Cardiovascular diseases — rather than drug deaths due to the opioid crisis — have the greatest impact on stagnating life expectancy in the USA. Source: Life expectancy crisis in the USA: The opioid crisis is not the decisive factor

A new multinational study incorporating the latest models of global climate, crop production and trade examines the possible effects of a nuclear exchange between two longtime enemies: India and Pakistan. It suggests that even a limited war between the two… Read More ›

New research published in The Lancet, describes in detail the first locally-transmitted case of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes COVID-19, in the USA, from a woman who had recently travelled to China and transmitted the infection… Read More ›

Tokyo, Japan – Scientists from Tokyo Metropolitan University have discovered that iDrosophila/i flies lose long-term memory (LTM) of a traumatic event when kept in the dark, the first confirmation of environmental light playing a role in LTM maintenance. The team… Read More ›

Critics of the pharmaceutical industry say it is misaligned with public interest. So is it time to nationalize the sector? Experts debate the issue in The BMJ today. Source: Is it time to nationalize the drug industry?

A large-scale study led by the University of Exeter analyzed 415,980 electronic medical records of older adults in England. People aged 75 or over with low blood pressure (below 130/80) had increased mortality rates in the follow-up, compared to those… Read More ›

Since the 2016 US presidential election, debates have raged about the reach of so-called ‘fake news’ websites and the role they played during the campaign. A study published in Nature Human Behaviour finds that the reach of these untrustworthy websites… Read More ›

Vaccine acceptance is a crucial public health issue, which has been exacerbated by the use of social media to spread content expressing vaccine hesitancy. Studies have shown that social media can provide new information regarding the dynamics of vaccine communication… Read More ›

Astronomers have found an exoplanet more than twice the size of Earth to be potentially habitable, opening the search for life to planets significantly larger than Earth but smaller than Neptune. Source: Large exoplanet could have the right conditions for… Read More ›

One year into Philadelphia’s 1.5-cents-per-ounce ‘soda tax,’ new findings show that the law had minimal to no influence on what Philadelphians are drinking. The results were published this month in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health from… Read More ›

New research appearing in the journal Addiction shows that the number of deaths attributed to opioid-related overdoses could be 28% higher than reported due to incomplete death records. This discrepancy is more pronounced in several states, including Alabama, Mississippi, Pennsylvania,… Read More ›

Google made headlines in late 2019 with an experiment that demonstrated quantum supremacy for the first time. Their quantum computer, the Sycamore Processor, took a mere 200 seconds to perform a computation that would have taken a traditional computer 10,000… Read More ›

Researchers explain symptoms associated with Antidepressant Discontinuation Syndrome and provide a schedule for tapering various classes of antidepressants. Patients who stop medication without tapering often experience flulike symptoms, insomnia, nausea, imbalance, sensory disturbances often described as electric shocks or ‘brain… Read More ›

Parabens are used as preservatives in cosmetics. If pregnant women use cosmetics containing parabens that remain on the skin for protracted periods, this may have consequences for their child’s subsequent weight development. This is demonstrated in a study published in… Read More ›

University of Melbourne and the University of California, Berkeley, scientists have discovered hundreds of unusually large, bacteria-killing viruses with capabilities normally associated with living organisms. The findings provide new insight into the constant warfare between phages and bacteria. They also… Read More ›

The left and right side of the brain are involved in different tasks. This functional lateralization and associated brain asymmetry are well documented in humans. Scientists now challenge the long-held notion that the human pattern of brain asymmetry is unique…. Read More ›

Biomedical engineers have demonstrated that, despite significant advancements in protection from ballistics and blunt impacts, modern military helmets are no better at protecting from shock waves than their World War I counterparts. One model in particular, the French Adrian helmet,… Read More ›

A new MIT study suggests that iron fertilization may not have a significant impact on phytoplankton growth, at least on a global scale. Source: Seeding oceans with iron may not impact climate change

A single strain of mumps virus has dominated the US since 2006, and is responsible for many of the large numbers of cases seen across the country in the widespread 2016-17 outbreaks. In a paper publishing February 11 in the… Read More ›

A nuclear war that cooled Earth could worsen the impact of ocean acidification on corals, clams, oysters and other marine life with shells or skeletons, according to the first study of its kind. Source: Global cooling after nuclear war would… Read More ›

The nationwide, multi-institutional cross-sectional study of students at DO-granting medical schools found that those students — like their peers in MD-granting medical schools — lose empathy as they progress through medical school. However, the DO (or osteopathic) students surveyed lost… Read More ›

Steroids should be avoided in the treatment of the current novel coronavirus, experts have advised. A commentary article published in The Lancet concludes that, based on evidence from previous outbreaks of similar types of infection such as SARS, steroids provide… Read More ›