Every week, we scour the web to bring you interesting bits and pieces from around the world. Enjoy!

Balancing motherhood, depression

A clinically depressed woman writes about her fears about motherhood. Beyond the daily terrors (bees, violence, etc.) she worries about what kind of mother she can be to her son, as she manages her condition. Where she arrives by the end of the piece may surprise you.

Exploring the ‘secret garden’

An interesting profile on Dr Sharon Hillier and her work on the “secret garden” — i.e. the vagina. She calls herself a “vaginal ecologist” and is at the forefront of the effort to stop HIV transmission to women, helping to design effective products based on her understanding of vaginal flora.

Reading for a better brain

Not a shock, perhaps, but a scientific study confirms that reading to babies and toddlers is critical. What is interesting is what it does: Not only does it build vocabulary in a way that watching people speak on TV cannot, brain scans show children whose parents read to and with them are better able to visualise and imagine.

Whitening our way to poorer health

This article explores the cultural obsession with whiteness — from bleached teeth to bleached shirts. It focuses on the Western world, pointing out that peak hygiene — generally the goal of this quest for whiteness — isn’t as good for our health as we think. But we think there are probably carry-over points applicable here in the East: What is Fair and Lovely, after all, but bleach for our skin?

Rethinking anger management

Ever feel like smashing something to smithereens in a moment of unadulterated frustration? This new service in Toronto allows you to do exactly that. Hope to see it here soon — we can think of a few cities here where such an outlet might be a public good as much as a personal release….