The Conversation; Daniel Merino, The Conversation
Two Afghan researchers explain what led to the emergence of the Taliban in the 1990s and why that history is crucial to understand what’s happening now. Listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast.
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Featured events
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University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, AB24 3FX, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Aberdeen
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Lancaster University, Lancaster , Lancashire, LA1 4YW, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — Lancaster University
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King's College, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, AB24 3FX, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Aberdeen
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Online, Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland — University of Southampton
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