Sunshine – News, Research and Analysis – The Conversation

October 2, 2023

Should I be getting my vitamin D levels checked?

Elina Hypponen, University of South Australia

Here’s when low vitamin D is a potential concern and when you might need to get your levels tested.

February 7, 2023

Curious Kids: why do I feel happier when the sun is out?

Franz Buscha, University of Westminster

Day to day, sunshine might not affect our mood – but light and dark seasons do.

Climate change and especially variations in the ozone layer have increased the danger from the sun’s harmful rays during the last 25 years. Children are particularly at risk. Shutterstock

June 21, 2019

Summer is here! Why you need to protect your children’s eyes

Langis Michaud, Université de Montréal

The sun emits harmful rays 365 days a year, even when cloudy or rainy. Children must be protected or they may develop cataracts at an earlier age and run the risk of skin cancer of the eyelids.

January 31, 2019

Curious Kids: will I go blind if I shut my eyes and face the Sun?

Jason Yosar, The University of Queensland

Simply closing your eyes will protect your eyes from sunlight. But looking straight at it can cause serious damage.

Children play soccer in the small town of Baker Lake, Nunavut in 2009. Research among children with arthritis globally shows that those residing in northern latitudes have abnormally low vitamin D levels. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette)

November 22, 2018

Children with arthritis lack vitamin D

Alan Rosenberg, University of Saskatchewan; Hassan Vatanparast, University of Saskatchewan, and Sarah Finch, University of Saskatchewan

A new study points to a clear link between childhood arthritis and abnormally low levels of vitamin D, especially ion northern countries.

A solar water heating unit on the roof of a home in Kuyasa outside Cape Town. South Africa has a long way to go to get people off the grid and onto solar heating. Epa/Nic Bothma

November 9, 2015

Advances in getting solar onto the grid, and into the home

Wilfred Fritz, Cape Peninsula University of Technology and Deon Kallis, Cape Peninsula University of Technology

Africa is blessed with an abundance of sunshine.Given the heavy demand for energy, alternatives, such as solar, could provide solutions and help stimulate economic growth.

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