Posting

Post news items waiting to be sorted on this pageEdit source

Why Evangelicals Turned Their Back on PEPFAR

by Peter Wehner 6/7/25 The Atlantic

In parts of Botswana, 75 percent of pregnant women had HIV. Most diseases kill the very old and the very young, “but this disease was killing the most productive and reproductive parts of society,” Dybul recalled in 2018. “So not only were many households run by orphans, but entire villages were run by orphans, because everyone else was dead.”

Health Care-Prevention

Nighttime pistachio snacking may reshape gut microbiome in prediabetic adults

by Jose Calatrava 7/7/25 Pennstate

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Prediabetes affects a third of people in the United States and most of them will develop Type 2 diabetes, yet effective dietary intervention strategies remain limited. Pistachios have shown promise in improving markers of diet quality, yet little is known about how they influence the gut microbiome — a key player in glucose regulation and inflammation.

Health Care-Prevention

NASA data reveals concerning trend in weather patterns over past 5 years: 'The world isn't prepared'

by Yei Ling Ma 8/7/25 TCD

NASA's GRACE orbiter (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) has provided researchers with key data on the planet's environmental changes over the years. 

1. Extreme Weather

Climate breakdown tripled death toll in Europe’s June heatwave, study finds

by Ajit Niranjan 9/7/25 The Guardian

Scientists estimate that high heat killed 2,300 people across 12 major cities as temperatures soared across Europe between 23 June and 2 July. They attributed 1,500 of the deaths to climate breakdown, which has heated the planet and made the worst extremes even hotter. 

1. Extreme Weather

Scientists reconstruct 540 million years of sea level change in detail

by Utrecht University 8/7/25 PHYS ORG

Sea level on Earth has been rising and falling ever since there was water on the planet. Scientists were already able to use sediments and fossils to roughly reconstruct how sea levels changed over time steps of a million years or more.

Education-Science

Experts issue dire warning over potential tipping point in home insurance market: 'Everything is on the line'

by Kristen Lawrence 7/7/25 Yahoo!news

As rising global temperatures lead to increasingly extreme weather events, such as wildfires, floods, and hurricanes, home insurance companies are either exiting certain markets or limiting their coverage.

1. Extreme Weather

“We Did It With Sunlight and Urine”: Canadian Scientists Split Water Into Hydrogen Using Urea and Weak Natural Light

by Avi COHEN 8/7/25 SUSTAINABILITY TIMES

University of Alberta researchers have unveiled a groundbreaking method to produce hydrogen fuel by using diffuse sunlight, urea, and nanowires, potentially revolutionizing clean energy production with a more efficient and cost-effective approach.

Economy-Energy Sector

Scientific norms shape the behavior of researchers working for the greater good

by Jeffrey A. Lee 8/7/25 THE CONVERSATION

The point of these norms is that scientists should behave in ways that improve the collective advancement of knowledge. If you’re a cynic, you might be rolling your eyes at such a Pollyannaish ideal. But corny expectations keep the world functioning. Think: Be kind, clean up your mess, return the shopping cart to the cart corral.

Education-Social Science

Trump administration says you have to work the fields to get Medicaid

by Emily Singer 8/7/25 DAILY KOS

Americans fear that they will lose their Medicaid coverage thanks to the massive cuts Republicans made to the program when passing President Donald Trump's "One Big, Beautiful Bill." Luckily, the Trump administration came up with a new and novel way for people to earn their health insurance coverage back.

Government-Executive Branch

Fig trees convert atmospheric CO₂ to stone, research reveals

by European Association of Geochemistry 8/7/25 PHYS ORG

Some species of fig trees store calcium carbonate in their trunks—essentially turning themselves (partially) into stone, new research has found. The team of Kenyan, U.S., Austrian, and Swiss scientists found that the trees could draw carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and store it as calcium carbonate 'rocks' in the surrounding soil.

1. Land/Sea Use adaptations

The secret gamble at the FDA that exposed Americans to risky drugs

by ProPublica 24/6/25 DAILY KOS

For two weeks, they scrutinized humming production lines and laboratories spread across the dense industrial campus, peering over the shoulders of workers at the tablet presses, mixers and filling machines that produce dozens of generic drugs for Americans.

Health Care-Environmental Factors

Financial models on climate risk ‘implausible’, say actuaries

by Camilla Hodgson 3/7/23 FINANCIAL TIMES

Financial institutions often did not understand the models they were using to predict the economic cost of climate change and were underestimating the risks of temperature rises, research led by a professional body of actuaries shows.

1. Overview

Ready to cold plunge? We dive into the science to see if it's worth it

by Will Stone 20/11/23 npr

Your body's first reaction to a plunge in chilly water is the "cold shock" response. Your heart rate jumps. Stress hormones spike. You gasp suddenly, and may hyperventilate.

Health Care-Prevention

Opinion: As darkness descends on Gaza, I yearn for the world to see us, too

by Omar Ghraieb 12/10/23 CNN

An explosive roar shakes my home and my laptop goes flying, landing amid shattered glass and debris. Looking at its flickering screen, I sigh and brace myself to pronounce the death of another computer — and this essay. I collect it gently from the floor and coax it back to life. I keep writing.

Government-Military

Revealed: how a little-known pollution rule keeps the air dirty for millions of Americans

by Molly Peterson 16/10/23 The Guardian

A legal loophole has allowed the US Environmental Protection Agency to strike pollution from clean air tallies in more than 70 counties, enabling local regulators to claim the air was cleaner than it really was for more than 21 million Americans.

Environment-Water and Air Quality

Our Democratic and Republican voting states death rate as percent of Canada's by age.

by pecanjim 26/11/23 DAILY KOS

First the Democratic states: They experienced 696,501 deaths in 2019. If they experienced the Canadian death rate they would have experienced 574,840. That is 121,661, or 17.5 percent, fewer.

Government-US Electoral System

Cop28 president says his firm will keep investing in oil

by Fiona Harvey 15/12/23 The Guardian

The president of the Cop28 climate summit will continue with his oil company’s record investment in oil and gas production, despite coordinating a global deal to “transition away” from fossil fuels.

1. Doing Nothing

A toxic California landmark could render parts of the state ‘uninhabitable’

by Ariana Bindman 18/12/23 SFGATE

Millions of dollars of federal government funding, however, may help prevent the disaster from getting even worse.

Environment-Water and Air Quality

Who are the people doing the searching, who are people helping in Texas? We are! The hated ones.

by TexMex 7/7/25 DAILY KOS

Mexico Answers The Call As Texas Struggles To Save Lives After A Devastating Flood

Government-Immigration