Science

Pharmaceutical Counterfeiting: Lebanon Sick from Its Own Medicines

Makram Haddad 06/06 11:00 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

Medicines Lebanon Mounjaro Pharmaceutical Counterfeiting

It heals; it soothes; it saves. Or at least, that’s what we think. Because not all medicines sold in Lebanon are what they claim to be. Many products escape control: copies without active ingredients, or made from toxic substances disguised in a reassuring appearance. A Medicine Almost Like Any Other The World Health Organization’s ...

ExplainerScreen Addiction: Understanding the Message Behind the Symptom

David Sahyoun 04/06 18:00 - Reading : 5 minute(s)

Psychoanalysis Addictions Therapy Culture

The underlying logic of “mindset therapy” is the reinforcement of the self. It urges individuals to push their limits, reinvent themselves, “raise their vibration” – as if the essence of psychic life were a relentless pursuit of performance. But for Freud and Lacan, desire is never aligned or resolved. It remains blocked, unstable, ...

SpotlightSegmented Sleep: Rethinking the Myth of Uninterrupted Rest

This is Beirut 04/06 12:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Segmented Sleep Health Naps Sleep Patterns

For decades, the standard was clear: a good night’s sleep had to be long, uninterrupted and last between seven and nine hours. This is what we call monophasic sleep. Yet, this way of sleeping is neither as universal nor as natural as we might think. In reality, our ancestors didn’t sleep the way we do, and recent research suggests that ...

Time Machine: How Carbon Dating Brings the Past Back to Life

This is Beirut 03/06 09:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Carbon Dating Paris Notre Dame

From unmasking art forgery to uncovering the secrets of the Notre-Dame cathedral, an imposing machine outside Paris can turn back the clock to reveal the truth. It uses a technique called carbon dating, which has "revolutionised archaeology", winning its discoverer a Nobel Prize in 1960, French scientist Lucile Beck said. She spoke to AFP in ...

SpotlightIn a Hotter Future, what Comes After Coral Reefs Die?

This is Beirut 02/06 09:35 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

coral reefs

The fate of coral reefs has been written with a degree of certainty rare in climate science: at 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming, most are expected to die. This is not a far-off scenario. Scientists predict that the rise of 1.5 Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) will be reached within a decade and that beyond that point, many coral simply cannot ...

SpotlightSkin, Hair, Nails: Beauty Begins on Your Plate

Bélinda Ibrahim 01/06 18:30 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Skin Beauty Nutrition Food

Every day, the cosmetics industry promises us radiance, firmness, hydration and purity, with a heavy dose of high-tech molecules and luxurious packaging. Yet, more and more scientific studies are pointing to a fundamental truth: skin beauty begins in the gut. American dermatologist Whitney Bowe, in her book The Beauty of Dirty Skin, describes the ...

At Saint Joseph Hospital, a Tobacco-Free Day... Full of Breath

Makram Haddad 31/05 20:10 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Leila Abou Habib Elsa Yazbek No Tobacco Day

In the bright hall of the Saint Joseph University Hospital, it wasn’t the sound of carts or the hurried footsteps of medical staff that one could hear this Friday, but bursts of voices, laughter and at times, softly whispered confidences. To mark World No Tobacco Day, the establishment had traded the silence of care for the lively buzz of a ...

Half the World Faced an Extra Month of Extreme Heat Due to Climate Change: Study

This is Beirut 30/05 10:40 - Reading : 2 minute(s)

Climate Environment Heat

Half the global population endured an additional month of extreme heat over the past year because of manmade climate change, a new study found Friday. The findings underscore how the continued burning of fossil fuels is harming health and well-being on every continent, with the effects especially under-recognized in developing countries, the ...

SpotlightDermatitis and Staphylococcus: Your Smartwatch Could Be Carrying Both

Bélinda Ibrahim 29/05 15:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

Smartwatch Dermatitis Diseases Bacteria Hygiene

They’ve become an extension of our bodies. Whether tracking sleep, heart rate, calorie burn, or simply serving as extensions of our messaging apps, smartwatches cling to our wrists day and night. But beneath their seemingly neutral tech surface, they can become insidious vectors of skin imbalances and dangerous pathogens. The threat doesn’t ...

AI Personal Shoppers Hunt Down Bargain Buys

This is Beirut 29/05 09:15 - Reading : 3 minute(s)

Internet giants are diving deeper into e-commerce with digital aides that know shoppers' likes, let them virtually try clothes on, hunt for deals and even place orders. The rise of virtual personal shoppers springs from generative artificial intelligence (AI) being put to work in "agents" specializing in specific tasks and given ...

UN Says 70% Chance that 2025-2029 Average Warming will Top 1.5C

This is Beirut 28/05 10:00 - Reading : 4 minute(s)

United Nations Europe European Union WMO

The United Nations warned Wednesday there is a 70 percent chance that average warming from 2025 to 2029 will exceed the 1.5 degrees Celsius international benchmark. The planet is therefore expected to remain at historic levels of warming after the two hottest years ever recorded in 2023 and 2024, according to an annual climate report published by ...

Tobacco in Lebanon: Laws Going Up in Smoke, Teens Vaping, TFI Takes the Fight Forward

Makram Haddad 27/05 20:25 - Reading : 6 minute(s)

TFI No Tobacco Day Elsa Yazbek Ghazi Zaatari WHO

Every year, the World Health Organization (WHO) dedicates the end of May to global awareness of the dangers of tobacco. But in Lebanon, despite Law 174, a committed NGO and decades of warnings, the scourge keeps spreading, especially among the youth. Journalist and President of the Tobacco Free Initiative (TFI) Elsa Yazbek Charabati gave This is ...