Secular News

My wife Georgina Towers, who has died aged 43 from a brain tumour, was an art psychotherapist and a “people person”; she was also renowned for her advocacy of human rights.She volunteered for Freedom from Torture, where she was humbled by its work with survivors; she felt inspired to raise funds for the charity and completed the Dublin marathon and various triathlon events. She was a keen wild swimmer and even completed the length of Wastwater in the Lake District a few months after her second brain surgery. Continue reading...

Advances in technology raise questions about the need to send people to space - and the risks and cost

Advances in technology raise questions about the need to send people to space - and the risks and cost

Reformhaus retains an unmatched selection of tea and slippers but is morphing to stay competitive Wellness, organics and sustainability have become buzzwords in modern consumer marketing, but the mainstreaming of “green” lifestyle is creating some challenges for the German retailers that pioneered these products.As the country gears up for the holiday shopping season, the Reformhaus cooperative, a long-established promoter of homegrown health and beauty in the retail sphere, is morphing – gently – to stay competitive against incursions from discounters, the bite of inflation and shifting consumer habits. Continue reading...

Danielle Carr-Gomm, 71, fell fatally ill after she stopped taking insulin for type 1 diabetes at Hongchi Xiao’s retreatAn alternative healer who promoted a “slapping therapy” taken up by millions of people across the world has been jailed for the gross negligence manslaughter of a British woman who died at one of his workshops in Wiltshire.Hongchi Xiao was sentenced to 15 years after a jury found him guilty of the manslaughter of Danielle Carr-Gomm, 71, who had type 1 diabetes and fell fatally ill after she stopped taking her insulin and fasted during one of his paida lajin therapy retreats. Continue reading...

For healthy people, pills, patches and gummies just create ‘expensive urine’. But for those with nutrient deficiencies, vitamin supplements have clear benefitsSupplements are no cottage industry: an estimated third to nearly half of Australians regularly take vitamins or minerals.Hawked by the likes of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, vitamin gummies have in recent years found popularity among millennials and zoomers, who are more receptive to supplements in the form of “powders, liquids and gummies” than older generations. Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop – no stranger to dubious health trends – sells its own line of such supplements. Continue reading...

The proposed law would allow some terminally ill adults to end their own lives. But there are requirements.

The proposed law would allow some terminally ill adults to end their own lives. But there are requirements.

Former health secretary tells inquiry some healthcare settings did run out - "and it was awful".

Former health secretary tells inquiry some healthcare settings did run out - "and it was awful".

The planet Uranus and its five biggest moons may not be the sterile worlds scientists have long thought.

The planet Uranus and its five biggest moons may not be the sterile worlds scientists have long thought.