Welp, TikTok is here with yet another problematic challenge. And, like the 75 Hard Challenge, this one involves a very specific assignment for a very specific amount of time in the hopes of changing the way your body looks. How fun for us!? Enter the coffee and lemon challenge, which calls for drinking instant coffee […]
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Everyone’s asking when the pandemic will be over. Here’s how we’ll know
Throughout each day, Cheryl Bettigole receives granular, neighborhood-level updates on the numbers we’ve all been hearing for months. The percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19. Transmission rates. Hospitalizations, deaths, and progress with vaccines—in Philadelphia and beyond. The lines on the graphs often bounce around like the stock market. Yet at some point the city’s […]
Mapping the mouse brain, and by extension, the human brain too
The circuits of the human brain contain more than 100 billion neurons, each linked to many other neurons via thousands of synaptic connections, resulting in a three-pound organ that is profoundly more complex than the sum of its innumerable parts. In recent years, however, transformative advances in imaging, sequencing and computational technologies have opened the […]
Mapping the shifting opioid epidemic to aid public health efforts
Combining emergency medical services and vital statistics data, a new study led by researchers from Tufts University School of Medicine provides a unique view of the opioid overdose epidemic in an urban area. The study identifies neighborhoods with the highest risk of overdose and other drug-related disorders, as well as supports efforts for targeted public […]
African Americans bear the brunt of negative health outcomes of menthol cigarettes
African Americans represent 12% of the U.S. population, but carried 41% of all menthol-smoking-related premature deaths in the United States between 1980 and 2018, according to a new study researchers believe is the first to quantify the impact menthol cigarettes have had in Black communities across the country. “It is well known that tobacco companies, […]
Unraveling the mystery of why we overeat
Eating is one of life’s greatest pleasures, and overeating is one of life’s growing problems. In 2019, researchers from The Stuber Lab at the University of Washington School of Medicine discovered that certain cells light up in obese mice and prevent signals that indicate satiety, or feeling full. Now comes a deeper dive into what […]
On the trail of a medical mystery: Scientists zero in on elevated MRSA susceptibility after liver transplants
For decades, recipients of liver transplants have been inexplicably vulnerable to MRSA infection after their lifesaving surgeries, but the molecular mechanisms underlying that risk had remained stubbornly mystifying, at least until now. In the hunt for a culprit at the core of a nagging—and sometimes deadly—susceptibility, a multidisciplinary team of physicians, surgeons and scientists in […]
The anti-vax movement is being radicalized by far-right political extremism
Vaccine passports have become a major point of contention in the 2021 federal election. Currently, more than 73 percent of Canada’s population have received at least one dose of vaccine, and the country’s response to COVID-19 continues to be a top priority for voters. This is likely why current public health efforts have concentrated on […]
The Mediterranean diet leads to better cognitive functions and memory
The Mediterranean diet does not only have beneficial effects for the cardiovascular health of those who follow it, but it can allow them to improve their memory and prevent or delay the effects of cognitive deterioration connected to aging. However, these beneficial effects are not enjoyed equally by everyone, which leads to questioning the type […]
Locking out the unvaccinated: Is there support for vaccine passports?
Almost 70 percent of Australians surveyed in the Take the Pulse of the Nation (TTPN) survey agree that fully vaccinated people should be allowed greater freedoms to access public events without restrictions, however between 16 to 23 percent disagree with the idea of excluding the unvaccinated from certain activities. Established in 2020, TTPN surveys Australians […]