Category: Feature Stories

Europe’s major airlines are sounding the alarm. In a rare joint statement, several airline CEOs warn that the continent’s aviation sector is approaching a critical turning point. Without swift political action, they say, passengers could soon face sharply higher ticket prices, fewer flight connections, and a loss of Europe’s competitiveness in global aviation. Regulatory Costs Triple in a Decade According to the industry group Airlines for Europe (A4E), regulatory costs for EU carriers have tripled since 2014, reaching €15.5 billion per year. By 2030, these costs could surge to €27.6…

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Earth may be vast, but humanity has a curious habit of clustering. While some regions feel almost deserted, others resemble a global game of “how many people can we fit into this tiny space?” Population density—how many people live on each square kilometer—reveals just how dramatically human settlement patterns vary. Some of the world’s most crowded places aren’t sprawling megacities but tiny territories that, despite their size, host astonishing numbers of people. And at the very top of this list stands a country so small you could walk across it…

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The phone is fully charged, you unplug it with a quick flick of the wrist—and rush on with your day. The charger, however, stays behind in the socket. It’s a tiny detail most of us overlook, but it raises a surprisingly common question: Does a charger still consume electricity even when no device is connected? According to Michael Hartmann, Professor of Power Electronics at the Institute of Electrical Drives and Power Electronics at TU Graz, the answer is simple: yes—but only a very small amount. Why Chargers Draw Power in…

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Social media was once sold as a tool for connection and creativity. Today, platforms like TikTok and Instagram shape how we communicate, how we see ourselves, and how we spend our time. But as their influence grows, so does the evidence that they may be harming our mental and physical well‑being. The Attention Trap TikTok’s rapid‑fire videos and Instagram’s endless scroll are engineered to keep us hooked. These design choices fragment our attention, encourage compulsive use, and leave many users feeling overstimulated yet unable to disconnect. For younger users, whose…

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Eat your way to deeper rest and calmer evenings If you’ve ever tossed and turned at night wondering why sleep feels so elusive, you’re not alone. Stress, screens, and irregular routines all play a role — but one of the most underrated sleep tools is sitting right in your kitchen. Certain foods naturally support the body’s sleep cycle by boosting melatonin, calming the nervous system, and stabilizing nighttime blood sugar. Adding the right ingredients to your evening routine can make drifting off feel effortless. Here are 25 of the best…

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In spring, many people feel exhausted — there’s even a special term for it: spring fatigue. But is it actually real? According to a Swiss study, the term itself may cause people to pay more attention to feeling tired. In an online survey, many participants said they suffered from spring fatigue. But detailed interviews with hundreds of people over the course of a year showed no evidence of this. “It would have shown up in the data analysis,” says study leader Christine Blume from the University of Basel in an…

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We take it for granted that a day lasts 24 hours – but in reality, the length of a day is not constant. New research from the University of Vienna and ETH Zurich now shows that climate change is currently contributing to the lengthening of the day more strongly than at any time in at least 3.6 million years. At present, a day is getting longer by about 1.33 milliseconds per century. That may sound negligible, but from a geophysical perspective it is remarkable – and, according to the researchers,…

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English and Mandarin Chinese dominate global communication today—English with well over a billion total speakers and Mandarin leading in native speakers. Together with Spanish, Hindi, Arabic, and French, they shape cultural exchange, geopolitics, and global business. Languages are far more than tools for communication—they are cultural archives, identity markers, and bridges between societies. When we look at the world’s most spoken languages, we’re not just counting words or speakers; we’re tracing migration, colonial history, economic power, and digital influence. And yes—at least one of the 30 languages in any global…

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Wien, 13 March 2026 — As Austria wakes up to a crisp Friday morning, many residents may feel an extra twinge of unease: today is Friday the 13th, a date long associated with misfortune across much of the Western world. Though modern research shows no spike in accidents or bad luck, the superstition remains deeply rooted in centuries of myth, religion, and cultural storytelling. Where Did the Fear Come From? 1. The Number 13 and Ancient Myth The anxiety around the number 13 predates Christianity.A well‑known Norse myth tells of…

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