Christmas is approaching, and that means so are the overcooked, bitter, totally unnecessarily mountains of Brussels sprouts that your family insists on serving. Every, damn, time. Well, that’s how some people might see it, anyway. The fact is, love them or hate them, Brussels sprouts are always going to be controversial – a little like that awkward uncle who rocks up every Christmas and starts a big family row. But it turns out that sprout-haters have actually got a very sound, scientific excuse for their picky eating on Christmas day – and it's all to do with genetics. Stacey Lockyer, nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation, told Huffpost: “Brussels sprouts are one of a group of vegetables known as cruciferous vegetables or Brassica which also includes broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and kale. “Brassica contain high amounts of compounds called glucosinolates which, when metabolised in the body, give them their characteristic sharp or bitter taste.” An area covering 3,240 football pitches is dedicated to growing Brussels sprouts in the UK. If you were to line them up individually, they'd stretch from London to Sydney. Despite this, some people are just genetically predisposed to hate that bitter taste. Lockyer added: “Whether we like or dislike certain foods is determined by different factors (such as previous experiences with a food and number of exposures), but some studies have demonstrated that the perception of bitterness of cruciferous vegetables is linked to genetic differences in taste receptors on the tongue.” In fact, a 2011 study by Cornwall College found sprouts contain a chemical which only tastes bitter to people who have a variation of a certain gene. The research found that around 50 percent of the world’s population have a mutation on this gene. About half of us just don’t taste the bitterness usually associated with sprouts, and therefore actually like them. (Imagine!) Nonetheless, hope is not lost. A University of Warwick study found that as we get older, we’re more likely to like sprouts. Research fellow Lauren Chappell said in a blog post: "Sulphur is responsible for the bitter sprout taste. As we age, we lose tastebuds, which can make them more palatable—potentially why adults who hated sprouts as children now embrace them in seasonal dishes.” Which means, regrettably, that your grandparents were probably right all along. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Skincare brand Bioré and content creator Cecilee Max-Brown have come under fire after posting a branded TikTok that spoke about school shootings. Max-Brown posted a now deleted TikTok to her account last week in collaboration with Bioré for their pore strips. The TikTok was created for mental health awareness month, with Bioré asking creators and consumers to share what they are ‘stripping away’. In the TikTok, Max-Brown spoke about her experience of surviving a school shooting and told viewers that in collaboration with Bioré she was ‘stripping away’ anxiety. ‘We want you to get it all out,’ referring to Bioré’s mental health campaign, she adds: ‘not only what’s in your pores but most importantly what’s on your mind too.’ Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The content creator and model then went onto explain that she’s be struggling with her anxiety ‘after seeing the effects of gun violence first hand.’ At the end of the video she says: ‘Join me and Bioré skincare in speaking up about mental health.’ The TikTok was accompanied by various videos of Max-Brown applying skincare products, taking walks, and journaling and more. Viewers were shocked to see something so serious and sensitive as a school shooting spoken about in the context of a paid partnership video for skincare. Despite the original TikTok being taken down, users have re uploaded it, with people leaving comments such as ‘is this real?’ ‘This is disgusting!’ ‘WHAT?!’ ‘Capitalism wild…’ and more. Some also took to Twitter to express their disapproval of the advertisement choices made. In response to the backlash, both Bioré and Max-Brown have issued statements regarding the advert. Bioré said that they were ‘so sorry’ for the TikTok, in a statement posted to Instagram. They wrote ‘we did it the wrong way. We lacked sensitivity around an incredibly serious tragedy, and our tonality was completely inappropriate.’ They added: ‘We are committed to continuing our mental health mission, but we promise to do it in a better way.’ Max-Brown issued her own statement on TikTok, writing ‘I am so sorry about this partnership video. This was strictly meant to spread awareness about the struggles that I have had with anxiety since our school shooting.’ She added, ‘I did not mean to desensitise the traumatic event that took place.’ @cecileemax Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A study has shown that millions of women and girls experience debilitating periods, that even cause mental health problems. A survey of 3,000 women and girls in the UK aged 16 to 40 for the Wellbeing of Women charity found that 86 per cent had had mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety and mood changes, in relation to their period, Meanwhile, of those surveyed, 96 per cent had experienced period pain, with 59 per cent saying their pain was severe. 91 per cent had experienced heavy periods, with 49 per cent saying their bleeding was severe. Even though these are common symptoms in women and girls with gynaecological conditions such as endometriosis, adenomyosis, fibroids and polycystic ovary syndrome, the report found that 51 per cent of respondents felt their healthcare professional had failed to take their problems seriously, and 82 per cent said they needed better access to accurate information on period problems. A further one-third never seek medical help, and more than half say their symptoms are not taken seriously, despite other symptoms including pain, heavy bleeding and irregular cycles. Prof Dame Lesley Regan, the chair of Wellbeing of Women, said: “It’s simply unacceptable that anyone is expected to suffer with period symptoms that disrupt their lives, including taking time off school, work, or their caring responsibilities, all of which may result in avoidable mental health problems. “Periods should not affect women’s lives in this way. If they do, it can be a sign of a gynaecological condition that requires attention and ongoing support – not dismissal.” Wellbeing of Women has launched its “Just a Period” campaign, which Regan said aims to address “the many years of medical bias, neglect and stigma in women’s health”. This includes tips on how to get the most out of seeing your GP and what women should do if they feel they have been dismissed by health professionals. Responding to the findings, Dr Ranee Thakar, the president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said: “All too often women are living with debilitating symptoms, waiting to receive support or treatment for far longer than they should. “Access to high-quality information and support about periods, gynaecological conditions and their symptoms is vital to ensuring that women and girls get the help that they need at the right time.” Caroline Nokes, the Conservative MP and chair of the women and equalities committee, which is conducting an inquiry into reproductive and gynaecological health, said: “There is a terrible phrase: ‘Well, it’s just a period, why are you making a fuss about that? Can’t you just get on with it?’ Yet many women and girls are experiencing horrendous period symptoms and gynaecological conditions. Endometriosis alone affects 1.5 million women in the UK and costs the economy £8.2bn. Now is the time for change.” Anneliese Dodds, the shadow secretary of state for women and equalities, said: “Over the past few years, we have opened up the conversation around the menopause, and now we need to see this change with periods as well.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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Meta has unveiled a new series of artificial intelligence chatbots to challenge the likes of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard. Speaking at the tech giant’s annual Meta Connect conference, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said the AI chatbots would feature different “personalities” based on celebrities. Among those to have already lended their personalities are the rapper Snoop Dogg, NFL star Tom Brady and YouTuber Mr Beast. The Meta AI virtual assistants, which will only be available in the US initially, will be able to answer queries or craft responses in a fashion similar to ChatGPT and other programmes. The firm also announced plans to launch an AI studio where users could custom build their own AIs. Users will be able to access the assistant and any created within its new AI studio from within any of Meta’s messaging platforms. This is where Meta is looking to differentiate itself from its rivals, by using its already extensively used social platforms to put AI chatbots in front of users, many for the first time. The company said it did not believe there will be “one single super-intelligent AI that everyone uses”, but rather “different AIs for different things”. This was the reason for creating AI Studio, Meta said, to enable users to “create your own AI that’s aligned with your goals, whether you’re a small business, a creator, or anyone really”. The company demonstrated several AIs it had created already, including a sous chef who could offer meal suggestions and a “personal editor and writing partner” called Lily. Meta said these different chatbots would be given their own profiles on its platforms to enable users to interact with them. Elsewhere at the conference, Mr Zuckerberg unveiled the newest version of the company’s virtual reality headset – the Meta Quest 3 – and reiterated his belief that the future of the internet would be based in the virtual world of the metaverse. In this space, users in such headsets will be able to interact with avatars of others as well as AI bots. Mr Zuckerberg said the metaverse would see the “physical and digital world come together”. The Facebook founder also unveiled a new pair of Meta smartglasses made by Ray Ban, which will be powered by the new Meta AI. “Smart glasses are the ideal form factor for you to let an AI assistant see what you are seeing and hear what you are hearing,” Mr Zuckerberg said. Over the last week, both Microsoft and Amazon have used live events to demonstrate their latest innovations in AI, with Microsoft announcing a new tool called Copilot is coming to Windows which users can call up at any time to help them with any computing, work or social task. While Amazon used its product event last week to unveil improvements to voice-based AI assistant Alexa that make it more natural and conversational, and better at understanding context and inference to help users complete tasks. On the same day as Meta’s announcement, OpenAI also unveiled a major update to ChatGPT that will give the viral chatbot direct access to the internet for the first time. Additional reporting from agencies Read More Meta unveils new Quest 3 headset and smart glasses that allow for virtual experiences in the real world Meta just took a step towards its dream of the metaverse Meta showcases new AR/VR tech at annual Connect conference Meta plans to develop ‘sassy robot’ chatbot for young users, report says

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