Preparing a bowl of chicken soup for a loved one when they’re sick has been a common practice throughout the world for centuries. Today, generations from virtually every culture swear…
Category: Anthropology
Health care workers gain 21% wage increase in pending agreement with Kaiser Permanente after historic strike
The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions reached a tentative agreement with its employer on a new four-year contract on Oct. 13, 2023. They agreed following the largest documented strike of…
New treatment for postpartum depression offers hope, but the stigma attached to the condition still lingers
Postpartum depression can affect anyone, and it often sneaks in quietly, like a shadow in the corners of a new mother’s life. It presents significant challenges for around 1 in…
COVID-19 vaccine mandates have come and mostly gone in the US – an ethicist explains why their messy rollout matters for trust in public health
Ending pandemics is a social decision, not scientific. Governments and organizations rely on social, cultural and political considerations to decide when to officially declare the end of a pandemic. Ideally,…
Gun deaths among children and teens have soared – but there are ways to reverse the trend
Firearm injuries are now the leading cause of death among U.S. children and teens following a huge decadelong rise. Analyses published on Oct. 5, 2023, by a research team in…
Wildfire smoke leaves harmful gases in floors and walls − air purifiers aren’t enough, new study shows, but you can clean it up
When wildfire smoke turns the air brown and hazy, you might think about heading indoors with the windows closed, running an air purifier or even wearing a mask. These are…
Steep physical decline with age is not inevitable – here’s how strength training can change the trajectory
Raise your hand if you regularly find yourself walking up a flight of stairs. What about carrying heavy bags of groceries? How about picking up your child or grandchild? Most…
Philadelphia bans supervised injection sites – evidence suggests keeping drug users on the street could do more harm than good
The United States remains tightly in the grasp of an ongoing, and escalating, crisis of deaths caused by opioid overdoses. With a record-high 109,000 people dying in 2022, it is…
Horseshoe crab blood is vital for testing intravenous drugs, but new synthetic alternatives could mean pharma won’t bleed this unique species dry
If you have ever gotten a vaccine or received an intravenous drug and did not come down with a potentially life-threatening fever, you can thank a horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus).…
