Vivian Le's reads

Is there a prescription for loneliness? Loneliness and social isolation have been problems for years, but the pandemic has significantly exacerbated these feelings among many people. In an episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, Nehal El-Hadi and Daniel Merino speak to three researchers about the impact loneliness has had on our health and society and whether "social prescribing" can help alleviate the problem.

The museum of broken relationships. After a breakup, most people aren't always keen on keeping reminders of the relationship around. However, in Croatia, the Museum of Broken Relationships is dedicated to displaying these mementos and explaining the stories behind them. Writing for the New York Times, Alex Marshall explains how the museum itself was formed due to a broken relationship and describes some of the interesting finds inside, including decades-old scabs in a petri dish and a prosthetic leg.

Lex Ashcroft's reads

Want to live a longer life? Try eating like a centenarian. Researchers have identified five places in the world where people have unusually long life expectancies — often living to 100 or beyond. While there are numerous factors that influence how long one lives, a lot has been learned from studying the eating habits of centenarians. Despite their varied diets, researchers found several common denominators. Writing for the Washington Post, Anahad O’Connor details how you can incorporate these dietary and lifestyle principles into your own routine, and potentially increase your odds of making it to 100.

Unlocking creative thinking as a conventional thinker. There is a widely held belief that creative thinking is difficult — that the ability to come up with interesting and exciting ideas is possessed by only some talented, lucky individuals. It doesn’t help that the media has reinforced this belief with cliché portrayals of quirky and unique creatives. Writing for The Conversation, Lily Zhu shares how recent research demonstrates that creativity is a skill that can be strengthened by practicing "emotional reappraisal", cultivating flexible thinking, and training "creative muscles."