Monosyllabic moping
The Oxford Etymologist the common but etymologically opaque verb “mope”, and other monosyllabic verbs.
OUP celebrates their BMA 2022 Award winners
OUP celebrates their BMA 2022 Award winners: Sandra Galea, Harold Thimbleby, and David Beaumont.
You are what you eat. Or is your immune system what you eat? [infographic]
From a recent Animal Frontiers article, we look at the interactions between the immune system and metabolism and how what you eat changes your immune response.
Eight classic novels to inspire your New Year [reading list]
Are you searching for inspiration to help further your goals this new year? Reading books offers an easy yet effective way to help navigate life, so who better to turn to than authors of some well-loved Oxford World’s Classics!
2023 and adventures in the idiom wonderland
The Oxford Etymologist explores a selection of idioms, including the amazing story of the phrase “fox’s wedding.”
Six books from 2022 to add to your 2023 reading list
Here are six books from 2022 that reviewers and critics loved that you should add to your 2023 reading list.
Which book matches your New Year’s resolution? [Quiz]
Are you setting goals for 2023? Check out our quiz for book recommendations based on your resolutions for the new year!
Infectious disease in the twentieth century
In the first half of the century, the three great killers among endemic diseases—smallpox, malaria, and tuberculosis—raging around the world (we think today of malaria as a tropical malady but in the 1920s there were outbreaks as far north as Siberia) were each responsible for more deaths than the 80 million who died in both world wars. Innovations stemming from the Second World War, an immense hothouse of technological progress, made it possible to contemplate combatting infectious disease on a global scale.
Can you itch an itch?
Reading Dan Chaon’s novel Sleepwalk last summer, I noticed his use of the verb itch to mean scratch.
What do we know about the effect of gut microbiome in diet and exercise on brain health?
The gastrointestinal tract is one of the most densely populated microbial habitats on earth, containing more cells than those that make up the human body and 150 times the number of genes than exist within the human genome. An unhealthy gut environment is characterized by a reduction in the diversity of bacteria, leading to gut barrier permeability and the release of endotoxins into the blood stream that negatively impacts the brain.
Social media at a glance: for academics
There are dozens of social media platforms, each with a distinct personality and purpose, so it can be difficult to know which social media platforms are the most useful for academics to engage with. That’s why we’ve put together this how-to guide to help you decide which social media platforms are the best fit for […]
The cost of crises on human rights
With crises such as climate change and pandemics permanently on our minds, it seems a pertinent time to reflect on how these challenges impact on human rights. Specifically, it is essential to think about whether the way we are governed through these challenging times impacts on human rights.
Domestic violence: deconstructing the “gender paradigm”
Most people—and not just the average citizen but, sadly, most policy makers and other stakeholders—hold mistaken and distorted beliefs about intimate partner violence (IPV). This is what some call the “gender paradigm.”
A Winter Breviary: Q&A with poet Rebecca Gayle Howell
A Winter Breviary is a triptych of carols that tells the story of a person walking in the woods on solstice night. This pilgrim—she, he, they—searches for hope, the hope they cannot name, or hear or see. And still, they walk deeper and deeper into the dark.
Skin-deep: wrinkle, pimple, and mole
The history of “dude” has been documented with amazing accuracy.
Nine literary New Year’s resolutions
Do you need some inspiration for your New Year’s resolutions? If you’re in a resolution rut and feeling some of that winter gloom, then you’re not alone. To help you on your way to an exciting start to 2017, we’ve enlisted the help of some of history’s greatest literary and philosophical figures–on their own resolutions, and inspiring thoughts for the New Year.