Heart attacks, cancer, dementia, premature deaths: 4 essential reads on the health effects driving EPA’s new fine particle air pollution standard

On Feb. 7, 2024, the EPA strengthened the federal limit for annual levels of fine particulate air pollution, or PM2.5. Many serious health effects have been linked to PM2.5 exposure.

Jennifer Weeks, Senior Environment + Cities Editor, The Conversation • conversation
Feb. 8, 2024 ~8 min

Feeling depressed linked to short-term increase in bodyweight among people with overweight or obesity

Increases in symptoms of depression are associated with a subsequent increase in bodyweight when measured one month later, new research from the University of

Cambridge University News • cambridge
Jan. 10, 2024 ~4 min


Does “food as medicine” make a big dent in diabetes?

Study of rigorous trial shows mixed results, suggests need to keep examining how nutrition can combat a pervasive disease.

Peter Dizikes | MIT News • mit
Dec. 27, 2023 ~7 min

Who is still getting HIV in America? Medication is only half the fight – homing in on disparities can help get care to those who need it most

Two-thirds of new HIV infections are among gay and bisexual men. Although cases have decreased among white men, they have stagnated among communities of color.

Angel Algarin, Assistant Professor of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Arizona State University • conversation
Dec. 1, 2023 ~6 min

Pollution from coal power plants contributes to far more deaths than scientists realized, study shows

The longest-running study of its kind reviewed death records in the path of pollution from coal-fired power plants. The numbers are staggering − but also falling fast as US coal plants close.

Lucas Henneman, Assistant Professor of Engineering, George Mason University • conversation
Nov. 23, 2023 ~8 min

Gaza's next tragedy: Disease risk spreads amid overcrowded shelters, dirty water and breakdown of basic sanitation

High levels of diarrhea, scabies and respiratory infections have been reported as bombing campaign progresses – and children are the most vulnerable.

Yara M. Asi, Assistant Professor of Global Health Management and Informatics, University of Central Florida • conversation
Nov. 21, 2023 ~9 min

Pooling multiple models during COVID-19 pandemic provided more reliable projections about an uncertain future

Policymakers rely on models during uncertain times to figure out how their choices could affect the future. Over the pandemic, an ensemble of many COVID-19 models outperformed any one alone.

Justin Lessler, Professor of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • conversation
Nov. 20, 2023 ~9 min

When science showed in the 1970s that gas stoves produced harmful indoor air pollution, the industry reached for tobacco's PR playbook

The natural gas industry has spent years trying to undermine scientific findings about gas stoves and health. If this sounds familiar, that’s no accident.

Jonathan Levy, Professor and Chair, Department of Environmental Health, Boston University • conversation
Nov. 3, 2023 ~8 min


Collaborative water management can be a building block for peace between Israelis and Palestinians

As the war between Hamas and Israel grinds forward, two experts explain how Israelis and Palestinians have cooperated to tackle their region’s water challenges.

Richard Friend, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography, University of York • conversation
Oct. 30, 2023 ~11 min

COVID-19 vaccine mandates have come and mostly gone in the US – an ethicist explains why their messy rollout matters for trust in public health

Vaccine policies fall on a spectrum, from mandates to recommendations. Deciding what to use and when is not so much a science but a balancing act between personal autonomy and public good.

Rachel Gur-Arie, Assistant Professor of Nursing and Health Innovation, Arizona State University • conversation
Oct. 18, 2023 ~9 min

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