Category: English

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Graham Finlayson, Professor of Psychobiology, University of Leeds

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have become public enemy number one in nutrition debates. From dementia to obesity and an epidemic of “food addiction”, these factory-made products, including crisps, ready meals, fizzy drinks and packaged snacks, are blamed for a wide range of modern health problems. Some experts argue that they’re “specifically formulated and aggressively marketed to maximise consumption and corporate profits”, hijacking our brain’s reward systems to make us eat beyond our needs.

Policymakers have proposed bold interventions: warning labels, marketing restrictions, taxes, even outright bans near schools. But how much of this urgency is based on solid evidence?

My colleagues and I wanted to step back and ask: what actually makes people like a food? And what drives them to overeat – not just enjoy it, but keep eating after hunger has passed? We studied more than 3,000 UK adults and their responses to over 400 everyday foods. What we found challenges the simplistic UPF narrative and offers a more nuanced way forward.

Two ideas often get blurred in nutrition discourse: liking a food and hedonic overeating (eating for pleasure rather than hunger). Liking is about taste. Hedonic overeating is about continuing to eat because the food feels good. They’re related, but not identical. Many people like porridge but rarely binge on it. Chocolate, biscuits and ice cream, on the other hand, top both lists.

We conducted three large online studies where participants rated photos of unbranded food portions for how much they liked them and how likely they were to overeat them. The foods were recognisable items from a typical UK shopping basket: jacket potatoes, apples, noodles, cottage pie, custard creams – more than 400 in total.

We then compared these responses with three things: the foods’ nutritional content (fat, sugar, fibre, energy density), their classification as ultra-processed by the widely used Nova system – a food classification method that groups foods by the extent and purpose of their processing – and how people perceived them (sweet, fatty, processed, healthy and so on).

Perception power

Some findings were expected: people liked foods they ate often, and calorie-dense foods were more likely to lead to overeating.

But the more surprising insight came from the role of beliefs and perceptions. Nutrient content mattered – people rated high-fat, high-carb foods as more enjoyable, and low-fibre, high-calorie foods as more “bingeable”. But what people believed about the food also mattered, a lot.

Perceiving a food as sweet, fatty or highly processed increased the likelihood of overeating, regardless of its actual nutritional content. Foods believed to be bitter or high in fibre had the opposite effect.

In one survey, we could predict 78% of the variation in people’s likelihood of overeating by combining nutrient data (41%) with beliefs about the food and its sensory qualities (another 38%).

In short: how we think about food affects how we eat it, just as much as what’s actually in it.

This brings us to ultra-processed foods. Despite the intense scrutiny, classifying a food as “ultra-processed” added very little to our predictive models.

Once we accounted for nutrient content and food perceptions, the Nova classification explained less than 2% of the variation in liking and just 4% in overeating.

That’s not to say all UPFs are harmless. Many are high in calories, low in fibre and easy to overconsume. But the UPF label is a blunt instrument. It lumps together sugary soft drinks with fortified cereals, protein bars with vegan meat alternatives.

Some of these products may be less healthy, but others can be helpful – especially for older adults with low appetites, people on restricted diets or those seeking convenient nutrition.

The message that all UPFs are bad oversimplifies the issue. People don’t eat based on food labels alone. They eat based on how a food tastes, how it makes them feel and how it fits with their health, social or emotional goals.

Relying on UPF labels to shape policy could backfire. Warning labels might steer people away from foods that are actually beneficial, like wholegrain cereals, or create confusion about what’s genuinely unhealthy.

Instead, we recommend a more informed, personalised approach:

• Boost food literacy: help people understand what makes food satisfying, what drives cravings, and how to recognise their personal cues for overeating.

• Reformulate with intention: design food products that are enjoyable and filling, rather than relying on bland “diet” options or ultra-palatable snacks.

• Address eating motivations: people eat for many reasons beyond hunger – for comfort, connection and pleasure. Supporting alternative habits while maximising enjoyment could reduce dependence on low-quality foods.

It’s not just about processing

Some UPFs do deserve concern. They’re calorie dense, aggressively marketed and often sold in oversized portions. But they’re not a smoking gun.

Labelling entire categories of food as bad based purely on their processing misses the complexity of eating behaviour. What drives us to eat and overeat is complicated but not beyond understanding. We now have the data and models to unpack those motivations and support people in building healthier, more satisfying diets.

Ultimately, the nutritional and sensory characteristics of food – and how we perceive them – matter more than whether something came out of a packet. If we want to encourage better eating habits, it’s time to stop demonising food groups and start focusing on the psychology behind our choices.

Graham Finlayson has received funding from Horizon Europe, UKRI and Slimming World, UK.

James Stubbs consults to Slimming World UK. He receives funding from UKRI.

– ref. Ultra-processed foods might not be the real villain in our diets – here’s what our research found – https://theconversation.com/ultra-processed-foods-might-not-be-the-real-villain-in-our-diets-heres-what-our-research-found-261867

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Shooka Bidarian, Media and Journalism Fellow, Sustainability and Climate at United Nations University Institute of Water Health and Environment, United Nations University

From arid deserts and alpine meadows to dense wetlands and temperate forests, Iran’s natural landscapes give rise to rich native wildlife. This country is home to over 8,000 species of plants, nearly 500 bird species and 194 mammals. The UN has listed 13 special ecological areas, including salt lakes and marshlands, that support huge numbers of migratory birds.

But this rich natural heritage is under growing threat. The Asiatic cheetah, once widespread across west Asia, is now confined to desert reserves in central Iran, with fewer than 50 remaining.

The Persian onager, a wild ass native to Iran’s deserts, struggles on with just 600–700 animals remaining, displaced by both water scarcity and livestock. And the Siberian crane, once a seasonal visitor, has vanished from the Iranian landscape entirely. The last known individual, a male named Omid, was last spotted over three years ago.

Iran’s accelerating biodiversity crisis is a warning sign, but it does not exist in isolation. The country’s ecosystems are under siege not only from species loss, but also from deeper, systemic environmental pressures.

Chief among these is a worsening water crisis. This is now widely recognised by researchers as a case of “water bankruptcy”, where unsustainable demand has long outstripped the country’s renewable water resources.

Due to the Iran-Iraq war, international isolation and sanctions since the 1980s, the government has driven policies to make the country’s food system more self-sufficient. They have promoted growing crops such as wheat and rice, which are water-intensive and ill-suited to Iran’s arid climate.

Today, more than 90% of Iran’s water is allocated to agriculture, primarily to grow these water-hungry crops in some of the driest parts of the country. The consequences have been stark: land degradation, the erosion of rural livelihoods and a deepening cycle of poverty and environmental decline.

Poor water governance and inappropriate farming have driven the depletion of aquifers (underground layers of porous rock saturated with groundwater) and the drying out of rivers and wetlands. This has placed mounting stress on communities and local economies.

These challenges are compounded by entrenched interests and fragmented institutions’ oversight, and bureaucracies that are competing for control of the limited water supplies. In such a landscape, meaningful reform and equitable distribution become difficult, if not impossible.

Poverty, migration and dysfunctional institutions are causing widespread food insecurity. Without coherent, transparent governance and a long-term vision for environmental stewardship, Iran’s water crisis threatens to undermine both public welfare and national economic stability.

Environmental advocacy in Iran faces formidable legal and political barriers. Civil society organisations have confidentially told us they often struggle to formally register due to restrictive state permitting systems. This limits their ability to operate independently or engage in effective community mobilisation. Meanwhile, independent conservation efforts have come under increasing scrutiny by the Iranian government.

In 2018, several conservationists from the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation, were arrested on national security charges, despite no credible evidence. This move was widely condemned by international human rights organisations.

These arrests were central to the documentary Tears of Extinction (written and presented by one of us, Shooka Bidarian) that highlighted how, without these conservation efforts, the Asiatic cheetahs would face extinction within a few years.

From challenge to reform

The prosecutions and prolonged detentions have contributed to a chilling effect, discouraging other scientists and conservation organisations from engaging in environmental work due to fears of surveillance and reprisal. This concern was publicly echoed by Issa Kalantari, then vice-president and head of Iran’s Department of Environment, who stated that “if we knew they were spies, we would have treated them differently” and admitted the arrests caused environmental activities across the country to freeze.

Despite the severity of Iran’s environmental challenges, experts from the United Nations University and colleagues have outlined actionable reforms. These range from modernising irrigation systems and adjusting water pricing to enhancing data transparency and embracing participatory, decentralised governance.

Long-term resilience also requires adaptive planning that integrates climate variability and social vulnerability into national water strategies. These aren’t radical ideas. These approaches have been proven to work well in other water-stressed regions such as Australia.

To protect Iran’s ecosystems and ensure their survival for future generations, the country needs new approaches to environment governance. This needs to include sustained, science-led conservation, supported by international collaboration and local participation.

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Shooka Bidarian is affiliated with United Nations University and The Climate Reality Project

Mark Maslin is Pro-Vice Provost of the UCL Climate Crisis Grand Challenge and Founding Director of the UCL Centre for Sustainable Aviation. He was co-director of the London NERC Doctoral Training Partnership and is a member of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group. He is an advisor to Sheep Included Ltd, Lansons, NetZeroNow and has advised the UK Parliament. He has received grant funding from the NERC, EPSRC, ESRC, DFG, Royal Society, DIFD, BEIS, DECC, FCO, Innovate UK, Carbon Trust, UK Space Agency, European Space Agency, Research England, Wellcome Trust, Leverhulme Trust, CIFF, Sprint2020, and British Council. He has received funding from the BBC, Lancet, Laithwaites, Seventh Generation, Channel 4, JLT Re, WWF, Hermes, CAFOD, HP and Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

– ref. Iran’s nature is under threat – here’s how better environmental stewardship can save it – https://theconversation.com/irans-nature-is-under-threat-heres-how-better-environmental-stewardship-can-save-it-260458

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Steve Fletcher, Professor of Ocean Policy and Economy, University of Portsmouth

The latest round of negotiations for a UN global plastics treaty has ended without a deal. After more than three years of talks, deep divisions remain. Agreement is only marginally closer than before talks began. For many countries, campaigners and observer organisations, the outcome is deeply disappointing.

After the final intense meetings which went through the night in Geneva, the chair of the intergovernmental negotiating committee that governs the treaty discussions formally closed the session on August 15 without agreement on the treaty text. This is not the end. The process has not collapsed.

However, there is no confirmed date or venue for the next round of negotiations and no mandate for formal intersessional activities. Many delegates called for a period of reflection and even a reset of the process to allow for a refreshed approach.

As in previous negotiation rounds, progress was slow. Talks were hampered by procedural ambiguity, deliberate delay tactics from fossil fuel and petrochemical countries opposing an ambitious treaty, and the sheer complexity of the issues on the table. Time ran out before a consensus could be reached.

As the talks wrap up, we reflect on three aspects that contributed to this ongoing deadlock:

1. Chair’s efforts fell short

Ambassador Luis Vayas Valdivieso took a more active role than in earlier sessions, pushing the pace and producing two draft treaty texts to focus debate. The first draft omitted key provisions, including limits on plastic production, global rules for regulating plastic products, controls on harmful chemicals and strong financing arrangements.

Many high-ambition countries pushing for strong measures and outcomes, rejected the first draft as imbalanced, unambitious and unfit for further discussion. A second draft, issued just before 1am on the final night after intense consultations, included some improvements but still left out these core elements. Many nations again saw it as one-sided, tilted towards the demands of lower-ambition countries and petrostates.

2. Entrenched positions remain

Throughout the negotiations, lower-ambition states gave little ground. They refused to compromise on their “red lines” while expecting others to give up on theirs.

This repeated familiar arguments over the purpose and scope of the treaty, despite these having been outlined in the UN mandate to deliver the treaty three years ago. Many believe a different approach is needed that focuses more time on points of disagreement, rigorously tests opposing arguments, and actively seeks areas of compromise.

3. Reluctance to vote

The process still relies on consensus for decision-making. In the final plenary, many delegates, particularly those with economic interests in plastics, stressed that consensus is essential. Yet over the past three years, some delegations have urged the chair to break deadlocks by moving to a vote – a rule of UN negotiations that must be applied when consensus cannot be reached.

Voting is seen as politically explosive, with serious implications for multilateralism. So far, the chair has resisted calling a vote, and higher-ambition countries have not pressed for it either, despite their repeated statements about urgency and ambition. Beyond rejecting treaty texts they considered weak, many did not use the tools available to them to push for a stronger outcome. As a result, stalemates have persisted.

The road ahead

The intersessional period – the time between now and the next formal meeting – is critical. Without a fixed date for the next stage of the process, this is the time to reset and prepare for decisive progress. One key focus must be to bridge political divides. High-ambition countries need to build broader alliances and find shared ground with those who may not fully back their vision but are open to stronger action.

Key details such as financing mechanisms, monitoring and reporting systems, and legal models for compliance should be developed now, outside formal negotiations, to save time later. And higher-ambition nations such as those in the EU, Panama, Colombia, Australia, the UK and small island states should coordinate more closely and be willing to use procedural tools such as voting when needed, even if politically uncomfortable.

The goal set by the UN in 2022 to end plastic pollution across its full life cycle is still achievable. But it will require governments to use the coming months to regroup, have frank political discussions and commit to a more decisive approach when they next meet.

The world cannot afford another round lost to procedural deadlock. The plastics crisis is worsening. The science is clear. The solutions are well known. What is missing is not knowledge, but the will to match words with binding action.

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Steve Fletcher receives funding from the World Economic Forum, Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), Aquapak Ltd, Defra, and the Flotilla Foundation. He is a member of the United Nations International Resource Panel and is the NERC Agenda Setting Fellow for Plastic Pollution.

Antaya March receives funding from the Flotilla Foundation, Defra, World Economic Forum, and the British Academy.

– ref. Three reasons plastic pollution treaty talks ended in disagreement and deadlock (but not collapse) – https://theconversation.com/three-reasons-plastic-pollution-treaty-talks-ended-in-disagreement-and-deadlock-but-not-collapse-261327

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Rahul Sidhu, PhD Candidate, Neuroscience, University of Sheffield

Alzheimer’s disease steals memories and devastates lives. Yet despite an abundance of research, the earliest brain changes that trigger this disease still remain unclear, making it challenging to find effective treatments.

But could lithium – a metal most of us know better for its use in batteries or as a treatment for mood disorders – play a role in cognitive health? New research shows that this mineral may play a key role in protecting against Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s is linked to the buildup of two harmful proteins: amyloid-beta and tau. Amyloid-beta clumps outside brain cells (neurons), forming sticky plaques that block communication. Tau twists into tangles inside cells, disrupting their structure and function. Together, they damage the delicate network of neurons that supports memory and thinking.

But for nearly a decade now, scientists from Harvard University have also been uncovering lithium’s unexpected importance in the brain.

Lithium is naturally present in small amounts in the brain. This lithium comes from our diet, where it’s transported through the bloodstream to the brain’s cells. But researchers have found that as people move from mild cognitive impairment – a stage often seen as a warning sign for Alzheimer’s – to full Alzheimer’s disease, their lithium levels drop. This loss of lithium appears to set off the cascade of changes that lead to memory loss and confusion.

This recent study now helps to explain why a loss of lithium is linked with Alzheimer’s disease. The study showed that lithium acts as a natural defender – helping to keep amyloid and tau in check. When lithium levels fall, the brain becomes more vulnerable to these toxic proteins.

Researchers uncovered this connection by conducting postmortem examinations of brain tissue taken from people who had been in different stages of cognitive health. Those with mild cognitive impairment had noticeably less lithium in their brains compared to those who had been in good cognitive health. Levels were even lower in Alzheimer’s patients.

Interestingly, they found that the lithium doesn’t just disappear. Much of it becomes trapped within amyloid plaques, which lock it away from the brain cells where it’s needed most. This means even if total lithium levels don’t drop drastically, brain cells may still be starved of its protective effects.

So to explore what happens when lithium is missing completely, the scientists then studied mice – both healthy mice and mice that had been genetically engineered to develop Alzheimer’s symptoms. They cut the mice’s dietary lithium by 50% and observed the results.

The effects were striking. Mice with reduced lithium showed faster amyloid and tau buildup, more brain inflammation and lost connections between neurons – all crucial for learning and memory. The genetically engineered mice also performed worse in memory tests.

At the core of this process is an enzyme called GSK3β. Lithium normally keeps this enzyme under control. But when lithium is low, GSK3β becomes overactive, encouraging tau to behave abnormally and form tangles that damage neurons. This enzyme acts like a switch, tipping brain cells toward disease if unchecked.

The good news is the study didn’t stop at identifying the problem. Researchers treated mice with lithium orotate, a form of the mineral that’s less likely to get trapped by amyloid plaques. This treatment prevented the harmful buildup of amyloid-beta and tau, reduce inflammation, preserved neuron connections and improved memory.

Lithium’s importance

This research recasts lithium as more than a forgotten trace mineral. It appears to be a vital guardian of brain health, protecting neurons and maintaining cognitive function throughout life. Disrupting lithium balance might be one of the earliest steps toward Alzheimer’s – even before symptoms show.

Lithium’s protective role isn’t entirely new. It’s been used in psychiatry for decades, particularly to manage bipolar disorder where it stabilises mood. But medicinal doses are much higher than the tiny amounts naturally present in the brain. This study is the first to reveal that even these small, natural levels have a crucial protective function.

Beyond Alzheimer’s, lithium supports brain growth, shields nerve cells, and calms inflammation, all important for healthy ageing. Keeping lithium levels stable could have wider benefits in preventing dementia and supporting brain resilience.

One reason lithium hasn’t featured prominently in Alzheimer’s research before is its simplicity. It doesn’t target one molecule but acts like a conductor, balancing multiple brain processes. This makes it harder to study but no less important.

The discovery that lithium deficiency worsens Alzheimer’s damage opens new possibilities. Unlike current treatments focusing on removing amyloid plaques or tau tangles, lithium replacement could boost the brain’s defences.

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Read more:
Alzheimer’s drug approved in the UK, but it won’t be available on the NHS – here’s why

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Lithium orotate is especially promising because it doesn’t get trapped by amyloid and delivers lithium where neurons most need it. Lithium salts have long been used safely in medicine, so this approach could be easy and accessible for older adults.

Still, it’s unclear why lithium levels fall in some people. Is it due to diet, genetics or another cause? Could differences in the natural levels of lithium in drinking water worldwide influence Alzheimer’s risk? These puzzles invite future research.

It’s also important to note that much of this work was done in mice. While animal models offer valuable insights, human brains are more complex. Clinical trials will be needed to see if lithium orotate can safely prevent or slow Alzheimer’s in people.

We also don’t yet know how supplements or diet might affect brain lithium levels over time, or if this would be practical as treatment.

Still, the idea that a simple mineral could delay or prevent one of the world’s most devastating diseases is both exciting and hopeful.

Rahul Sidhu 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. Alzheimer’s disease: lithium may help slow cognitive decline – new research in mice – https://theconversation.com/alzheimers-disease-lithium-may-help-slow-cognitive-decline-new-research-in-mice-262880

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Maria Stuart, Course leader, Illustration & Children’s Book Illustration, School of Arts and Media, University of Lancashire

I’m greeted at the Lowry by Roald Dahl’s grinning Enormous Crocodile, who looks a bit too happy to see me and the toddler in a pushchair watching his father snapping his arms open and shut while making crocodile noises. We are both delighted by this, and eager, it seems, to see this new Quentin Blake and Me exhibition, a collection of original illustrations by Britain’s best-known children’s book illustrator.

Now aged 92, Quentin Blake has been illustrating and writing books for more than 70 years and has hundreds of titles under his belt.

So many of us have grown up with Blake’s work, an important part of our formative years. His many books have seen him working with some of the greatest children’s authors including Dahl, Joan Aiken, John Yeoman, Elizabeth Bowen and Michael Rosen. He has also written books himself and animated versions of his work, bringing his storytelling to new generations.

The Lowry exhibition extends an invitation to consider what Blake and his work means to each of us. This makes perfect sense as every visitor is a child or has been at some stage, and each feels connected to their own special memories of these wonderful books.

This is an important point to understand about the practice of illustrating picture books. As a lecturer working with children’s book illustration students, I encourage them to channel and engage with their four-year-old self.

By revisiting this part of ourselves we can understand not only how to capture the right tone, but recognise what makes children laugh, or what intrigues them, the discoveries and places they would enjoy, and who and what they might be scared by. This is evident in all of Blake’s work, about which he once said: “It’s not about knowing about children, but [that] you be them.”

As Blake demonstrates, the picture book illustrator is not just making pictures of the text – an illustrator can bring everything vividly to life using their skills and imagination. I overheard a parent as she pondered Mr Magnolia and his one boot, saying: “He makes it look so easy”. And indeed Blake does.

There is a fluidity and immediacy to his illustrations that make them appear effortless; a rough draft is placed on a light box and Blake draws his final image using this as a guide. This process allows him to work with pen and ink as if drawing the picture for the first time, capturing the expressiveness of an initial idea.

He conjures scenarios on the page that are compelling – nothing is contrived, so it all feels authentic. Readers young and old will go on any journey that Blake wishes to take them because of his genuine warmth and humour, his delightful imagination captured in drawing and painting that is full of energy and charm. This is the magic of illustration.

The exhibition is just as joyful and playful as the work on display. Original illustrations from a range of Blake’s books that span his career are framed and exhibited low enough for children to be able to view them easily. Adults have to stoop a little, ensuring they are on the same level.

Early on in the exhibition some of the Mr Magnolia illustrations are squished into a little V-shaped corner, which made me think of reading a picture book as a child, sitting on the floor wedged between the wall and the side of my bed.

Blake’s books are so cleverly illustrated ensuring that even if you can’t read yet, you can still understand not only the narrative but all the little visual jokes and special surprises that he regularly delivers. Never talking down to children or over explaining things, these are books that help to cultivate a sophisticated and discerning young reader.

The characters of each of the books featured escape from the pages and charge around the walls of the exhibition, taking up every available space. Here the BFG (Big Friendly Giant) towers over children having their photograph taken, and there the fine feathered creatures from Up With Birds swing around the gallery ceiling along with their glorious balloons.

It is fascinating to see Blake’s development work in notebooks, early roughs of book spreads as well as thumbnail plans – all evidence of the hard work that goes in to creating his books.

There are opportunities for children to dress up with The Boy In The Dress, and peep-holes in a wall reveal Blake’s studio set-up. There are also activity sheets and prompts for children to write and draw their own stories. Materials are set up in front of the “Monsters” wall so that visitors can join in creating illustrations. I can’t resist and add my own.

This is a wonderful exhibition that reveals the power of imagination, inspiring creativity, activity and reading in little ones. And those who are no longer children can tap into a delightful sense of nostalgia and revisit distant days of carefree reading and the flamboyant adventures of Blakes’s beautifully drawn characters.

Quentin Blake And Me is on at The Lowry, Manchester until January 4 2026. Admission is free.

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Maria Stuart 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. Quentin Blake and Me at the Lowry: the magic touch of Britain’s best-loved children’s illustrator – https://theconversation.com/quentin-blake-and-me-at-the-lowry-the-magic-touch-of-britains-best-loved-childrens-illustrator-262744

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Glenn Fosbraey, Associate Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Winchester

Life is busy these days, so when you manage to get some well-earned free time, it’s important to use it wisely. You could, for example, invest a spare ten minutes listening to King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s song Crumbling Castle (2017) or Taylor Swift’s All Too Well (Taylor’s Version) (2021).

Alternatively, you could listen to these ten songs, each less than a minute long, and each a masterpiece in brevity.

1. Meant for You by the Beach Boys (1968)

Brian Wilson may have taken more of a back seat on Beach Boys albums following the abandonment of his magnum opus Smile, but he was still capable of coming up with extraordinarily beautiful music.

At just 39 seconds, Meant for You is over in a flash, but it’s a flash of Wilson’s genius.

2. Black Nails by Tierra Whack (2018)

Seemingly in defiance of its running time, Tierra Whack takes her time on Black Nails with the slow, relaxed keyboard solo taking up almost a third of the song before the vocals come in.

I could have chosen any of the tracks from Whack’s 2018 album Whack Life, but this is perhaps the one where she makes the best use of the super-short format.

3. My Mummy’s Dead by John Lennon (1970)

John Lennon fans in 1970 were a confused bunch. The year began with their idol still a Beatle (he had, in fact, quit in September 1969, but it was kept quiet), and still sporting the long hair and beard from the Abbey Road album cover.

By its end, The Beatles were officially no more, Lennon had shaved his head, and had released the soul-baring album John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band complete with f-bombs (Working Class Hero), denouncement of his former band (God) and literal screams of anguish at his childhood trauma (Mother).

The final body-blow comes via final track My Mummy’s Dead, which, through its 51 seconds of simplistic, stripped-back, devastating music, signalled that Beatlemania was officially over.

4. Song of The Century by Green Day (2009)

The opening track of Green Day’s epic album 21st Century Breakdown, Song of the Century’s primary function is to set the scene (and tone) for what’s to come.

But it’s a fine song in its own right, with the lo-fi production making Billie-Joe sound like he is singing to us through a transistor radio we’re desperately trying to keep tuned in.

5. Boa Constrictor by The Magnetic Fields (1999)

Just before the start of the century that so troubled Green Day, American indie band The Magnetic Fields released the spectacularly ambitious album 69 Love Songs which contained, yes, you’ve guessed it, a whopping 69 tracks spread over a near three-hour running time.

Among the many tracks are a few delightfully understated vignettes, including this one, with Shirley Simms taking lead vocals.

6. Abide With Me by the Thelonius Monk Septet (1957)

I almost excluded this track – the first on 1957 album Monk’s Music – for it being an instrumental, but in the end decided it was simply too good to leave out.

With only the horn section of the septet playing, Thelonius Monk himself doesn’t appear, but John Coltrane does, which means at least one jazz legend is present and accounted for. Now forever associated with the FA Cup final (having been played before every one since 1927), this version knocks spots off any other I’ve heard and is a fittingly brilliant interpretation of one of music’s truly beautiful melodies.

7. Trouble by Eminem (2024)

You could be forgiven for thinking Trouble was just another of Eminem’s skits. But it’s actually a bonafide song, and one which tackles the dynamic between Eminem and his alteregos Marshall Mathers and Slim Shady head-on.

Although the track does begin with the spoken-word set-up so familiar from his skits, it soon moves into rap. The Slim Shady alter ego launches one of his most offensive tirades yet to deliberately get himself, Marshall and Eminem “cancelled”. This one’s not for the faint of heart.

8. The News (A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Microsoft) by Deltron 3030 (2000)

At the dawn of the new millennium, while other hip-hop artists rapped about money, women, and violence, Deltron 3030 (comprised of Del the Funky Homosapien, Dan the Automator, and Kid Koala A) had their eyes on something altogether different: a dystopian hip-hop space opera set over a thousand years in the future.

This vignette comes midway through the narrative and sees Icelandic singer Hafdís Huld delivering a spoken word piece in her native tongue over a drum and harp backing track. It’s as spectacular as it sounds.

9. Night Scented Stock by Kate Bush (1980)

Appearing toward the end of third studio album Never for Ever, Night Scented Stock is Kate Bush at her ethereal best.

With her wordless layered vocals seeming to joust with one another as they soar and fall, this is the perfect palate cleanser before the final two tracks.

10. 50% by Grandaddy (2006)

Almost the polar opposite of Night Scented Stock, 50% is a distorted, in-your-face, assault on the senses, where singer-songwriter Jason Lytle challenges himself to write a song with “Fifty per cent less words”.

Less than what, exactly, remains unclear as the song comes to an abrupt end, but it scarcely matters. And yes – the song’s running time is technically 1m 02s, but who’s really counting?

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Glenn Fosbraey 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. The ten best songs under one minute long – https://theconversation.com/the-ten-best-songs-under-one-minute-long-262817

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Daniel Gettings, Sessional Tutor, Department of History, University of Warwick

A year ago, French newspaper Le Monde and Radio France broke a scandal in big water – Perrier was filtering its product. The filtering began due to worries about water contamination linked to climate change and pollution of spring sources.

It was also revealed that executives at parent company Nestle and French government ministers tried to keep it all quiet. They allegedly covered up reports of contamination and changed the rules to allow micro-filtration.

Under EU law, for a brand to market their products as “natural mineral water” it has to remain unaltered. French mineral water companies are now awaiting a ruling on what level of filtration is considered illegal “treatment”. The result could mean that, after 160 years, Perrier will no longer be able to be call its product “natural mineral water”.

Strikingly, the same issue was debated extensively by scientists during the 18th-century European spring water boom. These men considered the effects of human intervention on the product and what was lost in the process.

A spa boom

In the 17th and 18th centuries, medical interest, in addition to factors like travel for leisure, resulted in the proliferation of new spa towns across Europe.

In England, Buxton and Tunbridge Wells developed in the 1620s and 1660s respectively, while Harrogate, Cheltenham and Leamington came in the 1710s, 1750s and 1790s. Historical survey’s place the number of spas and wells offering healing mineral waters at around 350 in the 18th-century heyday.

Spas like Bath, Buxton and the Bristol Hotwell were thermal, offering hot bathing. However, other spa sources in England were not heated. This meant that those who wished to bathe had to do so in the cold, which was both undesirable, and at that time, considered dangerous. This was due to fears that the English cold climate, when combined with bodily exposure to cold water, could disrupt bodily rhythms an cause illness.

As a result, many of the cold spas focused on offering health benefits through drinking their waters. When hailing the qualities of the newly discovered waters at Scarborough in 1660, Yorkshire doctor Robert Wittie declared they had “gained such credit” that people: “Come above an hundred miles to drink of it, preferring it to all other medicinal waters they had formerly frequented.”

He later described the health benefits he gained from drinking them:

I had lost two pound and a half of my weight… I found after it better agility of body, and alacrity of spirit then before.

In 1654, the doctor Edmund Deane had similarly described the effects of the waters of Knaresborough: “Those waters at the Spaw doe presently heal, and (as it were) miraculously cure diseases, which are without all hope of recovery.”

Testing the waters

As the number of spas grew, so did the options for consumers. As a result, the 18th century saw increasing attention and experimentation on mineral waters by scientists. Rather than questioning the health benefits, they instead compared waters to one another, experimenting on them to determine processes that produced and changed healing properties.

For example, British doctor George Turner, who translated and expanded upon a German work about the spa of Bad Pyrmont, in 1733. His work discussed experiments on the waters of the spa and the minerals that could be determined within. It noted that if left standing, the carbonated water lost its potency: “Whence it is, that so spiritous a liquid does so easily turn to a flat insipid water.”

He also suggested that boiling caused mineral waters to lose some invisible element important to its proper function. “Why so many globules of air arise out of mineral waters when it is warmed?” he asked, only to conclude that when “spirits fly out of any liquid” they go “incognito without any tumult”. As they “flew”, so too did whatever gave these waters healing properties, making chemical recreation in a lab impossible.

Historians of science have suggested that works like this foregrounded the concept of “gas”, which came more conclusively later in the century.

During experiments on the Scarborough waters, doctor Peter Shaw and natural scientist Stephen Hales each sought to determine the nature of the “subtle sulphurous spirit” in which they felt the “principal virtue of the Chalybeate (flavoured with iron) Waters resided”.

Similar experiments also involved extensive filtering, with physician John Nott in 1793 adding solutions to the waters of Italy’s Pisa and France’s Verdun before filtering them and performing further tests on “what remains in the filter”.

Scottish physician, Thomas Short, had concluded previously that filtering waters was both an important natural process. He described “the several strange alterations that water undergoes, by being strained through different strata of minerals”. But also that the body inherently filtered “raw” mineral waters through its skin when bathing, allowing only those smaller minerals in to provide the health effect, he claimed.

These scientists used their burgeoning chemical understanding to conclude that processes performed on waters fundamentally changed them, going from “spiritous” cures to “flat insipid water”. Even lacking the full knowledge or vocabulary to express why, they felt their processes and tools were incapable of recreating the waters of nature.

Legacies of these ideas can be seen in our changing attitudes to food and drink. Modern branding and consumer value is placed on a lack of processing. We are increasingly concerned with capturing and consuming the natural as it is, before human intervention has muddied it.

In so doing, we continue the ideas of those concerned with mineral waters all that time ago. By filtering their waters, no matter how little Perrier claim it affected them, we feel as though some spirit of the natural has perhaps been lost.

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Daniel Gettings 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. Is mineral water ‘natural’ if it’s filtered? The debate gripping France today has raged since the 18th-century – https://theconversation.com/is-mineral-water-natural-if-its-filtered-the-debate-gripping-france-today-has-raged-since-the-18th-century-263149

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Patricia Justino, Professor and Deputy Director, World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), United Nations University

A recent Europe-wide survey has revealed an alarming picture: fewer than six in ten young Europeans believe that democracy is the best form of government. One in five say they would support authoritarian rule under certain circumstances. And only 6% believe their political system functions well.

This suggests something more than disillusionment: the foundational trust democracy relies on is eroding. Why are young people losing faith in democracy? And what will it take to restore it?

Trust in democracy begins with trust in its institutions: governments, courts and public services. When these institutions are seen as unresponsive, unaccountable or unfair, confidence in democracy falters.

The UN World Social Report 2025, which I co-authored, shows that institutional trust is declining globally. This shift is most pronounced among the young: according to latest available barometer data, over a quarter of those born in the 1990s report having no trust at all in their governments. This figure is around 17% for those over 65 years old. This is not a temporary dip. This is a generational shift in how citizens relate to power.

For many years, Europe seemed to defy this trend compared to other regions. Younger generations were more trusting of institutions than their elders. But that pattern has reversed. Today, they are more sceptical, more disillusioned – and more open to alternatives.

Why democracy feels broken

At the heart of this crisis lies inequality, insecurity and eroding trust.

First, persistent inequality widens social distances between social groups, fueling resentment and a belief that the system is rigged. While income inequality in Europe has not risen as sharply as elsewhere, this masks growing generational gaps. According to the IMF, incomes for working-age Europeans have stagnated since the 2007-08 financial crisis. Young people now have the lowest median incomes of any age group, even as pensioners’ incomes have grown.

Economic insecurity compounds the sense that wealth and opportunity are unequally distributed. Many young Europeans feel stuck, unable to afford housing, build stable careers or plan their futures. In the Young Europe 2025 survey, more than one-third say that ensuring affordable living costs should be a top political priority. Yet, the institutions meant to provide security and opportunity are often seen as ineffective and out of touch.

My research confirms that perceived inequality and insecurity are among the strongest predictors of distrust. When institutions fail to protect people from risk or deliver on promises, the social contract that underpins democracy unravels.

The generational bargain of progress is breaking down. Many young Europeans no longer believe democracy guarantees upward mobility or protects their dignity. This disillusionment has been compounded by the crises that have defined their coming of age: from the migrant crisis, the pandemic and climate anxiety to the war in Ukraine, these shocks have shaken faith in institutions’ ability to respond to uncertainty.

How to rebuild trust in democracy

Trust will not be restored by rhetoric alone. Democracy must prove it can deliver tangible results.

This means meeting the basic expectations of younger generations: affordable housing, decent work, a habitable planet and meaningful participation in political processes.

One of the most effective ways to rebuild trust is through universal, inclusive social protection. Where public services are seen as fair, accessible and reliable, trust in institutions tends to be stronger. Social protection is not just a safety net. It is a visible signal that the state works for everyone, not just the privileged few. Governments serious about restoring legitimacy should start here.

But protection must also be inclusive across generations. Across Europe, pension spending remains high while the programmes young people rely on – unemployment insurance, housing support, childcare – are often underfunded across European countries.

Europe’s rapidly-aging population means younger generations will be outnumbered at the ballot box for the foreseeable future. Policies must consciously account for this disparity and ensure that the needs of young people are not sidelined.

Young Europeans are not rejecting democracy because they prefer authoritarianism. They are rejecting a version that feels unaccountable, unresponsive and unfair.

We have seen what happens when democratic decay goes unchecked: divisions deepen, civic space shrinks and authoritarianism takes root. Trust can be rebuilt. But it requires political courage, inclusive institutions and social protection systems that reflect young people’s realities. Democracy cannot run on nostalgia. It must prove that it works for everyone. Young people are asking to be taken seriously, to be heard, respected and given a stake in the future. We would do well to listen.

Patricia Justino 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. Young Europeans are losing faith in democracy – here’s how to earn it back – https://theconversation.com/young-europeans-are-losing-faith-in-democracy-heres-how-to-earn-it-back-261193

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Catherine Loveday, Professor, Neuropsychology, University of Westminster

When I ask a lecture theatre full of students how they would feel if they could never listen to a piece of music again, most are horrified. Many have been plugged into their headphones until the moment the class begins. But without fail, one or two will shyly admit that their lives would not change at all if music didn’t exist.

Psychologists call this “music anhedonia”, meaning an absence of pleasure for music. And a new paper from neuroscientists in Spain and Canada suggests it is caused by a problem with communication between different parts of the brain.

For many of us, apathy towards music seems unfathomable. Yet, for 5%-10% of the population, this is their norm.

I see it often in my own research and practice in people with memory loss, where I ask people to select favourite songs as a way of accessing significant memories.

It has always fascinated me that some people look at me blankly and say, “I’ve never been that bothered by music”. It is such a contrast to the majority who love to talk about their first record, or the tune played at their wedding.

Recent evidence shows considerable variation in the depth of people’s emotional response to music. Around 25% of the population are hyperhedonic, which is an almost obsessive urge to engage intensely and frequently with music.

Research in this field typically uses the Barcelona Music Reward Questionnaire (BMRQ), which asks people about the significance of music in daily life: how often they listen to records, whether they hum along, and if there are songs that give them a shiver down the spine.

Low scorers are classified as having music anhedonia and many researchers further verify this in the lab by measuring heart rate, sweat response and breathing while music is playing. For most of us, these physiological markers change dramatically during emotional songs. But in those with music anhedonia, there are often no physiological effects at all.

One theory is that reduced enjoyment for music may reflect a more generalised anhedonia, an absence of pleasure for anything. Often, this is linked to disruption to the reward pathways in the brain, in areas such as the nucleus accumbens, orbitofrontal cortex and insula.

It is a common feature of depression, which, along with other mood disorders, can correlate with a lack of response to music . However, this does not explain specific music anhedonia, where people happily enjoy other rewards such as food, socialising and films, but remain indifferent to music.

An alternative possibility is that people with reduced interest in music simply don’t understand it, perhaps due to difficulties with processing melody and harmony. To test this, we can look at people with amusia – a deficit in music perception, which affects the ability to identify familiar tunes or detect wrong notes. This occurs when there is reduced activity in key regions in the frontotemporal cortex in the brain, which handles complex processing of pitch and melody. However, some people with the condition have an extreme and obsessional love of music.

In any case, other research shows that those with music anhedonia often have normal musical perception, with no problem recognising songs or distinguishing major from minor chords.

So, what is going on? The new paper provides a detailed analysis of all the research in this field to date. The researchers explain that while the brain networks underlying music perception and reward are both intact in people with music anhedonia, the communication between them is severely disrupted. There is little to no traffic between the auditory processing parts of the brain and the reward centre.

People with typical responses to music have significant activity in this pathway, which is higher for pleasant music than for neutral sounds. A 2018 study showed that you can increase music-induced pleasure by artificially stimulating these communication tracts using magnetic pulses.

The new analysis may give scientists insights into clinical conditions where everyday rewards seem to be reduced or enhanced, for example eating disorders, sex addictions and gambling problems.

These findings also challenge the common assumption that everyone loves music. Most people do, but not all, and the variation comes down to differences in the wiring of the brain. Sometimes it follows brain injury, but more often people are born this way, and a March 2025 study found evidence of a genetic link.

Music is everywhere – in shops, gyms, restaurants, healthcare settings – and it can be incredibly powerful. But perhaps we should resist the urge to see it as a panacea and respect the fact that for some, silence is golden.

Catherine Loveday 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. Some people just don’t like music – it may be down to their brain wiring – https://theconversation.com/some-people-just-dont-like-music-it-may-be-down-to-their-brain-wiring-263066