Author: Michelle Korhonen

A poll from the American Psychological Association found that nearly half of respondents wished they had someone to help them manage stress. Meredith Rizzo for NPR hide caption toggle caption Meredith Rizzo for NPR A poll from the American Psychological Association found that nearly half of respondents wished they had someone to help them manage stress. Meredith Rizzo for NPR Stress has long been a chronic problem for Americans, and new data suggests it’s only worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent poll by the American Psychological Association found that nearly a quarter of adults across the country said they…

Finding a vole on Alaska’s North Slope takes practice. The open plain pulls the eye upward, toward grand things: the horizon line, the distant shimmer of snow in the mountains. The nearest tree is more than 50 miles away. The low shrubs and sedges toss and wave in the wind. It’s a place where a 600-pound musk ox can look dog-size.In this landscape, even a very large vole—weighing less than three ounces and no more than nine inches long—is easy to miss. But Nick Patel knows what to look for. Last August, Patel pointed my attention toward a depression worn…

Does Phthalate exposure causes reduced fertility and hormonal imbalances in women before conception? According to recent studies, exposure to phthalates before conception can lead to reduced fertility and hormonal imbalances in women. Higher preconception levels of phthalate metabolites were associated with reduced fecundability and estradiol levels, as well as increased LH and FSH levels during ovulation. Phthalate exposures during pregnancy may impact circulating levels of thyroid, sex hormone, and 25-hydroxyvitamin D in pregnant women or offspring. Phthalates are endocrine-disrupting chemicals linked to adverse pregnancy outcomes, and prenatal exposure to phthalates may cause pregnancy loss. In females, phthalates are linked to…

People who use hearing aids to restore hearing have a 24% lower risk of death, compared to people who don’t use hearing aids, a new study finds. Pekic/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Pekic/Getty Images People who use hearing aids to restore hearing have a 24% lower risk of death, compared to people who don’t use hearing aids, a new study finds. Pekic/Getty Images Among the roughly 40 million adults in the U.S. who have hearing loss, most don’t use hearing aids. This means they may be missing out on more than just good hearing. Research shows hearing loss, if…

Claudine Gay is gone. The Harvard president’s slow-burning plagiarism scandal was finally fanned into a full-blown conflagration that neither she nor the university could stamp out. After weeks of mounting accusations, several new instances of alleged plagiarism uncovered Monday night—added to about 40 earlier examples—appear to have been the final straw. Her resignation was tendered yesterday afternoon.The conservative activist Christopher Rufo, who helped kick off this controversy when he and fellow conservative Christopher Brunet leveled a round of accusations against Gay last month, has spent the past 24 hours doing a victory lap. It is this unseemly context that progressive…

Targeted ocular spectroscopy offers new insight on Retinal health – Targeted ocular spectroscopy is a technology that enables concurrent imaging of the eye fundus and analysis of high-quality spectra from a specific region of interest in the retina. This technology can help diagnose pathologies in the eye fundus and elucidate the impact of factors like lipofuscin accumulation, RNFL structural changes, blood absorption spectrum, and melanin spectral profile, all of which impact the optical properties of retinal tissues.A recent study has developed a versatile imaging system that will help diagnose pathologies in the eye fundus with more precise and flexible targeted…

The AtlanticJanuary 3, 2024, 2:41 PM ETThe journalists Christine Emba and Thomas Chatterton Williams will join The Atlantic as staff writers, and Robert Worth is becoming a contributing writer, editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg announced today.Christine joins from The Washington Post, where she was most recently a columnist and a member of the Editorial Board. Thomas joins staff this week after several years as a contributing writer; in the past year, he’s written about defining wokeism, against smelling weed in public, and profiled the artist Chase Hall. Robert has written periodically for The Atlantic since 1995, most recently investigating the…

Adolescent obesity has been identified and linked as a significant risk factor for early chronic kidney disease (CKD) in young adulthood. This is because obesity, particularly during childhood and adolescence, is associated with an increased prevalence and incidence of early-stage CKD.Even individuals with high-normal BMI and without diabetes are at an increased risk of developing CKD. The purpose of this article is to explore the relationship between adolescent obesity and the development of early CKD in young adulthood, as well as to discuss the potential mechanisms and management strategies for this condition.Key points to consider include:Obesity is an important predisposing…

Yesterday afternoon, my dad, Erik Dybkaer Andersen, lay sleeping at home in his hospice bed when a calm settled over his body and he drew his last breath. He was 78. For more than a year, we had known that cancer would take him; only the hour was uncertain. But it is still a shock to find him missing from his bedroom, from his family, from the world. It is too early to measure, much less put into writing, all that he meant to us. For now, I want only to read his life into the record, and to get…

Decline In Male fertility Linked To Air Pollution Via Oxidative Stress – Male fertility faces a global decline, with sperm count and concentration dropping. Lifestyle, environment, and prenatal factors are suspected culprits. Among these, air pollution, a major health threat, stands out.Millions breathe polluted air, leading to health problems like heart and lung disease. But could it also harm men’s ability to reproduce? Research suggests yes.Exposure to pollutants like ozone, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter might impact sperm quality in various ways:Lower sperm count and motility: Fewer and less mobile sperm mean reduced fertilization chances.Abnormal sperm shape: Sperm with irregular…