Life
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Home help: Paul Vella on the usefulness of medical devices
Monitoring blood pressure at home is very crucial in giving both the patient and the caregiver adequate data needed for effective management of diseases such as hypertension. According to Shimbo et al. (2015), home blood pressure measuring is of...
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Manuscripts tell new story on Senglea’s Christ the Redeemer
An analysis of 2,000 pages of newly-discovered manuscripts shed new historical light on one of the most devout statues in Malta, including how its cult status evolved. This emerged during the launch on Wednesday of a new publication titled...
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US performs first kidney transplant from living donor with HIV
The kidney of a 35-year-old HIV-positive woman has been transplanted into another patient with the virus that causes AIDS, US surgeons announced Thursday, in a major medical breakthrough. The surgeons at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore...
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Spring bird migration in the Maltese islands
Bird migration is without doubt one of the most spectacular events in a bird’s life. Twice a year, a large number of species undertake a perilous journey thousands of kilometres long from summer to winter quarters and back again. Although spring...
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Scientists discover how mosquitoes detect human sweat
Scientists have known for decades that mosquitoes are attracted to the lactic acid contained in human sweat, but in the era before advanced genetics, the precise mechanism had remained a mystery. Now, a team of researchers at Florida International...
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From outrage to icon: Paris marks 30 years of Louvre's pyramid
It was once decried as an architectural "obscenity", but as the Louvre's glass pyramid turns 30 on Friday, it has become a cherished icon of the French capital. One eminent writer called for revolt in the streets when French president Francois...
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Legal, but... abortion access under threat in Catholic Croatia
On paper, abortion has been legal in Croatia for decades. But in practice, it is becoming less available in the largely Catholic country where religious pressure is pushing doctors increasingly to refuse abortions on moral grounds. "Why are...
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Meet the author
Meet author Mariella Pisani Bencini at an evening organised by L-Għaqda Filantropika Talent Mosti at Ir-Razzett tal-Markiż, Triq Wied il-Għasel, Mosta tomorrow at 7pm. Pisani Bencini will be talking about her new publication We Belong, a tale of...
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Feud rages over book about how big business aided Nazis
The US historian Robert Paxton is famous for dismantling French myths. He demolished the idea that its collaborationist wartime regime had "passively resisted" German occupiers in his 1972 book "Vichy France", which also delivered the bombshell...
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It’s time for action! It’s time to end TB
Tubercublosis, a preventable and curable disease, is still one of the top infectious killers worldwide, causing the death of approximately 4,500 people daily. Throughout the years, several global efforts have tried to reduce the number of deaths...
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Beware: direct eye contact might not mean that someone is trustworthy
We usually interpret someone looking us straight in the eye during an interaction as a sign of trustworthiness. In fact it can be rather unsettling when someone avoids eye contact. This is at least the case in the Western world, where we use eye...
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Colorado study underlines dangers of edible marijuana
The number of emergency-room visits linked to cannabis in one hospital in the first US state to completely legalise its use tripled within a few years, according to a study that points to the dangers of ingesting the drug. Colorado legalised...
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‘New’ organ for Nazzarenu church
A fine Danish pipe organ that needed a home caught the eye of local organ builder and restorer Robert Buhagiar, who was terribly keen on bringing it to Malta. “Its design is elegant and features wood carvings on the front. Its builder – Frobenius...
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Postnatal depression twice as high in developing countries
Motherhood can be a source of joy, but it can also pose difficulties and challenges – particularly, in the postnatal period. It is a time when some mothers’ emotional and physical endurance is pushed to the limit. About 10% of pregnant women and...
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When is a spouse legally responsible for estranged partner's debts?
"I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honour you all the days of my life.” We have all been there, listening carefully to a young couple nervously reciting those words that are set to...
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Spontaneity is not that spontaneous after all
“Why can’t you just relax into it?” is a question many of us have asked in frustration with ourselves or others – be it on the dance floor, the sporting field or in rather more private circumstances. The task typically requires us to respond...
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A teacher in a remote Kenyan village is named the world's best
A maths and physics teacher from a secondary school in a remote village in Kenya's Rift Valley has won the $1 million Global Teacher Prize for 2019, organisers have said. Peter Tabichi, who organisers say gives away 80 percent of his monthly...
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90s fanny pack reborn
Simonne Pace catches up with young, promising creatives Martina Mifsud and Susannah Mifsud, who have just designed their first Fold pouch, a simple but practical fashion accessory which they are hoping will make a grand debut locally and...
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It happened this month: Giuseppe Garibaldi in Malta – March 1864
Undoubtedly, the mere mention of the unification of Italy in the 19th century conjures visions of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the soldier-patriot who selflessly did so much to further the unity of his homeland. Initially, his efforts were unsuccessful –...
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Death: are we in control?
Can we determine when we die? In reality we do, but only inadvertently and by mistake. Winter is a seasonal killer. In most countries the time of Christmas and the New Year is the peak period for death. It is not just the cold climate, since...
Popular Stories
US performs first kidney transplant from living donor with HIV
Scientists discover how mosquitoes detect human sweat
Manuscripts tell new story on Senglea’s Christ the Redeemer
From outrage to icon: Paris marks 30 years of Louvre's pyramid
Legal, but... abortion access under threat in Catholic Croatia
Spring bird migration in the Maltese islands
Home help: Paul Vella on the usefulness of medical devices
