logo

Stress-related aging may be reversible, study finds

May 10, 2023 |

Stress is more than an unpleasant emotion; it is a legitimate health concern, as attested by both scientists and physicians. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recently declared loneliness to be a public health problem on par with smoking in part because of how loneliness causes stress. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased individual stress levels, and doctors are recommending special diets (such as switching to plant-based meal plans) that are tailor-made for stress reduction....

Originally posted on salon.com

read more

Scientists figured out chimpanzees have a rudimentary language by pranking them with fake snakes

May 9, 2023 |

Humans are not merely adept at communicating danger — it is seemingly built into our brains. That may be true for most social animals, but not all animals can communicate using specific nouns or verbs to refer to present dangers. That, it seems, is the unique power of human language, an ability that provides a strong evolutionary advantage....

Originally posted on salon.com

read more

7 animals we could lose forever due to climate change

May 8, 2023 |

In 2022, the United Nations projected that roughly one million wild species were heading toward extinction due to human activity. Not all of these species are in danger of being wiped out due to climate change; pangolins, for instance, are also highly sought after for their meat and scales (used in traditional Chinese medicine), while sharks face problems because their fins are eaten, they are often caught by accident and they are misunderstood....

Originally posted on salon.com

read more

That friend who can’t stop interrupting you? It might not be their fault

May 7, 2023 |

While wealthy celebrities like Paris Hilton may refer to ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) as a “superpower,” many find the condition to be more debilitating than empowering. Indeed, ADHD can make it seem as if you are not in control of your own mind. As someone with ADHD, I frequently feel as if my brain is a television set where a stranger is holding the remote; even if I want to stay on one channel, I have to struggle with a force that may change the programming against my will....

Originally posted on salon.com

read more

This 25-year-old sci-fi disaster movie is still lauded by scientists — here’s why

May 6, 2023 |

In anticipation of the 25-year-anniversary of “Deep Impact,” Dr. Clark R. Chapman and his wife Y Chapman decided to rewatch the classic sci-fi disaster flick. Dr. Chapman is uniquely qualified to assess the movie’s merits: “Deep Impact” is about a comet the size of Mount Everest that is heading on a collision course with Earth, and Chapman is a planetary scientist for the B612 Foundation, a nonprofit which protects Earth from comets, asteroids and other near-Earth Objects (NEOs)....

Originally posted on salon.com

read more

Yes, loneliness really is as deadly as smoking — here’s why

May 5, 2023 |

The fabric of American society — our car-centric city design, our predilection for single-family homes and our self-reliant culture — seems engineered to engender loneliness. COVID-19 didn’t help: during the pandemic, millions experienced real trauma due to the social isolation imposed during the lockdowns. Despite these easily observable realities, however, there nevertheless persists in our culture a tendency to view “loneliness” as an individual problem, not a public health problem (and therefore a social problem)....

Originally posted on salon.com

read more

“We’re all weirdos”: A new documentary explores how Americans got so anxious

May 5, 2023 |

Decades ago, anxiety was a niche diagnosis, something that few would openly admitted to. Now, anxiety permeates the culture like water — flowing outward from political and climate crises, from current events like the pandemic, and from economics (as in the term “economic anxiety“). To Gen Z, anxiety isn’t the exception — it’s the norm. ...

Originally posted on salon.com

read more

This is what the world will look like in 100 years if we do nothing to stop climate change

May 4, 2023 |

Aside from its meteorological effects, climate change is also wreaking havoc on our minds: Younger generations are bitterly denouncing their elders in climate protests and mental illnesses are spreading as people feel powerless to avert catastrophe. 

“The floods and fires, droughts and lethal heatwaves we are experiencing today will become much more common and more severe.”

...

Originally posted on salon.com
read more

A shocking lawsuit says Tylenol caused birth defects. It’s possible — but the science isn’t settled

May 4, 2023 |

The pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson, manufacturer of Tylenol, is in the hot seat as it faces more than 100 lawsuits from families alleging that the ubiquitous pain relief medication can cause autism, ADHD, and other developmental disorders in unborn children when taken by pregnant women. 

The claims, if proven, would be a shocking twist for acetaminophen, the generic name of the drug in Tylenol, which is on a short list of medicines considered “essential” by the World Health Organization....

Originally posted on salon.com

read more

Conservative America has far more gun deaths than liberal America, study finds

May 1, 2023 | ,

A horrific recent trend of mass shootings has severely polarized Americans on the topic of firearms. At the center of this heated controversy lies the policy question of gun control: Should the government impose restrictions on firearms and other dangerous weapons to protect the public?

Conservatives turn to the Second Amendment to argue that the Constitution’s right to bear arms is sacred; liberals will argue that conservatives are misinterpreting the Second Amendment and that gun control policies have been proven to save lives....

Originally posted on salon.com

read more

Follow Matt