• Question: Have you changed any of you habits / ways of life from what you have found out ?

    Asked by anon-291481 on 22 Apr 2021.
    • Photo: Rebecca Reed

      Rebecca Reed answered on 22 Apr 2021:

      I’m trying to! I study ageing, and from everything I’ve read and learned so far, still the best thing to do to help you age more healthily is to eat healthily and exercise. None of the treatments that have been studied so far to improve cell health in old age has been as effective as simple dietary control and regular exercise, so I’m trying to get better at both of those.

    • Photo: Rosie Goodburn

      Rosie Goodburn answered on 22 Apr 2021:

      From working in medical research, I have learnt that you should not take up smoking! It tends to make you more at risk of developing loads of different illnesses and diseases 🙁 I never did smoke, but now I definitely won’t start.

    • Photo: Steve Briddon

      Steve Briddon answered on 23 Apr 2021:

      I would say not directly from my own research area, which is understanding very basic ways in which medicines work in cells. However, my general area (pharmacology) teaches you a lot about how drugs and medicines work, and so has helped me support my family with health conditions who have been taking medicines (I’m also a pharmacist – which helps!).

      I also think what working in science does is help you to understand risk and evidence. This does affect how you live when you have to weigh up decisions where things aren’t black and white. For instance around diet, and healthy eating and exercise and things like “health foods”.

    • Photo: Ross Low

      Ross Low answered on 23 Apr 2021:

      Not directly from my own research but as a scientist you get better at understanding science in general and how the media (social media and the news) often change little things to make a story more exciting.

      For example, if there were 2 students in a class and they both left you could say that: 2 students left the class
      OR
      you could say: 100% of students are running away from the classroom!

      Same facts, different story.

    • Photo: Kip Heath

      Kip Heath answered on 23 Apr 2021:

      One thing! If you spin down the blood of someone who has just eaten a really fatty meal, it goes white / pink instead of pale yellow. Every time I see that I ended up having a salad for lunch. Now I just need to carry it forward in every day life.

    • Photo: Sian Green

      Sian Green answered on 23 Apr 2021:

      Working in wildlife conservation I have become very aware of the damage we are doing to the environment and now try very hard to make environmentally friendly choices. I am a vegetarian and I have tried to stop buying as many new clothes, trying to get things second hand instead (bonus – it’s also cheaper). I also switched to a green energy supplier and try to avoid single use plastics.

    • Photo: Lucile Crete

      Lucile Crete answered on 26 Apr 2021:

      Yes! By working as an archaeologist, I have seen quite well how long things take to decay, so I tend to be very careful about what I throw away and how things can be recycled!

      To illustrate that, with some colleagues, we had a project with a school where we had a nice meal outside with the pupils on a wooden table, and we then buried everything that was left for a year (there was a mix of modern cutlery/dishes made of metal and plastic, and of prehistoric ones made of wood or fibres). We then organised an excavation with the pupils a year later, to see what was left: most of the small objects made of wood and fibers had started to decay, but everything made of plastic and metal looked as good as new!

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