The COVID-19 mRNA-based vaccines that saved 2.5 million lives globally during the pandemic could help spark the immune system to fight cancer. This is the surprising takeaway of a new…
Category: Anthropology
Does the full moon make us sleepless? A neurologist explains the science behind sleep, mood and lunar myths
Have you ever tossed and turned under a full moon and wondered if its glow was keeping you awake? For generations, people have believed that the Moon has the power…
How new foreign worker visa fees might worsen doctor shortages in rural America
There are almost 1.1 million licensed physicians in the United States. That may sound like a lot, but the country has struggled for decades to train enough physicians to meet…
HIV rates are highest in the American South, despite effective treatments – a clash between culture and public health
The American South has the highest HIV rates in the country, accounting for more than half of new HIV diagnoses nationwide in 2023. This is despite growing availability of a…
Zombies, jiangshi, draugrs, revenants − monster lore is filled with metaphors for public health
Imagine a city street at dusk, silent save for the rising sound of a collective guttural moan. Suddenly, a horde of ragged, bloodied creatures appear, their feet shuffling along the…
Yes, ADHD diagnoses are rising, but that doesn’t mean it’s overdiagnosed
Many news outlets have reported an increase – or surge – in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, diagnoses in both children and adults. At the same time, health care providers, teachers…
How pollution and the microbiome interact with Tregs, the immune system regulators whose discovery was honored with the Nobel Prize
A special group of immune cells known as regulatory T cells, or Tregs for short, became an overnight sensation when a trio of U.S. and Japanese scientists won the Nobel…
