Resources & Information

Medical News Today
December 12, 2024
Evidence points to the fact that regular exercise is good for overall health, including brain health. Past studies show that physical activity can possibly help lower a person’s risk for dementia — including Alzheimer’s disease — and cognitive decline, more broadly. Previous research shows that the “boost” the brain receives from exercise typically peaks within the first 10 to 20 minutes. Now, researchers from University College London, in the United Kingdom, have found that the exercise-related improvement to cognitive performance may actually last for 24 hours.

NY Times
December 11, 2024
Domestic cats could provide an unexpected new route for the bird flu virus H5N1 to evolve into a more dangerous form, according to a new study published on Monday. In the year since the virus began circulating in dairy cattle, it has killed many cats, primarily on farms with affected herds. It has also sickened at least 60 people, most of whom had close contact with infected dairy cows or poultry. So far, H5N1 does not spread easily among people, although studies have suggested that just one or two key mutations could allow the virus to make that leap.

NPR
December 9, 2024
It’s been a year of high-profile food recalls. A deadly listeria outbreak led to a massive recall of Boar’s Head deli meat. Contaminated onions on McDonald’s Quarter Pounders and organic carrots were linked to E. coli outbreaks. And in late November, federal authorities launched an investigation into cucumbers contaminated with salmonella.

STATNews
December 3, 2024
At the annual meeting of the Menopause Society earlier this fall, researchers presented new evidence that hormone therapy can be beneficial to menopausal women’s heart health, reducing insulin resistance and other cardiovascular biomarkers. It was the latest in a long line of research showing the benefits of hormone therapy for women in menopause. But despite this evidence, hormone therapy’s use has plummeted over the past few decades. In 1999, almost 27% of menopausal women in the U.S. used estrogen. By 2020, less than 5% did.

Nature
Our brains allow us to do all sorts of things unique to humans: use sarcasm, solve crossword puzzles, envision our future. Their complexity also leaves us susceptible to conditions we don’t see in animals, such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. An avalanche of data has started to reveal key differences between human and animal brains, but exactly what gives rise to our unique cognitive skills still isn’t totally clear.

STATNews
October 16, 2024
If you’re aware of the H5N1 bird flu outbreak in U.S. dairy cattle — you may have seen some headlines or read something on social media — perhaps you are wondering what the fuss is about. Yes, there have been nearly a couple dozen human cases, but all have had mild symptoms. The virus does not decimate herds in the way it does poultry flocks; most — though not all — of the infected cows come through the illness OK.

If, however, you are more familiar with the history of this form of bird flu, you might be getting anxious. You might be worried that no one has figured out how one of the infected individuals, who lives in Missouri, contracted H5N1. Or you might recall that the virus has killed half of the 900-plus people known to have been infected with it over the past 27 years. Above all, you might fret that the virus is now circulating in thousands of cows in the U.S., exposing itself to some unknowable portion of the more than 100,000 dairy farmworkers in this country —  the consequences of which could be, well, disastrous.