Sleeping less than six hours a night skews activity of hundreds of genes

Genes affected by lack of sleep include those governing the immune system, metabolism and the body's response to stress

The Australian cigarette packet that puts you off smoking

Purposefully hideous and utterly unappealing, this future design classic is now up for an award

This column will change your life: do you believe in brainwashing?

'There isn't a hidden switch that lets villains control your thoughts,' Oliver Burkeman says. 'Instead, there are TV ads and manipulative friends and guilt-inducing religions'

Sex work at the Super Bowl: the myth and its makers

Melissa Gira Grant: Marquee sports events attract moral panics about prostitution and trafficking – but little genuine concern for sex workers' welfare

American football or rugby: which is more dangerous?

Barack Obama has said he thinks the sport may be too violent. But, in terms or risk, how does it measure up against the British equivalent?

Lovelace: a feminism-free ‘feminist’ critique of the pornography industry

Naomi Wolf: The biopic of 70s porn star Linda Boreman edits out a crucial aspect of her life: her empowering role in the women's movement

Feminism shouldn’t be about telling trans women they’re not female enough

Deborah Orr: At a young age, I briefly had cause to question my gender. For me, it passed. For others, it doesn't – and feminists should be fighting for their liberation, too

Fast food and takeaways linked to surge in child asthma and allergies

Teenagers more likely to have severe asthma and eczema if they eat fast food more than three times a week, study shows

Evangelical Christian group helps sue California school over yoga classes

Parents claim Encinitas's classes are inherently religious, but yoga experts say program is about health

Americans ‘are sicker and die younger’ than people in other wealthy nations

Damning official report on US health finds death and disease taking huge toll on population, particularly among young