A team of researchers from Boston University is working to better understand how language and speech is processed in the brain, and how to best rehabilitate people who have lost their ability to communicate due to brain damage caused by a stroke, trauma, or another type of brain injury. This type of language loss is...
Health
Global Travelers Pick Up Numerous Genes That Promote Microbial Resistance
Carried like stowaways in the guts of international travelers, new and potentially deadly strains of antimicrobial resistant superbugs may be coming to a community near you, suggests new research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. “Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, we knew that international travel was contributing to the rapid global increase...
Postpartum Mental Health Visits 30% Higher During Covid-19 Pandemic
Mental health visits for new mothers were 30% higher during the COVID-19 pandemic than before the pandemic, particularly in the first 3 months after giving birth, found new research in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. “Increased visit rates began in March 2020, although the state of emergency was declared only midway through the month, suggesting...
How a Vietnamese Raw Pork Snack Could Help Us Keep Food Fresh, Naturally
A traditional Vietnamese meat snack could hold the key to developing a safe and natural food preservative, addressing the twin global problems of food waste and food-borne illnesses. Key Points Bacteria-killing compound discovered in Nem Chua, a fermented pork snack Toxic to bacteria but safe for humans, it’s a natural alternative to artificial food preservatives...
Parler Provided Echo Chamber for Vaccine Misinformation, Conspiracy Theories
In the early days of COVID-19 vaccine development, a new social media platform provided a place for like-minded people to discuss vaccines, share misinformation and speculate about the motivations for its development. A new study from the University of Kansas shows people flocked to Parler to discuss the vaccines in an echo chamber-type environment, and...
Air Quality Improved During India Lockdown
Research by scientists from University of Southampton (UK) and the Central University of Jharkhand (India) and has shown the first COVID-19 lockdown in India led to an improvement in air quality and a reduction in land surface temperature in major urban areas across the country. The study found that travel and work restrictions imposed early...
Seeds of Economic Health Disparities Found in Subsistence Society
No billionaires live among the Tsimane people of Bolivia, although some are a bit better off than others. These subsistence communities on the edge of the Amazon also have fewer chronic health problems linked to the kind of dramatic economic disparity found in industrialized Western societies. For a study in the journal eLife, a research team led...
Global Warming Already Responsible for One in Three Heat-Related Deaths
Between 1991 and 2018, more than a third of all deaths in which heat played a role were attributable to human-induced global warming, according to a new article in Nature Climate Change. The study, the largest of its kind, was led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and the University of Bern...
Data from 45 Million Mobile Users Further Shows Poorer People Less Able to Stay at Home COVID Rules
People living in deprived, less affluent neighborhoods spent less time indoors at home during lockdown, according to a study that tracked data from millions of mobile phone users across the United States. The study, published in the journal Annals of the American Association of Geographers, adds to growing evidence that low earners are less likely to...
Socioeconomic Status Non-Factor in Worse COVID-19 for Racial, Ethnic Groups in Twin Cities
A research team, led by the University of Minnesota Medical School, found that regardless of socioeconomic status, Twin Cities residents of underrepresented racial and ethnic backgrounds endure worse COVID-19 outcomes compared to people who are white. The study was just published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine and is one of the first papers to discuss...