Nearly 1 in 12 newborns in the United States in 2020 – or about 300,000 infants – were exposed to alcohol, opioids, marijuana or cocaine before they were born. Exposure…
Category: Anthropology
Omega-3 fatty acids are linked to better lung health, particularly in patients with pulmonary fibrosis
Omega-3 fatty acids have garnered significant interest among patients and clinicians for their potential protective health effects, including lung health. In our recently published research, my colleagues and I found…
Early COVID-19 research is riddled with poor methods and low-quality results − a problem for science the pandemic worsened but didn’t create
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers flooded journals with studies about the then-novel coronavirus. Many publications streamlined the peer-review process for COVID-19 papers while keeping acceptance rates relatively high. The…
Your heart changes in size and shape with exercise – this can lead to heart problems for some athletes and gym rats
Exercise has long been recognized by clinicians, scientists and public health officials as an important way to maintain health throughout a person’s lifespan. It improves overall fitness, helps build strong…
What is Alaskapox? A microbiologist explains the recently discovered virus that just claimed its first fatality
Alaskapox, a virus in the same family as smallpox, cowpox and mpox, claimed its first fatality in January 2024 when an elderly Alaskan man died of the illness. The virus,…
Nearly 2 million Americans are using kratom yearly, but it is banned in multiple states: A pharmacologist explains the controversy
Kratom products are sold online and at smoke shops and gas stations, like this one in Lone Tree, Colo. Amanda Mascarelli The herbal substance kratom, derived from the leaves of…
Candidates’ aging brains are factors in the presidential race − 4 essential reads
The leading contenders in the 2024 presidential election are two of the three oldest people ever to serve as president. President Joe Biden is 81. Former President Donald Trump is…
Israeli siege has placed Gazans at risk of starvation − prewar policies made them vulnerable in the first place
The stories of hunger emerging from war-ravaged Gaza are stark: People resorting to grinding barely edible cattle feed to make flour; desperate residents eating grass; reports of cats being hunted…
Nitazenes are a powerful class of street drugs emerging across the US
Two deaths in Boulder County, Colorado, in 2023 are the latest in the U.S. to be blamed on the powerful class of synthetic opioids called nitazenes. Most health systems cannot…
