On March 29, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Narcan for over-the-counter sale. Narcan is the 4-milligram nasal spray version of naloxone, a medication that can quickly counteract…
Category: Anthropology
What is xylazine? A medical toxicologist explains how it increases overdose risk, and why Narcan can still save a life
The White House officially designated fentanyl adulterated with xylazine as an emerging threat to the U.S. on Apr. 12, 2023. Earlier, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration issued a warning on…
Gender-affirming care has a long history in the US – and not just for transgender people
In 1976, a woman from Roanoke, Virginia, named Rhoda received a prescription for two drugs: estrogen and progestin. Twelve months later, a local reporter noted Rhoda’s surprisingly soft skin and…
Infant formula shortages forced some parents to feed their babies in less healthy ways
The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea One third of families who relied on formula to feed their babies during the COVID-19 pandemic…
Mounting research points to health harms from cannabis, THC and CBD use during pregnancy, adolescence and other periods of rapid development
Cannabis is a widely used psychoactive drug worldwide, and its popularity is growing: The U.S. market for recreational cannabis sales could surpass US$72 billion by 2023. As of early 2023,…
Increases in opioid overdoses in Pennsylvania varied by county during the COVID-19 pandemic
The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea The COVID-19 pandemic intensified the opioid epidemic, according to our new research, which finds that opioid…
Vikings brought animals to England as early as the year 873
Vikings brought horses and dogs to the British Isles from Scandinavia, a new study suggests. A chemical analysis of bone fragments from a cemetery in England provides the first solid…
Mysterious marks on Ice Age cave art may have been a form of record keeping
As far back as roughly 25,000 years ago, Ice Age hunter-gatherers may have jotted down markings to communicate information about the behavior of their prey, a new study finds. These…
