People

FDA pushes cancer trials to include more elderly people | Science

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Older adults make up a hefty proportion of cancer patients but a much smaller slice of clinical trial participants—a long-standing and vexing problem the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wants drug companies to tackle. The agency yesterday released recommendations urging companies to boost representation of people over 65 years old, and especially over 75. … Read more

The Key Actions From The UN’s Major New Climate Report

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Rising global temperatures bring dire threats, such as floods, heat-related injuries, water scarcity, and hunger, making up to 3.6 billion people – nearly half of the world’s population – highly vulnerable to climate change.   That’s according to a major report, released Monday, from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – a UN body that … Read more

ADHD Linked to ‘Significantly Higher’ Risk of Hoarding, New Study Finds

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Many of us may find we have acquired too many possessions that clutter our living spaces, but refuse to part with things “in case we might need them”. Although having too much stuff is something many of us can relate to, for some people, a persistent difficulty parting with possessions can become a problem: hoarding. … Read more

How Far Away Would You Need to Be to Survive a Nuclear Blast?

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It’s been nearly 80 years since two nuclear bombs were detonated over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing at least 129,000 people, and causing devastating, long-term health effects.   To date, those are the only instances of nuclear weapons being used for warfare, but the reality is there are roughly 12,700 warheads remaining in … Read more

Low-Meat Diets Linked to Lower Cancer Risk, Hints Study of Nearly 500,000 People

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A growing number of people are choosing to eat less meat. There are many reasons people may choose to make this shift, but health is often cited as a popular motive. A large body of research has shown that plant-based diets can have many health benefits – including lowering the risk of chronic diseases, such … Read more

COVID Still Threatens Millions of Immunocompromised People

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Iesha White is so fed up with the U.S. response to covid-19 that she’s seriously considering moving to Europe. “I’m that disgusted. The lack of care for each other, to me, it’s too much,” said White, 30, of Los Angeles. She has multiple sclerosis and takes a medicine that suppresses her immune system. “As a … Read more

The Culture of Engineering Overlooks the People It’s Supposed to Serve

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“Is data objective or subjective?” In my last year at Rice University, I enrolled in a data science ethics course. It was my first engineering course focused on the societal impacts of emerging technologies. Until this point, my work in social justice was largely separate from my technical work as a student of materials science … Read more

People Who Jump to Conclusions Show Other Kinds of Thinking Errors

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How much time do you spend doing research before you make a big decision? The answer for many of us, it turns out, is hardly any. Before buying a car, for instance, most people make two or fewer trips to a dealership. And when picking a doctor, many individuals simply use recommendations from friends and … Read more

Vaccine Inequality Has Shut Vulnerable People Out of Plans to Save the Planet

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For decades a global economic system based on the conversion of nature into profit has been accelerating inequality, environmental destruction and climate change. Hundreds of millions of people are vulnerable to (seemingly) natural disasters, including pandemics caused by the emergence of novel pathogens. By exacerbating xenophobic nationalism and precipitating vaccine apartheid, COVID-19 has intensified these … Read more