Could an Old Drug Protect Against a New Pandemic?
Health authorities have said that stockpiled Tamiflu should work well against H5N1. But while the drug may help in cases of severe flu, research shows that it doesn’t help keep average-risk patients...
View ArticleThe Downstream Effects of Fixing a Racist Lung Test
A race-neutral algorithm for lung function was recommended by the American Thoracic Society last year. But making the change at thousands of clinics across the country comes with challenges — and...
View ArticleNursing Homes Overuse ‘Chemical Restraints’ on Dementia Patients
In nursing homes, antipsychotic drugs are often used to sedate dementia patients who show agitation or aggression. New data shows that the use of such drugs remains stubbornly high. Some experts say...
View ArticleThe Challenge of Preserving Good Data in the Age of AI
Artificial intelligence-driven tools such as ChatGPT threaten to flood the internet with machine-generated content, making the question of what data to archive more challenging. Libraries, with their...
View ArticleInterview: How Michigan Targeted Avian Influenza in Dairy Cattle
Two Michigan health officials describe how the state is confronting an outbreak of avian influenza among dairy cattle through an aggressive approach that includes declaring an animal health emergency...
View ArticleShould the Pharmaceutical Industry Police Itself?
Roughly half of all Britons have said they view the drug industry at least somewhat favorably. By contrast, just 18 percent of Americans report positive views of pharma. The discrepancy may be...
View ArticleLong Distance Whale Synchrony: Coincidence or Communication?
A 1970s theory proposed that baleen whales, like bowheads and humpbacks, travel in diffuse herds spanning up to hundreds of miles. Since then, anecdotes of whales seeming to coordinate behavior over...
View ArticleIn Genetic Data, Gaps That Affect Indigenous Communities
Genetic research disproportionately focuses on people with European ancestry. New research suggests that having more diverse genetic data could allow physicians to better target certain medical...
View ArticleIn the Authoritarians’ New War on Ideas, Biology Might Be Next
Recent movements to ban books and modify school curricula will not be limited to subjects like U.S. history, argues C. Brandon Ogbunu in his column Selective Pressure. Biologists must recognize that...
View ArticleBook Review: The Mysterious Impact of Music on the Brain and Body
Neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin’s “I Heard There Was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine” explores the myriad ways in which playing and listening to music can help to heal our bodies and minds,...
View ArticleCourt Tells EPA to Consider Fluoride Risk, to Dentists’ Dismay
A federal judge last week handed a major victory to opponents of water fluoridation — one that may highlight a path for other advocacy groups seeking to challenge environmental regulations. The ruling...
View ArticleFor Thousands of Dams Facing Climate Impacts, an Uncertain Fate
Aging dams built for flood control a half-century ago are at risk of being breached during today’s major rainstorms, resulting in massive damage. But the high price tag to fix what’s broken leaves...
View ArticleCan New Mexico’s Ancient Water System Survive Climate Change?
Scientists say droughts, wildfires, and volatile weather threaten acequias — ancient irrigation ditches in the Southwest. To safeguard their unique system, irrigators are working on boosting acequias...
View ArticleAdaptations to an Older World Hinder Us From Saving This One
We humans harbor many cognitive biases — a legacy of the psychological adaptations early humans had to make to survive. In today’s world, could these deeply held thinking patterns be preventing us from...
View ArticleBook Review: How Much Can Animals Really Communicate?
In “Why Animals Talk,” zoologist Arik Kershenbaum casts a skeptical eye on grand claims about animal communication. Instead, he argues, the way information is conveyed is a product of the animal’s need...
View ArticleAs Hurricanes Disrupt Phone Service, Amateur Radio Comes In Clear
While some residents in hurricane-impacted areas can’t send texts or make calls, amateur radio enthusiasts are helping communicate requests for help and messages between loved ones.
View ArticleIs Depression Contagious? The Science Is Uncertain.
The contagious nature of infections like strep throat or influenza is well understood. You’re at risk of catching the flu, for example, if someone near you has it. But what about a person’s mental...
View ArticleWar’s Public Health Impacts Are Vast. Tallying Them Is Difficult.
Connecting the dots between armed conflict and health is not straightforward. But researchers are developing creative techniques to gauge the extent of armed conflict’s public health harms — an...
View ArticleThe Irony of Powering AI on Atomic Energy
Microsoft announced a deal to revive Three Mile Island and buy all of the nuclear power plant’s electricity as the demands of its artificial intelligence data centers increase. One anthropologist asks...
View ArticleBook Review: All History Is Environmental History
All history is environmental history, according to Sunil Amrith, an historian and the author of “The Burning Earth,” which traces the disparate, and often disastrous, efforts by civilizations as far...
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