A new review of research from across sub-Saharan Africa found that inadequate access to food is linked to depression, suicide attempts, HIV vulnerabilities, and poorer sexual and reproductive health outcomes among adolescent mothers.

For the first time, researchers have identified and named the key players facilitating the growing problem of AI-generated explicit sexual imagery online.

In 2023, estimates suggested 500, 000 such videos existed online. By 2025, this number was estimated to be 8 million, mostly targeting women and girls. 

In addition, the team captured contextual data relating to each site, finding that some sites hosted hundreds of thousands of such videos, and sites primarily targeted Hollywood and Hindi-film industry stars, K-pop idols, and well-known feminists and activists, with nearly all content featuring females.

The study entitled ‘The Backbone of Abuse’ in the Journal of Online Trust and Safety, is led by Sarah Morgan from Lancaster University with co-authors Dr Sophie Nightingale, also from Lancaster, and Professor Hany Farid of Dartmouth College.

When people think about addiction, they usually think about alcohol, drugs or gambling-related problems, but a major international study suggests some everyday behaviours, including excessive gaming, binge eating and compulsive sexual behaviour, can share many of the same characteristics as recognised addictions.

In teacher education worldwide, the gap between theory and practice has long been a persistent challenge. A new study from China proposes a compelling solution: service learning that engages pre-service teachers in meeting real societal needs while reflecting deeply on their teaching. This approach, grounded in activity theory and Chinese philosophical traditions, reframes practice and reflection not as separate activities, but as a dialectical unity.

Daniel Kruger, research associate professor in the School of Public Health and Health Professions at the University at Buffalo, launched a study with Paul Gillis-Smith, program lead at the Center for the Study of World Religious Studies at Harvard Divinity School, in which they surveyed almost 600 self-identified psychedelic users. Their findings, which showed that participants agreed with 18 of 19 pieces of Lisa Bieberman’s advice on best practices for LSD and other psychedliecs use, were published in the Aug. 12 edition of the journal Psychedelics.