Conversation press releases

Women鈥檚 World Cup: how better sports diplomacy can help women鈥檚 football grow

The 2023 Fifa Women鈥檚 World Cup is set to be the biggest yet. Co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, the event is projected to have over a million spectators and 2 billion television and digital viewers.
A stock image of a woman taking notes.

Seven techniques to avoid weight regain, approved by experts

Losing weight is challenging. But as anyone who has ever successfully lost weight knows, it鈥檚 avoiding weight re-gain that鈥檚 the real challenge.

Three COVID-era lessons to help support employee wellbeing in times of crisis

The workplace challenges encountered during COVID lockdowns seem like a distant memory. People have since moved on to focus on more immediate crises such as the rising cost of living and the war in Ukraine. But organisations can learn a lot from how they acted during COVID to help protect employee wellbeing.
Women footballers play the sport

Women鈥檚 World Cup will highlight how far other countries have closed the gap with US 鈥� but that isn鈥檛 the only yardstick to measure growth of global game

The 2023 FIFA Women鈥檚 World Cup begins on July 20, 2023, in Australia and New Zealand, and the U.S. enters the soccer tournament in a familiar position: favorites.

An image of a human on some weighing scales

Body mass index: why practitioners are relying on it less when looking at a patient鈥檚 health

Body mass index has long been used by doctors as the standard method for measuring health 鈥� and often still is. But earlier this month, the American Medical Association (AMA) adopted a new policy that cautions medical professionals from using the body mass index (BMI) as a stand-alone clinical tool during patient consultations. In 2022, England鈥檚 National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) also made similar changes to obesity guidelines, recommending that waist-to-hip ratio be used alongside BMI.

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Four ways to have hard conversations with your friends 鈥� without making things worse

It鈥檚 painful to watch someone you care about make what you perceive as bad life choices 鈥� we all want what鈥檚 best for our loved ones. This can be particularly hard when they are dating someone you don鈥檛 think is good, or right for them.

Cormac McCarthy: a powerful writer who beautifully wrote about apocalypse and extinction

Endings, extinctions, last things preoccupied Cormac McCarthy from the start to the recent close of his 60-year career as a writer of fiction and, occasionally, drama for stage or screen.
Woman with eyes closed and a vector of a brain overlaying the photo. Image courtesy of Getty Images.

Technology is radically changing sleep as we know it

From sleep trackers to wakefulness drugs, the 21st century has seen an influx of new technology that could radically alter the way we sleep.

How Erdo臒an framed his science and tech 鈥榞reat achievements鈥� as part of election campaign

President Recep Tayyip Erdo臒an has ruled Turkey for the last 21 years. In the first few terms of his rule, Turkey experienced significant economic growth and a reduction in inequality. This was widely believed to be a reason for Erdo臒an鈥檚 long-term popularity.

The Diplomat: Netflix show suggests the US-UK special relationship needs some TLC

Netflix鈥檚 new political drama, The Diplomat, is focused on the trials and tribulations of Kate Wyler (Keri Russell), a new American ambassador to Britain. It begins with a deadly attack on a British aircraft carrier and then follows the twists and turns of a joint US and UK attempt to find the culprits.

How the brain stops us learning from our mistakes 鈥� and what to do about it

You learn from your mistakes. At least, most of us have been told so. But science shows that we often fail to learn from past errors. Instead, we are likely to keep repeating the same mistakes.

UK waters are too polluted to swim in 鈥� but European countries offer answers

Almost all of the UK鈥檚 waterways are polluted. In 2022, a House of Commons Committee report on the state of UK rivers concluded that no river in England was free from chemical contamination. Only 14% of UK rivers had a 鈥済ood鈥� ecological status.

How racism and inequality affect even 鈥榙esirable鈥� EU migrants in the UK

"Everyone knows Italy, as soon as you come here they鈥檒l be like, 'Oh Italian, cool! I鈥檝e been there,' so it鈥檚 a way of chatting, breaking ice [鈥 but I don鈥榯 know if it鈥檚 the same for other foreigners. Like my friend from Bulgaria, if she says, 'I鈥檓 from Bulgaria,' people are like, '[silence] I鈥檝e never been there.'"

Why Britain鈥檚 new CPTPP trade deal will not make up for Brexit

The UK recently announced that it will join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), giving British businesses access to the 11 other members of the Indo-Pacific trade bloc and bringing its combined GDP to 拢11 trillion.
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The importance of sport for children with disabilities 鈥� and the lengths their parents go to access it

Access to physical activity and sport is not equal. Children and young people with disabilities are less likely to engage in physical activity and sport, as there are significant barriers to their participation.

Ballet dancers in sensor suits: new research explores how dance is used as a form of communication

Audio guides, maps, traditional and interactive texts help people attending art exhibitions to understand the works in front of them. With dance, however, the audience鈥檚 understanding is usually taken for granted.

African researchers are ready to share more work openly 鈥� now policy must make it possible

Librarians are the curators of creativity. They collect success stories and share it with the world. Traditionally, the success was from published authors, which libraries shared with the local community. More recently, the model has been flipped: libraries have started to collect from the local community to share with everyone.

Five reasons physical activity is important for cancer patients

You might know that physical activity can help lower your risk of getting many common types of cancer. But what many of us don鈥檛 realise is just how important physical activity is if you鈥檝e been diagnosed with cancer.

Older women are smashing it this awards season 鈥� but ageism is far from over

Older and middle-aged women are having their moment in the sun, it seems. The recent Golden Globes coverage was filled with images of 鈥渙lder鈥� women on the red carpet. There were some notable wins too.

Watching your weight? You may only need to make small changes to your daily routine

Losing weight is one of the most popular new year鈥檚 resolutions, yet it is one which most of us struggle to achieve. By the time the second or third week of January rolls around, many of us are finding it harder to stick with the lifestyle changes needed to lose, or at least maintain, our weight.

BTS singer set for military training 鈥� but South Korea is far from alone in retaining national service

Late last year, the first member of the most successful and famous boy band on the planet 鈥� BTS 鈥� began military service.
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White Noise review 鈥� director Noah Baumbach skilfully captures Don Delillo鈥檚 鈥榰nadaptable鈥� novel

Never one to downplay the power of film, Stanley Kubrick once said that 鈥渁lmost every novel could be successfully adapted鈥�.

New year resolutions: why your brain isn鈥檛 wired to stick to them 鈥� and what to do instead

New year, new resolutions. It is that time once again. A recent survey shows that almost 58% of the UK population intended to make a new year鈥檚 resolution in 2023, which is approximately 30 million adults. More than a quarter of these resolutions will be about making more money, personal improvement and losing weight.

COVID in 2023 and beyond 鈥� why virus trends are more difficult to predict three years on

In 2020, we knew very little about the novel virus that was to become known as COVID-19. Now, as we enter 2023, a search of Google Scholar produces around five million results containing the term.

Going home for the holidays? How to navigate conflict and deal with difficult people

The holiday season is upon us and for many that means all the tension that comes with it. This time of year can be a minefield of uncomfortable moments, disagreement and outright conflict. It鈥檚 no wonder many young people are apprehensive about returning home for the holidays after living far away.