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The royals have historically been tight-lipped about their health – but that never stopped the gossip

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lisa-j-hackett-458612">Lisa J. Hackett</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-new-england-919">University of New England</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/huw-nolan-1309470">Huw Nolan</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-new-england-919">University of New England</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jo-coghlan-1585">Jo Coghlan</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-new-england-919">University of New England</a> King Charles III has been diagnosed with cancer. This is an unexpected announcement: it is unusual for the royal family to release details of medical conditions to the public. “<a href="https://journal.media-culture.org.au/index.php/mcjournal/article/view/2986">Don’t let the daylight in</a>” was how British essayist Walter Bagehot advised the British monarchy to deal with the public in 1867. “[A]bove all things our royalty is to be reverenced […] its mystery is its life,” he wrote. For Queen Elizabeth II this attitude framed her response to public information about the royals, quipping “<a href="https://www.news24.com/you/royals/news/royal-author-explains-queens-never-complain-never-explain-mantra-20220620">never complain, never explain</a>”. Maybe this explains why Princess Kate’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/feb/05/king-charles-diagnosed-with-cancer-buckingham-palace-announces">recent abdominal surgery</a> has not been disclosed to the public, with media reports saying she is “determined to keep her medical details private”. In revealing the fragility of the royal body much of the mystique about them as anointed by God fades away. But the royals’ health has, occasionally, been the subject of official news, and, more commonly, the subject of gossip. <h2>Henry VIII’s ‘soore legge’</h2> Henry VIII’s (1491–1547) health was well-documented and discussed in state-papers and diplomatic dispatches of the day. In his early years, he was known for his robust health. In his later years, he would be described as “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2789029/">cursed</a>” by his deteriorating health. As Henry aged, his access to fine food led to an increase of weight. Doctors today might diagnose him with obesity, and it has been <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2789029/">speculated by contemporary medical historians</a> he suffered from hypertension and Type II diabetes. This disease, which can lead to diabetic neuropathy and <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/library/features/healthy-feet.html">serious foot complications</a>, could account for the persistent and odorous ulcers on his “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2789029/#:%7E:text=In%20the%20same%20year%20Henry,annual%20salary%20of%2020%20shillings.">sorre legge</a>”, as described by his contemporaries. Knowledge about Henry’s health was not widespread. The king had sequestered himself in his private apartments. Even his attending <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2388216/pdf/annrcse00840-0011.pdf">physicians did not keep notes</a>, perhaps concerned about being accused of treason in the volatile politics of the time. Most of our knowledge today is gleaned from diplomatic reports sent by diplomats to their own leaders. <h2>Queen Anne’s lupus</h2> Queen Anne (1665-1714) had 17 pregnancies, 11 of which resulted in miscarriages or stillbirths, with the remainder all dying in childhood. Despite the regularity of her failed pregnancies, her physician, John Radcliffe, repeatedly declared she was in good health and her miscarriages were due to “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1540-6563.1986.tb00702.x">the vapours</a>”, a vague diagnosis often attributed to aristocratic women. It is <a href="https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA12456274&sid=googleScholar&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=17592151&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7Ee39109f7&aty=open-web-entry">now believed Anne</a> may have been afflicted with the autoimmune condition lupus. For Anne’s contemporaries, the name of the illness perhaps mattered less than the real political issue it presented: who would become monarch after her? With no heirs, there was real political fear her Catholic half-brother <a href="https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/manuscriptsandspecialcollections/learning/biographies/jamesfrancisedwardstuart(1688-1766).aspx">James Francis Edward Stuart</a> (“The Old Pretender”) would claim the throne. But the law <a href="https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/parliamentaryauthority/revolution/collections1/parliamentary-collections/act-of-settlement/">excluded Catholics</a> from the taking the crown, and ensured Anne would be succeed by her second cousin, George I of Hanover and Britain. <h2>George III and mental illness</h2> George III (1738–1820) famously suffered from bouts of mental illness, more recently been speculated to be caused by <a href="https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/porphyria">Porphyria</a>, a hereditary blood disorder. Throughout his illness <a href="https://blogs.ncl.ac.uk/speccoll/2023/11/01/bulletin-on-the-state-of-king-george-iiis-health-october-2011-2/">bulletins were issued</a> by his doctors informing the public of his condition. These were kept <a href="https://blogs.ncl.ac.uk/speccoll/2023/11/01/bulletin-on-the-state-of-king-george-iiis-health-october-2011-2/">deliberately vague</a>, with the aim to reassure the public rather than divulge details. His repeated bouts of illness mean his health was <a href="https://oro.open.ac.uk/92656/3/92656.pdf">a constant in the media of the time</a>, with frequent, at times twice-daily, updates during episodes. His illness called into <a href="https://oro.open.ac.uk/92656/3/92656.pdf">question his ability to be monarch</a>, a situation eventually resolved by the installing of his son, later George IV, as Prince Regent. <h2>A family of haemophilia</h2> Queen Victoria has been called the “<a href="https://hekint.org/2020/02/10/royal-blood-queen-victoria-and-the-legacy-of-hemophilia-in-european-royalty/?highlight=%E2%A3%82%E2%A3%9A%20Buy%20Viagra%20from%20%240.31%20per%20pill%20%3A%20%F0%9F%8F%A5%20www.LloydsPharmacy.xyz%20%F0%9F%8F%A5%20-%20Pharma%20without%20prescription%20%E2%A3%9A%E2%A3%82Viagra%20Cialis%20Levitra%20Staxyn%20Online%20Viagra%20Online%20Information">Grandmother of Europe</a>” due to her many descendants. This also came with a deadly legacy, haemophilia, given the moniker “the royal disease”. <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/hemophilia/facts.html">Haemophilia</a> is an inherited disorder which mostly affects males, where the blood does not clot properly. This can lead to severe or spontaneous bleeding which can be dangerous if not treated properly. While the illness can be managed well today, in Victoria’s time little was known about it. It is believed Victoria passed on the trait to <a href="https://www.hemophilia.org/bleeding-disorders-a-z/overview/history">three of her nine children</a>, at a time when life expectancy for those who had the disease was just 13 years old. Two of her daughters were asymptomatic carriers, however her fourth son Prince Leopold (1853-1884) was afflicted with the disease. While the royal family were careful to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21764831/">manage what information was publicly released</a> about his illness, his status meant it garnered public attention. It was covered in medical journals of the time, and later in newspapers. As knowledge of the illness grew, both the public and members of the royal family were able to use it to guide decisions on marriages to limit its spread. <h2>A new approach</h2> In the days leading up to Elizabeth’s death on 2022, the media reported her as resting “<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2022/09/08/queen-under-medical-supervision-as-doctors-are-concerned-for-her-health/?sh=42c483e9140e">comfortably</a>” and provided no information on the nature of her illness. Even her <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/News/queen-elizabeth-iis-death-revealed-death-certificate/story?id=90696648">death certificate</a> failed to reveal her cause of death, other than as old age. Charles has signalled he wants to do monarchy differently than his mother. After his recent prostate surgery, his office stated he wanted to inspire men to look after their prostates. Anecdotal evidence suggests more men have sought medical tests in response which is being called the “<a href="https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/king-charles-effect-spurs-aussie-men-to-consult-their-gp-for-prostate-symptoms/">King Charles effect</a>”. Now, the announcement of Charles’s cancer diagnosis signals a new approach by the royals. <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/222873/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/lisa-j-hackett-458612">Lisa J. Hackett</a>, Lecturer, Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-new-england-919">University of New England</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/huw-nolan-1309470">Huw Nolan</a>, Animal Welfare scientist and pop culture researcher, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-new-england-919">University of New England</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jo-coghlan-1585">Jo Coghlan</a>, Associate Professor Humanities Arts and Social Sciences, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-new-england-919">University of New England</a> Image credits: Getty Images This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-royals-have-historically-been-tight-lipped-about-their-health-but-that-never-stopped-the-gossip-222873">original article</a>.

Caring

5 simple tips to fix dry hair

As we age, our hair is just one of the parts of our body that goes through a drastic change. Aside from the obvious (going grey), it also becomes thinner, drier, duller, and you may experience some hair loss. But thankfully, you can take steps to ensure your hair looks as healthy as possible no matter what your age. Here are five tips to help you rejuvenate and re-moisturise dry, dull hair. 1. Get the temperature right You might like your showers extra hot, but too much heat can force the hair shalt open, and if your hair is dry or damaged, the shaft won’t be able to close fully and the moisture will seep right out. Instead, keep the water warm during washing then finish with a cool rinse to make your hair look shinier. 2. Don’t over-wash Using shampoo every day will strip your hair of its healthy natural oils, thus drying it out. Try to use it only every second day, using conditioner in between to add some moisture. 3. Raid the kitchen The secret to healthy, shiny hair could be lying in your kitchen. For a rejuvenating, vitamin-packed hair mask, simply mash a super ripe avocado with some olive oil. Apply to your hair, leave for 20 minutes and then rinse off – it’s an easy, natural way to restore moisture and shine. 4. Turn off the tools Your hair dryer or straightener may make life easier when it comes to styling, but it’s not doing damaged hair any help. If you absolutely can’t live without them, at least invest in the best tools you can afford. And when choosing a straightener or hair iron, don’t go any hotter than 185 degrees – any higher and your hair may become more damaged. The same goes for hair dryers – avoid the temptation to switch it up to the hottest setting, and before subjecting your hair to any dryers or straighteners, treat it with a heat protectant spray. 5. Book a trip to the salon It might not be that your hair is dry, but rather that the ends of your hair are dry, split and in need of a cut. A good way to judge how much you need to trim is by seeing how quickly your hair dries. If the ends air-dry almost immediately while the rest of your hair remains wet, those ends need to go. Images: Getty

Beauty & Style

6 blow-drying mistakes everyone makes

If you’ve ever wondered why you can’t manage to make your blow dry look as good or last as long as the professionals, it’s probably down to your technique. While taking to your hair with your dryer and hoping for the best may be the easiest way to blow dry, you’ll rarely get the kind of results you’re hoping for. Here are the most common mistakes us amateurs make and how to correct them. 1. Using the wrong type of hair dryer These days the shelves are heaving under the weight of all the different types of blow dryers on the market. The best ones to look for are those that dry hair the fastest while also being as gentle as possible. Ionic, ceramic and tourmaline hair 2. Forgetting to use attachments If you’ve discarded the attachments that came with your dryer to the bottom of the bathroom cupboard now may be the time to pull them out. A diffuser is great for defining curls and waves while the concentrator nozzle can help with that super straight result. 3. Not knowing your angles Not holding your dryer at the right angle and/or pointing it at your hair and holding on the one spot are both key mistakes that result in frizz and damage. Your dryer should be constantly moving and your dryer horizontal. 4. Using the wrong heat setting Most dryers have a variety of heat settings. While selecting the hottest is tempting, it’s not going to do great things for hair that isn’t extremely thick and/or coarse. Medium to mid high is generally the best for normal, damp hair while lower settings are great for fragile or very damaged locks. 5. Forgetting to use heat protectant Heat protectant serums, sprays and lotions should always be used before heat styling to minimise damage and maximize results. 6. Choosing the wrong hairbrush Metal based brushes have been popular for a while now due to their promises of super quick results. Unfortunately they aren’t the best for your hair, leaving it very hot and prone to damage. Look for a round brush with a mix of nylon and boar bristles for best results. Image credits: Getty Images

Beauty & Style

Mum’s clever hack helps dry your dishes in record time

For many people, the ultimate kitchen pet peeve is when you open your dishwasher after its cycle has finished and while your dishes may be clean, they are still sopping wet. Rather than running the appliance through another drying cycle, one clever mum has discovered how to dry your dishes in five minutes flat. Known online for her cleaning hacks and recipes, Babs shared a video to her Instagram to share her savvy hack. "Has this ever happened to you? You're ready to unload the dishwasher, and guess what!? Everything is still wet," says Babs. "Don't hand dry - do this instead." <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/ChwtuzFAwfP/?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/ChwtuzFAwfP/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Babs (@brunchwithbabs)</a> </div> </blockquote> She explains, "Take a terry cloth dish towel, open the door, lay it right over. Just close the door. Wait five minutes. You'll have dry dishes." Many people thanked Babs for the great tip and confirmed that it really does work. “Have been doing it since I first saw it here,” said one commenter. Another added, "Such a great tip! Mine are never dry at the end of the cycle. I'm definitely going to try this.” Despite the praise for her handy tip, ohers cautioned Bab’s viewers with a warning. "It can/will compromise the dishwasher seal and locking mechanism, causing costly repairs or early replacement," someone warned. Image credits: Getty Images

Home & Garden

Mum’s fool-proof hack to dry your clothes in half the time

A clever mum has shared the ultimate laundry tip that will ensure your clothes air-dry in no time. With surging energy bills crippling households, air drying items is a much more efficient way of doing laundry. However, colder winter months can sometimes mean clothes and linen may take days to dry in the fresh air. One mum has found the answer to this problem, sharing her hack on the Facebook page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/mumswhoclean">Mums Who Clean</a>. "I have recently been staying with my elderly parents. While there, I did some washing for them," she says. "Mum said to me, 'Don't forget to do an additional spin cycle after the cycle has finished.'” "Her response was that it wouldn't take as long for the washing to dry on a cold winter's day when there isn't as much sun.” "And guess what, she was right!" The mum tried it for herself when she got home, saying it helped to dry her clothes in half the time. "Since returning home this week to Sydney and the rain, I tried this on a load of towels (bath sheets) before putting them in the dryer," she says. "Normally, the load would take one and a half to two hours to dry, and they took just under 60 minutes." Other group members were impressed with the hack, with many saying they would give it a go. "Oh wow, I'm going to give this a go!" said one person. Others said they’ve been doing this hack “for years”, and were happy others were going to try the handy tip. Image credits: Getty Images

Home & Garden

Shoppers warned against using “secret lip gloss” in Aldi lipstick

Aldi shoppers are a savvy bunch, with many creating and sharing hacks for everything from packing bags to finding the best deals, but shoppers have been urged to stop using one involving the supermarket giant’s range of lipsticks out of fears it could be toxic. The “secret lip gloss” came to light after Aussie shoppers took to Facebook to brag about the “life hack” where the store’s Lacura lipsticks could be taken apart to reveal a hidden “lip gloss”, as reported by <a href="https://style.nine.com.au/latest/shoppers-warned-to-stop-applying-toxic-secret-lip-gloss-in-aldi-lipsticks/ac5bf471-5c08-47af-a263-2d8ef83d6da3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">9Honey</a>. “My mind is blown!!! Am I the last one to figure out there’s lip gloss at the bottom of the Aldi lipstick???” one Brisbane woman wrote on the social media platform. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/07/lipstick1.jpg" alt="" width="792" height="445" /> Image: Facebook However, it turns out that the “lip gloss” in question isn’t actually makeup. According to other social media users, the glossy substance is a colour-matching chemical intended to show customers the colour of the lipstick which shouldn’t be applied to lips as it could be toxic. Though some commenters believed the original post, others remained sceptical. “My guess is that it’s not meant to be lip gloss and to show the colour of the lipstick only,” one user wrote. “If it was lip gloss they would have made it easier to 1. Open it and 2. To get it out without having to use a lip brush. I would be very careful.” The original poster also mentioned that they broke their lipstick while trying to get the substance out - more proof that it shouldn’t be accessed. “I have just about broken the stupid thing trying to get it off … it actually comes off easily if you do it right,” they said. Image: Facebook

Beauty & Style

Physio ‘dry needling’ and acupuncture – what’s the difference and what does the evidence say?

Physiotherapists are increasingly offering needling therapies in addition to their standard care. Many Australian <a href="https://australian.physio/research/prf/translation/five-facts-about-acupuncture-and-dry-needling-musculoskeletal-pain" target="_blank" rel="noopener">physiotherapists</a> in private practice now offer dry needling or Western medical acupuncture as part of a treatment approach. Is it just a fad or does science support it? <h2>Needling, three ways</h2> Physiotherapists can be trained to use dry needling, Western acupuncture and/or traditional acupuncture. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23801002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dry needling</a> involves penetrating the skin with needles to altered or dysfunctional tissue in order to improve or restore function. This often involves needling muscle trigger points to activate a reflexive relaxation of the muscle. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28739020/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Western acupuncture</a> uses traditional needling <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2005290110600143" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meridians</a> (the ancient idea of energy channels through the body) and trigger points. But these ideas are applied to Western understandings of anatomy. In Western acupuncture, points are stimulated to create local tissue changes, as well as spinal and brain effects. The goals is to trigger pain-relieving chemicals, muscle activation or relaxation. Even though traditional acupuncture points are used with this style of needling, Western acupuncture is not viewed as traditional Chinese medicine. <a href="https://healthtimes.com.au/hub/pain-management/44/research/kk1/acupuncture-for-pain-management/1581/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Traditional acupuncture</a> uses meridian lines or other points based on traditional Chinese medicine assessment methods and approaches. All physiotherapists trained in either acupuncture or dry needling meet safety standards which are viewed as within scope by the <a href="https://www.ahpra.gov.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Australian Health Practitioners Regulatory Agency</a> and the <a href="https://www.physiotherapyboard.gov.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Physiotherapy Registration Board</a>. These standards cover the level of training required, registration to practice and safety standards that include needle safety and hygiene to protect the public. Minor reported <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7015026/#:%7E:text=Examples%20of%20minor%20adverse%20reactions,pain%20during%20or%20after%20treatment." target="_blank" rel="noopener">side effects</a> related to acupuncture including pain and bleeding or bruising from needle insertion are fairly common. But major adverse events – pneumothorax (collapsed lung), excessive bleeding, prolonged aggravation – are rare. <h2>What’s needling good for?</h2> Research into the effectiveness of acupuncture and dry needling is variable. Some studies show comparable results between dry needling and acupuncture, while others show more favourable results for one or the other depending on the condition being treated. A <a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD001351.pub2/full?highlightAbstract=dry%7Cdri%7Cneedl%7Cneedling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">review</a> that assessed the effects of acupuncture and dry needling for the treatment of low-back pain found they may be useful add-on therapies but could not make firm conclusions due to a lack of quality trials. Another <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6600071/#CIT0034" target="_blank" rel="noopener">review</a> reported the growing popularity of dry needling world wide and across disciplines and points out that many questions still remain regarding the use of needling. For <a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD001218.pub3/full?highlightAbstract=acupuncture%7Cmigraine%7Cmigrain%7Cacupunctur" target="_blank" rel="noopener">migraine</a> and <a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD007587.pub2/full?highlightAbstract=acupuncture%7Cheadach%7Ctension%7Cacupunctur%7Cheadache%7Ctype" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tension</a> headaches, experts say acupuncture seems to reduce the frequency and intensity of attacks – though more research is needed to compare it to other treatments. Acupuncture and dry needling may reduce pain and improve function for people with <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17224820/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">neck pain</a>. A systematic review found significant differences between acupuncture and “sham acupuncture” (which is performed away from acupuncture points) when used to treat <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22965186/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">certain types of chronic pain</a>. However, some research only shows <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33066556/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">small and temporary</a> relief for neck pain with dry needling. Results from randomised control trials support the use of needling for <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27062955" target="_blank" rel="noopener">shoulder pain</a>, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32301166/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tennis elbow</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32186030/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">osteo arthritic knee pain</a>. But a recent systemic review of research reported only weak evidence to support needling to treat <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33760098/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">plantarfasciitis and chronic ankle instability</a>. <h2>Not just for sporting injuries</h2> Similarly, small randomised control trials have shown acupuncture and dry needling might reduce <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17095133/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">problematic jaw pain</a> (<a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/temporomandibular-disorder-tmd#:%7E:text=Temporomandibular%20disorders%20(TMD)%20are%20disorders,may%20result%20in%20temporomandibular%20disorder." target="_blank" rel="noopener">temporo mandibular disorder</a>) and improve mouth opening. Systematic reviews have reported needling and acupuncture were safe and effective recommendations for the treatment of broad conditions of <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/tendinopathy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tendinopathy</a> (the breakdown of collagen in tendons) and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30787631/#:%7E:text=At%20follow%2Dup%20in%20the,for%20the%20management%20of%20FM." target="_blank" rel="noopener">fibromyalgia</a> (chronic pain in the muscles and bones). For women’s health, acupuncture has been shown to be effective for reducing pain with <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29879061/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">periods</a>, compared to no treatment or non-steroidal pain relief medications – but the research had design limitations. Though <a href="https://www.cochrane.org/CD002962/PREG_acupuncture-or-acupressure-induction-labour#:%7E:text=Acupuncture%20involves%20the%20insertion%20of,with%20onset%20of%20labour%20contractions." target="_blank" rel="noopener">widely used</a> in pregnancy, research into the use of acupuncture to <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32032444/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">induce labour</a> reports it may increase satisfaction with pain management and reduce pain intensity. But it may have little to no effect on the rates of caesarean or assisted vaginal birth. In summary, it appears needling techniques – whether dry needling or acupuncture – generally show positive effects over no treatment or “sham” treatments, but more research and high quality trials are needed. <h2>Just one part of a treatment program</h2> Needling <a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD001351.pub2/full?highlightAbstract=dry%7Cdri%7Cneedl%7Cneedlin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">may be useful</a> as part of multimodal care – that is, when <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4780149/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more than one treatment</a> is used in conjunction to treat a problem. Physiotherapists may combine needling therapies with exercise prescription, hands-on care including massage, mobilisations and manipulations, and taping techniques. They may also employ therapies that apply external energy such as ultrasound, laser, transcutaneous (under the skin) electrical nerve stimulation and biofeedback. Finally, while the various needling techniques all use a filiform needle (with a solid filament as opposed to a hollow bore needle), the styles with each can be quite different. Ask what style of needling is being employed to treat you, and if you have a history of finding one style works better for you, discuss this with your practitioner. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/physio-dry-needling-and-acupuncture-whats-the-difference-and-what-does-the-evidence-say-181939" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Image: Shutterstock

Body

Always do this if you want to avoid dry skin in winter

How to avoid dry skin in winter Ah, winter. ’Tis the season for dry skin, along with potential complications, including itching, flaking, cracking, bleeding, rosacea (redness and inflammation) and eczema flare-ups. There are several reasons for this. First, the air outdoors is drier. Indoor air tends to be parched as well, an effect of heating systems. Seniors need to take extra care, since cumulative sun damage and slower production of natural oils put them at greater risk of dryness. Happily, there’s plenty you can do to combat dry skin in winter. Switch up your shower routine To start, adapt your bathing routine. Piping hot water may feel good, but that’s a sure way to strip away your skin’s natural oils. Use warm water instead, keep your baths or showers short, and apply a generous amount of moisturiser after you dry off. Thick, oily products are especially effective at fighting winter moisture loss, “but don’t despair if you can’t tolerate those due to pore clogging or shininess,” says dermatologist, Dr Bav Shergill. “Even a light moisturiser will give you some protection.” Hand care When it comes to your hands, frequent washing with soap is essential for preventing the flu and other infections, but it leads to dryness. So after you clean them, apply hand cream. If that doesn’t help enough, try a dab of petroleum jelly before bed; you can put on cotton gloves to keep it in place overnight. Wearing mittens or gloves outdoors also reduces damage, since exposure to the frigid air further harms skin. Layer up If you’re prone to winter itch (which is exactly what it sounds like), avoid direct contact with potentially irritating fabrics such as wool or synthetic fibres. “The best approach is to wear several thin layers,” says Shergill. “The one next to the skin could be cotton or a cotton/silk blend, both of which appear to be well tolerated by most people.” Layering lets you adapt to various temperatures during the day, keeping you toasty while avoiding excessive sweating that could trigger itching and scratching in already-irritated skin. Written by Samantha Rideout. This article first appeared in <a href="https://www.readersdigest.co.nz/healthsmart/beauty/skin/always-do-this-if-you-want-to-avoid-dry-skin-in-winter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.co.nz/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&utm_medium=articles&utm_campaign=RDSUB&keycode=WRA87V" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here’s our best subscription offer.</a> Image: Getty Images

Beauty & Style

Lip reader reveals insight into THOSE scenes between Kate and Louis

Prince Louis’ adorable antics certainly stole the show at the Platinum Jubilee, however, it seems not everyone was fond of his behaviour. A lip reader captured a serious parenting moment between the Duchess of Cambridge and young Louis, as the family were sitting in the royal box on the final day of celebrations. The Cambridges were enjoying the colourful floats at the pageant and Louis was seen pulling faces and getting tired and restless. According to lip reading expert Jeremy Freeman, Kate had some stern words for her youngest during his grumpy moment. Jeremy says when Kate spotted Louis picking his nose and put his hand down, she said to her son: "You have to." "I don't want to," Louis reportedly answered, before cheekily covering his mum's mouth. Kate then replied: "I said no hands!" and gave him another serious look. The lip reader says Kate once again told Louis to stop with his antics after he stuck his tongue out. "Stop doing that," she said. A sweet moment between Prince Louis and his older cousin Mike Tindall was also caught on camera. While Louis was misbehaving, Mike was seen jokingly warning the young Royal that he was watching him from the seats above, gesturing to his eyes. There were other moments when Louis sat in the lap of dad Prince William and granddad Prince Charles. The Prince of Wales was seen bopping his grandson with his legs and also pointed out parts of the display to him. Prince Louis was also spotted having a great time dancing along to the music as the floats went by. Kate's relatable parenting moment captured the hearts of millions as they watched the Cambridges enjoy the Jubilee carnival. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge made light of Louis' cheeky behaviour in an Instagram, <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/family-pets/kate-and-will-respond-to-haters-with-unseen-snap-of-louis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sharing ten unseen photos from the Jubilee celebrations</a>. Freeman also caught a precious exchange between the Queen, and her great-grandson during their balcony appearance at Trooping the Colour. Reportedly, Prince Louis looked up to his great-grandmother and asked: "Are the Red Arrows coming?" The Queen replied, "I hope so." At one point, the Queen told Louis to "look at the smoke". The young royal also expressed amazement at the Armed Forces jets, turning to his mother and saying: "Woah." At the end of the display, the monarch told her great-grandson: "Let's go, it's finished now." Body language expert Judi James told the publication that the monarch and Prince Louis shared "childlike excitement" on the balcony. She explained: "Louis stepped in front of the Queen before tilting his head back to engage her in some animated conversation as they waited for the Red Arrows. "Louis made this conversation look like the most natural thing in the world and his lack of anything bordering on fear suggested these two might share a rather close friendship based on shared fun behind the scenes, too." Image: Getty

Family & Pets

Always do this if you want to avoid dry skin in winter

Ah, winter. ’Tis the season for dry skin, along with potential complications, including itching, flaking, cracking, bleeding, rosacea (redness and inflammation) and eczema flare-ups. There are several reasons for this. First, the air outdoors is drier. Indoor air tends to be parched as well, an effect of heating systems. Seniors need to take extra care, since cumulative sun damage and slower production of natural oils put them at greater risk of dryness. Happily, there’s plenty you can do to combat dry skin in winter. Switch up your shower routine To start, adapt your bathing routine. Piping hot water may feel good, but that’s a sure way to strip away your skin’s natural oils. Use warm water instead, keep your baths or showers short, and apply a generous amount of moisturiser after you dry off. Thick, oily products are especially effective at fighting winter moisture loss, “but don’t despair if you can’t tolerate those due to pore clogging or shininess,” says dermatologist, Dr Bav Shergill. “Even a light moisturiser will give you some protection.” Hand care When it comes to your hands, frequent washing with soap is essential for preventing the flu and other infections, but it leads to dryness. So after you clean them, apply hand cream. If that doesn’t help enough, try a dab of petroleum jelly before bed; you can put on cotton gloves to keep it in place overnight. Wearing mittens or gloves outdoors also reduces damage, since exposure to the frigid air further harms skin. Layer up If you’re prone to winter itch (which is exactly what it sounds like), avoid direct contact with potentially irritating fabrics such as wool or synthetic fibres. “The best approach is to wear several thin layers,” says Shergill. “The one next to the skin could be cotton or a cotton/silk blend, both of which appear to be well tolerated by most people.” Layering lets you adapt to various temperatures during the day, keeping you toasty while avoiding excessive sweating that could trigger itching and scratching in already-irritated skin. This article originally appeared on <a href="https://www.readersdigest.co.nz/healthsmart/beauty/skin/always-do-this-if-you-want-to-avoid-dry-skin-in-winter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader’s Digest</a>.

Caring

Got lip lines? Here’s what a dermatologist would do

How you got wrinkles around your mouth Even if you never smoked in your life, you can develop fine lines around the mouth from sipping through a straw, whistling a tune, pursing your lips in frustration, or even overdoing it on those duck-face selfies. Even speech patterns which involve frequent pursing of the lips can contribute. “Minor lips lines are caused by ageing and sun damage,” explains plastic surgeon, Dr Norman Rowe. “Larger lips lines are caused by muscle overactivity.” Regardless of the cause, top cosmetic doctors have more tools than they’ve ever had to help delete your lip lines and prevent them from coming back. Neuromodulators For fine, moderate (not too deep) lip lines, neuromodulator injections such as Botox, Dysport, or Xeomin can often paralyse them into submission, says cosmetic surgeon, Dr Joe Niamtu. “This helps relax the muscle tension around the mouth and makes a small but generally noticeable difference.” “Prejuvenation” is a big buzzword in aesthetics today, and it has a role to play in staving off severe lip lines, adds dermatologist, Dr Joel Cohen. “If I see patients in their 20s and maybe early 30s, and I use Botox, Dysport, or Xeomin in low dosages to soften the muscles, these columns are less prominent, less deep, and less likely to imprint the skin.” Some effects are visible immediately, but it can take up to two weeks for these neuromodulators to fully kick in. Results last anywhere from two to four months. Cost varies by the amount needed. Fillers For deeper static lines, hyaluronic-acid based dermal fillers are the way to go, says plastic surgeon, Dr David Shafer. Hyaluronic acid is found naturally in almost every cell in our body (especially the skin), but our supply tends to dwindle with advancing age. “Some hyaluronic acid fillers – Juvederm and Restylane – can provide volume to plump the lip, while others – Volbella, Restylane Silk, and Belotero – are much thinner and can help fill lines without adding as much bulk,” he says. “Since the lips lose volume with age, I often suggest a combination of natural plumping and line filling.” For people who have mild lines in the upper lip, Dr Cohen injects the filler very superficially so it blurs them. He also likes to pretreat the area a week or two earlier with a little bit of Botox, Dysport, or Xeomin to soften that musculature. Cost is based on the type of filler, amount needed, and often the location of the medical practice. Exactly how long results last also varies by product. Another option for those who hate needles: Fillerina Replenishing Treatment, a gel composed of six hyaluronic acids that is released via a pen-like applicator to fill in fine lip lines. Lasers, lights and peels Patients with fine lip lines and an aversion to needles have other options as well, Dr Shafer says. “The outer layer of the skin can be treated with superficial treatments such as laser resurfacing, radiofrequency energy, chemical peels, micro-needling, dermabrasion and other such treatments,” he says. These treatments all remove the skin’s uppermost layer, getting rid of dead skin cells and making room for new, healthier ones. “Treating the superficial layer helps improve skin texture and colour and soften very fine static lines.” These treatments are quick and relatively pain-free with numbing cream, and there’s minimal recovery depending on the type of treatment and how aggressive it is. Peels and laser treatments will cause several days or more of redness, which you can conceal with makeup, he says. A series of treatments are typically needed for optimum results. “For deeper etched lines, I like to use full-field erbium resurfacing lasers, which is done to a very deep level,” Dr Cohen says. The downside? There’s some downtime with this aggressive procedure, he says. The upside? It’s often one and done, meaning there’s no need to come back for more treatments. “I often pre-treat these patients a week or two before with Botox or Dysport just to decrease the mechanical action of that underlying muscle contracting for a synergistic result,” he adds. PRP: the newest kid on the block Platelet-rich plasma (PRP), a substance in our own blood that is rich with growth factors, is being used to treat hair loss, orthopaedic injuries, and more, including lip lines. “PRP injections stimulate new collagen formation like spackling,” says New York City facial plastic surgeon Sam Rizk. Collagen is the main building block of healthy youthful skin, and as we age, our natural supply diminishes. “PRP works well for smoker’s lines because it fills in the lines from the inside out. I use a combination of PRP and laser resurfacing for a one-two punch,” Dr Rizk says. He typically recommends three treatments, spaced four to eight weeks apart, and often sees visible improvement in the first month. If you’re leery about needles and fillers, think about a light resurfacing laser like Fraxel. An ounce of prevention … The procedures outlined here can help eliminate lip lines once you have them. Even better? Preventing them from developing in the first place. “Protecting your lips from the sun, always using sunblock, not smoking cigarettes, and getting preventive Botox will slow down the formation of these lines,” says Dr Rowe. Written by Denise Mann. This article first appeared in <a href="https://www.readersdigest.co.nz/healthsmart/beauty/got-lip-lines-heres-what-a-dermatologist-would-do" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.co.nz/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&utm_medium=articles&utm_campaign=RDSUB&keycode=WRN93V" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here’s our best subscription offer.</a> Image: Getty Images

Beauty & Style

"It’s not worth it": Woman shares botched lip filler treatment

A UK woman has opened up about how a lip filler treatment she received made her lips “split open” in a horror reaction. Alise took to <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@djalise_/video/6934797210857032966?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1&lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TikTok</a> to explain exactly what happened during the treatment she received in December 2020. “When I had so much lip filler in my lips they split open and I looked like a duck,” she wrote on the <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@djalise_/video/7043832229432151302?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id7019154073816286722" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a>, which showed her miming the words of a soundbite taken from America’s Top Model. The clip also showed a picture of her after the failed treatment, with swollen lips and a split down the middle. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/03/lip-filler.jpg" alt="" width="396" height="451" /> TikTok user and DJ Alise shared how her beauty treatment went horribly wrong. Image: @djalise_ (TikTok) Others on the platform were quick to share their sympathy for Alise and their own bad experiences. “They look so much better now and they looked painful before,” one person wrote. “Mine are the exact same! Getting them dissolved on Friday,” another shared. In an earlier clip, she responded to a commenter’s request to see photos of her lips after the treatment with a series of images from before and after the treatment. Alise said the split and swelling began several hours after the treatment, and blisters appeared within several days. “This is when I contacted the practitioner and said something’s not right,” she recounted in the <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@djalise_/video/6935471841960054021?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a>. “I sent them pictures, I wasn’t able to go into the salon. And they said I had facial herpes, just from looking at a picture.” After seeking medical advice from her GP, Alise said she found out it was just an infection that caused the blisters. “The practitioner gave me a full refund however took no responsibility,” she said in the clip, adding that she was made to sign a contract so she wouldn’t talk about the incident. Alise discouraged her followers from getting the procedure done in another, even earlier <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@djalise_/video/6934797210857032966?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id7019154073816286722" target="_blank" rel="noopener">clip</a> which prompted her to share her story in several ‘story time’ videos. “I do not recommend you get lip filler,” she said. “It’s not worth it. It will ruin your natural lips over time.” Images: @djalise_ (TikTok)

Beauty & Style

Woman reveals why she left a salon with lopsided lips

A woman who left her beauty appointment with half-plumped lips has <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-10469965/Woman-left-lopsided-lips-forced-leave-beauty-appointment.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> the reason behind the incredibly awkward situation.Hareem Shah, a popular TikToker with 6.5 million followers, revealed in a video that she had to leave after receiving a phone call informing her of a money-laundering investigation against her.In the now-viral <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@hareemshahofficialx/video/7058436779015163138?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1&lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">clip</a>, Shah explained that she found out her accounts had been frozen midway through her appointment.“I am in the UK right now. Today I went to the doctor to get my lip filler done,” she said in Urdu, as translated by <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/trending-news/story/pakistan-tiktok-star-hareem-shah-lip-job-fia-bank-account-freeze-video-1907014-2022-02-01" target="_blank" rel="noopener">India Today</a>.“The doctor had just inserted a filler on one side of my lip when I received a call and I got to know that the Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency has frozen my bank accounts.”She said she left the expensive treatment as she wouldn’t have been able to pay for the service.According to media outlet <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1669061" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dawn</a>, an investigation was launched against Ms Shah by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on January 12 after she was seen holding two large stacks of money in a separate video.Holding two stacks of British pounds, Ms Shah revealed in that clip that she had travelled to the UK with a “heavy amount” of the currency.“The government had promised to increase the [value] of the currency, increase the [value] of the [Pakistani] passport, but they didn’t do anything. They could only talk,” she said in the clip.She also issued a warning to travellers considering travelling with large amounts of money, as “they catch you”.“Nobody said anything to me and, you know, they cannot. I came very easily,” she said.According to the Pakistan government’s Federal Board of Revenue <a href="https://www.fbr.gov.pk/categ/travel-guide/51149/80881/%20131184" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a>, travellers are permitted to take out foreign currencies of “up to US$ 10,000 unconditionally”, but that “taking out Pakistan currency exceeding Rs. (rupees) 3,000 is not permitted”.Images: @hareemshahofficialx (TikTok)

Beauty & Style

Woman has shocking reaction after lip filler

After Morgan Proudlock went to get a small amount of lip filler, she decided to go on a night out drinking with her friends. When she woke up the next morning, her lips were extremely puffy and swollen, and she was in an extreme amount of pain. Sharing her experience on TikTok, she said drinking alcohol after her procedure was the “worst thing” she could’ve done. “(The) pain was ridiculous,” she said in the clip. Morgan said she didn’t drink “that much”, but even a small amount of alcohol was enough to cause a severe reaction. “It’s because I drank and you not meant to straight after so I’d advise you avoid alcohol for a few days,” she told viewers looking at getting the procedure. She said despite her “horrid” reaction, the pain and swelling eventually subsided. According to <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/beauty-skin-care/lip-fillers-aftercare#what-to-avoid">Healthline</a>, alcohol acts as a blood thinner, meaning people should avoid drinking at least 24 hours after similar cosmetic procedures. “Alcohol can also cause inflammation, increase the likelihood of bruising, and make swelling worse,” the site explains. “It’s also a good idea to avoid alcohol a few days before your appointment.” Several women commented on Morgan’s video, saying that they had “learned their lesson” about lip filler protocol, not wanting the botched look Morgan managed to achieve. Image credits: TikTok

Beauty & Style

Drying land and heating seas: why nature in Australia’s southwest is on the climate frontline

In a few days world leaders will descend on Glasgow for the United Nations climate change talks. Much depends on it. We know climate change is already happening, and nowhere is the damage more stark than in Australia’s southwest. The southwest of Western Australia has been <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/factsheets/IPCC_AR6_WGI_Regional_Fact_Sheet_Australasia.pdf">identified</a> as a global drying hotspot. Since 1970, winter rainfall has declined up to 20%, river flows have plummeted and heatwaves spanning water and land have intensified. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-has-already-hit-australia-unless-we-act-now-a-hotter-drier-and-more-dangerous-future-awaits-ipcc-warns-165396">warns</a> this will continue as emissions rise and the climate warms. Discussion of Australian ecosystems vulnerable to climate change often focuses on the Great Barrier Reef, as well as our rainforests and alpine regions. But for southwest Western Australia, climate change is also an existential threat. The region’s wildlife and plants are so distinctive and important, it was listed as Australia’s first <a href="https://www.cepf.net/our-work/biodiversity-hotspots">global biodiversity hotspot</a>. Species include thousands of endemic plant species and animals such as the quokka, numbat and honey possum. Most freshwater species and around 80% of marine species, including 24 shark species, live nowhere else on Earth. They <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-south-west-a-hotspot-for-wildlife-and-plants-that-deserves-world-heritage-status-54885">evolved in isolation</a> over millions of years, walled off from the rest of Australia by desert. But climate heating means this remarkable biological richness is now imperilled – a threat that will only increase unless the world takes action. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428719/original/file-20211027-17-1xrecip.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Banksia in flower" /> Hooker’s Banksia is an iconic West Australian species. Dr Joe Fontaine, Author provided <h2>Hotter and drier</h2> Southwest WA runs roughly from Kalbarri to Esperance, and is known for its Mediterranean climate with very hot and dry summers and most rainfall in winter. But every decade since the 1970s, the region’s summertime maximum temperatures have risen 0.1-0.3℃, and winter rainfall has fallen 10-20 millimetres. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428742/original/file-20211027-25-1jl7l8r.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /> Decadal trends in winter precipitation. Australian Bureau of Meteorology. And remarkably, a 1℃ increase in the average global temperature over the last century has already <a href="https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.17348">more than doubled</a> the days over 40℃ in Perth. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428994/original/file-20211028-21-ibw728.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428994/original/file-20211028-21-ibw728.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" alt="Graph showing temperatures over 40 degrees at Perth Airport" /></a> Cumulative number of days over 40° at Perth Airport over 30-year periods between 1910-1939 (historic) and 1989-2018 (current). Author provided This trend is set to continue. Almost all climate models <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2019EF001469">project a further</a> drop in winter rainfall of up to 30% across most of the southwest by 2100, under a high emissions scenario. The southwest already has very hot days in summer, thanks to heat brought from the desert’s easterly winds. As climate change worsens, these winds are <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00382-016-3169-5">projected to get more intense</a>, bringing still more heat. <h2>Drying threatens wildlife, wine and wheat</h2> Annual rainfall in the southwest has fallen by a fifth since 1970. That might not sound dangerous, but the drop means river flows have already fallen by an alarming 70%. It means many rivers and lakes now dry out through summer and autumn, causing major problems for freshwater biodiversity. For example, the number of invertebrate species in 17 lakes in WA’s wheatbelt fell from over 300 to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/gcb.15890">just over 100</a> between 1998 and 2011. The loss of water has even killed off common river invertebrates, such as the endemic Western Darner dragonfly, with most now <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/gcb.15673">found only</a> in the last few streams that flow year round. The drying also makes it very hard for animals and birds to find water. Most native freshwater fish in the southwest are <a href="https://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/plants-and-animals/threatened-species-and-communities/threatened-animals">now officially considered</a> “threatened”. As river flow falls to a trickle, fish can no longer <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gcb.12444">migrate to spawn</a>, and it’s only a short march from there to extinction. To protect remaining freshwater species we must <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2017.02.007">develop perennial water refuges</a> in places such as farm dams. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428721/original/file-20211027-27-1mvytaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428721/original/file-20211027-27-1mvytaa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" alt="Freshwater crayfish - marron - moving through fresh water" /></a> Smooth Marron moving as a group in a reservoir. Dr Stephen Beatty, Author provided The story on land is also alarming, with intensifying heatwaves and chronic drought. This was particularly dire in 2010/2011, when <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-31236-5">all ecosystems in the southwest</a> suffered from a deadly drought and heatwave combination. What does that look like on the ground? Think beetle swarms taking advantage of forest dieback, a sudden die off of endangered Carnaby’s Black Cockatoos, and the deaths of one in five shrubs and trees. Long term, the flowering rates of banksias have declined <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1890/140231">by 50%</a>, which threatens their survival as well as the honey industry. For agriculture, the picture is mixed. Aided by innovation and better varieties, wheat yields in the southwest have actually increased since the 1970s, despite the drop in rainfall. But how long can farmers stay ahead of the drying? If global emissions aren’t drastically reduced, droughts in the region <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1029/2020GL087820">will keep getting worse</a>. Increased heating and drying will also likely threaten Margaret River’s famed wine region, although the state’s northern wine regions will be <a href="https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/apme/56/7/jamc-d-16-0333.1.xml">the first at risk</a>. <h2>Hotter seas, destructive marine heatwaves</h2> The seas around the southwest are another climate change hotspot, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11160-013-9326-6">warming faster than 90%</a> of the global ocean since the middle of last century. Ocean temperatures off Perth <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/mf/MF07082">have risen by an average</a> of 0.1-0.3℃ per decade, and are now almost 1℃ warmer than 40 years ago. The waters off the southwest are part of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-other-reef-is-worth-more-than-10-billion-a-year-but-have-you-heard-of-it-45600">Great Southern Reef</a>, a temperate marine biodiversity hotspot. Many species of seaweeds, seagrasses, invertebrates, reef fish, seabirds and mammals live nowhere else on the planet. As the waters warm, species move south. Warm-water species move in and cool-water species flee to escape the heat. Once cool-water species reach the southern coast, there’s nowhere colder to go. They can’t survive in the deep sea, and are at risk of going extinct. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428961/original/file-20211028-27-1yipdxz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" alt="Marine heatwave map" /> Temperature anomalies over land and ocean in March 2011. Scientific Reports, Author provided Marine heatwaves are now striking alongside this long-term warming trend. In 2011, a combination of weak winds, water absorbing the local heat from the air, and an unusually strong flow of the warm Leeuwin Current led to the infamous marine heatwave known as <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep01277">Ningaloo Nino</a>. Over eight weeks, ocean temperatures soared by more than 5℃ above the long-term maximum. Coral bleached in the state’s north, fish died en masse, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-much-do-marine-heatwaves-cost-the-economic-losses-amount-to-billions-and-billions-of-dollars-170008">34% of seagrass died</a> in Shark Bay, and kelp forests along 100km of WA’s coast were wiped out. Following the heatwave came sudden distribution changes for species like sharks, turtles and many reef fish. Little penguins starved to death because their usual food sources were no longer there. Recreational and commercial fisheries were forced to close to protect ailing stocks. Some of these fisheries have not recovered 10 years later, while others are only now reopening. This is just the start. <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2019.00734/full">Projections suggest</a> the southwest could be in a permanent state of marine heatwave within 20-40 years, compared to the second half of the 20th century. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428980/original/file-20211028-17-1o7ypsp.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/428980/original/file-20211028-17-1o7ypsp.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Comparative pictures of a kelp forest before and after a heatwave" /></a> Reef in Kalbarri before (left) and after (right) the 2011 Ningaloo Nino. Dense kelp covered reefs before the heatwave. Afterwards, kelp died and the reefs were covered by sediment and turf algae. <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-030-71330-0_12#DOI" class="source">Professor Thomas Wernberg</a>, Author provided <h2>Adaptation has limits</h2> Nature in the southwest cannot adapt to these rapid changes. The only way to stem the damage to nature and humans is to stop greenhouse gas emissions. Australia must take responsibility for its emissions and show ambition beyond the weak promise of net-zero by 2050, and commit to real 2030 targets consistent with the Paris climate treaty. Otherwise, we will witness the collapse of one of Australia’s biological treasures in real time.<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; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/170377/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/jatin-kala-1283114">Jatin Kala</a>, Senior Lecturer and ARC DECRA felllow, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/murdoch-university-746">Murdoch University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/belinda-robson-1283377">Belinda Robson</a>, Associate Professor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/murdoch-university-746">Murdoch University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/joe-fontaine-136827">Joe Fontaine</a>, Lecturer, Environmental and Conservation Science, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/murdoch-university-746">Murdoch University</a>; <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/stephen-beatty-1144778">Stephen Beatty</a>, Research Leader (Catchments to Coast), Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Ecosystems, Harry Butler Institute, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/murdoch-university-746">Murdoch University</a>, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/thomas-wernberg-116019">Thomas Wernberg</a>, Professor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-western-australia-1067">The University of Western Australia</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/drying-land-and-heating-seas-why-nature-in-australias-southwest-is-on-the-climate-frontline-170377">original article</a>. Image: Author provided

Domestic Travel

Lip reader reveals exactly what William said to Harry during statue unveiling

The unveiling of a statue to commemorate what would have been Princess Diana's 60th birthday took place this week, with all eyes on the feuding royal brothers, Prince William and Prince Harry. Now, a professional lip reader has revealed the 'word of warning' the Duke of Cambridge said to his younger brother. Moments before the ceremony took place at Sunken Garden in Kensington Palace, lip reader Jeremy Freeman told the Daily Star, William gave a stern warning to Harry, telling him "I didn't want anything to go wrong. It's important we unveil it right." The pair commissioned the statue to honour their late mother four years ago, and appeared to stare fondly at it during the ceremony. Over 4,000 flowers were planted in the princess's favourite garden, taking 1,000 hours to complete. The brothers haven't been spotted together since the funeral of their great-grandfather, Prince Philip, in April. John Cassidy, another lip reader told The Sun, the brothers appeared to be quite jovial in their exchange, claiming the older prince marvelled at the touching tribute, saying "Great isn't it? Amazing little place." However, body language expert Judi James says the brothers united front appeared to be "overworked." "Emerging side-by-side their smiles did appear slightly over-worked at first but one very telling trait was how their body language was mirrored," she told The Sun. "This kind of mimicry suggests strong subliminal bonds, hinting that old ties still bind them despite their current rifts," she continued. During the ceremony, the brothers released a poignant statement, celebrating their mother's legacy. "Every day, we wish she were still with us, and our hope is that this statue will be seen forever as a symbol of her life and her legacy," they said. The statue will be open to the public to visit in line with Kensington Palace's opening hours.

News

What causes dry lips, and how can you treat them? Does lip balm actually help?

As we head into the colder weather, many of us might be afflicted with the irritating ailment of dry and chapped lips. People have been trying to figure out how to fix dry lips for centuries. Using beeswax, olive oil and other natural ingredients have been reported as early as Cleopatra’s <a href="https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/movies/secret-gloss-a-brief-history-of-lip-balm-from-earwax-to-clorox">time</a>, around 40 B.C. In 1833, there were even reports of human earwax being <a href="https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/The_American_Frugal_Housewife/-YYSAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=the+American+Frugal+Housewife,+Dedicated+to+Those+who+are+Not+Ashamed+of+Economy&printsec=frontcover">recommended</a> as a successful remedy for dry, cracked lips. Not long after, the first commercial lip balms hit the market. So what causes dry lips, and which lip balms actually help? The key is to avoid lip balms that contain certain additives which might worsen the problem. They need to be soft but resilient Our lips are constantly exposed to the elements, such as sunlight, wind, dry air, and cold weather. They have to withstand our daily lifestyle, including contact with food, cosmetics, biting, picking, rubbing against clothes, kissing and more. So, although they look soft and fleshy, our lips need to be resilient and tough. Lips sit at the junction where our outside facial skin transitions into the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsrlJn2cDh0&t=58s">tissue</a> layers lining the mouth. As such, the lips are structured similar to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507900/">mucous membranes</a>, but with the addition of a <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s004030050453">protective</a> outside layer of skin. Lips don’t have hair follicles, or sweat, saliva and oil glands. This unique structure means they’re particularly prone to dryness as they have a much lower ability to hold <a href="https://europepmc.org/article/med/15030342">water</a> than the rest of the face’s skin. What causes dry lips? Many of us get dry lips at certain times of the year. This can occur naturally, or be brought on by many different factors, including: <ul> <li> inflamed lips, known as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6531998/">cheilitis</a>. This can be due to a skin condition, or an infection such as herpes or cold sores </li> <li> <a href="https://journals.lww.com/dermatitis/Abstract/2007/12000/Allergic_Contact_Cheilitis_from_Benzophenone_3_in.8.aspx">allergies</a> </li> <li> medications which impact the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12974516/">salivary glands</a>, the mouth’s surrounding <a href="https://youtu.be/UNyKlwO23w4">muscles</a>, or sensations throughout the lip area </li> <li> tongue injuries, teeth that rub against the lips, or other dental issues </li> <li> poor oral health. This can be brought on by general neglect, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22750232/">eating disorders</a>, or bad oral hygiene habits </li> <li> burns, such as eating food that’s too hot, or sunburn. Burns can result in the lips swelling, <a href="https://youtu.be/T-FnAH9y1N4">scarring</a> and blistering, and it may take a long time for the pain to alleviate </li> <li> some diseases or disorders, such as <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19445445/">Sjögren’s syndrome</a> </li> <li> dehydration, heat stroke, <a href="https://youtu.be/BxgEoLmOACo">fever</a>, or excessive heat </li> <li> <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352647520300988?via%3Dihub">nasal</a> congestion, which leads to chronic mouth-breathing. This can sometimes be a result of illness, such as when you have a common cold </li> <li> cold weather or cold wind that runs along the lips and removes moisture </li> <li> persistent licking, which can create a wet-dry cycle that excessively <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352647520300988">dries</a> out your lips. </li> </ul> The dryness can also lead to pain, itching or stinging. If dry lips start causing serious issues, it may be helpful to discuss this with a medical professional. How can you treat dry lips? It is important to identify what’s causing dry lips. If it’s due to lip licking, then you need to make habitual changes to stop the practice. If it’s due to cold, windy or dry weather, then certain balms and ointments can help protect the lips. Drinking adequate amounts of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352647520300988">water</a> can assist, because this helps prevent dry skin in general. If this isn’t enough, bland, non-irritating, unflavoured lip balms can help, as they act as a film covering the lip surface, keeping moisture in. <img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403497/original/file-20210531-15-u2nxjk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="Man with beard applying lip balm" /> It’s best to choose a bland lip balm that doesn’t contain fragrances, flavours and colours. Shutterstock In many cases these use petroleum jelly as a base (although it’s not <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ics.12533">required</a>), along with refined mineral oils to remove any <a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jchem/2019/1680269/">hazardous</a> compounds, and other ingredients that can assist in retaining and maintaining a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ics.12583">barrier function</a>. In the race to appeal to consumers, cosmetic manufacturers have trialled a number of new ingredients in their lip balms. Popular lip balms often contain additives which can make the balm smell or taste nice, or soften the feel when it rubs against the lips. Some of these extra ingredients can help. For example, if you’re out in the sun a lot, lip balm with included sunscreen is a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1227745/">great</a> addition. Products to avoid In many cases, these compounds provide the feeling of immediate relief on the lips but don’t actually help with the barrier function. And in some cases, they can become irritants and even worsen the dryness. When choosing a lip balm, try to avoid products containing these ingredients: <ul> <li> <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6477564/">fragrances</a> </li> <li> <a href="https://enveurope.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s12302-016-0076-7">flavours</a>, such as mint, citrus, vanilla, and cinnamon </li> <li> shiny <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/not-just-lip-service-gloss-can-invite-skin-cancer-flna1c9459959">glosses</a>, which can intensify damage from the sun’s rays </li> <li> <a href="https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetic-ingredient-names/color-additives-permitted-use-cosmetics">colours</a>, which can cause irritation and do nothing to assist the barrier function </li> <li> menthol, phenol or salicylic acid, which can actually make your lips <a href="https://health.clevelandclinic.org/7-signs-your-lip-balm-use-is-just-a-bad-habit/">drier</a> </li> <li> additional, unnecessary <a href="https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/skin-care-basics/dry/heal-dry-chapped-lips">ingredients</a> such as camphor, lanolin, octinoxate, oxybenzone or propyl gallate. </li> </ul> And be sure to stop biting, picking or excessively licking your lips. Staying hydrated and applying a bland lip balm should be a routine incorporated into your every day lifestyle for healthy, protected, and moisturised lips.<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; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/161264/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/christian-moro-121754">Christian Moro</a>, Associate Professor of Science & Medicine, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/bond-university-863">Bond University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/charlotte-phelps-1187658">Charlotte Phelps</a>, PhD Student, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/bond-university-863">Bond University</a> This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-causes-dry-lips-and-how-can-you-treat-them-does-lip-balm-actually-help-161264">original article</a>.

Body

The controversial cooking question on everyone’s lips

As garlic is a common staple in many dishes around the world, there’s been a controversial question on everyone’s lips who use the spice in their dish. How much minced garlic equals one clove? Although the question might sound simple, the answer is anything but. It depends on how finely minced the garlic is as well as whether the chop is standardised and how big the clove of garlic is. This question has confused many as it depends on the chef’s personal preference. One person says that clove is a “useless measurement”. "clove" [is] a useless measurement. Look at the variation on this page—anywhere from 1/4 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon—that's a variation of 1200%. I use the conversion of 1 clove equals 1 teaspoon. I believe Cook's Illustrated does the same,” he said to Hotline in a <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://food52.com/hotline/13423-how-much-minced-garlic-equals-one-clove" target="_blank">thread</a>. However, others have disagreed. The answer that was “voted the best” in the thread says that minced garlic is a waste of time. “Sorry, I would toss the "packaged" garlic that has chemical preservatives in it in favor of spending the 20 seconds it takes to chop or mince fresh real garlic cloves,” they wrote. Others agreed with the best voted answer, saying “you will never get the flavour of fresh garlic from a jar so there is no equivalent”. One person commented explaining that they were from New Zealand and therefore preferred using pre-minced garlic as fresh garlic is quite expensive and they use it a lot in their cooking. One final commenter just praised anyone who was getting into the kitchen and trying to use garlic, as well as giving an answer to the question. "Yes, fresh garlic is best. Applause to anyone that is trying to be a better home chef, no matter what kind of garlic you are using."

Food & Wine

What makes wine dry?

When you take a sip of wine at a family meal or celebration, what do you notice? First, you probably note the visual characteristics: the color is generally red, rosé or white. Next, you smell the aromatic compounds wafting up from your glass. And then there’s the sensation in your mouth when you taste it. White wine and rosé are usually described as refreshing, because they have brisk acidity and little to moderate sweetness. Those <a href="https://www.winemag.com/2017/09/21/why-calling-a-wine-dry-or-sweet-can-be-simply-confusing/">low levels of sugar</a> may lead you to perceive these wines as “dry.” People also describe wines as dry when alcohol levels are high, usually over about 13%, mostly because the ethanol leads to hot or burning sensations that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.6b03767">cover up other sensations</a>, especially sweetness. People also perceive red wines as dry or astringent because they contain a class of molecules called polyphenols. <a href="https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=55360215200">As an enologist</a> – a wine scientist – I’m interested in how all the chemistry in a glass of wine adds up to this perception of dryness. People are good at evaluating a wine’s dryness with their senses. Can we eventually come up with a way to automatically assess this dryness or astringency without relying on human tasters? The chemistry at the vineyard Everything starts with the grapes. If you taste a mature grape skin or seed at harvest, it will seem dry or astringent to you, thanks to a number of chemical compounds it contains. Large molecules called condensed <a href="https://www.wineaustralia.com/getmedia/df422991-82ed-4125-b0f7-8395a63d438f/201005-tannin-management-in-the-vineyard.pdf">tannins</a> are mostly responsible for the astringency perception. These compounds are made up of varying types and numbers of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/bk-2002-0825.ch015">smaller chemical units called flavanols</a>. Tannins are in the same family of molecules, the polyphenols, that give grapes their red or black color. They tend to be larger in grape skins than in grape seeds, and consequently the skins tend to be more astringent, while the seeds are more bitter. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/bk-2002-0825.ch015">Grape varieties differ in how much</a> of each of these compounds they contain. In Vitis vinifera cultivars, like Pinot noir and Cabernet sauvignon, the tannin concentration varies from a relatively high 1 to 1.5 mg/berry. In cold-hardy hybrid grapes found in the Midwestern United States, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/fermentation3030047">like Frontenac and Marquette</a>, the concentrations are much lower, ranging from 0.3 to 0.7 mg/berry. <a href="https://www.wineaustralia.com/getmedia/df422991-82ed-4125-b0f7-8395a63d438f/201005-tannin-management-in-the-vineyard.pdf">Factors in the vineyard</a> – including site, soil qualities and amount of sun – affect the final concentration of tannins in the fruit. The chemistry in your mouth Basically, the more tannin there is in a wine, the more astringent it will be. When you take a sip, the large tannin molecules <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2014.08.001">interact with proteins from your saliva</a>. They combine and form complexes, reducing the number of salivary proteins available to help lubricate your mouth. It leaves your mouth with a dry sensation – like if a snail were to lose its mucus layer, it would dry out. Because everyone has a different composition and concentration of saliva proteins, and because the flow rate of saliva as you bring wine into your mouth varies, your perceptions of an astringent or dry wine won’t be the same as those of your friends or family. The alcohol level, pH and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2011.12.042">aroma of the wine</a> also influence how intensely and for how long you perceive a red wine’s dryness. Since wine dryness is a perception, the most appropriate tool to appraise it is sensory evaluation. It requires panelists trained on the wine aroma, taste and mouthfeel based on prepared standards and other wines. But winemakers would love to have a quick, simple way to objectively measure astringency without relying on human tasters. That way, they could easily compare this year’s wine to last year’s, or to another wine that is not available to be tested. Can we scientifically evaluate dryness? The challenge for me and my colleagues was to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.9b01480">see if we could match up</a> the quantified chemical <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2018.09.043">and physical properties</a> in a wine to the trained panelists’ perceptions. First, we used analytical methods to figure out the different sizes of tannins present in particular wines, and their concentrations. We investigated how these tannins interacted and formed complexes with standard salivary proteins. My collaborators and I also used a physical approach, relying on a piece of equipment with two surfaces that are able to mimic and measure the forces of friction that occur in a drinker’s mouth between the tongue and the palate as wine and saliva interact. The friction forces increase between drier surfaces and decrease between more lubricated surfaces. Then, we trained human panelists to evaluate the intensity of dryness in the same wines and in a wine containing no tannins. People perceived the wine containing the higher concentration of larger tannins as drier for a longer time than the wine without tannins. That made sense based on what we already knew about these compounds and how people sense them. We were surprised, though, by our physical measurements in the lab, because they provided the opposite result as our human tasters’ perception. In the presence of too large or too many tannins in the wine, we recorded lower friction forces than in wines low in tannins. Based on the mechanical surfaces test, it seemed like there would be less dry mouthfeel than we’d expect in high-tannin wines. My colleagues and I are planning to investigate this unexpected result in future research to improve our understanding of the dryness perception. All its chemical and physical variables are part of what makes drinking wine a richly personal and ever-changing experience. Considering the impact of astringency on how individuals perceive a particular wine, a quick measure could be very helpful to winemakers as they do their work. So far, we haven’t been able to create a simple scale that will tell a winemaker that tannins at one certain level match up with a very particular dryness perception. But we enologists are still trying. <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/aude-watrelot-831853">Aude Watrelot</a>, Assistant Professor of Enology, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/iowa-state-university-1322">Iowa State University</a> This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-makes-wine-dry-its-easy-to-taste-but-much-harder-to-measure-123506">original article</a>.

Food & Wine

The reason why fires are lighting up the east coast of Australia

Last week saw an unprecedented outbreak of large, intense fires stretching from the mid-north coast of New South Wales into central Queensland. The most tragic losses are concentrated in northern NSW, where 970,000 hectares have been burned, three people have died, and at least 150 homes have been destroyed. A <a href="https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/fire-information/fdr-and-tobans">catastrophic fire warning</a> for Tuesday has been issued for the Greater Sydney, Greater Hunter, Shoalhaven and Illawarra areas. It is the first time Sydney has received a catastrophic rating since the rating system was developed in 2009. No relief is in sight from this extremely hot, dry and windy weather, and the extraordinary magnitude of these fires is likely to increase in the coming week. Alarmingly, as Australians increasingly seek a sea-change or tree-change, more people are living in the path of these destructive fires. Unprecedented state of emergency Large fires have happened before in northern NSW and southern Queensland during spring and early summer (for example in 1994, 1997, 2000, 2002, and 2018 in northern NSW). But this latest extraordinary situation raises many questions. It is as if many of the major fires in the past are now being rerun concurrently. What is unprecedented is the size and number of fires rather than the seasonal timing. The potential for large, intense fires is determined by <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2009.00512.x">four fundamental ingredients</a>: a continuous expanse of fuel; extensive and continuous dryness of that fuel; weather conditions conducive to the rapid spread of fire; and ignitions, either human or lightning. These act as a set of switches, in series: all must be “on” for major fires to occur. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301032/original/file-20191111-194628-1xowzaz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301032/original/file-20191111-194628-1xowzaz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> L ive fuel moisture content in late October 2019. The ‘dry’ and ‘transitional’ moisture categories correspond to conditions associated with over 95% of historical area burned by bushfire. <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2016GL0686140" class="source">Estimated from MODIS satellite imagery for the Sydney basin Bioregion.</a> The NSW north coast and tablelands, along with much of the southern coastal regions of Queensland are famous for their diverse range of eucalypt forest, heathlands and rainforests, which flourish in the warm temperate to subtropical climate. These forests and shrublands can rapidly accumulate bushfire fuels such as leaf litter, twigs and grasses. The unprecedented drought across much of Australia has created exceptional dryness, including high-altitude areas and places like gullies, water courses, swamps and steep south-facing slopes that are normally too wet to burn. These typically wet parts of the landscape have literally evaporated, allowing fire to spread unimpeded. The drought has been particularly acute in northern NSW where record low rainfall has led to <a href="https://biocollect.ala.org.au/acsa/project/index/77285a13-e231-49e8-b212-660c66c74bac">widespread defoliation and tree death</a>. It is no coincidence current fires correspond directly with hotspots of <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/drought/">record low rainfall and above-average temperatures</a>. <a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301040/original/file-20191111-194650-458t68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/301040/original/file-20191111-194650-458t68.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" alt="" /></a> Annual trends in live fuel moisture. The horizontal line represents the threshold for the critical ‘dry’ fuel category, which corresponds to the historical occurrence of most major wildfires in the Bioregion. Estimated from MODIS imagery for the Sydney basin Bioregion Thus, the North Coast and northern ranges of NSW as well as much of southern and central Queensland have been primed for major fires. A continuous swathe of critically dry fuels across these diverse landscapes existed well before last week, as shown by damaging fires in September and October. High temperatures and wind speeds, low humidity, and a wave of new ignitions on top of pre-existing fires has created an unprecedented situation of multiple large, intense fires stretching from the coast to the tablelands and parts of the interior. More people in harm’s way Many parts of the NSW north coast, southern Queensland and adjacent hinterlands have seen population growth around major towns and cities, as people look for pleasant coastal and rural homes away from the capital cities. The extraordinary number and ferocity of these fires, plus the increased exposure of people and property, have contributed to the tragic results of the past few days. Communities flanked by forests along the coast and ranges are highly vulnerable because of the way fires spread under the influence of strong westerly winds. Coastal communities wedged between highly flammable forests and heathlands and the sea, are particularly at risk. As a full picture of the extent and location of losses and damage becomes available, we will see the extent to which planning, building regulations, and fire preparation has mitigated losses and damage. These unprecedented fires are an indication that a much-feared future under climate change may have arrived <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0222328">earlier than predicted</a>. The week ahead will present high-stakes new challenges. The most heavily populated region of the nation is now at critically dry levels of fuel moisture, below those at the time of the disastrous Christmas fires of 2001 and 2013. Climate change has been predicted to <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1071/WF08133">strongly increase</a> the chance of large fires across this region. The conditions for Tuesday are a real and more extreme manifestation of these longstanding predictions. Whatever the successes and failures in this crisis, it is likely that we will have to rethink the way we plan and prepare for wildfires in a hotter, drier and more flammable world.<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; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126750/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ross-bradstock-1495">Ross Bradstock</a>, Professor, Centre for Environmental Risk Management of Bushfires, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-wollongong-711">University of Wollongong</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rachael-helene-nolan-179005">Rachael Helene Nolan</a>, Postdoctoral research fellow, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/western-sydney-university-1092">Western Sydney University</a> This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/drought-and-climate-change-were-the-kindling-and-now-the-east-coast-is-ablaze-126750">original article</a>.

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