If some insects could save the world, others do their best to seriously complicate life on Earth. Among them the prize perhaps goes to the bed bug, which after decades of absence has returned to our homes, hotels and public facilities to seriously disturb us.

Over the past two decades, the positive psychology movement has brightened up psychological research with its science of happiness, human potential and flourishing. It argues that psychologists should not only investigate mental illness but also what makes life worth living.

Supplements are a multi-billion dollar industry. But, unlike pharmaceutical companies, manufacturers of these products don’t have to prove that their products are effective, only that they are safe – and that’s for new supplements only.

Quitting smoking is a popular New Year’s resolution—but many have trouble sticking with it. “Many people underestimate how difficult it is to not only quit smoking, but to maintain the change,” says Zane Freeman, research coordinator for the YMCA exercise intervention for smoking cessation study taking place at the University of Texas at Austin.

Most of us do not know that the cards are stacked against us and that weight loss is much more complicated than working out and not eating dessert.

Whether it’s in reality TV or glossy magazines, sex appeal, fat bank accounts, kind eyes and cute smiles are often served up as the attributes that make for anyone’s dream partner. But these characteristics merely reflect gross exaggerations of important evolutionary qualities that we actually want in a long-term partner.

We tend to think that we stop eating when our stomachs are full. Science shows otherwise. Here are five reasons we often overeat without realising it.

Whether you get mesmerised by Vincent van Gogh’s painting The Starry Night or Albert Einstein’s theories about spacetime, you’ll probably agree that both pieces of work are products of mindblowing creativity. Imagination is what propels us forward as a species – it expands our worlds and brings us new ideas, inventions and discoveries.

January is the month of ambitious resolutions – and getting fit and losing weight tend to top the list. But how many people manage to maintain their exercise goals? Gyms are filled with enthusiastic people at the start of the month, but the numbers soon start to dwindle.

As we enjoy the festive season, many strongly-held beliefs about avoiding hangovers are thrown around. One is that mixing different types of drinks is likely to make you feel unwell during your drinking session and contribute to a worse hangover.

Brussels sprouts, like their European namesake, divide opinion. Some people embrace the flavour and familiarity of the small green vegetable. To others, they are an object of derision and disgust.

“Blue zones” are areas of the world where people live considerably longer lives. On these territories we can find octogenarians, nonagenarians and many centenarians, and even some supercentenarians (people who have reached the age of 110).