Cats with round faces and big eyes might be cute, but you can't tell how they're feeling – new research

Breeding cats for exaggerated facial features might have hindered our ability to understand them.

Lauren Finka, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Nottingham Trent University • conversation
Jan. 6, 2021 • ~6 min

Air pollution may contribute to Alzheimer’s and dementia risk – here's what we're learning from brain scans

The tiny air pollutants known as PM2.5, emitted by vehicles, factories and power plants, aren’t just a hazard for lungs. A study finds more brain shrinkage in older women exposed to pollution.

Jiu-Chiuan Chen, Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California • conversation
Jan. 5, 2021 • ~7 min

Seat belts and smoking rates show people eventually adopt healthy behaviors – but it can take time we don't have during a pandemic

Public health recommendations have always been a hard sell. Resistance to new behaviors – like the mask-wearing and social distancing advised during the COVID-19 pandemic – is part of human nature.

Randy P. Juhl, Dean Emeritus and Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Pharmacy, University of Pittsburgh • conversation
Dec. 29, 2020 • ~7 min

Wildfire smoke changes dramatically as it ages, and that matters for downwind air quality – here's what we learned flying through smoke plumes

Thousands of chemical compounds in wildfire smoke are interacting with each other and sunlight as the smoke travels. For people downwind, it can become more toxic over time.

Brett B. Palm, Postdoctoral Researcher in Atmospheric Chemistry, University of Washington • conversation
Dec. 17, 2020 • ~8 min

Why do older people heal more slowly?

Healing is a complicated process. As people age, higher rates of disease and the fact that old cells lose the ability to divide slow this process down.

Matthew Steinhauser, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh • conversation
Nov. 24, 2020 • ~9 min

Wildfires force thousands to evacuate near Los Angeles: Here's how the 2020 Western fire season got so extreme

The 2020 wildfire season has shattered records across the West. It's a trend that's headed in a dangerous direction.

Mohammad Reza Alizadeh, Ph.D. Student, McGill University • conversation
Oct. 27, 2020 • ~8 min

Steroids cut COVID-19 death rates, but not for everyone – here’s who benefits and who doesn’t

Three new studies show corticosteroids can reduce deaths in critically ill COVID-19 patients. But what about other patients?

Bryan McVerry, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh • conversation
Sept. 4, 2020 • ~8 min

Reopening elementary schools carries less COVID-19 risk than high schools – but that doesn't guarantee safety

New research points to why reopening elementary schools is the safest bet and what else needs to happen for schools to have the best chance of staying open.

Justin Remais, Associate Professor and Chair of Environmental Health Sciences, University of California, Berkeley • conversation
Aug. 25, 2020 • ~9 min

Kids are bigger coronavirus spreaders than many doctors realized – here’s how schools can lower the risk

Checking for symptoms is just the beginning. Here are 10 ways schools can help keep children, families and faculty safe.

Lucine Francis, Assistant Professor of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing • conversation
Aug. 18, 2020 • ~8 min

Forensic breakthrough helps explain how innocent people's clothing fibres could end up at crime scenes

New research shows fibres can transfer between people without any contact.

Matteo Gallidabino, Senior lecturer in Forensic Science, Northumbria University, Newcastle • conversation
Aug. 14, 2020 • ~5 min

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