Don’t flake, don’t dump friends and don’t hold grudges: experts on what not to do in 2024
Guardian writers including Marina Hyde, John Crace (and a few other successful types) reveal what they won’t be doing in the coming year
Dr Chelsea Polis: ‘The scientific world recognises when you stick your neck out and do the right thing’
The US reproductive health expert on being sued for $1m, and winning a top prize for her fight for free speech in the public interest
‘They rile me’: views on the pros and cons of UK supermarket self-checkouts
As Booths returns to fully-staffed tills at many of its stores, shoppers with varying opinions have their say
Should I worry about blue light?
Is the glow from phones, tablets, computers and other devices really bad for our health?
How AI and brain science are helping perfumiers create fragrances
Beauty brands are looking to neuroscent research and technology to sniff out the factors that lure buyers
The business of silence: is there a hidden cost to noise cancelling?
Headphone and earplug sales are booming, but individual efforts to turn down the volume may alter our brains and surrounds in unexpected ways
Doom busters: why some things aren’t (quite) as bad as we think
We live in worrying times. From the climate crisis to the culture wars, there is always something to keep us fretting. But sometimes the facts tell a different story – a more hopeful one. Here, we speak to experts in search of some optimism and find 13 reasons to be a little more cheerful
Stop phubbing! The 10 rules of smartphone etiquette – from the bathroom to your bed
How do you use your phone without snubbing everyone around you? Experts explain when to pick it up and when to switch on ‘do not disturb’
‘I deleted my Twitter account’: eight readers on how they avoid digital burnout
Screen time can feel all-consuming. But there are ways to combat it. Guardian readers explain the rules, hobbies and habits that help them maintain healthy lives offline
‘Between pleasure and health’: how sex-tech firms are reinventing the vibrator
A new wave of sex toys is designed to combine orgasmic joy with relief from dryness, tension and pain