Lots of very clever people are working hard to try to answer it. I have worked on this problem for many years, and to be honest it still blows my mind to really think about just how complex it is.

Nature is good for your health. Perhaps predictably, the world of technology is now offering technical solutions that seek to replace the need for authentic nature experiences. 

Everyone thinks that dogs worship their owners – viewing them as gods of some sort. While that may be true in the majority of cases, it isn’t always so. As a veterinarian, I can confirm that sometimes, no matter what, a dog and his person just aren’t going to get along.

Canada currently finds itself at the intersection of two historic social phenomena with massive implications for public health.

Over a decade ago, I wrote a piece for a psychiatric journal entitled “Is Bigotry a Mental Illness?” At the time, some psychiatrists were advocating making “pathological bigotry” or pathological bias

Parents are being warned there could be a big rise in head lice outbreaks in schools this winter. The health charity Community Hygiene Concern has predicted that low-income families will be hit hardest after a change in NHS England guidance, means GPs are now routinely prevented from prescribing any treatment for the parasites.

Women have been menstruating throughout history. So it’s curious the earliest documented record of what we now know to be premenstrual syndrome (PMS) appeared pretty late in the game.

The arrival of the pill in 1961 was pivotal in enabling women to control their fertility with a method unrelated to sex.

Understanding the very different characteristics of subgroups of obese patients may hold the key to devising more effective weight-loss treatments and interventions, according to new research.

Depression and anxiety are known to affect around one in five people, but depression occurs twice as often in women as in men.

A major dust storm swept through Sydney and regional New South Wales this week. Red skies over Broken Hill on Wednesday night and Sydney on Thursday resembled those seen during intense bushfire activity and the massive 2009 dust storm.

The process of shedding the uterine lining with vaginal bleeding every month has an obvious reproductive focus, but it has also long been linked with changes to mood and behaviour. Unfortunately, this has often been an attempt to consign women to a “biologically” determined place of inferior mental functioning.

Have you ever been licked by a cat? If so you’ll know the feline tongue feels more like sandpaper than satin.

Recent headlines claim that a glass of wine or a pint of beer a day shortens your life. It’s enough to dampen any thoughts of a celebratory drink or two at Christmas. But those conclusions are based on a partial view of the alcohol debate.

Though most college students typically don’t intend to drink alcohol to the point that they “black out,” many don’t fully grasp what specific drinking behaviors present the greatest risk, a new series of studies finds.

At the age of 14, a young Donald Watson watched as a terrified pig was slaughtered on his family farm. In the British boy’s eyes, the screaming pig was being murdered. Watson stopped eating meat and eventually gave up dairy as well.

Manipulating environmental exposures to optimize a healthy microbiome may hold the promise of preventing chronic inflammatory diseases, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

Boys who grow up in healthier, wealthier environments tend to have more testosterone as adults, our latest research shows.

A recent widely-reported study has reignited debate around whether omega-3 supplements reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. The study showed a particular form of omega-3 oil lowered the risk of people with heart disease experiencing a major “end point” event by 25%.

Meaningful work matters. At its most basic level, work satisfies our economic imperatives and signals our position in society. Through it, we pay the rent, buy groceries, and prepare for the future. But our work can also express who we are and provide reasons for getting on with life..