Britain is facing a double-dip recession as grim figures showed business activity plunging into the red again this month. Closely-watched PMI data for the private sector showed a reading of 40.6 so far in January – with anything below 50 pointing to a contraction. It was significantly worse than the expectations of analysts, who had predicted … Read more
Smartphone fitness apps and wearable activity trackers really boost physical activity levels, a new study reveals. After analysing data of 7,454 people, researchers found smartphone apps or activity trackers increased physical activity by an average of 1,850 steps a day. Apps and tracker programmes that included text-messaging involving prompts and cues, and more tailored and … Read more
Physical activity levels in England has plummeted during the coronavirus pandemic, with sports clubs and gyms forced to close and large swathes of the population left working from home on never-ending Zoom calls. The alarming decline has seen the proportion of adults in England engaged in 150 minutes of physical activity each week fall from … Read more
YouTube Music is really coming into its own, especially now that Google has truly and officially let go of Google Play Music. We’re seeing new features that bring it closer to feature parity with the likes of Spotify, Apple Music, and other popular music streaming apps. The latest update to the app brings an activity … Read more
Motivation to learn new things and engage with life declines with age due to falling activity in a brain circuit that weighs costs and benefits, a study on mice suggested. US experts have been studying ‘striosomes’ — clusters of cells in the basal ganglia, a brain area linked to habit formation, movement control, emotion and … Read more
Motivation to learn new things and engage with life declines with age due to falling activity in a brain circuit that weighs costs and benefits, a study on mice suggested. US experts have been studying ‘striosomes’ — clusters of cells in the basal ganglia, a brain area linked to habit formation, movement control, emotion and … Read more
Slowing down brain activity during the ‘dreaming’ stage of sleep can help people lose weight and beat addictions, study finds During the REM phase of sleep, parts of the brain are active as if it was awake One such region is the hypothalamus, which is involved in feeding and appetite Experts from Switzerland turned off hypothalamic … Read more
Google believes that during these times of pandemic, aside from searching for health-related concerns, the three things that are important for its users are: shopping, jobs, and recipes. Sounds about right based on our social media feed. And now Google is bringing enhanced and optimized activity cards for those three categories to help you sort … Read more
Increase in ‘invasive’ plants and animal species as a result of human activity could lead to dramatic biodiversity loss worldwide, scientists warn Experts collected data from 36 specialists who research biological invasions They found that transport, climate change and changing land use are key drivers A 20–30% rise non-native species numbers could have major global impacts … Read more
The Duchess of Cornwall has thanked young carers for their efforts during the coronavirus pandemic, praising them for a ‘most brilliant job’. Camilla, 72, headed to the Youth Action Wiltshire Oxenwood Outdoor Activity Centre near Marlborough, to meet with staff and young carers who use the facilities this afternoon. She was re-opening the centre, which … Read more