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Across sectors such as healthcare, education, human resources and even the military, games — from board games to apps on our smartphones and computers — are being used to inform, educate and train people in specific skills. · They are called serious games because their purpose goes beyond pure entertainment. · Rather, these games are being used to help users adopt healthy lifestyle changes, develop social skills, be persuaded and recruited to…

We've never been closer to accurately assessing whether an individual is more susceptible to developing major depressive disorder due to their biology, with 293 newly identified gene variants found to play a role in ramping up the risk factor. That's 42% more than was previously known. · A massive trans-ancestry genome-wide association study (GWAS) looked at the genetic makeup of 688,808 individuals with depression and 4,364,225 people in the…

Easy to make and great for kids, these can be made for lunchboxes or after-school snacks Mix it up with what you have on hand, sweet corn is one of my favourites, or try fried chorizo, chopped roasted pepper, cooked bacon, spring onions and different cheeses (go for strongly flavoured ones such as cheddar). You can prepare the mixture the night before you want to use it. Just keep it covered in the fridge. · Ingredients · - 250g orange…

15 January 1970 · United States Vice-President Spiro Agnew’s three-day visit to New Zealand sparked some of the most violent anti-Vietnam War demonstrations seen in this country. Many protesters and some members of the media accused the police of excessive force against demonstrators. · New Zealand was Agnew’s last stop on a 25-day, 60,000-km, 11-nation goodwill tour of Pacific and Asian countries. His wife, Judy, Apollo 10 astronaut Eugene…

In 2012, Deborah Cory-Slechta at the University of Rochester, New York, received a “bucket of brains”. A colleague had been studying how air pollution around the university harms the hearts and lungs of mice, and had asked Cory-Slechta to check the animals’ brains for damage. As a specialist in the neurotoxicity of lead, Cory-Slechta remembers thinking: ‘Air pollution? How bad could this be?’ But what she saw in those brains was so…

Thanks to the work of an intrepid photographer in Southern Europe, we learned last week that Royal Enfield is well into development on a bike that fans of the brand have been demanding for years: a 650cc version of its wildly popular Himalayan. · A series of good, clear spy photos were published at outlets like MCNews and 1000ps, showing exactly how Enfield's popular 650cc engine platform will fit into an adventure tourer: · What it looks like…

New Zealand is in ongoing discussions with Five Eyes allies Australia, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, about sharing details of citizens’ criminal records. · The Migration 5 group already exchanges information on migrants’ travel and visa histories. But the move to include citizens’ criminal data raises privacy and sovereignty concerns. · Currently chaired by New Zealand, Migration 5 has held regular meetings, including eight…

Jimmy Carter was a nice, good man who epitomized American Christianity’s reduction to Moralistic, Therapeutic Deism. As such, the singing of John Lennon’s atheistic “Imagine”—Carter’s favorite song—at the former president’s funeral was entirely appropriate. · Last week at former president Jimmy Carter’s funeral, country singers Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood sang ex-Beatle John Lennon’s song Imagine, and Christian social media erupted in…

To some, the LA wildfires that devoured thousands of homes were down to a perfect storm of hurricane winds, drought and over-development. · To others, it was the fault of gay firefighters. · “All of them are lesbians named Kristin,” one conservative provocateur close to Donald Trump said, reeling off a string of officials including Kristina Crowley, the fire chief who has spent decades fighting fires across the region. · Furious residents are…

Bike thieves can't steal it if they don't know it's there ... This remarkable motorcycle looks for all the world like a telecom signal box covered in graffiti – but at the touch of a button it rises up on wheels and rides away. · It's called the Nomoto – as in, "No moto here, buddy, just this piece of public infrastructure." And when it's parked up, there's little to suggest it's anything else, although the eagle-eyed might look at the graffiti…