Singh after he won his legal battle with the British Chiropractic Association, which sued him for saying it ‘happily promotes bogus treatments’. Photograph: Fiona Hanson/PA The president of the British Chiropractic Council, Richard Brown, recently gave his account of the much publicised libel suit that the BCA instigated against Simon Singh. It makes fascinating...
Carlene Thomas-Bailey Protesters at Capitol Square in Richmond, Virginia. Photograph: Bob Brown/AP One of the hundreds of women who protested outside the Virginia State Capitol wore a T-shirt which read “Say No to State-Mandated Rape”, in reference to one of two new bills set to make getting a legal abortion much harder in the...
Luisa Dillner Teeth grinding, medically known as bruxism, can be painful. Photograph: Alamy Teeth grinding (the medical term is bruxism) is not only annoying but fairly common. It’s a condition in which you grind or gnash your teeth, especially in your sleep. It may not cause any problems but can give you headaches, a sore...
Sarah Phillips When preparing for a marathon, ‘The minute that you feel a slight niggle, speak to somebody.’ Photograph: Alamy If, like me, you are training for your first marathon, or are one of the many people who have recently taken up running, you will be obsessing about injuries – or rather, how to...
Tim Adams Carlisle shoppers relax with a coffee at the old town hall. The city’s naming as the most contented place in Britain has bemused residents, but many say they are not surprised. Photograph: UK City Images/Alamy Here’s a question it seems worth travelling the length of the country to ask: do we laugh...
Oliver Burkeman The ‘afternoon slump’ enfolds us in its toxic mist of lethargy and irritation. Illustration: John Holcroft for the Guardian According to the old wives’ tale, nobody ever sees a dead donkey, and as George Carlin observed, “You never see a really big, tall, fat Chinese guy with red hair”, either. To which...
Press Association Expectant mothers in Blackpool, Lancashire are 10 times more likely to smoke than mums-to-be in the London borough of Brent. Photograph: Chad Ehlers/Getty Images Women in the north-east are three times more likely to smoke while pregnant than those in London, new figures show. Data from the NHS information centre covering 167,300...
Naomi Wolf A breast implant produced by the French company PIP (Poly Implant Prothèse). Photograph: Sebastien Nogier/AFP/Getty Images I have heard, in my life, many implausible statements from government officials, but never have I heard or seen anything quite as egregious as what I witnessed as a guest on the BBC’s Newsnight program on...
Whiplash: a pain in the neck all round Photograph: Chris Rout/Alamy Age: As old as the car crash you’re filing a claim for. Appearance: Cricked. Very cricked indeed. It doesn’t hurt that much. I can tell it’s causing you a considerable amount of pain. Seriously, it’s not. What about … now? Stop hitting my...
Alok Jha, science correspondent Previous research has shown that people who were abused or maltreated in childhood are twice as likely to have recurrent depression in adulthood. Photograph: Rex Being sexually or emotionally abused as a child can affect the development of a part of the brain that controls memory and the regulation of...
