Graham Lawton

4 days ago | newscientist.com | Graham Lawton

The aisles seem to go on forever as you push your shopping trolley towards the cereal section. You arrive, only to be met with an anxiety-inducing dilemma: do you buy the granola with low sugar or the one that is fortified with protein and vitamins? Or maybe the one with those delicious little chocolate chunks? The supermarket can be mildly overwhelming, but at least there is no shortage of consumer choice. It seems that we are in control of the food we eat and the lifestyles we lead.

2 weeks ago | newscientist.com | Graham Lawton

There is a hardware store on my local high street renowned not just for its excellent and reasonably priced products, but also for the witty messages written on a chalkboard by its entrance. Right now, it reads, “500% increase in parking tariffs; Trump jealous”. This is probably lost on anyone who doesn’t live in York, UK, but will be recognisable (and funny) to anyone who does.

3 weeks ago | newscientist.com | Graham Lawton

Around 10 years ago, British tabloid newspaper The Sun ran a memorable article about a couple who claimed to be “breatharians”, able to survive on a little water and even less food. Instead, they said, they derived sustenance from air, sunlight and the energy of the universe. The story was picked up by media outlets across the world and propelled the couple and their unusual lifestyle to fame – and no small amount of ridicule.

1 month ago | newscientist.com | Graham Lawton

I have been doing a lot of work recently on how narrow corporate interests are a seemingly insurmountable obstacle to making the changes necessary to stop the destruction of the environment. A few weeks back, I reviewed A Climate of Truth by Mike Berners-Lee, which makes a powerful case that dishonesty and obfuscation by climate-trashing industries are a major cause of environmental destruction.

2 months ago | newscientist.com | Graham Lawton

Deep inside your lower intestine is a 24/7 dinner party. The trillions of microorganisms that live in your colon are feasting on foodstuffs you ate but failed to digest. Their motives are selfish but they are still doing you a favour, tending to the health of your gut, brain, heart and immune system. Meanwhile, in the background, even-more-indigestible food is quietly drifting past. Even the microbes won’t touch it, but it, too, has a positive effect on your health.