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Mental Illness in America Costs $282 Billion Annually, Study Estimates
Source: United Press International - Health NewsAmerica's mental health woes essentially serve as an annual economic downturn for the nation, a new study suggests. Mental illness costs the U.S. economy $282 billion every year, equivalent to the average economic recession, researchers say. That amount is equal to about 1.7% of American annual spending, and is about 30% larger than previous estimates of the overall cost of mental illness in the United States, according to the report.
Social Media Hurt Girls' Mental Health and Education Potential, Says U.N.
Source: Canadian Broadcasting Company - Top Stories NewsGirls around the world tend to spend more time on social media than boys, and it's hurting their mental health, says a new report from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In the latest edition of the agency's Global Education Monitoring report released on Thursday, researchers examined the intersection of education and technology as it relates to girls, finding several causes for concern.
Student Protesters Across U.S. Ask Colleges to Cut Financial Ties to Israel
Source: Google News - HealthStudents at a growing number of U.S. colleges are gathering in protest encampments with a unified demand of their schools: Stop doing business with Israel—or companies that support its war in Gaza. Inspired by the arrests last week of more than 100 student protesters at Columbia University, students from Massachusetts to California are now gathering by the hundreds on campuses, setting up tent camps and pledging to stay put until their demands...
Employee Is Accused of Using AI to Make His Boss Appear Racist
Source: Google News - HealthA Maryland high school athletic director is facing criminal charges after police say he used artificial intelligence to duplicate the voice of Pikesville High School Principal Eric Eiswert, leading the community to believe Eiswert said racist and antisemitic things about teachers and students. The alleged motive, according to the police, turned out to be retaliation against the athletic director's boss, who had been critical of his job...
International Olympic Committee Develops Guidelines for AI Use
Source: United Press International - Health NewsThe International Olympic Committee Friday launched its so-called Olympic AI Agenda to lay out guiding principles and identify governing rules to mitigate risk and promote the responsible use of artificial intelligence. In a statement, IOC President Thomas Bach said, "There has not yet been an overall strategy for AI and sport. This is why, today, we are presenting this first holistic approach: our Olympic AI Agenda."
Social Psychology Network Launches X Page on Artificial Intelligence
Source: Social Psychology Network NewsSocial Psychology Network announced Tuesday the launch of a new social media page related to AI, psychology, and social issues. The page is hosted on X (formerly Twitter), and already has nearly 200 featured stories. "This is the first new social media page we've released in 5 years," said SPN Executive Director Scott Plous. "We hope visitors to http://x.com/Psychology_AI find this new service useful." Currently, 1.3 million people follow SPN...
Psychologist Becomes First Peruvian to Legally End Life Via Euthanasia
Source: United Press International - Health NewsPsychologist Ana Estrada, 47, on Sunday became the first Peruvian citizen to die by euthanasia after receiving permission from Peru's Supreme Court. Assisted suicide and euthanasia are illegal in Peru, but Estrada fought a lengthy legal battle to win approval to end her life, the National Catholic Register reported Tuesday. Estrada was diagnosed with degenerative polymyostosis at age 12 and was confined to a wheelchair the rest of her life.
Pro-Palestinian Protests Leave American College Campuses on Edge
Source: CBS News - U.S. NewsTension gripped college campuses across the U.S. Tuesday as Jewish students marked the Passover holiday amid pro-Palestinian protests over Israel's devastating war against Hamas in Gaza, where the Hamas-run Health Ministry says more than 34,000 people have been killed, most of them women and children. Meanwhile, Columbia University—which arrested more than 100 students Monday—said classes would be hybrid through the end of the semester.
Dominica Decriminalizes Same-Sex Relations
Source: BBC News - Top HeadlinesDominica's High Court has overturned a ban on consensual same-sex relations in the Caribbean island nation. The court ruled such bans went against the country's constitution. LGBTQ activists hailed the decision as "a significant milestone in the ongoing struggle for LGBTQ rights in the Caribbean." Sexual activity between people of the same sex in English-speaking Caribbean nations was first criminalized by the British under their rule in the...
New U.S. Rule Bars Transgender School Bathroom Bans
Source: U.S. News and World ReportA new rule from President Joe Biden's administration blocking blanket policies to keep transgender students from using school bathrooms that align with their gender identity could conflict with laws in Republican-controlled states. The clash over bathroom policy and other elements of a federal regulation finalized last week could set the stage for another wave of legal battles over how transgender kids should be treated in the U.S.
War Protesters Arrested at Yale; Columbia Cancels In-Person Classes
Source: Google News - HealthColumbia University canceled in-person classes Monday, and new protests broke out on other U.S. college campuses as tensions continue to grow over Israel's war in Gaza. Protesters rallied throughout the weekend at Columbia''s New York City campus, where police last week arrested more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators who had set up an encampment. At Yale, police officers also arrested about 45 protesters Monday and charged them with...
Major Report Finds Europe Warming Twice the Pace of Rest of World
Source: United Press International - Health NewsEurope experienced its warmest year on record in 2023, both on land and sea, with climate change driving the rate of warming at double the global average, according to a new international report published Monday. Heat-related mortality in Europe is also up 30% in the past 20 years, and heat-related deaths are estimated to have increased in more than 9 out of 10 European regions where it is being tracked, the report said.
U.S. Report Accuses China of Continued Genocide in Xinjiang
Source: U.S. News and World ReportBeijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday. The report describes the detention of more than one million people in camps and prisons and the use of re-education camps, among other abuses committed against the broader Chinese population—allegations that China strongly...
Climate Change a Health Risk for 70% of World's Workers, U.N. Warns
Source: CBS News - HealthMore than 70% of workers around the world—some 2.4 billion people—face climate-related health risks, according to a United Nations report released Monday. Climate change is having a severe impact on the safety and health of workers in the form of excessive heat, extreme weather, solar UV radiation, and air pollution, resulting in an alarming increase in some diseases, according to findings from the International Labour Organization, a U.N....
U.N. Rights Chief Urges States to Act on Slavery Reparations
Source: U.S. News and World ReportThe United Nations human rights chief called for countries to take concrete steps on reparations for people of African descent at a U.N. meeting on Friday, adding his voice to calls for justice for slavery atrocities. Support is building among Africa and Caribbean nations for the creation of a tribunal to address reparations, which might include financial payments and other amends, for crimes dating back to the transatlantic trade of enslaved...
Racial Disparities in Healthcare Persist Across the U.S., Report Finds
Source: United Press International - Health NewsDeep-seated racial and ethnic disparities persist in healthcare across the United States, even in states considered the most progressive, a new report shows. For example, California received a score of 45 out of 100 for the care its health system provides Hispanic Americans. That's better than the score of 37 received by Hispanic Americans living in Florida, but it's far worse than California's treatment of White patients, whose score was 87.
Plant and Animal Species Becoming Extinct at Record Pace, Says U.N.
Source: CBS News - ScienceBoots dusty, lungs heaving, Dr. John Wiens searched the boulders of a desolate Arizona mountaintop for the last survivors of a 3-million-year-old lizard population — then said the words that both confirmed his life's work and broke his heart. "They're not there," he said. "It seems like the species is now extinct." The loss of plant and animal species on Earth is happening at a speed never seen in human history, according to the United Nations.
Team Develops Pea-Sized Brain Stimulator for Use in Human Patients
Source: Science Daily - Top HealthEngineers have developed a pea-sized implantable brain stimulator and shown that it works in a human patient. Thanks to pioneering magnetoelectric power transfer technology, the device can be powered wirelessly via an external transmitter and used to stimulate the brain through the dura—the protective membrane attached to the bottom of the skull—and may revolutionize treatment for drug-resistant depression and other psychiatric or...
White House Strengthens Title IX Sex and Gender Discrimination Rules
Source: United Press International - Health NewsThe Biden administration on Friday finalized sweeping changes to Title IX, strengthening protections against sex and gender discrimination in schools. The rules, which take effect on August 1, require schools to respond quickly to sex and gender discrimination, expand LGBTQ rights and give victims more power in sexual abuse cases.
HIV Drugs May Reduce Risk of Alzheimer's Disease
Source: Google NewsCommon HIV drugs could reduce the incidence of Alzheimer's disease, finds a new study published in the journal Pharmaceuticals. Based on data from over 225,000 people, the study discovered that HIV-positive patients taking reverse transcriptase inhibitors showed a lower rate of Alzheimer's than did the general public. These results could pave the way for new therapeutic strategies to combat the growing Alzheimer's crisis.

Psychology in the News