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March 3, 2026

What is happiness? A philosopher looks for answers

Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Anné H. Verhoef, Professor in Philosophy, North-West University

When we seek happiness, what exactly are we searching for? And when we wish happiness on someone else, what is it that we truly desire for them?

Can happiness even be defined or is it an illusion, an impossible desire to fulfil? So then why are there so many happiness self-help books? What do they promise and can they be attained? Is it possible to measure happiness? If so, how do ordinary people and scientists do that?

To answer these questions, I explored different definitions of happiness in my book Happiness, Unhappiness, and Chance. The book is based on my PhD study in philosophy.

Happiness today is narrowly defined by some positive psychologists as a joyous state of mind or well-being.

The happiness sciences see it as something you can calculate and quantify. They developed a Happiness Index and the World Happiness Report. These basically measure happiness as satisfaction, with criteria like gross domestic product per capita (money) and life expectancy (health) as some of the factors considered.

But happiness is also defined by our capitalist, consumer-driven society as certain aspirational products, brands and lifestyles. These consumerist definitions are often exaggerated by influencers on social media, but also through the manipulation of consumers by the online algorithms behind the digital tools we use. Increasingly, this also happens through artificial intelligence.

All these different definitions of happiness create their own problem for happiness. In fact they can lead to more unhappiness than happiness.

Joy and pleasure are often short-lived and unsustainable; well-being can quickly be ruined by illness and fate; owning certain brands, products and lifestyles exposes us to the trap of the “hedonistic treadmill,” which causes one “to rapidly and inevitably adapt to good things by taking them for granted”.

Happiness that’s reduced to a single and simple definition does not consider the complexity of being human, of the societies we live in, and the fragile relationship we have with the environment.

My book searches for a more inclusive and encompassing definition of happiness. A happiness that is more than just joy or well-being, more than an ethical or good life. More than just good and meaningful human relationships. More than just luck, the absence of pain or a by-product of consumption. More than just a meaningful, fulfilled and content life.

I wanted to find out if a better understanding of happiness can be formed and actually achieved. One that considers all cultures and also factors like justice and caring for each other and the environment.

Can this kind of understanding of happiness, I wondered, not be a powerful motivation to live and work for a better future for all?

Consumerism

To explore the potential of such a philosophical understanding of happiness, we first need to understand why the current dominant definitions of happiness don’t work anymore.

Today, consumerism and capitalism are the forces behind the digital technologies that manipulate our understanding of happiness. Consumerism, with its “you-must-have-this-or-that-to-be-happy” approach, became so powerfully enforced through today’s digital platforms that it became a question of whether we can still envision, hope, and live for something more than what the algorithmic ecologies we live in present to us.

Happiness sciences

Happiness sciences, as the power behind happiness within our contemporary global happiness culture, proclaim that happiness is something one must work for and must achieve. Happiness itself is becoming so all-consuming that it is like a new religion. US historian Darrin McMahon describes the situation thus:

At the dawn of the modern age, God was happiness; happiness has since become our God.

Consequently, happiness becomes and remains an exhausting and impossible task which paradoxically makes one more unhappy. In this process people give up on happiness and may even become cynical due to this impossible pressure to be happy in a certain way.

Religion

Globally, the strongest power behind certain forms of happiness, especially as “true and eternal” happiness, is religion.

The type of happiness some religions offer is one where the ideal is that unhappiness should be overcome or will be in an afterlife. Some religions teach that true happiness can only be achieved in the afterlife, in heaven or nirvana, for example. They proclaim it is impossible to find true happiness in this world, or in the here and now.

It is a happiness where this life is not fully affirmed because happiness can’t be attained. It is still to come. In effect it is not only giving up on the possibility of happiness, but on “true” goodness and beauty in daily life.

Philosophy

As alternative to these problematic understandings of happiness, and the different driving forces behind them, I used well-known French philosopher Paul Ricoeur’s thinking to guide me. He argued that happiness should and could not be defined as the overcoming of unhappiness. Such an attempt will always be futile. It denies unhappiness as part of the fundamental reality and fullness of life, and leaves us with an impossible and unhappy task. Happiness and unhappiness are always in relation to each other, and the one does not mean the annihilation of the other.

Secondly, the relationship between happiness and unhappiness is situated within our fragile ability to work for happiness. Yet, at the same time, to be aware that receiving happiness is not just hard work but can be a result of chance. Unhappiness can be in the form of unexpected tragedy.

The tension between striving for happiness and receiving happiness unexpectedly should remain. We should continue to work at contributing to our own and others’ happiness. But if we try to always be in control we will become exhausted. So we should also keep on allowing space for chance – as luck and tragedy – in our lives.

Why this matters

The ability to think and dream again about a different kind of happiness, one that is connected to our lives (not the technological world of the present), our desires (not those manipulated by consumerism), and the needs of the world – which includes unhappiness and injustice – has become increasingly important today.

We need better definitions of happiness in a world where the term is constantly corrupted and used by consumerism, politicians, prosperity evangelicals, the self-help industry, and in algorithmic technologies.

Such happiness should be able to affirm our lives, here and now. Such affirmation will become more important as our lives are more manipulated and controlled by technology and consumerism.

I argue in my study that this affirmation of life allows for a happiness that can include and respond to unhappiness and chance. Life itself is one thing we should not give up on; otherwise, happiness will also become irrelevant.

Anné H. Verhoef does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. What is happiness? A philosopher looks for answers – https://theconversation.com/what-is-happiness-a-philosopher-looks-for-answers-276091

March 3, 2026

Public defender shortage is leading to hundreds of criminal cases being dismissed

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Georges Naufal, Associate Research Scientist, Public Policy Research Institute, Texas A&M University

New York City Council member Rory Lancman is surrounded by public defenders at a 2018 press conference, where he demanded the prohibition of ICE arrests in all courthouses except when authorized by a judicial warrant. Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images

The Oregon Supreme Court on Feb. 5, 2026, issued a ruling that will have a wide impact. More than 1,400 criminal cases had to be dismissed, the justices ruled, due to lack of adequate counsel available for defendants.

Like other states, Oregon must provide defendants with legal representation if they cannot afford attorneys on their own. But Oregon has less than one-third of the attorneys it needs to provide adequate defense for indigents, or people who can’t afford counsel on their own.

Shortages of this scope are common around the country. Pennsylvania faces a similar shortage of about 30% of the public defenders it needs, with insufficient numbers of attorneys in nearly every county. New Mexico needs 67% more attorneys to provide effective counsel. Kansas needs 277 more public defenders, or roughly triple its current number.

As public policy researchers who study legal defense issues, we believe it’s clear that such shortages have repercussions throughout the criminal justice system.

Without enough lawyers providing indigent defense, defendants sit in jail longer, plead without guidance and risk wrongful convictions. Prosecutors face delays in clearing their cases. Court dockets slow, costs rise and public trust declines.

In other words, indigent defense shortages harm not only defendants but the justice system as a whole.

Rights to an attorney

The Sixth Amendment guarantees individuals facing criminal charges the right to defense counsel, at government expense if required. This right was clarified by a landmark Supreme Court case in 1963, Gideon v. Wainwright. The court ruled that states are required to provide attorneys to defendants who cannot afford an attorney.

About 80% to 90% of state defendants and more than 90% of federal defendants cannot afford a lawyer. The exact rate varies by state, year and type of charge, but it generally falls well above 50% of all criminal cases.

A woman wags her finger while addressing a man at close range. — Public defender Gordon Weekes, right, represented Nikolas Cruz, who was convicted in 2022 for a mass shooting in Parkland, Fla., four years earlier.
South Florida Sun Sentinel/Amy Beth Bennett via AP

Fulfilling the promise made in Gideon often falls to public defenders and private lawyers appointed by courts. Sixty-three years after the decision, the pool of lawyers willing to fulfill this promise is rapidly shrinking, aging and is overburdened, with lawyers sometimes working without pay.

Texas reflects this national problem. There are too few lawyers handling too many cases, putting the whole criminal justice system at risk. In a research report for the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, our team at Texas A&M University found that the state lost 1,345 attorneys who had been handling indigent defense cases between 2014 and 2023, or about one-fourth of all such attorneys. That decline happened even as the total number of lawyers in Texas grew by more than 25,000.

The problem is worse in rural areas, where judges cannot find enough attorneys to appoint, slowing court operations. In Texas, 27% of attorneys in rural counties are already overburdened and exceeding recommended caseload guidelines.

“I understand the irony of a prosecutor advocating for money for a public defender office, but at the end of the day it would help the county carry out its constitutional obligation,” Val Verde County prosecutor David Martinez told the Texas Tribune. “It would save the county hundreds of thousands of dollars in the long run.”

Fewer attorneys available

This problem is not new. A 2004 report from the American Bar Association outlined funding shortages that hampered hiring of defense counsel, leading to inexperienced and sometimes incompetent lawyers handling excessive caseloads.

But the problem has accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic and its disruption of the labor market.

Our research shows that attorneys who take indigent defense cases often do so out of a strong sense of civic duty and commitment to public service. Attorneys are asked to do far more than just apply the law. They regularly help clients navigate housing, transportation, substance use and mental health needs. Without a strong sense of calling, many attorneys choose other areas of practice instead of public defense.

Some attorneys with a sense of motivation are still unable to join public service. Citing the cost of repaying law school loans, they enter private practice instead.

No simple solutions

The shortage of attorneys willing to take indigent defense cases is a serious policy problem. Solving it requires expanding the pool of attorneys who are available to take these cases – both the attorneys who are practicing today and the attorneys who will enter the profession in the future.

In a courtroom, a tattooed man sits while his attorney stands beside him. — Nick Reiner appears with deputy public defender Kimberly Greene during his arraignment in Los Angeles on Feb. 23, 2026. The son of U.S. movie director Rob Reiner pleaded not guilty to the fatal stabbing of his parents.
AFP/Chris Torres via Getty Images

Policymakers have mainly focused on expanding the pool of existing attorneys. The most common tools include increasing appointment fees, offering additional financial incentives and creating or expanding public defender offices.

These approaches can help in the short term, but their effects are limited. Raising fees rarely brings new attorneys into indigent defense; instead, it often lures attorneys from neighboring jurisdictions that already face shortages.

Raising fees for private lawyers also fails to address public defender offices, where attorneys are salaried and often paid less than prosecutors. Loan forgiveness programs can help recruitment and retention; research shows they matter for public service careers, but these programs are uneven across states and uncertain over time.

Financial incentives alone will not solve a workforce problem rooted in supply. A sustainable solution requires expanding the pool of prospective attorneys. We believe it would help for recruitment to begin much earlier, at the high school level, especially in rural areas, and continue through college and law school.

Current efforts tend to focus only on law students who are already committed to legal careers. Partnerships between counties, state agencies, bar associations, universities and community organizations could help build pipelines leading to public defense careers. They might offer, for example, internships and mentoring, or reduce barriers for students who want to serve their communities.

Expanding the pool of attorneys will require years of coordinated investment across states, counties, courts, law schools and the legal profession. Short-term incentives can prop up overburdened systems, but long-term recruitment will be needed to keep courts functioning and fully protect the constitutional right to counsel.

Georges Naufal has received funding from the Texas Indigent Defense Commission.

Emily Naiser has received funding from the Texas Indigent Defense Commission.

– ref. Public defender shortage is leading to hundreds of criminal cases being dismissed – https://theconversation.com/public-defender-shortage-is-leading-to-hundreds-of-criminal-cases-being-dismissed-275534

March 3, 2026

Stressed out by politics? You’re not imagining it, and research shows that social media is largely to blame

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Stephen Neely, Associate Professor of Public Affairs, University of South Florida

Around 17% of American adults – roughly 44 million people – reported losing sleep over politics in 2024. MDV Edwards/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Does politics stress you out? Did the last election cause you to lose sleep, lose your temper or lose a friend? If so, you weren’t alone.

For the better part of two decades, the American Psychological Association has documented a steady increase in the phenomenon of “political stress” among American voters. However, research and reporting during that same period have focused primarily on the political consequences of increasing polarization and division rather than the psychological consequences of the modern political climate.

As a political scientist studying how the public engages with politics and media, I wondered: What does it mean to live in a political environment that is highly confrontational, emotionally charged and difficult to escape? And how does that environment affect people over time?

During the 2024 presidential election, I teamed up with three colleagues to answer those questions. Our book, The Anxious State: Stress Polarization, and Elections in America, published in January 2026, summarizes what we learned.

While several features of the modern political landscape contribute to political stress, one culprit in particular is alarmingly efficient at converting politics into chronic stress – social media.

Social media algorithms are designed to feed you content that provokes strong emotional reactions in order to keep you scrolling, clicking, commenting and sharing.

Political stress builds fast

We conducted four large, nationally representative surveys tracking Americans’ political attitudes and well-being, one every three months over the course of 2024. Across our election year surveys, roughly 4 in 10 American adults consistently reported that politics had caused them to experience at least one significant stress reaction in the past month. These included nontrivial conflicts with friends and family, sleep disruptions, lost tempers and being unable to mentally or emotionally disengage from politics.

In a country of roughly 260 million adults, that amounts to well over 100 million people experiencing measurable political stress in any given month.

In just one example, at each point in 2024, around 17% of American adults reported losing sleep over politics. This translates to roughly 44 million people nationwide. Sleep loss is not a trivial inconvenience. Extensive research shows that insufficient sleep is associated with impaired cognitive function, chronic health problems, diminished productivity and an increase in traffic accidents, just to name a few.

Our findings point to similar trends from the effects of lost tempers, fractured social networks and excessive political rumination. And while some degree of political stress might be expected in the lead-up to a highly consequential election, what surprised us most was how little these numbers changed over time. Despite a year filled with dramatic political events, reported levels of political stress rarely budged.

This stability suggests that political stress is no longer driven primarily by isolated moments of breaking news or electoral upheaval. Instead, it appears to be sustained by the environment in which people now encounter politics – and that environment is increasingly shaped by social media.

Why social media is different

Social media differs from earlier forms of political communication in a crucial way: Content is not presented chronologically or editorially; it is presented algorithmically. Platforms such as Facebook, X and TikTok are designed to maximize attention and engagement, which means they privilege content that provokes strong emotional reactions.

In other words, content that causes outrage, fear, moral condemnation and conflict is simply more likely to keep users scrolling, clicking, commenting and sharing.

As a result, political information on social media is more likely to reach people through a sensationalized and emotionally charged lens than information encountered through traditional news sources. And given the architecture of social networks, this content tends to reach users whether they seek it out or not.

Time spent online is stressful, but engagement makes it worse

Our findings show that even passive exposure to political content on social media is linked to elevated political stress. But active engagement – such as likes, reposts and comments – makes the problem substantially worse.

People who reported frequently encountering, commenting on or sharing political content online consistently exhibited the highest overall levels of political stress in our survey. Compared with those who primarily consumed political information passively and without engaging, active participants were far more likely to report losing sleep, losing their temper and feeling unable to disengage from politics.

In other words, the more that social media turns users from observers into participants in political conflict, the greater the psychological toll appears to be.

A generational divide

These effects, while substantial, were not distributed evenly across the population.

Younger Americans, particularly members of Gen Z, reported higher levels of political stress associated with social media use than older cohorts. This is not especially surprising. Younger adults are more likely to rely on social media as a primary source of political information.

For a generation that has never known a political environment without algorithmically curated feeds, the boundary between politics and everyday life is especially thin. Politics does not arrive at scheduled times, through discrete channels. Rather, it is interspersed with expressions of social identity, entertainment and peer interaction. And this constant exposure comes with a psychological cost.

Social media alone certainly isn’t to blame for the anxious and divisive state of America’s political climate. In our research, we identified a number of factors that contribute to Americans’ current levels of exhaustion with politics, including sharp increases in partisan hostility and negative – often uncivil – campaign tactics.

But social media nonetheless stands out for how efficiently it amplifies this stress – and that is unlikely to change unless and until voters become more aware that their emotions and well-being are being negatively influenced by the very platforms they turn to for information and connection.

I don’t own or “work for” the publisher selling our recent book, but the exposure for these data would presumably benefit both they and me.

– ref. Stressed out by politics? You’re not imagining it, and research shows that social media is largely to blame – https://theconversation.com/stressed-out-by-politics-youre-not-imagining-it-and-research-shows-that-social-media-is-largely-to-blame-274849

March 3, 2026

La guerra en Oriente Medio hace subir los precios del petróleo y golpea la economía mundial, pero todavía no es una crisis

Source: The Conversation – (in Spanish) – By Stella Huangfu, Associate Professor, School of Economics, University of Sydney

Los mercados mundiales del petróleo han reaccionado rápidamente al aumento de las tensiones en Oriente Medio, mientras Estados Unidos e Israel continúan su ofensiva contra Irán.

Tras la interrupción del tráfico de petroleros a través de un punto clave, el estrecho de Ormuz, el precio de referencia del petróleo, el crudo Brent, subió alrededor de un 6 % hasta superar los 77 dólares por barril. Inicialmente alcanzó un máximo de 82 dólares, su nivel más alto desde enero de 2025.

Una subida de aproximadamente 10 dólares en cuestión de días es un movimiento significativo y supone un golpe inflacionista inmediato para las economías importadoras de petróleo.

¿Qué significa esto para los hogares, las empresas y los bancos centrales?

Por qué el petróleo sigue siendo importante

Puede que el petróleo ya no domine la economía mundial como lo hacía en la década de 1970, pero sigue estando muy presente en la producción moderna.

Influye directamente en los precios de la gasolina, el diésel, el combustible de aviación y el transporte marítimo, y determina el coste del transporte y la producción de todo, desde alimentos hasta productos manufacturados. Cuando los precios del petróleo suben rápidamente, los efectos se extienden más allá de los mercados energéticos.

Los economistas lo denominan «choque negativo de la oferta»: el resultado es que la producción se encarece. Las empresas pueden absorber los mayores costes o repercutirlos en los consumidores. En la práctica, suelen hacer ambas cosas.

El resultado es una incómoda combinación de mayor inflación y menor crecimiento económico.

El impacto de la inflación pesará sobre los bancos centrales

El efecto más inmediato se produce en las gasolineras. El aumento de los precios del crudo eleva los costes del combustible y empuja al alza la inflación general. Para los hogares que ya se enfrentan a presiones por el coste de la vida, esto se nota rápidamente.

Por ejemplo, cuando el precio del petróleo sube 10 dólares por barril, la regla general es que el precio de la gasolina para los conductores estadounidenses podría aumentar unos 25 centavos por galón (0,21 euros por unos 3,8 litros de gasolina). En otros lugares, como Australia, se estima que el aumento sería de unos 10 centavos por litro más por cada aumento de 10 dólares estadounidenses (0,08 cts. de euro por litro).

Los costes de transporte y logística también aumentan, y, con el tiempo, algunos de esos costes más elevados se filtran en el nivel general de precios.

El aumento de la inflación depende de la duración de la perturbación de los mercados petroleros. Un breve repunte podría añadir solo unas décimas de punto porcentual a la inflación. Un aumento sostenido sería más problemático.

Los bancos centrales están muy atentos. La inflación en Estados Unidos y Europa ha bajado desde los máximos alcanzados tras la pandemia.

Una crisis del petróleo podría debilitar el crecimiento mundial

El aumento de los costes del combustible corre el riesgo de dar un nuevo impulso a la inflación, justo en el momento menos oportuno, cuando los responsables políticos de la Reserva Federal de Estados Unidos y del Banco Central Europeo esperaban que se estuviera controlando.

En uno de los primeros comentarios de un banco central sobre el impacto económico del conflicto, desde el Banco de la Reserva de Australia se advierte de que la crisis de suministro podría aumentar las presiones inflacionistas.

La inflación impulsada por el petróleo supone un reto especial para los bancos centrales. Subir los tipos de interés no puede afectar al suministro de petróleo. A diferencia de la inflación impulsada por la demanda, en la que el fuerte gasto de los consumidores puede enfriarse con tipos de interés más altos, la inflación impulsada por la oferta refleja unos costes de producción más elevados.

Si los bancos centrales suben los tipos para contener los precios, corren el riesgo de ralentizar aún más el crecimiento. Pero las subidas de los tipos de interés no pueden bajar directamente los precios del petróleo.

Presión sobre los presupuestos familiares

El aumento de los precios del petróleo también ejerce presión sobre los presupuestos familiares.

Cuando las familias gastan más en combustible, tienen menos para gastar en otras cosas. Dado que el consumo de los hogares suele representar alrededor del 60 % de las economías en las economías avanzadas, incluso los cambios modestos en el gasto pueden ser importantes.

Las empresas se enfrentan a una presión similar. El aumento de los costes de la energía y el transporte reduce los márgenes de beneficio y puede retrasar la contratación o la inversión.

Los efectos varían según el país. Europa es un importante importador neto de energía. Esto hace la expone al aumento de los precios mundiales del petróleo. En cambio, en EE. UU., exportador energético a nivel global, los precios más altos favorecen a su sector energético, pero siguen aumentando los costes para la mayoría de los hogares.

Guerra en Oriente Medio: Estados Unidos busca ganar peso como exportador de petróleo y gas

El actual aumento del precio del petróleo no es suficiente para provocar una recesión mundial. Sin embargo, supone un obstáculo más en un momento en que el crecimiento mundial se modera.

¿Cómo se compara esto con 2022?

La comparación obvia es la subida del precio del petróleo tras la invasión de Ucrania por parte de Rusia en 2022.

Entonces, los precios del crudo subieron brevemente por encima de los 120 dólares estadounidenses por barril, lo que intensificó la ya elevada inflación. En respuesta, la Reserva Federal de los Estados Unidos subió rápidamente los tipos de interés para frenar la inflación.

La situación actual es menos extrema. Los precios están muy por debajo de esos máximos, la demanda mundial es más débil y los tipos de interés en los Estados Unidos, Europa y Australia son varios puntos porcentuales más altos que a principios de 2022. La inflación ha tendido a bajar en la mayoría de las principales economías.

Aun así, es posible que los hogares sean ahora más sensibles. Tras años de subida de precios y tipos de interés más altos, la confianza de los consumidores es frágil. Incluso aumentos moderados de los precios de la gasolina pueden influir en el gasto.

La pregunta clave es si se trata de algo temporal o del comienzo de una subida sostenida.

¿Qué pasaría si los precios siguieran subiendo?

Si los precios del petróleo siguieran subiendo, especialmente hacia los 100 dólares por barril, los riesgos aumentarían.

La inflación se vería impulsada al alza. Los bancos centrales podrían enfrentarse a una elección incómoda: tolerar una mayor inflación impulsada por la energía o mantener los tipos de interés más altos durante más tiempo.

Los mercados financieros se ajustarían rápidamente y la volatilidad podría aumentar.

El escenario más grave implicaría interrupciones en el suministro que limitarían la producción mundial, lo que aumentaría el riesgo de un crecimiento más lento combinado con una inflación persistente.

Una conmoción, pero aún no una crisis

Por ahora, el aumento del 6 % en los precios del petróleo representa un claro impulso inflacionista y un moderado lastre para el crecimiento. Complica las perspectivas, pero no se asemeja a las crisis energéticas del pasado.

Lo más importante es la persistencia. Si los precios se estabilizan, el impacto debería ser manejable. Si siguen subiendo, el petróleo podría volver a convertirse en un motor central de la inflación mundial y en un nuevo reto para los bancos centrales.

Stella Huangfu no recibe salario, ni ejerce labores de consultoría, ni posee acciones, ni recibe financiación de ninguna compañía u organización que pueda obtener beneficio de este artículo, y ha declarado carecer de vínculos relevantes más allá del cargo académico citado.

– ref. La guerra en Oriente Medio hace subir los precios del petróleo y golpea la economía mundial, pero todavía no es una crisis – https://theconversation.com/la-guerra-en-oriente-medio-hace-subir-los-precios-del-petroleo-y-golpea-la-economia-mundial-pero-todavia-no-es-una-crisis-277403

March 3, 2026

La pluie arrive en Antarctique, et ce n’est pas une bonne nouvelle

Source: The Conversation – in French – By Bethan Davies, Professor of Glaciology, Newcastle University

La pluie entraîne toutes sortes de changements profonds en Antarctique. Gula52/Shutterstock

Habituellement rare en Antarctique, la pluie remplace de plus en plus souvent la neige, en particulier sur la péninsule. Ce n’est pas une bonne nouvelle pour les glaciers, les manchots et même les scientifiques qui travaillent sur le terrain.

La pluie est habituellement rare en Antarctique. Les scientifiques qui y travaillent s’habillent pour affronter le froid et l’éblouissement (lié aux vastes étendues blanches qui réfléchissent la lumière du soleil, ndlt) et non pour faire face à des conditions météorologiques humides : vestes matelassées, pantalons de neige, lunettes de protection, crème solaire, etc. Les avions atterrissent sur des pistes en gravier qui sont rarement verglacées, faute de précipitations qui pourraient geler. Les cabanes historiques restent bien conservées dans l’air sec.

Mais cela commence à changer.

Il pleut déjà plus souvent qu’avant sur la péninsule antarctique, étroite et montagneuse, qui constitue la pointe la plus septentrionale du continent et qui pointe vers l’Amérique du Sud. Cette péninsule constitue la partie la plus chaude de l’Antarctique et se réchauffe plus rapidement que le reste du continent, et d’ailleurs plus rapidement que la moyenne mondiale. Elle donne un aperçu de ce que pourrait connaître la côte antarctique, en particulier la fragile calotte glaciaire de l’Antarctique occidental, au cours des prochaines décennies.

J’ai récemment dirigé une équipe de scientifiques chargée d’étudier l’évolution de la péninsule antarctique d’ici 2100 selon trois scénarios d’émissions de gaz à effet de serre : élevées, moyennes et faibles. Nous avons constaté qu’avec le réchauffement de la péninsule les précipitations augmenteront un peu.

Surtout, elles se présenteront de plus en plus sous forme de pluie plutôt que de neige. Les journées où la température dépasse 0 °C deviendront plus fréquentes, et ces précipitations modifieront fondamentalement la péninsule.

Quand la chaleur et la pluie vont de pair

Les conditions météorologiques extrêmes causent déjà des problèmes. En février 2020, une vague de chaleur avait fait grimper les températures à 18,6 °C dans la péninsule nord, permettant de ne porter qu’un t-shirt – une première en Antarctique. Pendant ce temps, les plateformes de glace ont fondu à un rythme record.

map of Antarctica — La péninsule prolonge l’Antarctique occidental en direction de l’Amérique du Sud.
USGS/wiki, CC BY-SA

Les rivières atmosphériques – de longs couloirs étroits d’air chaud et humide qui prennent naissance dans les latitudes plus chaudes – jouent un rôle de plus en plus notable. En février 2022, l’une d’entre elles a entraîné une fonte record de glace en surface. Une autre, en juillet 2023, a apporté des précipitations et une hausse des températures de + 2,7 °C à la péninsule en plein cœur de l’hiver. Ces événements se produisent de plus en plus souvent, apportant de la pluie et du dégel dans des zones où aucun de ces deux phénomènes n’avait été observé auparavant.

Ce que la pluie fait à la neige et à la glace

La neige n’aime pas la pluie. Nous avons tous déjà vu de la neige fondre rapidement lorsqu’il pleut.

Dans la péninsule antarctique, la pluie s’accompagne d’une hausse des températures qui fait fondre et lessive la neige, et prive ainsi les glaciers d’apports de neige précieux. L’eau de fonte peut également atteindre le lit du glacier, lubrifiant sa base et accélérant les glissements. Cela augmente la production d’icebergs et la masse de glace perdue dans l’océan.

Sur les plateformes de glace, la pluie compacte la neige tombée à la surface, où l’eau forme rapidement des mares. Cette eau de fonte accumulée se réchauffe ensuite plus vite, car elle est moins réfléchissante que la neige et la glace environnantes et peut fondre à travers le plateau glaciaire jusqu’à l’océan. Cela conduit à un affaiblissement de la glace et donne naissance à davantage d’icebergs.

Cela peut déstabiliser ces plateformes. La formation de mares d’eau de fonte a été impliquée dans l’effondrement des plateformes glaciaires Larsen A et B au début des années 2000.

La glace de mer (constituée d’eau de mer gelée, et qui forme la banquise, ndlt) est, elle aussi, vulnérable. La pluie réduit la couverture neigeuse et la réflectivité de la surface, ce qui accélère, là aussi, la fonte de la glace. La glace de mer constitue pourtant, en temps normal, un tampon naturel qui amortit les vagues et contribue à empêcher les extrémités des glaciers de se détacher et de se transformer en icebergs. C’est aussi l’habitat des algues et du krill ainsi que les lieux de reproduction des manchots et des phoques.

Des écosystèmes en péril

Un climat plus pluvieux aura donc de nombreux impacts écologiques en Antarctique.

L’eau peut ainsi inonder les sites de nidification des manchots. Ces derniers ont évolué dans un désert polaire et ne sont pas adaptés à la pluie. Les plumes duveteuses de leurs poussins ne sont pas imperméables, de sorte que les fortes pluies les trempent, entraînant parfois une hypothermie puis la mort.

baby penguins in Antarctica — Les plumes des manchots empêchent la glace et la neige de pénétrer mais pas l’eau liquide.
Vladsilver/Shutterstock

Conjuguée au réchauffement des océans, à la diminution de la surface de la banquise et à la raréfaction du krill, cette pression affectera les manchots de tout le continent. Des espèces emblématiques de l’Antarctique, telles que le manchot Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae) et le manchot à jugulaire (Pygoscelis antarcticus), qui dépendent de la glace, risquent d’être remplacées par les manchots papous (Pygoscelis papua), plus adaptables, que l’on retrouve de plus en plus au Sud.

Les précipitations modifient également la vie à plus petite échelle. Lorsqu’elles font fondre la couche de neige, elles perturbent les algues des neiges, des plantes microscopiques qui contribuent aux écosystèmes terrestres de l’Antarctique. Ces algues nourrissent des microbes et de minuscules invertébrés et peuvent assombrir la surface de la neige, augmentant ainsi l’absorption solaire et accélérer la fonte.

La neige isole normalement le sol, ce qui permet d’amortir les variations de températures extérieures et de protéger les organismes qui vivent en dessous. Les surfaces désormais exposées sont à présent soumises à des conditions plus rudes et plus variables.

Parallèlement, le réchauffement des mers peut faciliter la colonisation de la région par des espèces marines envahissantes, telles que certaines moules ou certains crabes.

De nouveaux défis pour les scientifiques

Les humains ne sont pas non plus à l’abri des défis posés par une péninsule Antarctique plus pluvieuse.

Avec l’intérêt géopolitique croissant porté à l’Antarctique, il est probable que les infrastructures humaines se développent, avec de nouvelles colonies et bases potentielles pour servir les industries émergentes, telles que le tourisme ou la pêche au krill. Or, les infrastructures de recherche actuelles ont été conçues pour la neige, et non pour de fortes pluies. La pluie gèle sur les pistes d’atterrissage et peut les rendre inutilisables jusqu’à ce que la glace ait fondu.

La neige fondue et l’eau de fonte peuvent endommager les bâtiments, les tentes, les instruments et les véhicules. Il pourrait également être nécessaire de repenser les vêtements et les équipements.

Certains sites de recherche entiers pourraient devoir être déplacés. Sur l’île Alexander, l’augmentation de la fonte en surface a déjà perturbé les recherches écologiques menées de longue date à Mars Oasis, qui fait l’objet d’études continues depuis la fin des années 1990, ce qui a entraîné des trous dans les données scientifiques.

Un patrimoine en danger

Les sites historiques sont particulièrement vulnérables.

L’Antarctique compte 92 sites et monuments historiques, résultat de deux siècles d’exploration et de recherche. Bon nombre de ces cabanes en bois, premières installations scientifiques et entrepôts de matériel, sont regroupées sur la péninsule.

Dans un climat plus chaud et plus humide, le dégel du pergélisol et des précipitations plus abondantes menacent l’intégrité structurelle de ces sites. Le bois se détériorera plus rapidement. Les fondations s’affaisseront. Ces sites nécessiteront un entretien plus fréquent, dans une partie du monde où les travaux de conservation sont déjà difficiles sur le plan logistique.

La péninsule Antarctique subit déjà des changements rapides. Si le réchauffement climatique atteint 2 °C ou 3 °C au cours de ce siècle, les conditions météorologiques extrêmes, les précipitations et la fonte de surface s’intensifieront. Les dommages causés aux écosystèmes, aux infrastructures, aux glaciers et aux sites patrimoniaux pourraient être graves et potentiellement irréversibles.

La pluie, autrefois rare en Antarctique, devient une force capable de remodeler la vie sur la péninsule. Limiter le réchauffement à moins de 1,5 °C n’empêchera pas entièrement ces changements. Mais cela pourrait ralentir la vitesse à laquelle les précipitations transforment le continent gelé.

Bethan Davies a reçu des financements du département des régions polaires du Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office britannique.

– ref. La pluie arrive en Antarctique, et ce n’est pas une bonne nouvelle – https://theconversation.com/la-pluie-arrive-en-antarctique-et-ce-nest-pas-une-bonne-nouvelle-277393

March 3, 2026

From kneecap necklaces to umbilical cord keepsakes: the risks of keeping and consuming human tissue

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Adam Taylor, Professor of Anatomy, Lancaster University

Some parents keep their baby’s umbilical cord as a sentimental keepsake after birth pu_kibun/Shutterstock

Celebrity outfits and endorsements often dominate social media, but Elton John recently drew attention for a very different reason. The musician has been spotted wearing jewellery made from his own kneecaps.

After a double knee replacement in 2024, he asked his surgeon if he could keep his patellae, the bones at the front of the knee, and later worked with jeweller Theo Fennell to turn them into wearable pieces.

While jewellery made from kneecaps is unusual, it raises a broader question: what happens to tissue once it leaves the body, and why do some people want to keep it?

Elton is not alone in wanting to hold on to parts of the body. Many people keep baby teeth or their children’s first lost tooth as sentimental objects. Social media is also full of stories about people preserving removed tonsils, adenoids, an appendix, or a newborn’s umbilical stump. Some of these are biologically inert keepsakes. Others carry medical and safety considerations.

In most cases, tissue removed during surgery is handled very differently. It is usually sent to a laboratory for testing, known as pathology, to confirm a diagnosis or check for disease. After that, it must be disposed of safely as clinical waste because it can carry biological risks. It is now relatively uncommon for patients to keep surgically removed tissue.

Handling human tissue can pose risks, especially for professionals working in operating theatres or pathology labs with unfixed tissue. “Unfixed” means the tissue has not been treated with chemicals to preserve it and kill microbes. Healthcare staff who use needles or sharp instruments are particularly vulnerable to exposure to blood-borne viruses such as hepatitis or HIV. Depending on the source, other pathogens may also be present, for example respiratory microbes in lung tissue.

Some keepsakes fall somewhere between harmless and medically relevant. Parents sometimes keep the umbilical stump after a baby is born. This small piece of tissue dries up and falls off naturally, usually within the first couple of weeks. If it is not kept clean and dry, it can become infected with a condition called omphalitis, meaning inflammation and infection of the stump.

Placenta

The most debated example of keeping human tissue comes after childbirth. Following delivery of the baby, the placenta is also delivered. This temporary organ connects the developing foetus to the uterus and acts as an interface for exchange of oxygen, nutrients and waste products between mother and baby, while keeping their blood supplies separate to prevent immune rejection and blood incompatibility.

Some people choose not only to keep the placenta but to consume it, a practice known as placentophagy. The idea comes from the belief that because the placenta nourishes the foetus during pregnancy, it must contain nutrients that can help the mother recover after birth. During pregnancy, nutrients such as calcium are transferred to the developing baby, and mothers can lose close to 4% of their bone mineral density. However, most nutrients stored in the placenta have already been passed to the foetus before birth.

Claims about the benefits of placentophagy are not strongly supported by scientific evidence. The nutrients present in placental tissue can generally be obtained through a balanced meal. Research in animal models has shown some positive effects, and similar findings have been reported in those studies, but these results have not been reproduced in humans.

People consume the placenta in various ways. It may be blended raw into smoothies, cooked into foods such as lasagne, steeped in high-strength alcohol to create a tincture, or dried and made into capsules, which is the most common approach, known as encapsulation.

Health risks

But there are also potential health risks. The placenta contains elevated levels of oestrogen, and high concentrations of this hormone in the bloodstream can increase the risk of thromboembolism, a condition in which blood clots form and travel through the circulation.

The placenta also acts as a filter during pregnancy, limiting the transfer of certain substances to the baby. Studies show that some heavy metals and other ions can accumulate in placental tissue, meaning levels may be higher in the placenta than elsewhere in the body.

In 2017, the CDC reported a case in which a baby developed repeated infections with group B Streptococcus agalactiae, a bacterium commonly found in the gut or vagina. Investigators traced the source of the infection to the mother consuming placenta capsules contaminated with the same bacterium. The process used to produce capsules reduces bacterial levels but does not completely remove them in all cases. Eating the placenta raw carries even greater risks, including exposure to bacteria such as E.coli.

Many animals eat their placentas after giving birth, largely to remove evidence that could attract predators and to reclaim nutrients. For humans, those same nutrients are easily obtained from a normal diet, and the medical benefits remain uncertain. At present, more robust studies are needed to determine whether placentophagy offers any genuine health advantages.

Whether transformed into jewellery, kept in a memory box or blended into a smoothie, once tissue leaves the body it moves from the personal and sentimental into the medical and biological. The meanings people attach to it vary widely, but the scientific questions about safety, benefit and risk remain the same.

Adam Taylor does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. From kneecap necklaces to umbilical cord keepsakes: the risks of keeping and consuming human tissue – https://theconversation.com/from-kneecap-necklaces-to-umbilical-cord-keepsakes-the-risks-of-keeping-and-consuming-human-tissue-276470

March 3, 2026

Hay fever season is coming – here’s how to get ahead of symptoms

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Christine Loscher, Professor of Immunology, Dublin City University

Hayfever season typically runs from March to October. PeopleImages/ Shutterstock

Spring is just around the corner. While many look forward to the warmer weather after the long winter months, others may be filled with dread as spring marks the start of hay fever season. If this is you, the good news is there are plenty of things you can do ahead of hay fever season to make symptoms more manageable.

Hay fever affects roughly one in four UK adults. Symptoms are caused by three different types of pollen: tree, grass and weed pollen. As hay fever season typically runs from March to September, this means that specific types of pollen are responsible for symptoms at different times.

The early part of the season is dominated by tree pollen. Mid-season, symptoms are caused by grass pollen and by late season it’s weed pollen. But regardless of the type of pollen, the hay fever symptoms they cause are the same.

In people who suffer from hay fever, the immune system wrongly interprets the presence of pollen to be dangerous and so it mounts an immune response. This involves the generation of antibodies – specialised proteins produced by the immune system to target pollen.

The specific antibody the immune system creates in response to pollen is called immunoglobulin E (IgE). These antibodies specifically activate specialised immune cells called mast cells, which release histamine – the substance that causes all the pesky hay fever symptoms. Those symptoms can range from mild to debilitating and so can really affect the quality of life for lots of people.

Preventing hayfever symptoms

The most common hay fever treatment are antihistamines, which are available over the counter. These work by neutralising the effects of the histamine that is released by the mast cells.

While most people only take antihistamines as soon as symptoms start, it’s actually a good idea to begin using them as soon as pollen counts begin to increase – even before you have full-blown symptoms. You should also begin using them everyday, regardless of the pollen count or your symptoms.

The main reason for this is because while antihistamines can block the effects of the histamine being released, they cannot prevent its release. In other words, antihistamines only treat the symptoms and not the allergic reaction. As long as the exposure to pollen remains, your immune system is still driving the production of histamine.

But research shows that taking antihistamines before pollen exposure can decrease the expression of the histamine receptor. As histamine works by binding to this histamine receptor, blocking the receptor’s expression can effectively decrease hay fever symptoms.

While antihistamines are the most effective way of treating hay fever symptoms, steroid nasal sprays can also be very effective in minimising symptoms.

Steroids block inflammation. Given hay fever is an allergic response which drives inflammation, these sprays suppress that inflammation – thereby decreasing symptoms.

A man sitting in a grassy field uses a nasal spray. — Daily use of steroid nasal sprays may also help reduce symptoms.
Altrendo Images/ Shutterstock

Using a steroid nasal spray daily for a few weeks before the season starts is a useful way to prepare. Research even shows that using a nasal spray before pollen exposure can reduce allergy symptoms.

Reducing symptoms

A key factor in how bad your hay fever gets is your exposure to pollen. While it’s almost impossible to avoid pollen when going outdoors during hay fever season, it’s possible to minimise your exposure. This can lessen your symptoms and make hay fever more manageable.

This involves making changes to your environment, such as installing pollen filters in your car and air filters in your home.

Washing bedding and soft furnishing more often can be effective too, as pollen can easily attach to these surfaces. You can also try using anti-allergy pillows and duvets. These use tightly-woven fabrics and often chemical treatments to create a physical barrier, preventing pollen from settling inside the pillow and causing nighttime allergic reactions.

Avoid opening windows on days when the pollen count is high to prevent pollen coming into your home. It may also be worthwhile to avoid bringing outside clothes into your bedroom to help minimise nighttime exposure to pollen.

Allergies can be worse at nighttime for several reasons – including the fact that daytime pollen has transferred to bedding from your skin and hair. Lying down also increases congestion and causes mucus to pool in the sinuses. Lastly, the body produces more histamine at night, worsening the symptoms.

When outdoors, wearing wraparound sunglasses may help prevent pollen from triggering symptoms. Tying your hair up when outdoors may also help prevent some pollen being tracked back into your home. It’s also worth avoiding areas with high pollen trees and plants when the pollen count is particularly high. Birch, oak and cedar trees are particularly high in pollen, as well as daisies and sunflowers.

Unfortunately, it’s impossible to completely avoid pollen during the dreaded hay fever season. But it is possible to get ahead of hay fever symptoms by starting treatment before the season begins.

Christine Loscher does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Hay fever season is coming – here’s how to get ahead of symptoms – https://theconversation.com/hay-fever-season-is-coming-heres-how-to-get-ahead-of-symptoms-275478

March 3, 2026

What oil, stocks and bonds are telling us about the Iran conflict and how long it might last

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Daniele D’Alvia, Lecturer in Banking and Finance Law, Queen Mary University of London

When a conflict escalates, financial markets respond within minutes. That reaction is not just panic or speculation – it is a kind of collective judgement about what might happen next.

Tensions involving the US, Israel and Iran triggered a sharp jump in oil prices when Asian markets opened on Monday (rising by as much as 13% amid fears of supply disruption). Major Gulf indices fell steeply, and in some cases trading was suspended amid volatility.

At the same time, investors moved into so-called “safe-haven” assets. Gold prices rose, and demand increased for traditionally defensive currencies such as the US dollar and Swiss franc.

This may sound like distant noise or random financial moves. In reality though, it is one of the clearest signals we have about how serious investors think the situation with Iran could become.

Markets are forward-looking. They do not only react to what has happened – they try to price what they expect will happen. Here’s how to read the signals.

Oil: the first warning light

Oil is usually the first market to move during Middle East tensions. That is because the region plays a crucial role in the global supply of energy. A particular point of concern is the strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping route through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil exports pass.

When oil prices jump, it does not mean supply has already stopped. It means traders believe there is a higher risk that supply could be disrupted.

Think of it like insurance. If the risk of damage rises, the price of insurance goes up immediately – even if no damage has yet occurred. Oil markets work in a similar way. Prices reflect the probability of trouble.

Why does this matter? Because oil affects almost everything. Higher oil prices push up fuel costs. Fuel affects transport. Transport affects food prices and goods on supermarket shelves. If oil remains expensive for weeks or months, it can push inflation higher.

So when oil spikes, markets are signalling that they see real economic risk – not just political drama.

At present, the scale of the oil move suggests markets are seriously reassessing the probability of disruption. The crucial question is persistence. If prices stabilise quickly, investors may believe escalation will be contained. If they remain elevated, markets are signalling expectations of prolonged instability.

Bonds: investors looking for safety

The second place to look is the bond market. A bond is essentially a loan. When you buy a government bond, you are lending money to a government in exchange for interest. US government bonds (Treasuries) are widely seen as one of the safest investments in the world.

In times of uncertainty, investors often move their money into these safer assets. This is known as “flight to safety”. When many people buy bonds at once, bond prices go up and their yields (the interest rate that is paid) go down.

You don’t need to follow bond charts every day to understand the message. If investors are accepting lower returns just to keep their money safe, it tells us they are worried.

If oil prices are rising while investors are piling into safe government bonds, markets may be signalling two concerns at the same time: higher short-term prices and weaker economic growth ahead. That is a difficult combination for any economy. Bond markets, in other words, are measuring anxiety.

Stock markets: how long will this last?

Stock markets reflect confidence in companies and economic growth. When shares fall sharply, it often means investors expect profits to be squeezed or business conditions to worsen. But the key issue is duration.

If stock markets fall briefly and then stabilise, investors may believe the conflict will be contained. If losses spread and persist, it suggests markets expect a longer or more disruptive episode.

Markets are not predicting headlines. They are estimating how long uncertainty might last and how deeply it might affect trade, energy supplies and consumer confidence.

Modern financial markets are highly interconnected. A shock in one region can ripple quickly across continents because supply chains, investment funds and large companies operate globally. That is why even a regional conflict can affect pension funds and savings accounts elsewhere.

Equity markets are not judging politics. They are estimating economic consequences.

What this means for markets – and for the conflict

Taken together, oil, bonds and equities provide a temperature check of expectations. Right now, markets are clearly pricing higher geopolitical risk. The sharp initial oil move shows concern about supply. The shift towards safer assets signals caution. Equity volatility reflects uncertainty about the duration of the conflict.

However, markets are not yet behaving as though they expect a systemic global crisis. We are seeing repricing – not collapse. That distinction matters.

As a finance expert, I believe markets are acting as early warning systems. If escalation of the conflict threatens to cause sustained disruption to energy infrastructure or shipping routes, we would expect the oil price to stay elevated, continued safe-haven flows and broader equity declines.

That would tighten financial conditions globally because higher energy prices push up inflation, falling stock markets reduce household wealth and confidence, and increased demand for safe assets raises borrowing costs for business and governments. In other words, credit becomes more expensive, investment decisions are delayed and consumers become cautious. This could slow economic growth.

If, however, tensions stabilise or de-escalate, markets may reverse quickly. Financial systems adjust rapidly when perceptions of risk change.

The broader implication is that modern conflicts transmit economic effects almost instantly through markets. Even before physical supply chains are interrupted, expectations alone can influence inflation, investment and policy decisions.

Markets do not determine the course of a conflict. But they shape the economic environment in which political decisions are made. For now, they are signalling caution – not panic. Whether that caution turns into something more severe will depend less on today’s headlines and more on whether disruption proves temporary or structural. That is what investors are watching. And it is what we should be watching too.

Daniele D’Alvia does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. What oil, stocks and bonds are telling us about the Iran conflict and how long it might last – https://theconversation.com/what-oil-stocks-and-bonds-are-telling-us-about-the-iran-conflict-and-how-long-it-might-last-277326

March 3, 2026

Why science GCSEs matter more than we think in a post-truth age

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sophie Bartlett, Research Associate in Administrative Data Research Wales, Cardiff University

Concerns about living in a “post-truth” society – where evidence struggles to compete with misinformation, ideology and emotion – are now familiar. From vaccine hesitancy to climate change denial, public debates increasingly hinge not on a lack of information, but on how people judge evidence, expertise and uncertainty.

These concerns are often framed as a problem of facts. But a deeper issue may be at play – whether people have the skills to weigh competing claims, understand uncertainty and decide what counts as good evidence. Our new research suggests that science education could play a far bigger role in shaping those skills than is usually recognised.

Many philosophers and educationalists have argued that education plays a central role in preparing citizens to navigate an uncertain world. Today, organisations such as Unesco, the UN body for education, science and culture, are grappling with how schools and universities can respond to rising misinformation and declining trust in expertise. Higher education institutions and academics are attempting to find practical solutions to this challenge. Public concern often focuses on people rejecting scientific conclusions outright.

But the deeper challenge is epistemic: difficulty judging what counts as good evidence, how confident we should be in claims and when disagreement is legitimate rather than conspiratorial.

Our findings suggest science education – even for students who go on to study non-science subjects – may be crucial in shaping these abilities.

Using linked administrative data from more than 8,000 pupils in the UK, we examined achievement in GCSE science at age 15. We then looked at how this related to outcomes in the six most popular post-16 subjects: maths, biology, history, chemistry, English literature and physics.

Some results were expected. Students who achieved the equivalent of an A or A* in GCSE science were significantly more likely to go on to gain strong grades in science A-levels. But what surprised us was how far this effect extended beyond science.

High-achieving GCSE science students were more likely to achieve higher grades in every one of the six subjects we studied, including humanities. Even more strikingly, GCSE science turned out to be a stronger predictor of later success in history and English literature than GCSE maths. It was also a stronger predictor of success in history than GCSE English language (or Welsh language in Wales).

That matters because GCSE English language and maths are routinely used as determinants for post-16 education. Science rarely is. For decades, maths and English have been treated as the foundations of academic progress and employability. Science, by contrast, has often been justified mainly in economic terms – as a way to produce future scientists and fuel innovation.

Our findings suggest something broader is going on.

What is science education really doing?

Science education appears to be doing more than teaching just subject knowledge. It seems to help develop transferable ways of thinking that support learning across disciplines.

Educational researchers have long argued that science classrooms cultivate skills such as evaluating evidence, reasoning about cause and effect, handling uncertainty and distinguishing claims from data. In a world shaped by science and technology, these abilities increasingly matter in almost every career, and in everyday civic life.

Success in science at age 15 seems to signal – or help build – forms of reasoning that support later achievement. These skills matter in subjects like history and English, where students must weigh sources, construct arguments and interpret complex information.

This fits with wider research showing that scientific reasoning is linked to better judgement of misinformation. It is also associated with a stronger grasp of risk and probability, and a more nuanced engagement with expert disagreement. In a post-truth context, these skills may be just as important as subject-specific knowledge.

Implications for a post-truth society

This has implications for how science is taught and defended. If science education really does foster transferable ways of reasoning, curricula that prioritise experimentation, argumentation and uncertainty may matter more.

So too does teaching the nature of scientific knowledge, rather than relying on rote learning. Reducing science to memorisation risks stripping away precisely the features that seem to deliver long-term benefits.

Our findings also raise broader questions. How explicitly are these forms of reasoning made visible to students? Are assessments capturing them? And could non-science subjects draw more directly on the epistemic practices that science helps to cultivate?

Science education may need to do more to articulate its connections to other disciplines. History, English and other subjects may benefit from making shared ways of thinking more explicit.

In an increasingly polarised, misinformation-rich public sphere, the value of science education should not be judged solely by how many future scientists it produces. Our research suggests its influence is wider and longer-lasting: helping young people develop tools for thinking that support learning and judgement across many areas of life.

If we are serious about addressing the challenges of a post-truth society, science classrooms may be one of our most important – and underappreciated – starting points.

Sophie Bartlett receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), grant reference: ES/W012227/1, and is part of Administrative Data Research (ADR) Wales.

Chris Taylor receives funding from ESRC (Grant number ES/W012227/1) and Welsh Government.

– ref. Why science GCSEs matter more than we think in a post-truth age – https://theconversation.com/why-science-gcses-matter-more-than-we-think-in-a-post-truth-age-276306

March 3, 2026

Can flashing light alter your mind? The science of stroboscopic stimulation

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Katie Edwards, Commissioning Editor, Health + Medicine and Host of Strange Health podcast, The Conversation

Light therapy sounds wholesome. Clean. Almost pastoral. Sit in front of a lamp. Feel better.

In our latest episode of the Strange Health podcast, we discovered that it can also mean strapping on a flashing mask and watching your own brain generate kaleidoscopic hallucinations behind closed eyelids.

The spark for this episode was a stroboscopic light device called the Lumenate Nova, promoted on social media by celebrities including Jennifer Aniston and Rosamund Pike, who serves as the brand’s creative director and is also an investor. The device claims to use carefully timed pulses of light to guide users into altered, meditative states, described by the company as “sober tripping”.

I was sceptical but gave it a go. “Sober tripping” sounded like a level of experimentation I could live with.

After watching what looked like brightly coloured fireworks, I eventually felt as if I were surrounded by a mountainscape, basking in a warm ray of sunshine coming from the left side of my vision. I had to remind myself I was on my sofa in Doncaster at 7pm. There was no sun.

The visions quietened my usually chatterbox brain. For 15 minutes, that alone felt like relief.

So what is actually happening? Stroboscopic light delivers rhythmic pulses that pass through the eyelids and stimulate the retina. When those flashes align with rhythms the visual system naturally oscillates at, including alpha-range activity, signals in the visual cortex begin to synchronise with the pattern. The result can be surprisingly vivid: spirals, tunnels, lattices, shifting colours and, for some people, more complex scenes with recognisable shapes and places.

The brain is constantly predicting what it expects to see. It breaks visual input into edges, colour and movement, then rebuilds it into the seamless scene we experience. When rhythmic light disrupts those patterns, the brain tries to make sense of the signals. Sometimes that means geometry. Sometimes it feels like landscapes.

We spoke to David Schwartzman, a research fellow at the Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science at the University of Sussex, who has been studying these effects for more than a decade. He describes stroboscopic hallucinations as a controllable way to explore how the brain constructs visual experience. They offer a glimpse of the underlying machinery of perception rather than a treatment in themselves.

Interest in stroboscopic light is not new. In 1819, the Czech anatomist Jan Purkyně described geometric patterns seen when moving his fingers in front of a candle with eyes closed. In the 1960s, artists Brion Gysin and Ian Sommerville built the “Dreamachine”, a spinning cylinder designed to induce altered states without drugs.

More recently, a large public installation called Dreamachine toured the UK in 2022, allowing tens of thousands of people to lie inside a purpose-built structure and experience synchronised light and sound. Participants reported everything from gentle patterning to overwhelming geometric worlds.

But what about the health claims? The phrase “light therapy” now covers very different technologies. Some regulate sleep and mood. Others aim to alter perception itself. Bright light therapy is well established for seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Used correctly, typically in the morning at prescribed intensities, it can help regulate circadian rhythms and improve mood in some people. That is different from stroboscopic stimulation, which targets visual perception rather than sleep-wake cycles.

Research into strobe-based interventions for depression is ongoing. Early studies are exploring safety, tolerability and whether the immersive experience might influence mood in ways researchers are beginning to compare with psychedelic-assisted therapy. It is promising, but not yet a standard treatment.

There are also experimental trials using 40 hertz flickering light in Alzheimer’s disease, based on the idea that synchronising brain rhythms could influence disease processes. This approach remains in clinical testing and is not an established therapy.

There are risks. Flashing lights can trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy, although only a small proportion of people with epilepsy are photosensitive. Even in people without epilepsy, intense exposure can cause discomfort, headaches or nausea. Dose, brightness and individual sensitivity matter. People with epilepsy or migraine disorders may be advised to avoid stroboscopic devices.

Light can be therapeutic. It can also overwhelm. From SAD lamps to UV treatment for psoriasis and neonatal jaundice, light is powerful biology, but it is not automatically benign.

Strange Health is hosted by Katie Edwards and Dan Baumgardt. The executive producer is Gemma Ware, with video and sound editing for this episode by Anouk Millet. Artwork by Alice Mason.

Listen to Strange Health via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our RSS feed or find out how else to listen here. A transcript is available via the Apple Podcasts or Spotify apps.

David Schwartzman receives funding from the Medical Research Council (UKRI083) and was partly supported by a grant from the UK Government for his participation in the Dreamachine Programme, as part of Unboxed2022. Katie Edwards received a Lumenate Nova device as a PR sample for editorial use in this episode.

Dan Baumgardt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Can flashing light alter your mind? The science of stroboscopic stimulation – https://theconversation.com/can-flashing-light-alter-your-mind-the-science-of-stroboscopic-stimulation-276034