News Atlas

GuardianSep 27Preview

Does GLP-1 use result in significant hair loss?

Experts share what you need to know about GLP-1-related hair loss as the side-effect gets more attention from researchers About 20 million people across the US, UK, and EU are taking GLP-1 receptor agonists like tirzepatide and semaglutide (Ozempic or Mounjaro are common brands) for weight loss and type 2 diabetes. As their use has surged, we’re learning more about their side-effects. One that’s been getting a lot of attention from researchers lately: hair loss.In one survey of people who take these medications, 20% of respondents experienced hair shedding, although the lack of high-quality data from a randomized, controlled trial to assess this side-effect makes it difficult to know exactly how common it is. Continue reading...

Keren LandmanWell actuallyWeight-loss drugs

GuardianSep 27Preview

Readers reply: Which leader from history does the world need now?

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical conceptsThis week’s question: Is it possible that 3 is the most common number in UK street addresses?It’s clear that the world as it is – considering the climate crisis, the rise of nationalism, geopolitical tumult, the possibility of AI killing us all by the end of the decade – could do with some more ethically astute and capable leadership. If you could time warp them into the present day, which leader from history could the world do with now – and why? Bernard, MachynllethSend new questions to nq@theguardian.com. Continue reading...

Life and styleEthics

GuardianSep 27Preview

Does avoiding misery make you happy?

It might seem like self-preservation, but the results aren’t necessarily what you’d expectIn Dr Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham, the relentlessly upbeat Sam-I-Am spends the entire book badgering a grouchy, nameless narrator into tasting the eponymous dish. He cycles through one inventive but futile pitch after another – in a house, with a mouse, in a box, with a fox, on a train, in the rain – until the narrator, caving just to get some peace, tastes the dish and discovers he loves it. When my son was growing up, “Green Eggs and Ham” was my shorthand for telling him he was avoiding something he’d love if he only tried it.Of course, not every experience we fear or dread turns out to be a delicious surprise. Misery is an inescapable part of the human condition. We can’t avoid it, yet people try their hardest anyway. We cling to hope even when a situation is hopeless. We push painful thoughts out

George LoewensteinBooksHappiness

You’re caught up for now.