Resources & Information

NPR via Body Electric Podcast
June 11, 2024
In 2007, former Microsoft executive Linda Stone noticed something strange happening every time she’d sit down to answer emails. She was holding her breath. “I would inhale in anticipation, but I wouldn’t exhale because so many emails would be streaming in,” Stone told Manoush Zomorodi in an interview for NPR’s Body Electric. “And this would go on for hours.” Stone wondered how common this was and set out to investigate using “kitchen table science,” as she called it. She recruited dozens of friends and colleagues to sit at her computer answering emails while she monitored their pulse and heart rate variability. Of those participants, 80% had what Stone coined “email or screen apnea” — shallow or suspended breathing while working on a screen.

StatNews
June 3, 2024
It’s been one year since the U.S. surgeon general issued a national warning about an epidemic of loneliness. Other countries recognized the problem earlier: the United Kingdom appointed a minister for loneliness in 2018; Japan did the same in 2021. These initiatives have brought attention to — and spurred action around — an important problem with serious health consequences, which include increased risks of heart disease, dementia, and premature death.

But with Gallup recently reporting that nearly one-quarter of the global population is lonely, there’s no resolution in sight. What is needed to advance the conversation and effect real change?

Medical News Today
May 31, 2024
Tattoos were associated with a 21% increased risk of lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, in an observational study of a Swedish cohort. Researchers from Lund University, Sweden analyzed the Swedish National Cancer Register, and found that the size of the tattoo had little effect on the risk of cancer. The results are published in eClinical Medicine. While researchers were already aware of the potentially carcinogenic properties of some tattoo inks, the authors of this study said the impact they had on cancer risk was not, prompting them to undertake the current research.

Medpage Today
May 25, 2024
In early February, dairy farmers in the Texas Panhandle began to notice sick cattle. The buzz soon reached Darren Turley, executive director of the Texas Association of Dairymen: “They said there is something moving from herd to herd.”

Nearly 60 days passed before veterinarians identified the culprit: a highly pathogenic strain of the bird flu virus, H5N1. Had it been detected sooner, the outbreak might have been swiftly contained. Now it has spread to at least eight other states, and it will be hard to eliminate.

CNN
May 23, 2024
There is a new coronavirus variant in town. KP.2, a member of the so-called FliRT variants, nicknamed after their mutations, has become the dominant coronavirus strain in the United States, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These FliRT variants have certain mutations in common but are still part of the Omicron family of the coronavirus. For the period from April 28 to May 11, nearly 30% of new cases were caused by KP.2, up from less than 16% in the two-week period before that. What should people know about this new variant? What are the symptoms of infection? Do vaccines still work against the new strain? Is a home test still reliable? How long should people isolate if they contract KP.2? Who should take antiviral treatments if they contract this type of Covid-19? And what is the guidance for immunocompromised individuals — should they start masking again?

NPR via Body Electric Podcast
May 21, 2024
Thousands of years ago, our ears were attuned to the subtle sounds of our environment: the rustle of leaves from nearby prey, the growl of an approaching predator, the rumble of a distant storm. Listening closely to these sounds helped us survive.

Today, our auditory world has changed drastically — and gotten much louder. Our lives are filled with a barrage of sound from traffic, sirens, construction, noisy restaurants and concerts.