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World's most powerful women come together to mark the end of an era

<p>A group of the most powerful and influential women in the worlds of fashion and entertainment have joined forces to appear on a legendary cover of <em>British Vogue</em>. </p> <p>The iconic cover shoot occurred to celebrate the magazine's editor Edward Enninful, who is stepping back from the role after six years at the helm. </p> <p>Enninful gathered his muses for the history-making "Legendary" edition, featuring the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Jane Fonda, Selma Blair, Salma Hayek, Victoria Beckham, Miley Cyrus, Dua Lipa, and many more. </p> <p>"To get one of these women on a cover takes months. To get 40? Unheard of," Cyrus remarked in an on-set video.</p> <p>In a post to social media, Selma Blair remarked that she "didn't want the day to end". </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3FtXApL8_O/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3FtXApL8_O/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by British Vogue (@britishvogue)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>The shoot also included models Kate Moss, Cara Delevingne, Karlie Kloss, alongside the original '90s supermodels – Naomi Campbell, Iman, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford.</p> <p>Evangelista said of the iconic shoot, "I've met so many people today on my bucket list".</p> <p>Hayek also posted about the experience on Instagram, saying, "So honoured to be part of this legendary cover of British Vogue and Edward Enninful's muses, especially because they are my muses too!" </p> <p>Jane Fonda summed up the energy of the day on set, saying, "Women understand the importance and power of the collective."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram </em></p> <p> </p>

Beauty & Style

Surprise choice for Time's 2023 Person of the Year

<p>Hold onto your hats, folks: Taylor Swift has been crowned <em>Time</em> magazine's Person of the Year for 2023, leaving the world collectively scratching its head and asking, "Did we miss the memo that we're living in Taylor's world now?"</p> <p>Traditionally reserved for influential political figures or those who've left an indelible mark on the global stage – <span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">you know, like Russian President Vladimir Putin, King Charles III, Barbie – </span><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">this time the Person of the Year honour has been bestowed upon a pop sensation </span><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">who can make you both weep and dance in the span of a three-minute song.</span></p> <p>In a statement that surely made a few historians raise an eyebrow, <em>Time</em>'s editor-in-chief, Sam Jacobs, explained, "In a divided world, where too many institutions are failing, Taylor Swift found a way to transcend borders and be a source of light." Because when we think of bridging divides and bringing people together, we immediately think of "Shake It Off" and "Love Story".</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Time Magazine: We’d like to name you Person of the Yea-</p> <p>Me: Can I bring my cat. <a href="https://t.co/SOhkYKSTwG">https://t.co/SOhkYKSTwG</a></p> <p>— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) <a href="https://twitter.com/taylorswift13/status/1732406430857093501?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 6, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p>While past Persons of the Year have included world leaders and political heavyweights, Swift's victory signals a definite paradigm shift. Apparently, in 2023, the ability to make millions of people sing along to your breakup anthems and inspire an army of fans to don cat ears for Halloween is a more valuable global contribution than, say, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy being honoured for his courage in resisting Russia's invasion.</p> <p>In 2023, it seems we've collectively decided that what the world really needs is more "Bad Blood" and less, well, actual bad blood between nations.</p> <p>Chinese President Xi Jinping and Hollywood strikers also found themselves on the shortlist, along with <em>Barbie</em>, who apparently had a banner year as the highest-grossing film of 2023. Forget geopolitics; it's all about the dollars and sense.</p> <p>Swift also triumphed over King Charles III, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, and even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Apparently, even the promise of artificial intelligence couldn't outshine the real magic of Taylor Swift.</p> <p>In the end, T-Swift's ability to sell out stadiums and break box office records with her concert movie proved that in a world full of political turmoil and global challenges, what we really need is a good sing-along. </p> <p><em>Images: Twitter / X</em></p>

Books

Kylie Gillies breaks down live on-air after surprise family news

<p><em>The Morning Show </em>host Kylie Gillies was overwhelmed with emotion after the show's crew surprised her with new photos of her sons. </p> <p>The TV personality was was discussing the 90th birthday of the Australian Women’s Weekly with the magazine's Editor-in-Chief, when she was shown pictures that she took with her boys for the first time. </p> <p>“Are these in this one?” she exclaimed, while pointing at the magazine. “That’s such a surprise! Oh look!”</p> <p>Kylie immediately burst into tears when she saw the pictures of herself with her sons Gus and Archie. </p> <p><em>The Morning Show </em>host had no clue that the photos were included in the special commemorative issue until they were shown live on-air. </p> <p>The teary-eyed host was touched by the surprise and noted that the photos were taken “just before Gus went to Europe” and that her boys are now “so big”. </p> <p>“Oh Gus and Arch!” she said, before asking the show's crew how they pulled off such a sweet surprise. </p> <p>“How did you keep that surprise from me?!”</p> <p>A few other photos from her previous Australian Women’s Weekly shoots with her sons from 2009 were also shown on screen. </p> <p>“Look at that,” she said. “And they’re all grown-up now!”</p> <p>The surprise comes just two months after her son Gus <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/caring/fly-away-kylie-gillies-emotional-family-update" target="_blank" rel="noopener">left the family nest</a> to continue his studies overseas. </p> <p><em>Images: The Morning Show</em></p>

Beauty & Style

Kylie Minogue's most daring shoot in decades

<p>Our favourite Aussie pop sensation, Kylie Minogue, has decided to unleash her wild side and star in a daring new magazine shoot for <a href="https://www.theperfectmagazine.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Perfect Magazine</a>. And by daring, we mean she's flashing her world-famous derrière right there on the cover!</p> <p>Talk about making an entrance. But that's not even the half of it; in a series of alternative covers, Kylie is giving us a glimpse of her many personas. From a long black wig tied up to a bunch of balloons, to a dark brunette look that screams Angelina Jolie, she's serving us more transformations than a chameleon at a fashion show.</p> <p>The first cover has us all reminiscing about her iconic "Spinning Around" music video days, with those legendary gold hotpants that made jaws drop and temperatures rise. Oh, the memories!</p> <p>This comes after Kylie's big news that she's taking over Las Vegas with her very own residency at the Venetian Resort's swanky new Voltaire Nightclub. But before she jets off to Vegas, there's a new album on the horizon. Get ready for "Tension," her 16th studio album, hitting the airwaves on September 22. She's already dropped a hit single from that album, "Padam Padam," and it's taking the world by storm. </p> <p>While Kylie's always had a devoted fanbase in Australia and the UK, she's decided it's time to conquer the US of A. She's been a bit of a hidden gem across the pond, but she's determined to shine bright like a disco ball and win over American hearts. Her 2001 album "Fever" was a massive success, but she's been flying under the radar lately.</p> <p>So, get ready, America – Kylie's bringing her Vegas extravaganza to selected weekends in November, December and January.</p> <p>In the end, whether she's flashing her famous derriere or conquering new territories, Kylie Minogue is proving she's still got the X-factor. We can't wait to see what she'll do next.</p> <p>Let's just hope she doesn't make her entrance with a bunch of balloons tied to her wig – that could be quite the showstopper!</p> <p><em>Images: Perfect Magazine</em></p>

Beauty & Style

“How dare you”: Drew Barrymore slams tabloids for twisting her words

<p dir="ltr">Drew Barrymore has hit back at tabloids after a quote that she said in a <em>New York Magazine</em> profile was taken out of context.</p> <p dir="ltr">In the original interview with the magazine, Drew opened up about her tumultuous childhood with her mother.</p> <p dir="ltr">“All their mums are gone, and my mum’s not. And I’m like, ‘Well, I don’t have that luxury.’ But I cannot wait,” she told <em>New York Magazine</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I don’t want to live in a state where I wish for someone to be gone sooner than they’re meant to be so I can grow. I actually want her to be happy and thrive and be healthy. But I have to f***ing grow in spite of her being on this planet.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Later on in the interview the actress shared her remorse for her harsh comments.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I dared to say it, and I didn’t feel good,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I do care. I’ll never not care. I don’t know if I’ve ever known how to fully guard, close off, not feel, build the wall up.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The actress blamed “tabloids” for the quotes which claimed that she “cannot wait” for her mother, Jaid Barrymore, to die, and posted a furious response video to Instagram.</p> <p dir="ltr">“To all you tabloids out there, you have been f**king with my life since I was 13 years old. I have never said that I wished my mother was dead,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“How dare you put those words in my mouth. I have been vulnerable and tried to figure out a very difficult, painful relationship while admitting it is difficult to do while a parent is alive and that, for those of us who have to figure that out in real time cannot wait... as in they cannot wait for the time, not that the parent is dead.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Don’t twist my words around or ever say that I wish my mother was dead,” she continued. “I have never said that. I never would. In fact, I go on to say that I wish that I never have to live an existence where I would wish that on someone, because that is sick.”</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CtIAMOQAkiK/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CtIAMOQAkiK/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Drew Barrymore (@drewbarrymore)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">The<em> E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial actress</em> has been open about her strained relationship with her mum who acted as her manager and took her to Hollywood parties as a child.</p> <p dir="ltr">At 12-years-old the actress was in rehab for drugs and alcohol and then a year later her mum had put her in a psychiatric ward in California.</p> <p dir="ltr">Drew also told the magazine that despite never fully reconciling with her mum, she doesn’t “blame” Jaid for the challenges in her life.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I choose very consciously not to see my life as things that have been done to me,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I want to see it as the things I did and chose to do. I’m not attracted to people who lay blame on others. I don’t find it sexy.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Instagram</em></p>

Relationships

Schumacher’s family suing German magazine over fake interview

<p dir="ltr">Michael Schumacher’s family is preparing to take legal action against German tabloid magazine <em>Die Aktuelle</em>, for publishing an AI-generated “interview” with the star.</p> <p dir="ltr">The publication has been slammed for using Michael’s face on their April 15 front cover, promoting the piece as “the first interview” since the star’s skiing accident in December 2013.</p> <p dir="ltr">“No meagre, nebulous half-sentences from friends. But answers from him! By Michael Schumacher, 54!” read the text in the magazine.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It sounded deceptively real,” they added in the strapline, which was the only indicator that the piece was fake.</p> <p dir="ltr">The “interview” included quotes that insensitively described Schumacher’s recovery, following the accident where he suffered a serious brain injury.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I was so badly injured that I lay for months in a kind of artificial coma, because otherwise my body couldn’t have dealt with it all,” the quote read.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’ve had a tough time but the hospital team has managed to bring me back to my family,” they added.</p> <p dir="ltr">It was only at the end of the article that the publication revealed that they used Character.ai, an AI chatbot, to create the interview.</p> <p dir="ltr">A spokesperson for Schumachers confirmed their intention to take legal action against <em>Die Aktuelle</em> to <em>Reuters</em> and <em>ESPN</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">This isn’t the first time Schumacher’s family have taken action against <em>Die Aktuelle</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">In 2015, Michael’s wife, Corinna Schumacher filed a lawsuit against the magazine after they used Corinna’s picture with the headline: “Corinna Schumacher – a new love makes her happy.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The story was actually about their daughter, Gina, but the lawsuit was dismissed.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Legal

“I had called him out”: Sonia Kruger unveils worst celebrity interview

<p dir="ltr">There’s a saying that you should never meet the people you admire (or look up to), as you'll end up disappointed. That saying rings true for Sonia Kruger, who had a “bad date” with her favourite actor.</p> <p dir="ltr">Speaking to <em>Stellar Magazine</em>, Kruger revealed that one of her worst celebrity interviews was with actor Hugh Grant.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I was excited to meet one of my favourite actors, so I arrived bright-eyed and bushy-tailed – unlike Hugh, who wasn’t chirpy at all,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Kruger was interviewing the English actor for his role in <em>Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason</em> back in 2004.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’ve been a fan of the English actor since I first clapped eyes on him in the 1994 movie <em>Four Weddings and A Funeral</em>,” she prefaced before explaining that seeing his awkward interactions with Ashley Graham at this year's Oscars took her back to her “own bad date with Hugh”.</p> <p dir="ltr">The <em>Channel Seven </em>presenter added that she didn’t let his bad mood “deter” her, but soon found that every question she asked was met with “a solid helping of serious side eye”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Even questions like what his recent birthday was like “garnered nothing but scorn and suspicion”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I couldn’t create any kind of rapport with him,” she added.</p> <p dir="ltr">Kruger recalled that the interview was so bad that she had to stop it and ask if Grant was okay.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqg4mqqv_ez/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqg4mqqv_ez/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by soniakruger (@soniakruger)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">“In reply, he said he wanted to know why I wanted to know. So I replied, ‘Because you don’t appear to be very happy,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He seemed to be shocked that I had called him out on his demeanour and, from that moment on, Hugh became a totally different guy”.</p> <p dir="ltr">In response to Kruger posting her <em>Stellar Magazine</em> interview on Instagram, fans have commented their support.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Glad you called him out on his rude behaviour. To be honest no amount of money or fame will buy you manners,” commented one person.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Sounds like he was a bit stunned being around a highly intelligent gorgeous woman,” wrote another.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Good on you Sonia. He sounds like a self-entitled spoilt brat if you ask me,” commented a third.</p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p> <p> </p>

Tangy apricot Bavarian whip, fried rice medley and bombe Alaska: what Australia’s first food influencer had us cooking

<p>Our food choices are being influenced every day. On social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, food and eating consistently appear on lists of trending topics. </p> <p>Food has eye-catching appeal and is a universal experience. Everyone has to eat. In recent years, viral recipes like <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2021/02/11/baked-feta-pasta-recipe-tiktok/">feta pasta</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-dalgona-coffee-the-whipped-coffee-trend-taking-over-the-internet-during-coronavirus-isolation-137068">dalgona coffee</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-butter-boards-bad-for-you-an-expert-view-on-the-latest-food-trend-192260">butter boards</a> have taken the world by storm. </p> <p>Yet food influencing is not a new trend. </p> <p>Australia’s first food influencer appeared in the pages of Australia’s most popular women’s magazine nearly 70 years ago. Just like today’s creators on Instagram and TikTok, this teenage cook advised her audience what was good to eat and how to make it.</p> <h2>Meet Debbie, our teenage chef</h2> <p>Debbie commenced her decade-long tenure at the Australian Women’s Weekly in <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page4814245">July 1954</a>. We don’t know exactly who played the role of Debbie, which was a pseudonym. Readers were never shown her full face or body – just a set of disembodied hands making various recipes and, eventually, a cartoon portrait.</p> <p>Like many food influencers today, Debbie was not an “expert” – she was a teenager herself. She taught teenage girls simple yet fashionable recipes they could cook to impress their family and friends, especially boys. </p> <p>She shared recipes for <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page4925379">tangy apricot Bavarian whip</a>, <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page4819441">fried rice medley</a> and <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page4807813">bombe Alaska</a>. Debbie also often taught her readers the basics, like <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article52249448">how to boil an egg</a>.</p> <p>Just like today, many of her recipes showed the readers step-by-step instructions through images.</p> <h2>Teaching girls to cook (and be ‘good’ women)</h2> <p>Debbie’s recipes first appeared in the For Teenagers section, which would go on to become the Teenagers Weekly lift-out in 1959. </p> <p>These lift-outs reflected a major change taking place in wider society: the idea of “teenagers” being their own group with specific interests and behaviours had entered the popular imagination.</p> <p>Debbie was speaking directly to teenage girls. Adolescents are still forming both their culinary and cultural tastes. They are forming their identities.</p> <p>For the Women’s Weekly, and for Debbie, cooking was deemed an essential attribute for women. Girls were seen to be “<a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page4818166">failures</a>” if they couldn’t at least “cook a baked dinner”, “make real coffee”, “grill a steak to perfection”, “scramble and fry eggs” and “make a salad (with dressing)”. </p> <p>In addition to teaching girls how to cook, Debbie also taught girls how to catch a husband and become a good wife, a reflection of cultural expectations for women at the time. </p> <p>Her <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page4920059">macaroon trifle</a>, the Women’s Weekly said, was sure to place girls at the top of their male friends’ “matrimony prospect” list!</p> <h2>Food fads and fashions</h2> <p>Food fads usually reflect something important about the world around us. During global COVID lockdowns, we saw a rise in <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-historical-roots-of-your-lockdown-sourdough-obsession-137528">sourdough bread-making</a> as people embraced carbohydrate-driven nostalgia in the face of anxiety.</p> <p>A peek at Debbie’s culinary repertoire can reveal some of the cultural phenomena that impacted Australian teenagers in the 1950s and ‘60s. </p> <p>Debbie embraced teenage interest in rock'n'roll culture from the early 1960s, the pinnacle of which came at the height of Beatlemania. </p> <p>The Beatles toured Australia in June 1964. To help her teenage readers celebrate their visit, Debbie wrote an editorial on how to host a <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48077701">Beatles party</a>. </p> <p>She suggested the party host impress their friends by making “Beatle lollipops”, “Ringo Starrs” (decorated biscuits) and terrifying-looking “Beatle mop-heads” (cakes with chocolate hair).</p> <p><a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55185376">A few months later</a>, she also shared recipes for “jam butties” (or sandwiches, apparently a “<a href="https://slate.com/culture/2013/03/the-beatles-and-the-mersey-beat-in-the-latest-blogging-the-beatles-how-the-beatles-popularized-the-sound-of-liverpool.html">Mersey</a> food with a Mersey name”) and a “Beatle burger”. </p> <p>We can also see the introduction of one of <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/language/italian/en/article/spag-bol-how-australians-adopted-a-classic-italian-recipe-and-made-it-their-own/9ogvr96ea">Australia’s most beloved dishes</a> in Debbie’s recipes. </p> <p>In 1957, she showed her teen readers how to make a new dish – <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48076527">spaghetti bolognaise</a> – which had first appeared in the magazine <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article46465023">five years prior</a>. </p> <p>Debbie was influencing the youth of Australia to enthusiastically adopt (and adapt) Italian-style cuisine. It stuck. While the recipe may have evolved, in 2012, Meat and Livestock Australia <a href="https://www.mla.com.au/globalassets/mla-corporate/marketing-beef-and-lamb/last-nights-dinner.pdf">reported</a> that 38% of Australian homes ate “spag bol” at least once a week.</p> <p>Our food influences today may come from social media, but we shouldn’t forget the impact early influencers such as Debbie had on young people in the past.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://theconversation.com/tangy-apricot-bavarian-whip-fried-rice-medley-and-bombe-alaska-what-australias-first-food-influencer-had-us-cooking-199987" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</em></p>

Food & Wine

Air travel spreads infections globally, but health advice from inflight magazines can limit that

<p>“Travel safe, travel far, travel wide, and travel often,” <a href="https://thoughtcatalog.com/matthew-kepnes/2014/01/53-travel-quotes-to-inspire-you-to-see-the-world/">says</a> <a href="https://www.nomadicmatt.com/">Nomadic Matt</a>, the American who quit his job to travel the world, write about it and coach others to do the same.</p> <p>But there’s a downside to all this travel, with its unprecedented volume of passengers moving from one side of the world to the other, largely by plane.</p> <p>There’s the risk of those passengers spreading infectious diseases and microorganisms resistant to multiple drugs (superbugs) around the world.</p> <p>Yet, our recently published <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1477893919301218">research</a> into health advice provided by inflight magazines shows plane passengers are given practically no advice on how to limit the spread of infectious diseases.</p> <p>Should we be worried about the part air travel plays in spreading infectious diseases? And what can we do about it?</p> <p><strong>How big is the risk?</strong></p> <p>Low airfares and a series of social and economic factors have made global air travel more common than ever. According to the Australian government department of infrastructure, transport, cities and regional development the <a href="https://www.bitre.gov.au/publications/ongoing/files/International_airline_activity_CY2018.pdf">number of passengers taking international scheduled flights in 2018 was 41.575 million</a>. But the International Air Transport Association projects passenger demand will <a href="https://www.iata.org/pressroom/pr/Pages/2019-02-27-02.aspx">reach 8.2 billion by 2037</a>.</p> <p>There are many examples of infectious diseases spread via international flying. The World Health Organization documented <a href="https://www.who.int/ith/mode_of_travel/tcd_aircraft/en/">transmission of tuberculosis</a> (TB) on board commercial aircraft during long-haul flights during the 1980s.</p> <p>Research published in 2011 documents the <a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/17/7/10-1135_article">transmission of influenza</a> on two transcontinental international flights in May 2009.</p> <p>More recently, the current <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-people-born-between-1966-and-1994-are-at-greater-risk-of-measles-and-what-to-do-about-it-110167">global outbreak of measles</a> in many countries, including the Philippines and the United States, gave rise to the risk of transmission during international travel. In a recent case a <a href="https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/alerts/Pages/measles-alert-january.aspx">baby</a> too young to be vaccinated who had <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/measles-alert-after-infectious-baby-flew-from-manila-went-to-central-coast-20190603-p51tzs.html">measles</a> returned from Manilla in the Philippines to Sydney, exposing travellers on that flight to infection.</p> <p>Then there is the risk of transmitting antimicrobial-resistant organisms that cause disease, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-tb-and-am-i-at-risk-of-getting-it-in-australia-75290">multi-drug resistant TB</a>.</p> <p>Recently, patients in Victoria and New South Wales were identified as carrying the drug-resistant fungus <a href="https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/about/news-and-events/healthalerts/candida-auris-case-detected-in-victoria"><em>Candida auris</em></a>, which they acquired overseas.</p> <p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27890665">One study</a> estimates that over 300 million travellers visit high-risk areas, such as the western Pacific, Southeast Asia and Eastern Mediterranean, each year worldwide, and more than 20% return as new carriers of resistant organisms.</p> <p>These popular destinations, as well as the Middle East, have high rates of drug resistant organisms.</p> <p><strong>How is this happening?</strong></p> <p>Aircraft move large volumes of people around the world swiftly. But what sets them apart from buses and trains is that passengers are close together, in confined spaces, for a long time. This increases the risk of transmitting infections.</p> <p>Passengers interact with high-touch surfaces, such as tray tables, headsets, seats and handles. We cough, sneeze and touch multiple surfaces multiple times during a flight, with limited opportunities to clean our hands with soap and water.</p> <p>Many infections, such as gastroenteritis and diarrhoea, are spread and contracted by touch and contact.</p> <p><strong>What can we do about it?</strong></p> <p>Providing plane travellers with relevant health advice is one way to limit the spread of infectious diseases via air travel.</p> <p>This would include information and advice on routine hand washing with soap and water, or using alcohol-based hand rubs, and other basic measures including cough etiquette, such as coughing into your elbow and covering your nose and face.</p> <p><a href="https://academic.oup.com/jtm/article/4/2/102/1847252">Researchers</a> have looked at the role commercial websites and travel agencies might play in providing that advice. And since the 1990s, airline magazines have been <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jtm/article/4/2/102/1847252">highlighted</a> as an underused source of traveller health advice. More than 20 years on, we discovered little has changed.</p> <p>In our recent study, published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1477893919301218">Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease</a>, we looked at the content of inflight magazines from 103 airlines issued during January 2019.</p> <p>Of the 47 available online, only a quarter (11) included an official section on passengers’ general health and well-being, of which only two contained information related to infection control and the preventing infectious diseases.</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/284424/original/file-20190717-173366-w48bmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/284424/original/file-20190717-173366-w48bmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/284424/original/file-20190717-173366-w48bmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/284424/original/file-20190717-173366-w48bmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/284424/original/file-20190717-173366-w48bmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/284424/original/file-20190717-173366-w48bmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/284424/original/file-20190717-173366-w48bmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/284424/original/file-20190717-173366-w48bmn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">Inflight magazines have a potential audience of billions. So why not include advice on hand hygiene and coughing etiquette?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/confirm/1424594042?src=vUDfEziJwFDV7GZr5OYMRA-1-2&studio=1&size=medium_jpg">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure> <p>The first magazine, from a UAE-based airline, had an official section on passenger health and well-being that included very limited relevant content. It advised passengers “with blood diseases or ear, nose and sinus infections should seek medical advice before flying”.</p> <p>There was no further explanation or information, nor were there any strategies to prevent these or other infections.</p> <p>The second magazine, from a USA-based airline, contained general travel health advice, but none specifically about infectious diseases.</p> <p>However there was a full-page, colour advertisement next to the health section. This contained images of many disease causing microorganisms on passengers’ tray tables and advocated the use of a disinfectant wipe for hands and other inflight surfaces.</p> <p>The slogan “because germs are frequent fliers” was displayed across the tray table. This was accompanied by information about the use and effectiveness of disinfectant wipes for hand hygiene and disinfecting surfaces during air travel, public transport use, and in hotels and restaurants.</p> <p>Inflight magazines are valuable assets for airlines and are the source of considerable advertising revenue. They are read by potentially billions of passengers every year. The results of this study show that they are a greatly underused source of information about infection control and measures to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.</p> <p>Airlines should also provide health advice to passengers in other media, in particular video screens, about infection prevention and basic control measures such as hand hygiene, cough etiquette and personal hygiene.</p> <p>Such advice should be provided before, during and after the flight. It could also include destination-related advice for particularly risky travel routes and destinations.</p> <p><strong>More information for passengers</strong></p> <p>Airlines providing health advice to passengers is just one way to limit the spread of infectious diseases and antimicrobial-resistant organisms around the world via air travel.</p> <p>This would need to sit alongside other measures, such as <a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/travel-industry-information-center">information and guidelines</a> provided to those who travel via the sea.</p> <p>The simple, low-cost measures highlighted in our research could go a long way to help passengers stay healthy and avoid illness from infectious diseases. At the same time, these measures could reduce the impact of outbreaks of infectious diseases for airlines and society as a whole.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120283/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em>Writen by Ramon Zenel Shaban and </em><em>Cristina Sotomayor-Castillo</em><em>. Republished with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/air-travel-spreads-infections-globally-but-health-advice-from-inflight-magazines-can-limit-that-120283" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

International Travel

Time announces Person of the Year

<p dir="ltr">Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been announced as TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year for 2022, alongside the “spirit of Ukraine”, for “proving that courage can be as contagious as fear”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal said the choice was “the most clear-cut in memory” after the announcement was made on Wednesday.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-ba84db44-7fff-f491-e3d8-f7951d142d96"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“Whether the battle for Ukraine fills one with hope or with fear, the world marched to Volodymyr Zelensky’s beat in 2022,” he said.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">TIME's 2022 Person of the Year: Volodymyr Zelensky and the spirit of Ukraine <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TIMEPOY?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TIMEPOY</a> <a href="https://t.co/06Y5fuc0fG">https://t.co/06Y5fuc0fG</a> <a href="https://t.co/i8ZT3d5GDa">pic.twitter.com/i8ZT3d5GDa</a></p> <p>— TIME (@TIME) <a href="https://twitter.com/TIME/status/1600470652363866113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 7, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">The comedian-turned-politician was elected as the country’s President in 2019 and has been working to rally support among his people and the world at large since the Russian invasion began in February.</p> <p dir="ltr">Zelenskyy’s decision “not to flee Kyiv but to stay and rally support was fateful”, according to Felsenthal.</p> <p dir="ltr">“For proving that courage can be as contagious as fear, for stirring people and nations to come together in defence of freedom, for reminding the world of the fragility of democracy — and of peace — Volodymyr Zelensky and the spirit of Ukraine are TIME’s 2022 Person of the Year,” he added.</p> <p dir="ltr">The magazine also honoured the people of Ukraine, highlighting engineer Oleg Kutkov - who worked to help keep Ukraine connected - Kyiv Independent editor Olga Rudenko, and David Nott, a British combat surgeon.</p> <p dir="ltr">The annual award, which has sparked debate and controversy over the nearly 100 years since it began, is given to an event or person deemed to have had the most influence on global events each year.</p> <p dir="ltr">Along with Zelenskyy and the spirit of Ukraine, the finalists for this year’s award included protestors in Iran, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and the US Supreme Court.</p> <p dir="ltr">Women in Iran were the magazine’s 2022 Heroes of the Year, while K-pop band Blackpink were deemed the Entertainer of the Year.</p> <p dir="ltr">To see TIME’s full list of recipients for 2022, head <a href="https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2022-volodymyr-zelensky/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-7eed59e0-7fff-4271-c60a-c94a993432e8"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Twitter</em></p>

News

Outrage after Brittany Higgins listed on Hot 100 in popular men’s magazine

<p dir="ltr">A popular men’s magazine is under fire for including rape victim Brittany Higgins in its annual Hot 100 women list. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Maxim Australia</em> released a list of its Hot 100 women for its 11th annual edition on Wednesday - day five of deliberations in the trial of Ms Higgins’ accused rapist, Bruce Lehrmann. </p> <p dir="ltr">The case however was <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/news/news/stunning-developments-in-rape-trial-of-bruce-lehrmann" target="_blank" rel="noopener">thrown out of court</a> the following day after a juror accessed information that was not presented in court.</p> <p dir="ltr">At the same time, <em>Maxim</em> was being rolled out for sale on newsagency shelves across the country. </p> <p dir="ltr">On the list included some of Australia’s favourite personalities including, winner Margot Robbie, followed by Sam Kerr, Ash Barty, Emma McKeon, Grace Tame, Sarah Snook, Ariarne Titmus, Duckie Thot, Delta Goodrem and Abbie Chatfield. </p> <p dir="ltr">Ms Higgins was placed 12th on the list and despite all the attention on the trial, Maxim defended its decision including her. </p> <p dir="ltr">They said Ms Higgins was a worthy candidate and the rape trial which gained national traction made her influential. </p> <p dir="ltr">Gender equality advocate Professor Catharine Lumby, chair of Media and Communications at the University of Sydney said having Ms Higgins’ name on the list was offensive.</p> <p dir="ltr">“To me, [Ms Higgins inclusion] is offensive because that list is to be read as a list of who is hot and attractive,” she said. </p> <p dir="ltr">“If it was a list of 100 people who have influenced Australia, I would have no issue with it. </p> <p dir="ltr">“A magazine such as Maxim has to be far more cautious about who they are including in that sort of list.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The rape trial was thrown out on October 27 after a juror accessed an academic paper about false rape accusations. </p> <p dir="ltr">Chief Justice Lucy McCallum notified the court as soon as she found out that a juror had accessed evidence that was not presented in court.</p> <p dir="ltr">All 12 jurors were called into the ACT Supreme Court and questioned after an academic paper that reported on how often false rape accusations were made was found.</p> <p dir="ltr">"During routine tidying of the jury room by three sheriff's officers after the conclusion of proceedings yesterday, one of the officers accidentally bumped one of the juror's document holders onto the floor," she said. </p> <p dir="ltr">She said she had no other choice but to dismiss the jurors despite warning them “at least 17 times” to only discuss the points said in court.</p> <p dir="ltr">"You must not try to undertake your own research," she said she told them.</p> <p dir="ltr">"It's going to lead to more crime": Controversial new law passes</p> <p dir="ltr">"You must rely exclusively on the evidence you hear in this courtroom.</p> <p dir="ltr">"If you are learning something about this trial, and I'm not there, then you should not be doing it."</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Lehmann maintains his innocence and is currently on bail. He will face a retrial on February 20, 2023.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Instagram/Nine</em></p>

Beauty & Style

"Icon" Nicole Kidman flexes down for new mag cover

<p dir="ltr">Nicole Kidman has caused a stir with her latest photoshoot after she appeared on the front cover of a magazine with incredibly muscled arms, a copper wig, and an outfit that’s a far cry from her previous looks.</p> <p dir="ltr">Kidman will feature on the front cover of Perfect magazine’s third edition as the winner of the publication’s Icon award in recognition of her impact on contemporary culture.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-efeb7a25-7fff-ae76-96ba-79a98edecc76">The <em>Nine Perfect Strangers</em> star was styled in a tight-fitting halter-neck crop top, a textured mini skirt, and a copper wig that had bangs at the front and waist-long hair at the back, with the wig appearing in several other photos from the shoot, taken by photographer Zhong Lin.</span></p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/ChlUXjRpiN5/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ChlUXjRpiN5/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Nicole Kidman (@nicolekidman)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Kidman was the inaugural winner from a list of 23 potential candidates for the Icon award, which serves to recognise those who are “shaping contemporary culture”. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Perfect </em>launched the annual awards this year, with additional categories including Self Expression, Image, and Moment, as well as several for fragrances, designers, performers and brands, two years after the content agency turned magazine was founded by British stylised Katie Grand.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-6c2ffa26-7fff-d8be-f8f0-0c522d970619">“At a time when the validity of awards ceremonies is in question, and the red carpet spectacle of presentations is dominated by the awarding bodies and the presenters, we wanted to shift the focus back on those who we think deserve to be rewarded,” <em>Perfect </em>said in a statement.</span></p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/ChkxbK3NiEZ/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ChkxbK3NiEZ/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by PERFECT (@theperfectmagazine)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Kidman’s latest magazine spread comes just months after her shoot for the February issue of <em>Vanity Fair</em> <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/vanity-fair-slammed-for-distorted-nicole-kidman-cover" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sparked controversy</a>, with some fans accusing the magazine of excessive use of Photoshop.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-4f27add5-7fff-f162-4e8b-0f9eae978f6c">The Oscar-winning actress later addressed the accusations in a conversation with director Baz Luhrmann, published in <em>Vogue Australia</em>, confessing she had second thoughts after initially “begging” to wear the Miu Miu outfit featured on the cover.</span></p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CaGOnGXvfjV/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CaGOnGXvfjV/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Nicole Kidman (@nicolekidman)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">“I did walk away thinking, ‘What was I thinking?! That was ridiculous! What were you doing, Nicole?!’ And then I went, ‘Eh, oh well!’” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Cause you know that part about me where I’m like, ‘I’m just going to do what I want to do, ultimately!’ And just have some fun. And just commit, like really commit when I show up, do it. But there’s got to be some fun. And sometimes it’s going to work, and sometimes it isn’t. But I love the idea of being bold and not fitting into a box.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Aside from appearing in unusual magazine photoshoots, Kidman has been working on various projects in Hollywood, including gearing up for the upcoming <em>Aquaman </em>sequel and being in production for AppleTV+ animation <em>Spellbound</em>, Amazon series <em>Expats</em>, and an untitled Netflix rom-com.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-1c003679-7fff-0ceb-80c8-9df49efa13e0"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: @ThePerfectMagazine (Instagram)</em></p>

Beauty & Style

Australia’s greater glider now an endangered species

<p>This week’s assignment of ‘endangered’ status to the greater glider may surprise many Australians, but for experts it’s hardly unexpected.</p> <p>On Tuesday, Australia’s environment minister Tanya Plibersek accepted advice from the government’s threatened species scientific committee to ‘uplist’ the conservation status of the southern and central <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/greater-glider-glide-into-your-heart/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-type="post" data-id="193138">greater glider</a> (Petauroides volans), a large marsupial that calls forests along Australia’s east coast home.</p> <p>It’s the largest of eastern Australia’s gliding possums (at least another eight are found here), known for its furry body, teddy bear-esque ears, and a canopy-like membrane that allows it to slide through the air. Individuals typically reside in ‘dens’ provided by old eucalyptus tree hollows. Some eucalypts provide the leaves that serve as their primary source of food.</p> <p>But the destruction of vital habitat during the catastrophic <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/climate/what-fuelled-australias-black-summer-fires/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-type="URL" data-id="https://cosmosmagazine.com/earth/climate/what-fuelled-australias-black-summer-fires/">Black Summer</a> bushfires in 2019-20 has pushed glider populations of the species to the brink.</p> <h2>Extended family: greater gliders are separate species and are all likely under threat</h2> <p>The greater glider was first listed as vulnerable in 2016, and was considered one species – P. volans. But since 2020, experts consider the glider to be at least three distinct species.</p> <p>P. volans inhabits forests from Proserpine in the Whitsunday region of Queensland down the continent’s east coast to the forested areas surrounding Melbourne, Victoria. P. minor occupies the wet-dry tropical region near Townsville and Cairns north-eastern Australia, and has been now added to the threatened species list as ‘vulnerable’.</p> <p>A third species – P. armillatus – is considered vulnerable by Queensland’s government, and likely faces the same pressures as the others.</p> <p>“The taxonomy of the gliders is not completely resolved as yet,” explains Professor David Lindenmayer of the Australian National University, Canberra. “There may be up to five species of greater gliders, and it’s unlikely that any of them will be secure in number.</p> <p>“We’re going to have to work hard to make sure that we can conserve all of those species because it’s all an important part of Australia’s natural heritage.”</p> <p>There is encouraging language from the Australian government, with environment minister Plibersek publicly backing efforts to help gliders recover from the Black Summer bushfires. But while those fires had a devastating effect on numerous plant and animal populations, other factors like climate change, habitat clearing and fragmentation and timber harvesting pose existential threats to glider survival.</p> <p>“All these various threats and factors interacting in different ways ultimately increase the risk of extinction,” says Luke Emerson, a researcher at Deakin University’s Centre for Integrative Ecology who specialises in the ecology of arboreal marsupials like the glider.</p> <p>“Rising temperatures, increasing fire severity, shorter fire intervals, logging on top of that, conversion and fragmentation of habitat… all these things are interacting to put greater pressure on arboreal marsupials.</p> <p>“These multiple threats are interacting in ways that we can predict, but there’s probably ways that we can’t predict that are going to negatively impact them as well.”</p> <h2>The bad list: more Australian icons added or re-graded in 2022</h2> <p>The greater glider isn’t alone in being uplisted on the nation’s threatened species register in 2022.</p> <p>Populations of the iconic koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) living in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory were notably transferred from vulnerable to endangered status <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/animals/explainer-koalas-endangered-nsw-qld-act/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">earlier this year.</a> The yellow-bellied glider (Petaurus australis australis) and long-nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus trisulcatus) were listed as vulnerable in March.</p> <p>And many species other than mammals have been added to the list in 2022.</p> <p>Watson’s (Litoria watsoni) and Littlejohn’s tree frog (L. littlejohni), the gang-gang cockatoo (Callocephalon fimbriatum) and the South Australian Bassian thrush (Zoothera lunulata halmaturina) have been either added or uplisted to endangered, while the pilotbird (Pycnoptilus floccosus) was added as vulnerable.</p> <p>The work to protect animal species from spiraling further towards extinction is a difficult business at the best of times. Triumphs are rare.</p> <p>One of note is Zoos Victoria’s 33-year-old captive breeding program for eastern barred bandicoots (Perameles gunnii), which was retired in 2021 when the species – previously extinct in the wild – was downlisted to endangered. The species is now regenerating itself in specially fenced, predator free release sites across Victoria.</p> <p>For Zoos Victoria reproductive biologist Dr Marissa Parrot, the success of the bandicoot program was a career high point. But alongside these all-too-rare moments of success are declines in other species.</p> <p>“It’s such an amazing feeling to know that you’ve made a difference to a species… but it’s just one of thousands that do need help,” Parrott says. “When an animal is added to the endangered species list, they’re going to hopefully get more focus and more funding, and they need that long-term care.</p> <p>“But it also means that they’ve got to the point where they need to be added to an endangered list, and that’s quite devastating.”</p> <p>Parrott believes that improving public knowledge of both the existence of species and the threats that exist in the wild may improve outcomes for many animals.</p> <p>That knowledge-building can extend to people taking individual action – such as providing suitable food trees to support endangered animals that lose habitat, participation in citizen science programs or even turning outdoor lights off to support threatened moths.</p> <p>While the uplisting of species like the greater glider is a troubling event, Parrott say it can serve to draw people’s attention to the challenges confronting lesser-known animals.</p> <p>“Animals like the greater glider are beautiful, and they’re fluffy, and they can really grab people’s attention,” she says. “It’s great that they’re getting that attention, but we also have many species no one’s ever heard of, like the pookila (New Holland mouse), and the <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/australia/missing-the-bogong-moth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" data-type="URL" data-id="https://cosmosmagazine.com/australia/missing-the-bogong-moth/">bogong moth</a>, which is also a tiny little animal, but an amazing species.</p> <p>“Just last week I’ve seen gang gang cockatoos and grey-headed flying foxes in my own suburb – showing that these endangered species that are in trouble are actually around us [is important].”</p> <h2>Common causes and solutions for endangerment</h2> <p>The challenges confronting greater gliders are shared by these other, less prominent animals.</p> <p>While addressing climate change requires largescale transformation across society, there are other actions that can be implemented to provide more immediate relief for native species.</p> <p>Government conservation advice provided for all animals added or uplisted so far in 2022 notes land and vegetation clearing as a survival threat. For gliders, it poses a catastrophic risk.</p> <p>That’s why moving the forestry industry to an entirely plantation-based sector is a critical solution Lindenmayer believes needs to be implemented, and soon.</p> <p>“It’s time to exit native forest logging,” he says. “The Western Australians have done this: on the 31st of December 2023, [WA] will no longer be logging native forests.</p> <p>“Victoria needs to do that at the same time, so does New South Wales. It’s really important that we tackle that issue, which renders huge areas of forest unsuitable for animals like greater gliders, either permanently or for periods of up to 200 years.”</p> <p>Lindenmayer also points to non-forestry land clearing and coal mine construction in the eastern states as adding pressure to threatened forest-dwellers. But he also wants to see the government to take biodiversity seriously.</p> <p>“The federal minister can actually get involved in this seriously and not unravel, but improve, environmental laws, to make sure that more biodiversity is not lost. That’s critical.”</p> <p>Australia <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1417301112" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">accounts for 35%</a> of global modern mammal extinctions. Over the past 200 years, about 10% of our terrestrial endemic mammals have gone extinct.</p> <p>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/greater-glider-now-endangered/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cosmos Magazine</a>.</p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Family & Pets

Behind the scenes photos of Camilla's cover shoot snapped by Duchess Kate

<p>An exclusive behind the scenes royal photo has showcased Kate Middleton flexing her photography skills as she snapped a portrait of Camilla for the Country Life magazine cover. </p> <p>The Duchess of Cambridge, 40, who was described as a "consummate professional" by the magazine, is a keen photographer, and has taken several official portraits of her three children.</p> <p>Kate can now add magazine photographer to the list of her achievements as she captured the snap that shows the Duchess of Cornwall, 74, relaxing at her at Ray Mill House country retreat in Lacock, Wiltshire. </p> <p>According to Country Life's official Instagram, the behind-the-scenes image was taken by The Duchess of Cornwall’s country dresser, Shona Williams.</p> <p>The photograph taken by Kate appears on the cover of the July edition of the publication, just ahead of Camilla’s landmark 75th birthday on July 17th. </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CfnxfUwAZhl/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CfnxfUwAZhl/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Clarence House (@clarencehouse)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>According to a royal source, it was Camilla's idea to ask Kate to take the photograph, and Country Life's managing and features editor, Paula Lester has said the publication "could not be happier with the results" of the photoshoot.</p> <p>She added, "In fact, the set of images she took was so good that we struggled to choose only three, from which The Duchess of Cornwall made her final selection."</p> <p>According to Paula, Kate took the commission "very seriously" and was "incredibly professional" about the job. </p> <p>"She phoned me to discuss our requirements for the cover and subsequently composed a range of beautifully shot images," Paula explained.</p> <p>Meanwhile, the Country Life editor Mark Hedges said everyone was thrilled by the photos which captured Camilla "magnificently", and added that the magazine would be "delighted" to offer Kate another commission.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram @countrylifemagazine</em></p>

Family & Pets

The scientific way to split your Oreos

<p>How do you eat your Oreos?</p> <p>Perhaps you twist the top layer, separating the cookie into two parts, and then eat them one by one. Alternatively, do you dunk the biscuit into milk to soften it just the right amount? Or maybe you just shove the entire thing in your mouth, all for efficiency of course.</p> <p>Snacking on an Oreo while testing its mechanical properties in the lab is apparently a legitimate methodology of research, according to a team of <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/physics/yeast-free-pizza-dough-fluid-dynamics/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rheologists </a>– physicists who study complex fluids – from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US.</p> <p>In a cookie-breaking <a href="https://aip.scitation.org/doi/full/10.1063/5.0085362" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">new study</a>, the authors have introduced an emerging field called “Oreology”, derived from the Nabisco Oreo for cookie and the Greek rheo logia for “flow study”. It’s the study of the flow and fracture of sandwich cookies and the research has been published in the journal Physics of Fluids.</p> <p>Oreo creme is a member of the class of flowable soft solids known as “yield stress fluids,” which are fluids that act as soft solids when undisturbed and only flow under a sufficiently large amount of applied stress.</p> <p>The researchers characterised the flow and fracture of Oreos, finding that the creme – which they’ve found is “mushy” in rheological texture – tends to stick to just one side of the cookie.</p> <p>“Rheology can be used to measure the texture of food depending on the failure stresses and strains,” says first author Crystal Owens, a graduate student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. “We were able to characterise Oreo creme as quantitatively mushy.”</p> <p>The team used a laboratory rheometer – an instrument which characterises the flow of a substance in response to forces – to measure the fail mechanics of an Oreo’s filling. The rheometer fixed one side of the cookie in place and carefully twisted the other until the filling failed and the cookie broke apart, after which the amount of creme on each wafer could be determined by visual inspection.</p> <p>“I had in my mind that if you twist the Oreos perfectly, you should split the creme perfectly in the middle,” says Owens. “But what actually happens is the creme almost always comes off of one side.”</p> <p>In fact, nearly all of the creme (95%) remained on just one of the biscuits after breaking, and it seems that the production process is the likely cause. Within the boxes tested, 80% of cookies had creme–heavy sides oriented uniformly in one direction, rather than 50% as would be expected from random chance.</p> <p>In a thorough investigation of this phenomenon, the rheologists also tested the influence of rotation rate, amount of creme, and flavour on the post-mortem creme distribution.</p> <p>After being dipped in milk, the Oreos degraded quickly, crumbling after about 60 seconds. Flavour and filling seemed to have little effect on the cookie mechanics but breaking the cookies apart cleanly did depend on the rotation rate.</p> <p>“If you try to twist the Oreos faster, it will actually take more strain and more stress to break them,” Owens advises. “So, maybe this is a lesson for people who are stressed and desperate to open their cookies.</p> <p>“It’ll be easier if you do it a little bit slower.”</p> <p>The team encourages further contributions to this emerging field of study but acknowledges the fact that a laboratory rheometer is not widely accessible.</p> <p>But the researchers have come up with a way to overcome this hurdle, thanks to a design for an open–source 3D–printed “Oreometer” – a rheometer specially made for twisting Oreos – for use in higher-precision home studies.</p> <p>Powered by rubber bands and coins, the team hopes to encourage educators and Oreo enthusiasts to continue studying the cookies and learning about rheology.</p> <p>“One of the main things we can do with the Oreometer is develop an at-home education and self-discovery plan, where you teach people about basic fluid properties like shear strain and stress,” concludes author Max Fan, an undergraduate student at MIT.</p> <p>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/engineering/fluid-physics-twisting-oreo/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cosmos Magazine</a>. </p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Food & Wine

Art inspires the magic Rubik's Cube

<p>The joy puzzle lovers derive from solving a good puzzle is matched only by the frustration felt by those of us who are not good solvers. 2015 marked the 40th anniversary of the patenting of perhaps the greatest – and most difficult – puzzle of the 20th century, the Rubik’s Cube.</p> <p>In 1974, Ernő Rubik was living in Budapest and teaching design courses at the Academy of Applied Arts and Crafts. The cube’s beginnings are unclear, but some reports state a project given to his students inspired Rubik’s prototype which was then refined over about six weeks. He created a plastic cube with six different colours, one for each face, with each face divided into a 3×3 grid. The beauty of it was that each face could turn independently thanks to an internal mechanism of 21 parts moving on curved tracks.</p> <p>He had considered the cube to be primarily a work of art, until he scrambled the colours. Realising how difficult it was to restore each face to a single colour, Rubik discovered he’d created a puzzle. It took him more than a month to work out how to solve it. Initially, Rubik wasn’t even sure a solution was possible. Eventually he hit upon the idea all modern solutions are based upon – certain moves exist that will exchange pairs or triplets of edge or corner pieces without disturbing the remainder of the cube. This convinced him to go ahead with his marketing plans. In 1977 production began within Hungary.</p> <p>Puzzle crazes have periodically captivated the world since the early 1800s. The “Chinese Tangram” puzzle was wildly popular from about 1815 until the 1820s, with plastic sets still available. In 1880 the “15 Puzzle” was all the rage in Boston and eventually spread to Europe before fizzling out after about six months. Rubik played with the 15 puzzle as a child and says he was possibly inspired by it. More recently, Sudoku went from an obscure game to a multi-million dollar industry. But none of these puzzles captured the world’s attention like the Rubik’s Cube.</p> <p>Rubik’s original cube is at once elegant and fiendish.</p> <p>Rubik called it the “Magic Cube”. The first run of 5000 sold out in a few months. In 1978 the cube was a hit at the International Congress of Mathematicians and over the next several years won awards at European toy fairs. By 1980, the Ideal Toy company in the US was marketing the puzzle as “Rubik’s Cube”. It sold about 4.5 million by the year’s end. In 1981 numbers were approaching 80 million units worldwide.</p> <p>By the mid-1980s the craze had passed. The cube inspired follow-up puzzles such as the 4×4 “Rubik’s Revenge” and the 5×5 “Professor’s Cube”. These days, models of 6×6, 7×7 and even higher-order cubes can be found in puzzle stores. Computer simulations of cubes up to 100×100 are available online.</p> <p>Rubik’s original cube is at once elegant and fiendish. Puzzle expert Jerry Slocum says rotational cube puzzles are among the most difficult of all manipulative puzzles. On the standard 3×3 cube there are 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 possible arrangements.</p> <p>In 1978, while the cube was still an underground success, physicist Roger Penrose and mathematician John Conway were demonstrating solutions. Conway was said to be able to solve the cube in around four minutes without consulting notes. In 1979 David Singmaster offered a guide to the perplexed with his Notes on the Magic Cube. It led to a popular standardised notation for solving the cube which survives today. Up, Down, Front, Back, Left and Right faces are represented by U, D, F, B, L and R. A sequence to manoeuvre a corner piece into position might be written out as: R U R`. This corresponds to a clockwise twist of the right face, followed by a clockwise twist of the up face, and finally a counter-clockwise twist of the right face. The accent mark denotes a counter-clockwise twist. Although these solutions appear daunting, with a cube and instructions in hand most readers will be able to solve the puzzle in half an hour or so. Practice will soon get your times down to five to 10 minutes.</p> <p>Using such algorithms, competitors have reduced the solution time to under a minute. The world record is 5.55 seconds held by Mats Valk of the Netherlands. There are also blindfold and one-hand categories. Blindfold solving has the competitor examine the cube and memorise the solution before putting on the blindfold. The final time includes the examination period and the hands-on time. If you’re feeling like a challenge, the record is just over 23 seconds.</p> <p>Good luck.</p> <p>This article originally appears in <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/mathematics/art-inspires-the-magic-rubiks-cube/">Cosmos Magazine</a>. </p> <p><img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="font-family: halyard-text, sans-serif;max-width: 100%;background-color: #ffffff;height: 1px !important;width: 1px !important;border: 0px !important" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=6211&title=Art+inspires+the+magic+Rubik%26%238217%3Bs+cube" width="1" height="1" data-spai-target="src" data-spai-orig="" data-spai-exclude="nocdn" /></p> <p> </p> <div id="cosmos-link-back" style="font-family: halyard-text, sans-serif;background-color: #ffffff"></div>

Art

Peer pressure driving sustainable diets

<p><em>Image: Getty</em></p> <div> <div class="copy"> <p>People find it notoriously difficult to change eating habits to improve their own health, let alone the planet’s.</p> <p>Now European researchers who explored factors that might motivate shifts to more sustainable diets are suggesting that social norms and self-efficacy are the most important.</p> <p>The work by Sibel Eker and Michael Obersteiner, from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria, and Gerhard Reese, from Germany’s University of Koblenz-Landau, supports evidence that peer group values are more powerful than scientific facts in shaping people’s beliefs and actions about climate change.</p> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Their findings are presented in a paper in the journal Nature Sustainability.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">The study was motivated by increasing calls for people to adopt plant-based diets as part of radical shifts needed to address the destructive impact of current farming practices on the environment.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">A key target is red meat, which vastly exceeds other food sources in terms of its land use, irrigation and greenhouse gas emissions, and is unsustainable in the face of population growth and climate change.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Red meat also has been associated with chronic health conditions, including diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">On this front alone, calculations suggest that if, on average, the world adopted a flexitarian diet (one portion of red meat per week), it could potentially prevent more than 10 million deaths each year.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Eker wondered if such “ambitious scenarios” were attainable.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">“I was observing my social network and society,” she says, “like more and more people being meat-reducers, new vegetarian restaurants in urban areas, and it </span>made me curious<span style="font-family: inherit;"> about where these dynamics could lead.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Although many people are reducing their meat intake in several countries, widespread resistance means that global levels needed to translate into environmental gains are still beyond reach. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family: inherit;">To explore how pervasive behavioural changes in meat consumption might be achieved, Eker and colleagues used an integrated assessment model to simulate population dynamics.</span></p> <p>Based on prominent psychological theories on environmental action, combined with models from management science, it includes income, social norms, climate risk perception, health risk perception, self-efficacy and response efficacy (belief that one’s actions can make a difference), as well as age, gender and education level.</p> <p>They simulated the model 10,000 times to find the optimal outcome.</p> <p>“This was an exploratory modelling study,” explains Eker, “meaning that we used the model as a platform to experiment with different scenarios to find the most important drivers of diet shifts.”</p> <p>Although she expected concern about health risks to be more important, Eker was not surprised that social norms – unwritten rules of behaviour considered acceptable in a group or society – were a leading motivator of diet change, because they create a strong, positive feedback loop, she says.</p> <p>Put differently, “As there are more vegetarians around, visibility of the phenomenon increases, therefore adoption increases”.</p> <p>The other key driver was self-efficacy, particularly in females, referring to perceived control over one’s behaviour and ability to change.</p> <p>Results showed that this model would yield the most rapid behaviour changes for people aged 15 to 44 years, even when their adoption of vegetarian diets is low.</p> <p>But even if 40% of the population became vegetarian, the model predicted that the environmental benefits may not be fully realised if everyone else continues their current meat consumption, suggesting that change requires a population-wide shift in eating patterns.</p> <p>The researchers conclude that their findings demonstrate the importance of factoring human behaviour into climate change mitigation efforts and suggest that future research also account for variations in cultural attitudes and world views.</p> <p>“We can use models to explore the social and behavioural aspects of climate change and sustainability problems in the same way as we explore the economic and environmental dimensions of our world,” says Eker.</p> <p>This could provide a better understanding of how to motivate the lifestyle changes that are essential to address the predicaments facing the planet.</p> <div class="newsletter-box"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p26085-o1" class="wpcf7"> <p style="display: none !important;"> </p> <p></p> </div> </div>  <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=26085&title=Peer+pressure+driving+sustainable+diets" alt="" width="1" height="1" /> </div> <div id="contributors"> <p><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/nutrition/peer-pressure-could-nudge-people-towards-sustainable-diets/">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/natalie-parletta">Natalie Parletta</a>. </p> </div> </div>

Food & Wine

Could Viagra help prevent Alzheimer’s disease?

<h1><span style="font-size: 14px;">Insurance shows a link between Viagra prescription and a lower chance of the disease. </span></h1> <div class="copy"> <p>Viagra is used by millions of people each year to treat erectile dysfunction. But new research shows that it might not just be helpful in the bedroom – there’s a suggestion that Viagra may also help to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Insurance shows a link between Viagra prescription and a lower chance of the disease. </p> <p>Despite what it’s best known for, sildenafil – marketed as Viagra – isn’t a one-trick pony. It was <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/biology/how-i-discovered-viagra/" target="_blank">originally developed to treat angina</a> – although it didn’t make it through trials – and there’s some evidence it could <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.pasteur.fr/en/viagra-prevent-transmission-malaria-parasite" target="_blank">help </a><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.pasteur.fr/en/viagra-prevent-transmission-malaria-parasite" target="_blank">t</a><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.pasteur.fr/en/viagra-prevent-transmission-malaria-parasite" target="_blank">reat malaria</a>. Tadalafil, a similar drug to Viagra, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/medicine/sex-med-looks-promising-as-heart-failure-drug/" target="_blank">has been proposed</a> as a heart failure treatment.</p> <p>A <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-021-00138-z" target="_blank">paper</a> in <em>Nature Aging </em>has expanded its potential further, using records from insurance claims to examine the link between Viagra and Alzheimer’s disease.</p> <p>The researchers, who are based in the US, examined the insurance records of 7.23 million people, alongside genetic and other biological data. They looked through the data to pull out indicators of Alzheimer’s disease, and then examined the relationship between these indicators and over 1,600 prescribed medicinal drugs.</p> <p>Viagra had the highest link to lower chance of Alzheimer’s, with its prescription being associated with a 69% reduced risk of the disease.</p> <p>The researchers point out that while this link is significant, it doesn’t establish causality: it may be that Viagra prevents Alzheimer’s, or it may be that people who have fewer biological precursors to Alzheimer’s are also more likely to receive a Viagra prescription.</p> <p>There could also be other confounding factors at play. Sildenafil, for instance, is more likely to be prescribed to wealthy people, and wealthy people are also less likely to get Alzheimer’s disease. The sample size of Viagra users was also – unsurprisingly – mostly male.</p> <p>“Taken together, the association between sildenafil usage and decreased incidence of AD [Alzheimer’s disease] does not establish causality or its direction,” write the researchers in their paper.</p> <p>“Our results therefore warrant rigorous clinical trial testing of the treatment efficacy of sildenafil in patients with AD, inclusive of both sexes and controlled by placebo.”</p>  <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=175427&title=Could+Viagra+help+prevent+Alzheimer%E2%80%99s+disease%3F" alt="" width="1" height="1" /> </div> <div id="contributors"> <p><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/medicine/viagra-prevent-alzheimers-disease-study/">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/ellen-phiddian">Ellen Phiddian</a>. </p> </div>

Retirement Life

Food can play a part of the colour of your poo and pee

<h1>Optimal pee and poo colour for your health</h1> <h2>Food, medications and illnesses can all play a part.</h2> <div class="copy"> <p>Out of the blue I passed bright red pee. I freaked, thinking it was a sign of terminal disease. Then I remembered the roasted beetroot tarts served at the party the night before – so delicious I’d eaten three!</p> <p>Beetroot, artificial colours, vitamin supplements and medications can change the colour of your urine or bowel motions. Knowing which colour changes are due to food or medicines can save you worry, or provide an early alert to get to the doctor.</p> <h2>Beeturia</h2> <p>Beeturia is the term for passing red urine after eating beetroot. The red colour comes from a pigment called betalain, also in some flower petals, fruit, leaves, stems and roots. Concentrated beetroot extract, called Beet Red or additive number 162 on food labels, can be added to “pink” foods, such as ice-cream.</p> <p>Whether betalain turns your pee red or not depends on the type of beetroot, amount eaten and how it’s prepared, because betalain is destroyed by heat, light and acid.</p> <p>How much betalain enters your digestive tract depends on stomach acid and stomach emptying rate (people taking medications to reduce stomach acid may be prone to beeturia). Once in the blood stream, betalain pigments are filtered out by the kidneys. Most is eliminated two to eight hours after eating.</p> <p>Persistent red urine can be due to blood loss, infection, enlarged prostate, cancer, cysts, kidney stones or after a long-distance run. If you see red and have not been eating beetroot, see your doctor.</p> <h2>What should your pee look like?</h2> <p>Normal pee should be the colour of straw. If your pee is so colourless that it looks like water, you probably drank more than you needed.</p> <p>Very dark yellow pee usually means you are a bit dehydrated and need to drink more water.</p> <p>Compare your pee colour to the Cleveland Clinic’s scale below.</p> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Courtesy Cleveland Clinic</span></span> <h2>Strange pee colours due to food, drugs or disease</h2> <p>Pee the colour of syrup or molasses needs medical investigation. While it could be due to extreme dehydration, it can be a sign of liver diseases such as hepatitis and cirrhosis, where a build up of bilirubin spills into your pee. Bilirubin is a breakdown product of red blood cells; it’s also responsible for poo’s normal brown colour.</p> <p>Pee can turn bright orange or yellow when taking beta-carotene or vitamin B supplements, especially large doses of riboflavin (vitamin B2). These supplements are water soluble. What your body can’t use or store gets filtered out via your kidneys and into pee.</p> <p>Medications including phenazopyridine (for urinary tract infections), rifampin (antibiotic for treating tuberculosis and Legionnaire’s disease), warfarin (blood thinner) and some laxatives can also change pee colour.</p> <p>If you pass blue or green pee, it’s most likely due to food colouring or methylene blue used in some diagnostic test procedures and some drugs.</p> <p>But a range of medications can also trigger blue or green urine. These include antihistamines, anti-inflammatories, antibacterials, antidepressants, some nausea drugs or those for reducing stomach acid.</p> <p>Rare genetic conditions Hartnup disease and Blue diaper syndrome cause blue-green urine. So see your doctor if it persists or it happens in an infant.</p> <p>You should never see purple pee, but hospital staff might. “Purple urine bag” syndrome happens in patients with catheters and infections or complications. The catheter or bag turns purple due to a chemical reaction between protein breakdown products in urine and the plastic.</p> <p>Occasionally, pee can be frothy. It’s a normal reaction if protein intake is high and pee comes out fast. It is more likely if you consume protein powders or protein supplements. Excess protein can’t be stored in the body so the nitrogen component (responsible for the froth) gets removed and the kidneys excrete it as urea.</p> <p>See your doctor if the frothiness doesn’t go away or gets worse, as protein can leak into pee if you have kidney disease.</p> <h2>Poo colours of the rainbow</h2> <p>Normal poo colour ranges from light yellow to brown to black. The colour is due to a mix of bile, which starts off green in the gall bladder, and bilirubin a yellow breakdown product from red blood cells.</p> <p>Poo can turn green after consuming food and drink containing blue or green food colouring, or if food travels too fast through the gut and some bile is still present.</p> <p>Poo that is yellow, greasy and smells really bad signals food malabsorption. If this colour is associated with weight loss in an adult or poor growth in a child, see a doctor to rule out gut infections such as giardia or medical conditions like coeliac disease.</p> <p>Very pale or clay-coloured poo can happen when taking some anti-diarrhoeal medications, or when digestive problems affect the liver, gut, pancreas or gall bladder.</p> <p>At the other extreme of the colour spectrum, black poo could be a serious medical issue due to bleeding in the stomach or upper gut. Or it could be a harmless side-effect from taking iron supplements, or eating lots of licorice.</p> <p>Red poo can also be a serious medical issue due to bleeding in the lower gut, or from haemorrhoids, or harmless after having large amounts of red food colouring.</p> <p>If you don’t know what colour your pee or poo is, take a look. If you see a colour that’s out of the ordinary and you haven’t eaten anything unusual, take a picture and make an appointment to show your GP.</p> <p>Clare Collins, Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics, <em>University of Newcastle</em>; Kristine Pezdirc, Research Associate | Post-doctoral Researcher, <em>University of Newcastle</em>, and Megan Rollo, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Nutrition & Dietetics, <em>University of Newcastle</em></p>  <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=11561&title=Optimal+pee+and+poo+colour+for+your+health" alt="" width="1" height="1" /> </div> <div id="contributors"> <p>This article was originally published on Cosmos Magazine and was written by The Conversation. The Conversation is an independent, not-for-profit media outlet that uses content sourced from the academic and research community.</p> </div>

Food & Wine

Home gardens vital for pollinators

<h2><strong style="font-size: 14px;">They provide a rich and diverse nectar source, study finds.</strong></h2> <div class="copy"> <p>Urban areas are a surprisingly rich food reservoir for pollinating insects such as bees and wasps, according to a UK study <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2745.13598" target="_blank">published</a> in the <em>Journal of Ecology</em>.</p> <p>Home gardens are particularly important, the study found, accounting for 85% of the nectar – sugar-rich liquid that provides pollinators with energy – within towns and cities and the most diverse supply overall.</p> <p>Results showed that just three gardens generated on average around a teaspoon of the liquid gold – enough to attract and fuel thousands of pollinators.</p> <p>“This means that towns and cities could be hotspots of diversity of food – important for feeding many different types of pollinators and giving them a balanced diet,” says lead author Nicholas Tew, from the University of Bristol.</p> <p>“The actions of individual gardeners are crucial,” he adds. “Garden nectar provides the vast majority of all. This gives everyone a chance to help pollinator conservation on their doorstep.”</p> <p><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.pollinator.org/pollination" target="_blank">Pollinators</a> include bees, wasps, butterflies, moths, bats and beetles. They are critical for ecosystems and agriculture as most plant species need them to reproduce, and <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.453.4134&rep=rep1&type=pdf" target="_blank">research suggests</a> their survival relies especially on the diversity of flowering plants.</p> <p>To explore how our sprawling urban areas could support them, Tew’s research group previously led the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/biology/research/ecological/community/pollinators/" target="_blank">Urban Pollinators Project</a> in collaboration with other universities. They found that cities and gardens – community and private – are vital for pollinators, leading them to question how to quantify and harness this resource.</p> <p>“The gap in our knowledge was how much nectar and pollen urban areas produce and how this compares with the countryside,” Tew explains, “important information if we want to understand how important our towns and cities can be for pollinator conservation and how best to manage them.”</p> <p>So, for the current study, Tew and colleagues measured the supply of nectar in urban areas, farmland and nature reserve landscapes, and then within four towns and cities (Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds and Reading) to determine how much nectar different land uses produce.</p> <p>To do this, they extracted nectar from more than 3000 flowers comprising nearly 200 plant species using a fine glass tube and quantified it using a refractometer, an instrument that measures how much light refracts when passing through a solution.</p> <p>Then they sourced nectar measurements from other published studies and combined the nectar-per-flower values with numbers of flowers from each species in different habitats as previously measured by the group.</p> <p>Overall, nectar quantity per unit area was similar in urban, farmland and nature reserve landscapes. But urban nectar supply was most diverse, as it was produced by more flowering plant species. And while private gardens supplied similarly large amounts per unit as allotments, they covered more land – nearly a third of towns and cities.</p> <p>It’s important to note the findings are specific to the UK, and maybe parts of western Europe, Tew says. Most urban nectar comes from ornamental species that are not native, which can be attractive to generalist pollinators but may not benefit specialist species that feed from selective native flower species.</p> <p>Thus private gardens in other regions might have different benefits. Australia, for instance, has more endemic species and specialist pollinators than the UK, so while non-natives would still provide some benefit, natives may be more important overall.</p> <p>Most recommendations for attracting pollinators in Australia include supporting native bees and other local specialists. Suggestions include planting more native species and providing <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://www.australianenvironmentaleducation.com.au/australian-animals/australian-pollinator-week/" target="_blank">accommodation</a> for native bees, most of which are solitary species – unlike the familiar, colonial European honeybee.</p> <p>But in general, Tew says home gardeners can all support biodiversity with some key strategies, especially planting as many nectar-rich flowering plants as possible and different species that ensure flowers all year round.</p> <p>Other <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.rhs.org.uk/science/conservation-biodiversity/wildlife/plants-for-pollinators" target="_blank">recommendations</a> include mowing the lawn less often to let dandelions, clovers and other plants flower, avoiding <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/biology/scientists-call-for-urgent-action-on-bee-killing-insecticides/" target="_blank">pesticides</a> and never spraying open flowers, and covering as much garden area as possible in flowery borders and natural lawns.</p>  <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=138747&title=Home+gardens+vital+for+pollinators" alt="" width="1" height="1" /> </div> <div id="contributors"> <p><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/biology/home-gardens-vital-for-pollinators/">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/natalie-parletta">Natalie Parletta</a>. Natalie Parletta is a freelance science writer based in Adelaide and an adjunct senior research fellow with the University of South Australia.</p> <p><em>Image: Cosmos Magazine</em></p> </div>

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