Category: The Conversation – UK

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Paul Rogers, Professor of Peace Studies, University of Bradford

Keir Starmer says unless there’s a ceasefire and a peace process leading to a two-state solution, Britain will recognise the state of Palestine at the UN in September. The UK prime minister is following a similar, alebit unconditional, pledge from the French president, Emmanuel Macron.

They are reacting to what Starmer referred to as the “intolerable situation” in Gaza. In Scotland, Donald Trump has also complained at the humanitarian catastrophe of people starving in Gaza, saying: “We’ve got to get the kids fed.”

Does this mean western politicians are finally prepared to act? Quite possibly. Will it have any discernible effect on Benjamin Netanyahu? Doubtful.

Trump still appears to trust Netanyahu to feed the people of Gaza, or so he told reporters as he flew back from his weekend of “golf buggy diplomacy” on July 29. And as long as the US president supports Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister can act with few restraints.

True, the vigorous international reaction to the food crisis in Gaza has finally had some effect. But the Israeli response so far has been largely symbolic.

It has comprised air drops of aid by Israel and the United Arab Emirates, and some “tactical” or “humanitarian” pauses in the assault in parts of the Gaza Strip to allow for the delivery of aid. Air drops are good for publicity, but the amount of aid they actually deliver is very small and hugely expensive.

How did we get to this point? The current phase of the conflict started in mid-March, when the Israeli government began blocking all aid to Gaza.

That lasted two months until some shipments were allowed. In recent weeks, an average of about 70 trucks a day have crossed the border. But the reality is 500-600 trucks a day are required to support and restore heath to 2 million people.

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed – mostly shot – since May while trying to get food at one of the four overcrowded distribution sites run by the private, US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). Before being replaed by the GHF system, UN agencies ran 400 distribution points across the territory.

What the daily pauses in some areas, which began on July 27, actually represent is far from clear, given that fighting continues in much of the Strip. There is little sign that Netanyahu’s government wants an early end to the war. From its perspective, there can only be peace when all the hostages are returned and Hamas has been destroyed.

But Hamas is proving far more resolute than expected. Its survival is little short of remarkable given the huge force the Israelis have used to try and destroy it.

The usual Israeli military priority in dealing with an insurgency is to follow what is known colloquially as the “Dahiya doctrine”. If an insurgency cannot be handled without serious casualties, then the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) directs its operations at civilian infrastructure and the general population to undermine support for the insurgents.

The tactic is so called because it was developed as a way of dealing with a Hezbollah stronghold in the Dahiya suburb of west Beirut in 1982. The reduction of much of Gaza to ruins is taking the doctrine to extremes, yet it is failing – Hamas is still there.

This is reportedly common knowledge in IDF circles, but rarely admitted in public. A notable exception is the senior retired IDF officer, Major-General Itzhak Brik.

Brik’s publicised view is that Hamas has already replaced its thousands of casualties with new recruits. They may not be trained in the conventional sense, but they have learnt their craft while surviving in a war zone and seeing so many of their friends and family killed and wounded.

No end in sight

Israel’s demands may be that it will end the war if Hamas surrenders and disarms, then goes into exile. The problem with this is Hamas doesn’t think Israel would end the war.

Instead, it believes Gaza would be forcibly cleared and resettled, and the occupied West Bank would see a huge increase in settlers. In this scenario, a two-state solution would be a pipe dream, and Israel would be the regional superpower able to rise to any future challenge.

So, is there any prospect of Israel being forced to compromise, to accept a UN-monitored ceasefire and seek a negotiated settlement? External political pressure is certainly rising, especially the potential formal recognition of the state of Palestine by the UK and France.

But in both cases, the conditions for the road to peace are such that they are effectively non-starters. Macron envisages a “demilitarised Palestine” living alongside Israel. Starmer has called for Hamas to disarm and play no role in the future governance of Palestinians. Neither plan has the slightest chance of getting off the ground.

In any case, without Trump’s full backing it would still mean little. Economic and social sanctions by a state or group will have little impact because there will always be states or organisations sufficiently supportive of Israel to bypass them.

We are left with two possible routes to a settlement. One is that Trump is sufficiently motivated to insist Netanyahu negotiates.

That is unlikely, unless the US president somehow gets the idea that his own reputation is being damaged. Even then, the influence of the Israel lobby in the US, especially the support for Israel of tens of millions of Christian Zionists, is formidable.

The other route to a peace deal is if the war is becoming problematic for the Israeli military. If more of the IDF’s top brass recognise that this war, right from the start, was always going to be unwinnable, this might yet move the conflict in the direction of a settlement.

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Paul Rogers 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. UK and France pledges won’t stop Netanyahu bombing Gaza – but Donald Trump or Israel’s military could – https://theconversation.com/uk-and-france-pledges-wont-stop-netanyahu-bombing-gaza-but-donald-trump-or-israels-military-could-262131

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jen Wilson, Senior Exercise and Health Practitioner, Nottingham Trent University

The “100 kettlebell swings a day” challenge is the latest viral fitness endeavour on social media. The challenge is simple: pick up a kettlebell and do 100 swings (bringing the kettlebell from between your legs and using your core and glutes to swing it up to chest or shoulder height) every day. These can be done either in one stint, or broken up throughout the day.

Proponents of the challenge say it leads to fat loss, improved muscle mass and a stronger posterior chain (glutes, back and hamstrings) – all in a short daily session.

At first glance, it sounds like a time-efficient, no-fuss approach to getting fitter with minimal equipment. But while there’s some merit in consistency, this type of challenge often ignores fundamental principles of exercise and training – and could even do more harm than good.

Here’s a few reasons why it might be best to skip the kettlebell challenge – and what you can try instead.

1. It’s not personalised to you

One of the biggest flaws in the 100 kettlebell swings challenge is that it treats everyone the same, regardless of experience level, injury history, mobility or training goals. What’s manageable for an advanced athlete could cause problems for a beginner with poor hip mobility or lower back issues.

Daily, high-rep dynamic movements which use explosive power, such as kettlebell swings, require good technique, good posture and body awareness. Without that, you’re simply reinforcing poor movement patterns. Worse, you could be inviting injury when such movements are done repeatedly.

Effective training should be personalised – or at least adapted to your movement abilities and fitness requirements in order to have the most impact.

2. No room for progress

The human body adapts quickly. If you do the same 100 reps with the same amount of weight every single day, the challenge becomes less effective over time. That initial burn you felt in week one? It’ll be gone by week three.

In well-designed training programmes, there’s a principle called “progressive overload”. This involves gradually increasing stress on the body, either through the amount of weight you’re lifting, the number of repetitions you do of an exercise, the number of sets you complete or the complexity of your movements.

The 100-swing challenge skips this entirely. This means you’ll probably hit a plateau fairly quickly.

3. Risk of injury

Doing 100 swings every day, especially without rest or proper technique, can lead to injuries such as muscle strains or joint pain in the back and shoulders.

Too much repetitive movement, insufficient recovery time and inexperience can also lead to an increased risk of an overuse injury – a condition caused by repeated stress on muscles, joints or tissues. This often results in pain, swelling, or stiffness and could potentially mean taking weeks or even months off from working out to fully recover.

Picking up this challenge might be appealing but it also ticks a lot of boxes for overuse injury.

4. It undermines recovery

Recovery between workouts is not optional. In fact, it’s where the actual adaptation happens. Training breaks the body down, while recovery builds it back stronger.

Kettlebell swings, especially if performed explosively and with heavier loads, place stress on your central nervous system. Doing them every single day without rest days, mobility work (such as stretching) or variation can lead to chronic fatigue, poor sleep, nagging injuries and even reduced performance in other areas of training.

If you’ve started the challenge and find you’re constantly sore, tight or worn down, the challenge may be doing more harm than good.

5. It’s a one-dimensional solution

Fitness isn’t just about repetition. True strength and conditioning involves a variety of movements, such as pushing, pulling, squatting, rotating and stabilising.

The 100-swing challenge trains only one plane of motion and one movement pattern. While that’s better than nothing, it’s nowhere near comprehensive. Moreover, doing the same task over and over can become mindless. You’re not necessarily getting stronger or fitter – you’re just going through the motions.

A smarter way to use kettlebells

In fairness, the challenge does have some value in the right context. For beginners who need structure, it can help establish a daily habit. It requires minimal equipment, little space and can raise heart rate, build endurance and activate the posterior chain.

But for it to be sustainable and effective, a few things must be in place:

• Your form must be solid
• The kettlebell weight must be appropriate for your fitness level
• You should vary the volume or intensity over time
• You should include rest days
• It should be part of a broader training plan – not your only form of training

If you enjoy kettlebell swings, there are more intelligent and safer ways to include them in your training than doing 100 reps every day.

Try incorporating swings into interval sessions, circuits or strength workouts with varied repetitions and loads. Instead of doing 100 swings alone, aim for 100 total reps using a mix of exercises, such as goblet squats, rows and presses. This approach not only keeps things more balanced, but also reduces the risk of injury from overuse and gives different muscle groups time to recover .

The “100 kettlebell swings a day” challenge might sound appealing in its simplicity, but simple doesn’t always mean smart. Without personalisation, progression and recovery, it can quickly turn into a repetitive grind that risks doing more harm than good.

Yes, training should be challenging, but it should also be strategic. Your body deserves more than just a checkbox of daily repetitions – it needs the right moves done the right way.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Viral ‘kettlebell challenge’ could do you more harm than good – here’s why – https://theconversation.com/viral-kettlebell-challenge-could-do-you-more-harm-than-good-heres-why-260010

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stephen R. Buzdugan, Senior Lecturer in International Business, Manchester Metropolitan University

For the past two years, Tesla has been embroiled in a bitter dispute with the Swedish labour union IF Metall. It is of a scale that the union hasn’t witnessed since the 1930s.

At the heart of the dispute is Tesla’s refusal to sign a collective bargaining agreement. This is a pillar of the “Swedish model” of labour relations, which is prized by Sweden’s citizens due to its perceived contribution to social wellbeing and shared prosperity.

Instead, Tesla has opted to circumvent striking union workers and bring its cars into the country using non-unionised labour and labour from neighbouring countries. Tesla’s actions to undermine a system that Sweden strongly supports are what we call “anti-societal”. That is, they might be said to undermine democratic norms and the broader public interest.

More broadly, it isn’t unusual to see corporations acting in ways that negatively affect the public interest, with effects such as environmental degradation, poor working conditions or violations of anti-trust laws. Multinational corporations are often in the news for violating or avoiding government regulations and working behind the scenes to influence regulation to their advantage.

Among many examples is the Volkswagen group’s “Dieselgate” emissions scandal. The German carmaker cheated on vehicle tests to make diesel cars seem less polluting than they were in reality. The company later acknowledged it had “screwed up” and breached customers’ trust.

And it is believed that oil and gas giant Exxon had evidence in the 1970s that fossil fuels contribute to climate change, but mounted a a campaign of disinformation in order to stifle regulation of their products. (In 2021, Exxon CEO Darren Woods told US politicians that the company “does not spread disinformation regarding climate change”.)

These examples raise the question of why corporations engage in activities against the public interest. Yet browse through any standard textbook used in a university business or management course, and you will struggle to find answers.

Instead, for several decades the standard viewpoint has been that multinational corporations are mainly economic entities without any particular interest in doing either harm or good. Any anti-societal corporate behaviour has typically been chalked up to a few “bad apples”.

The fact that corporations have political power and systematically use it in their interests in ways that harm society has been largely left out of the picture.

Our recent research shows that the underlying nature of the global economy can influence any corporation to behave anti-societally. We argue that under certain circumstances, a corporation like Tesla might face a threat that compromises its market position, assets or even its existence.

IF Metall, for example, poses a significant threat to Tesla’s business model. If the Swedish trade union wins this dispute it could strengthen the bargaining position of trade unions across Europe. In this case, a corporation like Tesla will exert its power to protect itself. But this often comes with negative consequences for society.

We call this the “self-preservation perspective” of the multinational corporation. It illuminates the ways in which corporations use political power to their advantage, often to society’s cost.

The balance of power

The self-preservation perspective can help people to understand how corporate political power should be challenged through both regulation and activism. Trade union action, for instance, can act as a powerful political force to balance corporate power.

The idea of “self-preservation” comes from international relations theory and an overlooked argument by the late Harvard economist John Kenneth Galbraith .These suggest that any organisation – a nation state or a multinational corporation – will seek primarily to preserve itself in the face of threats.

We apply the idea of self-preservation to modern multinational corporations that seek to survive in a global economy marked by fierce competition and complex regulation.

This perspective predicts that, when faced with a regulatory threat, a multinational corporation will weigh up four strategic options.

First, it may try to influence the regulation through sometimes ethically questionable political activities. Second, it may consider avoiding or ignoring the regulation by exploiting loopholes or by taking strategic legal action. Third, it can decide to comply with the regulation. And last, it can think about exiting the market altogether.

We predict that the corporation’s choice depends on its relative level of political power and resources, as well as the profitability of the market it is operating in. However, it also depends on how powerful it is in relation to governments, trade unions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

If government enforcement or societal pressure are very strong, this may steer a corporation toward adapting to the regulation, rather than more negative influencing or avoiding behaviour. One example is Apple’s recent changes to its App Store rules in Europe, to comply with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act.

In the case of Tesla versus the Swedish union, Tesla has exerted its power to avoid regulation. In doing so it has considered the scale of the threat to its business model across Europe and its perceived power relative to the trade union. This possibly stems from Tesla’s strong ties to the technology sector, where engagement with unions is often seen as an unnecessary threat to innovation.

If Tesla’s avoidance strategy succeeds, it would effectively dissolve the Swedish model, creating a system that’s less secure for workers. From our self-preservation perspective, IF Metall’s success in the dispute will depend on how well – and how widely – the unions, government and citizens can galvanise opposition. By balancing corporate power in this way, societies might hope to protect their interests against the might of multinational giants.

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David Freund receives funding from Handelsbanken Research Foundation.

Ulf Holm receives funding from Handelsbanken’s Research Foundations.

Stephen R. Buzdugan 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. Why do corporations act against the public interest? We may have the answers (it’s not just greed) – https://theconversation.com/why-do-corporations-act-against-the-public-interest-we-may-have-the-answers-its-not-just-greed-261866

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Stefan Stern, Visiting Professor of Management Practice, Bayes Business School, City St George’s, University of London

Are two heads better than one? This is a question that members of the Green party will be asking themselves over the summer as they take part in the election of a new leader … or leaders.

Former co-leader Carla Denyer MP announced in May that she would not be standing again. Her co-leader, Adrian Ramsay MP, is now joined on the prospective leadership ticket by another Green MP, Ellie Chowns. (It is a Green party rule that where there is a joint leadership the job holders must be of different genders.)

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They are being challenged by Zack Polanski, currently deputy leader of the party and a member of the London Assembly, who has positioned himself not merely as a solo candidate but also as a rather more radical one. While his politics have little in common with those of Reform party leader Nigel Farage, Polanksi has suggested the Greens could learn from his approach.

The contest presents us with an intriguing conundrum – or even a paradox. In the real world – that is, away from Westminster – expecting a single human being to display all the qualities and attributes required to lead a complicated business or organisation is rightly seen as unrealistic. Leadership is a team activity, to be carried out collectively.

This is one reason why it’s so troubling to see excessive pay packets being delivered to bosses who should not be taking all the credit for the success of a business.

Of course, the leadership provided by the ultimate boss matters, but good corporate governance involves testing the suggestions and instincts of the chief executive with the ideas of other senior executives or directors. This is known, perhaps rather euphemistically on occasion, as “challenge”.

But in Westminster politics a rather more traditional (we could say old-fashioned) view of leadership prevails. Here the orthodoxy holds that something called “strong leadership” stems mainly from a dominant single figure who is firmly in charge.

This belief is based in part on the mythology which surrounds the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” who supposedly never took a step back (although she did), and who dismissed “wets” and “moaning minnies” who expressed doubt about her policy choices. Tony Blair in turn paid homage to this mythology, famously once declaring: “I’ve got no reverse gear”.

In Westminster changing your mind, even in the light of new evidence, is invariably labelled a U-turn, and is considered to be bad. This is also how the British media frames their actions.

So here is the Green party’s conundrum: against this backdrop, they would arguably get better media coverage and perhaps win more support from voters if they installed a single leader in the more conventional way. This is the case that could be made for Polanski.

But at the same time, the Greens are not meant to be just like all the other parties. They have a different view of the world, so why should they conform to the other people’s view of what leadership looks like?

Behind every strong leader

Successful businesses have often been led by double acts. Behind some swaggering CEOs there is often a cautious and competent chief financial officer making sure the numbers add up.

When the Granada media group was growing to a dominant market position in the 1990s, its CEO, Gerry Robinson, got most of the attention but his trusted managing director, Charles Allen, was an equally important, if less prominent, figure. Berkshire Hathway, one of the world’s most successful investment vehicles, has been led by the well-known Warren Buffett for decades, but for most of that time he had his old but less famous friend Charlie Munger at his side (Munger died in 2023).

Westminster’s latest prototype party, the alliance of independent pro-Gaza MPs, is also considering a joint leadership structure with former Labour MPs Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn at the helm. The difficulty here is that it is not yet clear exactly how the two figures would share their leadership duties. The much-discussed launch is planned for later this year.

Voting for the new Green party leader(s) will take place through all of August, with the result declared on September 2. We will see if the arguments in favour of a more conventional leadership structure (albeit with more radical policies and tone) prevail over the less conventional structure (but with a steadier political approach).

Either way, the Greens will continue to provide an alternative voice and approach in our still developing multiparty era. And maybe that’s a good thing too. When you look around the world at some other self-styled “strong leaders” – Trump, Putin, Netanyahu, to name but three – a break from having similar aspiring “strong leaders” at Westminster might be welcome.

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Stefan Stern 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 the Green party to Corbyn’s new launch – is it time Westminster took joint leaders more seriously? – https://theconversation.com/from-the-green-party-to-corbyns-new-launch-is-it-time-westminster-took-joint-leaders-more-seriously-262058

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Beth Johnson, Professor of Television & Media Studies, University of Leeds

Keeley Hawes’s new Channel 4 and Prime Video drama, The Assassin, introduces a premise that feels both bold and overdue. It follows Julie (Hawes), a menopausal woman, overlooked and emotionally stalled, who worked as a hitwoman in her youth and unexpectedly comes out of retirement to return to the profession.

It’s pulpy, stylised and laced with dark humour. But beneath the genre trappings lies something more striking – a cultural pivot in how menopause and midlife womanhood is being written and visualised on British television.

Historically, menopause has been television’s silent transition. Onscreen, it was something female characters either didn’t have, didn’t talk about, or, when acknowledged, were mocked for. Sitcoms of the 1980s and 1990s, such as Birds of a Feather or Absolutely Fabulous, played menopausal symptoms for laughs.

In drama, menopause tended to arrive invisibly: women stopped being protagonists, were subtly phased out of storylines, or returned only as wives, mothers, or medical cases.

Television has always been shaped by industry ideas about youth, sex appeal and marketability – ideas that left little room for midlife women unless confined to supporting roles – or contained within the domestic, ensemble structures of soap operas.

While shows like New Tricks (2003), Last Tango in Halifax (2012) and Call the Midwife (2012) gradually shifted the dial, menopause itself remained offscreen: considered either too niche, too biological, or too awkward to dramatise.

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What The Assassin offers is not just a menopausal character, but midlife as premise. Rather than sidelining her life stage, the show lets its rhythms – emotional turbulence, internal chaos, flickers of disorientation, flashes of wit and a deep, simmering strength – seep into the storytelling itself.

The story ties her hormonal shifts to emotional volatility, a sense of personal invisibility, fractured family life and existential grief. And then she snaps. But it’s not collapse; it’s re-ignition. She becomes lethal — not in spite of midlife, but because of it.

I research the way midlife female protagonists are presented in British television drama. I’ve recently written about Russell T. Davies’ work in particular, arguing that his dramas (such as It’s a Sin, 2021, and Nolly, 2023) reclaim neglected figures by placing their emotional complexity and cultural marginalisation at the centre.

Nolly offered a compelling reappraisal of Noele Gordon (played by Helena Bonham Carter), the soap star unceremoniously dumped from her own show – a decision now widely understood to be rooted in sexism and ageism. Davies refused to let her disappear quietly, instead making her menopause-era strength and defiance the dramatic core of his show.

Similarly, my work with Professor Kristyn Gorton on Sally Wainwright’s series Happy Valley (2014) explores how Catherine Cawood (played by Sarah Lancashire) embodies emotional realism, grief, rage and midlife fatigue – not as flaws, but as substance. These female characters don’t just react to events; they are the story. Their emotions are not incidental but generative, propelling the narrative, shaping its tone and demanding audience recognition.

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Read more:
Happy Valley: the art of Sally Wainwright’s perfect TV ending

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The Assassin fits this trajectory. It joins a growing body of British TV that blends genre hybridity with emotional and political resonance. Like Killing Eve (2018) or I Hate Suzie (2020), it uses the structure of the thriller to think critically about gender, ageing and identity.

The menopausal hitwoman is, of course, a metaphor as much as a plot. She is rage personified: a woman no longer governed by the social niceties that often temper female representation. She’s also funny, erratic and uncontained.

A menopausal reckoning

Importantly, The Assassin doesn’t simply celebrate her transformation. It stages it as messy, uncomfortable and morally complex. This is menopause not as a redemptive arc but as a reckoning, with a body that’s changing, a past that won’t stay buried, and a society that prefers women neat, young and silent.

There’s still work to do. British television remains far more comfortable exploring middle-aged male protagonists than women in the same life stage. But what’s changing, and what I frequently explore in my research, is the tone and ambition with which female midlife is now being scripted. Where menopause was once a punchline or absence, it’s becoming a story. And not just any story, but one shaped by genre, irony, feeling and risk.

Thanks to its long-form, visual medium, television can explore the ordinary in ways that resonate deeply, from the exhaustion of grief to the frustration of being dismissed. Menopause, long under-explored, offers rich dramatic territory: emotional volatility, bodily transformation, the redefinition of self. What The Assassin understands is that these aren’t signs of decline. They’re tools of narrative power.

By giving us a menopausal character who is central, subversive and narratively in control, The Assassin signals a broader shift. It reminds us that midlife is not an endpoint, but a site of potential – for drama, for comedy and for cultural critique. British television is, at last, beginning to give menopause the storylines it deserves.

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Beth Johnson 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 Assassin: Keeley Hawes drama is a milestone for menopause on screen – https://theconversation.com/the-assassin-keeley-hawes-drama-is-a-milestone-for-menopause-on-screen-262101

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Dan Baumgardt, Senior Lecturer, School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol

The phrase “summer long balls” might sound like locker-room slang, but it’s increasingly being mentioned on social media and online forums as a seasonal curiosity. In hot weather, men’s scrotums which contain their testicles can appear looser or more pendulous – hence the name.

Male readers may have noticed how the testes sometimes seem to hang lower in the summer, yet retreat upwards with the slightest cooling breeze. (I’ll stick with the term testes for anatomical accuracy, although we all know the slang terms are many and varied.)

While you may think of rising and falling as the domain of soufflés, when it comes to testes, their ability to move up and down is a key part of an elegant, biological temperature-control system.

For some, low-hanging testes are simply a cosmetic issue affecting swimwear choices or confidence, but others can suffer discomfort. Supportive underwear may help, although finding the right fit might require more effort than your average trip to Calvin Klein.

To understand what’s going on in male bodies, we need to go back to the beginning. Both testes and ovaries start life in the abdomen and migrate downward. But whereas the journey for ovaries stops in the pelvis, testes go further, exiting the abdominal cavity entirely to reside in the scrotum – a move that’s crucial for sperm production.

The testes produce and mature sperm cells and generate androgens, such as testosterone, which govern sexual development and behaviour. These processes are temperature-sensitive. Inside the pelvis is too warm for optimal sperm production – hence the descent to the cooler scrotum, usually in teenage years when your “balls drop”.

But to reach the scrotum, testes must pass through layers of the abdominal wall. Sometimes this journey doesn’t go as planned, resulting in an undescended testis, where one (or both) remain stuck in the abdomen or groin. Surgery may be required to correct this.

Even when testes do land in the right place, they don’t stay still. The scrotum and surrounding tissues adjust their position in response to temperature. That’s where the cremasteric muscle comes in. Found within the spermatic cord, it can contract and pull the testes closer to the body when needed – for warmth and perhaps protection.

One strange but testable reflex? Try stroking the inner thigh. If functioning normally, the testis on that side will rise slightly. This reflex can also be affected by neurological disease or testicular torsion, a surgical emergency.

The dartos muscle, located in the scrotal wall, plays a similar role. When temperatures drop it contracts, drawing the testes up for warmth. In heat, it relaxes – lowering the testes and helping them cool off.

Fertility issues

This thermal sensitivity is critical for fertility. Sustained overheating can impair sperm quality, which is why an undescended testis stuck in the abdomen or groin requires an operation.

Similarly, men who are struggling to conceive may be advised to avoid tight underwear or cycling shorts, switch to looser boxers, and reduce time spent cycling because of saddle friction.

The heat, pressure and tight fit of padded cycling shorts have all been suggested as potential risks to sperm health – though the evidence remains inconclusive. It’s not necessarily the padding but rather the compression and sustained heat in the groin area that may affect testicular function.

Temperature regulation doesn’t stop there. The pampiniform plexus, a network of veins around the testicular artery, acts like a radiator. It draws heat from arterial blood to cool it before it reaches the testes, preventing overheating.

Sometimes, these veins swell into a varicocele — a condition often described as feeling like a “bag of worms”. It becomes more noticeable when standing and affects around 15% of men. While often harmless, this can also affect fertility through loss of heat regulation. Some patients may also notice a dull ache in the testes, particularly after exercise or at the end of the day.

So, “summer long balls” are rooted in real physiology. During hot weather, a relaxed dartos muscle and loose scrotal skin allow the testes to hang lower – sometimes enough to notice a visible difference. If that’s true for you, this isn’t a malfunction but your body doing exactly what it’s supposed to. While this condition might sound like something from a comedy sketch, it’s actually a sign your reproductive system is working as nature intended.

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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. Summer long balls? A health expert explains why hot weather can be tough on testicles – https://theconversation.com/summer-long-balls-a-health-expert-explains-why-hot-weather-can-be-tough-on-testicles-261600

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Irene Zarza-Rubio, PhD Candidate, Film Theory and Media Industries, University of York

After years of multiverse chaos, grim antiheroes and morally ambiguous storylines, superhero films are making a striking return to their emotional and ideological roots. The new iterations of DC’s Superman and Marvel’s The Fantastic Four don’t aim to reinvent the genre – they return to its essence, offering stories grounded in hope, compassion and shared humanity.

Both films are reboots of familiar characters. Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel (2013) was the last major Superman feature, while Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four (2015) attempted – unsuccessfully – to reintroduce Marvel’s “first family”. These 2025 versions step away from the darker superhero tones popularised by Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy to embrace vibrant colours and the idealism that made these heroes beloved in the comic books to begin with.

Whether by coincidence or design, both DC and Marvel are now releasing films that centre on embracing humanity – not in spite of difference, but through it. These stories reassert a message comic books have long championed: that community, support and acceptance are strengths. In doing so, they offer a powerful response to the social and political uncertainty of our time.

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Superheroes have always functioned as modern myths. Superman, first imagined in the 1930s, was created as a champion of the oppressed. The Fantastic Four, debuting in the 1960s, reflected the spirit of scientific discovery and familial unity.

Their return in 2025 is not just nostalgic. It comes at a moment of cultural significance when war, division and climate anxiety have made many of us question the future. These films don’t ignore that uncertainty, but offer a counterweight: stories that encourage belief in shared values and common purpose.

By reintroducing these characters with sincerity and emotional depth, studios are making a clear bet – that audiences are ready for hope again. And that doing the right thing still matters.

James Gunn’s Superman is a story about an alien learning to live among humans – not by distancing himself but by embracing vulnerability. The film puts moral clarity front and centre. Superman is no longer a distant figure. Instead, he is someone who chooses to believe in others. At one point, he says:

I am as human as anyone. I love, I get scared. I wake up every morning and, despite not knowing what to do, I put one foot in front of the other and try to make the best choices I can. I screw up all the time, but that is being human – and that’s my greatest strength.

This isn’t just sentimental. It’s a direct appeal to audiences facing a fractured world – to act with courage even in uncertainty, and to see all human life as worth protecting.

Marvel’s Fantastic Four reboot, First Steps, takes a similar approach. Rather than leaning into internal conflict, it reintroduces the team as a compassionate, collaborative unit. When the group faces a global threat, Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) reframes the challenge: “We will face this together, we will fight this together, and we will defeat this together – as a family.”

It’s a message not only to her teammates but to the world – framing difference as a strength, and unity as the path forward.

A genre renewed

Talk of superhero fatigue has grown in recent years. Some of that stems not from the heroes themselves, but from content overload and diminishing emotional stakes. When continuity outweighs character, even the most powerful icons can feel hollow.

But the return of Superman, the first superhero, and the Fantastic Four, the first superhero family, suggests the genre still has something meaningful to say – especially when it remembers what made it powerful. These characters remind us that heroism isn’t about perfection but perseverance – and that strength comes from empathy.

Other recent superhero films, such as DC’s The Batman (2022) and Marvel’s Thunderbolts* (2025), show that darker, emotionally complex stories remain powerful. They reflect real anxieties – climate crisis, political instability and distrust in institutions. These films resonate because they hold up a mirror to the world.

But there is also space – and perhaps a growing need – for stories that offer reassurance. Superman and The Fantastic Four present an alternative emotional truth: that even in fear and division, goodness, unity and belief in others remain possible. These films don’t reject complexity, they complement it. Where darker stories help us process uncertainty, these hopeful ones remind us of what we can still strive for.

Rather than being competing directions for the genre, these different approaches enrich it. One shows the world as it is; the other, the world as it could be.

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The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. With The Fantastic Four and Superman, superheroes are getting hopeful again – and showing strength through empathy – https://theconversation.com/with-the-fantastic-four-and-superman-superheroes-are-getting-hopeful-again-and-showing-strength-through-empathy-262069

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Rebecca Ellis, Assistant Researcher in Public Health, Swansea University

Modern dating is stressful enough, and that’s even before you throw in premium subscriptions, ghosting and the unwritten rules of flirting. But for autistic people, there are even more variables to consider.

Loud venues, ambiguous body language and the social exhaustion of meeting someone new can turn what’s meant to be a fun experience into an overwhelming ordeal. For many autistic people, dating can be a confusing and exhausting process, shaped by social rules that often feel unclear or exclusionary.

Being autistic affects how people experience the world. This includes how one may communicate, build relationships and interpret social cues. So, it’s perhaps no surprise that dating, with all its unpredictability and implicit expectations, can present a variety of challenges.

One common misconception is that autistic people lack empathy or can’t communicate effectively. But the double empathy problem, a theory proposed by the British sociologist and social psychologist Damian Milton, challenges this view.

Instead of seeing communication difficulties as a “deficit” in autistic people, the theory suggests that misunderstandings arise from a mismatch in perspectives between autistic and non-autistic people. In other words, it goes both ways.

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Studies show that autistic people often communicate well with each other, and often as well as non-autistic people do among themselves. Some autistic people have also described the benefits of having autistic friends because of this ease of communication.

In theory, this could make dating within the neurodivergent community easier. But of course, who we’re attracted to is rarely that simple.

For some autistic people, popular dating environments, such as restaurants and bars, can be overstimulating places. Going on dates can lead to exhaustion from the logistics of organising oneself, breaking routine and navigating interactions with unfamiliar people.

Differing communication styles and ways of being, alongside the stigma towards neurodivergence which some people still hold, can lead to upsetting experiences and even harassment.

Online dating

For some, online dating could offer a helpful alternative. Apps such as Tinder or Bumble allow users to take their time, plan responses and reduce the pressure of immediate social interaction.

One may think this type of less socially demanding environment, as opposed to face-to-face dating, would be beneficial for autistic people. The ability to pre-select preferences and filter matches, for example, can make things easier for those autistic people who value structure and clarity.

But digital dating has its own difficulties. Many dating platforms are designed around neurotypical expectations. This may include how people present themselves, communicate and even what kind of relationships they’re looking for. Some autistic people have reported finding it hard to strike a balance between fitting into those unspoken norms and being authentically themselves.

These challenges can be even more pronounced for autistic people who are also LGBTQ+ or exploring non-traditional relationship structures.

Some platforms cater specifically to autistic and neurodivergent people, for example, Mattr and Hiki. But many such apps operate on premium models, creating potential barriers for users already facing social or financial challenges.

What can help?

Autistic advocates suggest a few practical strategies for navigating dating, online or off.

First, be clear about your communication preferences. Second, look for connections where you feel safe being yourself, without masking. Third, be wary of dating advice that assumes everyone thinks or communicates the same way. And finally, remember that rejection isn’t always personal.

The question of whether to disclose an autism diagnosis is deeply personal. Many fear being misunderstood or judged. But being honest, and using neurodiversity-affirming language may be viewed positively by prospective daters who don’t have stigmatising views of autism.

Studies on autism and dating remain limited. More research is required to understand the unique experiences of neurodivergent daters so that more resources can be created to help them.

Despite this lack of wider understanding, autistic people continue to build meaningful relationships, often by challenging the rules of dating and redefining them on their own terms.

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Rebecca Ellis 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. Why dating can be tough for autistic people – and what may make it easier – https://theconversation.com/why-dating-can-be-tough-for-autistic-people-and-what-may-make-it-easier-257534

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Manal Mohammed, Senior Lecturer, Medical Microbiology, University of Westminster

Summer is a time for sun-drenched fun. From relaxed days outdoors to packed festival fields and meals under open skies. But with the joy of the season comes an overlooked downside: a heightened risk of infection.

Warmer weather, increased social interaction and more frequent contact with unfamiliar environments all make it easier for germs to spread. That’s why handwashing becomes especially important during the summer months. It might not be glamorous, but clean hands are your first line of defence against the microbes that love to crash summer plans.

Microbes thrive in warmth and moisture, and the activities we enjoy in summer often bring us into closer contact with the surfaces, food and water sources that help them spread.

1. Public restrooms and shared toilets

Outdoor festivals, service stations, beaches and campsites all rely on public toilet facilities. These high-traffic areas can become breeding grounds for bacteria like E coli, salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus. Viruses such as norovirus and flu also spread easily via contaminated surfaces. Even coronavirus can persist in poorly ventilated or inadequately cleaned environments.

Washing your hands thoroughly after using public toilets is essential – and hand sanitiser may not be enough if your hands are visibly dirty.

Worryingly, even in places where hygiene is critical, like hospitals, people often skip this basic step. A 2025 study found that nearly half of hospital visitors failed to wash their hands after using the toilet, despite clear reminders. If so many people skip handwashing in hospitals, where the risks are obvious and facilities readily available, how many more are failing to do so at summer events, where soap and water can be scarce?

2. Outdoor eating and food preparation

Barbecues and picnics are summer staples — but they come with a side of risk. Foodborne pathogens like salmonella, E coli, Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus thrive in warm temperatures. Undercooked meat, poor hand hygiene and leaving food out in the sun can easily turn a festive gathering into a bout of food poisoning.

Even fungi such as Aspergillus can grow on food and produce mycotoxins: toxic compounds that can cause nausea, organ damage or even long-term harm when ingested.

Wash hands before and after handling food, especially raw meat and after touching shared surfaces like picnic tables, barbecue tools and cool boxes.

3. Swimming and water play

Lakes, rivers, swimming pools and oceans can all harbour harmful germs. Parasites like cryptosporidium and giardia can cause gastrointestinal illness – and they’re often resistant to chlorine. Beach sand and seawater can also carry faecal bacteria.

Whether you’re swimming, paddling or just building sandcastles, make sure to wash or sanitise your hands before eating or touching your face.

4. Camps, playgrounds and festivals

Children are particularly vulnerable to infection in summer thanks to group settings like summer camps, soft play centres and playgrounds.

A US study reported 229 youth camp–associated outbreaks of gastroenteritis over seven years. Common culprits included norovirus, salmonella and Shiga toxin-producing E coli, a particularly dangerous strain of E coli that can cause severe illness and even kidney failure.

In one incident, 20 campers became ill, and three were hospitalised, after eating undercooked beef cooked over a campfire. Shared toilet facilities, communal food preparation and tight sleeping arrangements all increase the importance of hand hygiene.

But isn’t it good to ‘get a bit dirty’?

Some people believe that letting children get dirty helps build their immune system. While early exposure to natural microbes from soil, animals or the environment can support immune development, this is not the same as skipping handwashing after using the toilet or before meals.

Leaving hands unwashed doesn’t strengthen the immune system – it increases the risk of illness. No credible studies show that poor hygiene is good for you. On the contrary, unwashed hands are a leading cause of preventable infections worldwide. This risk is especially serious for young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems.

Hand hygiene is simple, cheap and effective – and never more important than in summer. As the hospital toilet study shows, we can’t assume that people are washing their hands properly, even in places designed to protect health. Add in the chaos of a campsite or the distractions of a music festival, and it becomes even easier to forget.

So, whether you’re hiking, camping or dancing in a field, you should wash your hands with soap and clean running water for at least 20 seconds and then dry them properly as damp hands spread germs more easily. Use hand sanitiser (at least 60% alcohol) if soap and water aren’t available and ideally keep some in your bag in case you can’t rely on public facilities.

Manal Mohammed 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. Four summer hotspots for germs – and why not washing your hands won’t strengthen your immune system – https://theconversation.com/four-summer-hotspots-for-germs-and-why-not-washing-your-hands-wont-strengthen-your-immune-system-261635

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jonathan Livingstone-Banks, Lecturer & Senior Researcher in Evidence-Based Healthcare, University of Oxford

In 2021, varenicline, the most effective single drug for quitting smoking, was withdrawn from the market in the UK because impurities were found at greater levels than is considered safe.

Rapidly, varenicline (then sold under its brand names, Champix and Chantix) became unavailable. This was a disaster for public health. Research from University College London estimated that varenicline being unavailable resulted in about 1,890 more avoidable deaths each year because fewer people were successfully quitting smoking.

But there was hope. Cytisine (also known as cytisinicline), a naturally occurring plant-based product that had been used for decades in eastern Europe, and more recently to great effect elsewhere in the world, was licensed in the UK and made available from January 2024.

Even so, there was an extended period when neither were available to people trying to quit smoking in the UK (and in other countries, too). But in the UK at least, things were looking up. Based on a limited but growing body of evidence, cytisine probably works as well as varenicline at helping people quit smoking, and it may be better tolerated with fewer side-effects.

It may also appeal to more smokers who may want to use a natural product rather than a drug designed in a lab. So, with varenicline withdrawn and a similarly effective treatment available, we should have seen lives saved as people who would have taken varenicline were encouraged to try cytisine instead.

Why isn’t anyone prescribing it?

This didn’t happen. Cytisine – despite now being licensed and available in the UK – is still shockingly underused.

Since January 2024, only 0.2% of people trying to quit smoking have used it (the same proportion that used it in 2018, when it wasn’t even officially available in the UK). Official NHS data from people accessing stop-smoking services in England confirm that only 0.7% were prescribed cytisine in 2024.

So why is this? High-profile trials continue to show cytisine’s effectiveness for quitting smoking (and even for quitting vaping).

Maybe cytisine’s relatively complex dosing schedule puts people off. Cytisine starts with six pills a day (one every two hours) and gradually tapers off over a few weeks: more confusing and less convenient than one-a-day varenicline.

Another possibility is that the public’s attention has shifted. With so much focus in recent years on vaping as a smoking cessation aid, prescription drugs for smoking cessation may have fallen off the radar.

It could also be that GPs are reluctant to prescribe cytisine because of its cost and the assumption that local authorities should pay for it, not primary care. While it was once hoped that due to its low-cost availability in eastern Europe, it would become the “aspirin of smoking cessation drugs”, the licensed product in the UK is now as or more expensive than other drugs.

But the simplest explanation is probably the most accurate: not enough people know about cytisine. People who smoke, GPs, pharmacists and even stop-smoking services may not know it’s an option. And if no one is talking about it, no one is prescribing it. And even if they do know about it, there may be a lack of confidence in using or prescribing it because it is a new drug.

That’s a problem. The UK government has made the shift from treating illness to preventing it a central part of its health strategy. Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death in the country and the world. If we’re serious about prevention, then effective smoking cessation support must be top of the agenda.

Now, varenicline is available again (without its brand names and reformulated to remove the impurities). This is welcome news, but only 1.1% of past-year smokers reported using varenicline. That’s only a quarter of the number from before its withdrawal.

This raises an important question: should we return to prescribing varenicline by default, or is it time to consider cytisine as a first-line treatment? Researchers are continuing to learn more about cytisine, but as the evidence in favour of cytisine grows, maybe it needs a PR campaign for both prescribers and people who smoke.

None of this is to say that cytisine is a miracle cure, or that it will work for everyone. But that’s true of every way to help people quit smoking. Quitting smoking is hard, and people trying to quit need more options, not fewer, and those options need to be visible and accessible.

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Jonathan Livingstone-Banks has received funding from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and Cancer Research UK (CRUK).

Dimitra Kale receives salary support from Cancer Research UK.

Lion Shahab is a HEFCE funded member of staff at University College London. In the past, he has received honoraria for talks, an unrestricted research grant and travel expenses to attend meetings and workshops from Pfizer and an honorarium to sit on advisory panel from Johnson&Johnson, both pharmaceutical companies that make smoking cessation products. He has acted as paid reviewer for grant awarding bodies and as a paid consultant for health care companies. Other research has been funded by the Department of Health, UKRI, a community-interested company (National Centre for Smoking Cessation) and charitable sources (Cancer Research UK, Yorkshire Cancer Research). He has never received personal fees or research funding of any kind from alcohol, electronic cigarette or tobacco companies.

– ref. Two of the best stop smoking medications have been available in the UK since 2024 – so why is no one using them? – https://theconversation.com/two-of-the-best-stop-smoking-medications-have-been-available-in-the-uk-since-2024-so-why-is-no-one-using-them-261393