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As part of the fight against COVID-19, researchers are identifying preexisting heath factors that allow the disease to go from beatable to deadly. Early pathological studies, or those that look at causes and effects of a disease, have already found risk factors for the most severe form of COVID-19:…

During the current pandemic, people are experiencing different levels of “solution aversion” in response to the call for social distancing. Solution aversion can be defined as the psychological phenomenon in which people tend to deny a problem when they are resistant to the solution. The current…

Credit: Getty ImagesDuring the current COVID-19 outbreak, the EPA has decided to ease restrictions on pollution. Public health experts are concerned this decision will endanger those who are susceptible to COVID-19 by aggravating respiratory illnesses. Historically, in virus hot spots such as New…

Type 2 diabetes affects one in ten Americans adults, which is approximately 30 million people. With this form of diabetes, the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin present. This causes the blood sugar to be too high. Having Type 2 diabetes increases your risk for…

Thus far, COVID-19 has seen over 111,000 confirmed cases and over 3,800 deaths internationally. In times of panic and pandemic, it is essential that we support our public health officials. However, our current systems focus less on investment in preparedness and more on acting at the time of…

For the past three years, Alaska has experienced a series of climate-related changes due to abnormally high temperature and unusually strong winds. Alaska has experienced record-low sea ice, shifting algae bloom, migrating fish and sudden sea-bird die-offs. Currently, conditions appear to be…

New research suggests that the fossil fuel industry may have an even larger hand in the world’s methane emissions than previously thought. The two significant ways that methane is released into the atmosphere are: human activities and natural processes like the slow release of gas from mud…

A compilations of three studies including 178,000 people has revealed that eating one egg per day does not increase heart disease or death, even among those with a history of heart disease or diabetes. Previously, these populations were advised against egg consumption because the yolk contained…

A new study suggests that alcohol has been increasingly responsible for deaths across every race, ethnicity, and gender. These researchers are calling this an “urgent public health crisis.” We know that many diseases such as liver disease and alcohol poisoning are caused by chronic use.…

As of January 30th, the coronavirus has infected nearly 10,000 people in China and killed around 200.  A new development in the coronavirus outbreak suggests that asymptomatic people can transmit the disease. This finding is incredibly telling, as other coronaviruses like SARS can only be…

The pharmaceutical industry has been in a drug development and productivity decrease for the past two decades. It appears that most drugs that can treat common disorders have been found, so the focus has turned to developing drugs that treat a specific disease. Far less people have these diseases,…

California is no stranger to wildfires, seeing many in 2019 with some even leading to weeks of power outages. In response, Operation Sierra Storm at South Lake Tahoe called a meeting with leaders of Cal Fire’s new Wildfire Resilience Program, PG&E and the National Weather Service to discuss…

In 2005, 53 patients checked into a South African hospital with a severely antibiotic resistant strain of Tuberculosis, XDR TB, and only one survived. This was the largest reported outbreak for this strain and it remains the dominant form of TB in the KwaZulu-Natal province today. Recently, in…

New information suggests that the cause of the coronavirus 2019-nCoV outbreak in China may be attributable to the Chinese Krait and Chinese cobra snakes. Since December, 2019, the disease has spread from China and cases have been reported in the United States. Chinese scientists has determined…