Only 15 per cent of global coastal regions remain intact
New research has revealed that only 15 per cent of coastal areas around the world remain intact, exposing the need for urgent coastal rehabilitation and conservation on a global scale. The University of Queensland-led international study mapped the impact of human-caused pressures on coastal regions to identify those that are already highly degraded, and those […]
Even dying stars can still give birth to planets
Planets are usually not much older than the stars around which they revolve. Take the Sun: it was born 4.6 billion years ago, and not long after that, Earth came into the world. But KU Leuven astronomers have discovered that a completely different scenario is also possible. Even if they are near death, some types […]
Where Does Bacterial Meningitis Come From?
Bacterial meningitis is characterized by inflammation around your brain and spinal cord that leads to dangerous — and sometimes deadly — pressure in this area. Bacterial meningitis comes from person-to-person contact with an infected person. Bacterial meningitis is a disease that affects your central nervous system. It’s characterized by inflammation around your brain and spinal […]
Soaking up the sun: Artificial photosynthesis promises clean, sustainable source of energy
Humans can do lots of things that plants can’t do. We can walk around, we can talk, we can hear and see and touch. But plants have one major advantage over humans: They can make energy directly from the sun. That process of turning sunlight directly into usable energy — called photosynthesis — may soon […]
How Many People Have Cluster B Personality Disorders?
Studies have suggested that around 1%-6% of people suffer from cluster B personality disorders. Learn about each of the four types Studies have suggested that around 1%-6% of people suffer from cluster B personality disorders. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), about 9.1% of the population in the United States have a […]
Vast patches of glassy rock in Chilean desert likely created by ancient exploding comet
Around 12,000 years ago, something scorched a vast swath of the Atacama Desert in Chile with heat so intense that it turned the sandy soil into widespread slabs of silicate glass. Now, a research team studying the distribution and composition of those glasses has come to a conclusion about what caused the inferno. In a […]
Just How Many New Depression, Anxiety Cases Popped Up in 2020?
Depressive and anxiety disorders increased substantially around the world since the start of the pandemic, hitting some groups harder than others, according to a new systematic review and meta-analyses. Two proxy measures for the impact of COVID-19 — daily infection rates and reductions in human mobility — were both significantly associated with surges in major […]
Vaccine Proselytizing in Burkina Faso
Vaccine hesitancy challenges our response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. and around the world. I recently had a chance to address this issue first-hand while visiting my research collaborators in Burkina Faso. COVID-19 vaccines have been in short supply in Africa. But, things have improved, and the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca vaccines […]
Q&A: Loice Swisher, MD, on National Physician Suicide Awareness Day
Each year since 2018, doctors around the country recognize National Physician Suicide Awareness Day on September 17. One of the co-founders of this awareness campaign, Loice Swisher, MD, of Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, shared her own experience of suicidal thoughts after her daughter was left “neurologically devastated” following surgery on a malignant […]
New Study Shows Just How Much Kids’ Mental Health Has Suffered In The Pandemic
Anyone who has cared for or spent time around a child during the past 18 months knows how difficult the COVID-19 pandemic has been on them emotionally. Now, one of the largest studies on children’s mental health during the pandemic to date shows just how significant the toll has been, indicating that 1 in 4 […]