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How to Break Through Climate Apathy
Source: Science DailyA new study finds that people rate the impact of climate change stronger when they are presented with binary information—such as whether a lake did or didn't freeze in winter—than when they are shown continuous climate data, such as gradual increases in temperature. The study, published April 17 in the journal Nature Human Behavior, found that on a 1 to 10 scale of climate impact, people who learned about a lake freezing rated the impact as...
Trump Asks Supreme Court to Let Him Enforce Transgender Military Ban
Source: CBS News - U.S. NewsPresident Trump on Thursday asked the Supreme Court to let his administration block transgender people from serving in the military while legal challenges to the ban move forward. The president's ban alleged that "adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual's sex conflicts with a soldier's commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle" and is inconsistent with the "selflessness required of a service member."
Fake Job Seekers Are Flooding the Market, Thanks to AI
Source: CBS News - U.S. NewsScammers are using artificial intelligence to alter their appearance and build fake profiles to apply for remote job postings, research shows. Already, scammers can use AI to generate fake resumes, professional headshots, websites, and Linkedin profiles. Compiled together, AI can help create what looks like the perfect candidate for an open role. Why would anyone do this? Once they're in, these fraudsters can steal company secrets or install...
Study Lays Groundwork for Early Detection of Alzheimer's Disease
Source: Science Daily - Top HealthA new study suggests that risk factors and biomarkers related to Alzheimer's disease are associated with cognition much earlier in life than previously recognized. The study highlights links between cognition and Alzheimer's risk factors as young as ages 24 to 44 and underscores the importance of early prevention. This is the first study to systematically examine Alzheimer's disease risk factors in a large group of generally healthy middle-aged...
Scientific Path to Recovering the Costs of Climate Change
Source: Science Daily - Top SocietyA new study lays out a scientific framework for holding individual fossil fuel companies liable for the costs of climate change by tracing specific damages back to their emissions. The researchers use the tool to provide the first causal estimate of economic losses due to extreme heat driven by emissions. They report that carbon dioxide and methane output from just the five top-emitting companies cost the world economy $9 trillion from 1991 to...
EPA Fires or Reassigns Hundreds of DEI, Environmental-Justice Workers
Source: United Press International - Health NewsThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday told more than 450 employees working in diversity, equity, and inclusion—as well as environmental justice—they would be fired or reassigned as part of President Trump's executive order to remove DEI programs from the federal government. Layoffs in the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, the Office of Inclusive Excellence, and regional offices are scheduled to take...
Study Links Early Menopause to Faster Brain Aging
Source: United Press International - Health NewsEarly menopause could be a warning sign for future age-related brain decline, according to a study published recently in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia. Women who entered menopause before 40 had a greater cognitive decline than women who entered menopause after 50. Early menopause also was linked to worse depression, researchers said. The study was based on data that tracked the health of more than 4,700 women in the United Kingdom.
Current AI Risks More Alarming Than Apocalyptic Future Scenarios
Source: Science Daily - Top SocietyArtificial intelligence is widely seen as risky, but there are differences in how those risks are understood and prioritized. One perspective emphasizes long-term risks such as AI threatening the survival of humanity. Another focuses on immediate concerns such as how AI can amplify prejudices or disinformation. Three large-scale online experiments involving more than 10,000 participants suggest that most people see the latter risks as more...
Empathy Might Be Retained in Alzheimer's Disease
Source: Science Daily - Top HealthPeople with Alzheimer's disease may retain their ability to empathize, despite declines in other social abilities, finds a new study. The research revealed that people with Alzheimer's disease scored slightly higher on a measure of empathy than peers of the same age with mild cognitive impairment. The authors of the study, published in Alzheimer's & Dementia, say this may be the first time a cognitive domain has been found to improve in dementia.
Harvard Sues Trump Administration Over $2.2 Billion Freeze in Grants
Source: Google News - HealthHarvard University announced Monday that it has filed suit to halt a federal freeze on more than $2.2 billion in grants after the institution said it would defy the Trump administration's demands to limit activism on campus. "The Government has not—and cannot—identify any rational connection between antisemitism concerns and the medical, scientific, technological, and other research it has frozen that aims to save American lives," said the...
U.S. High Court to Rule on Student Opt-Outs for LGBTQ-Related Books
Source: United Press International - Health NewsThe U.S. Supreme Court will rule on whether parents have the right to opt out their kids from school curricula that involve LGBTQ-related books. On Tuesday, the justices will begin oral arguments in the case with a group of multi-faith parents from Montgomery County, Maryland, who argue that their children should be permitted to opt out based on religious grounds under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Loneliness More Common Among Middle-Aged Than Seniors in U.S.
Source: United Press International - Health NewsLoneliness among seniors has been a huge concern among experts on aging, as social isolation increases risk of dementia, other health problems, and deaths. But a new study has found that middle-aged people in the U.S. experience more loneliness than seniors. The Netherlands is the only other country where loneliness is more concentrated among the middle-aged than seniors, according to the study's review of more than 64,000 people in 29 countries.
U.S. to Ban on Artificial Food Dyes in Cereals, Snacks, and Drinks
Source: BBC News - AmericasThe U.S. will ban eight commonly used artificial food dyes in a bid to help Americans "know what's in their food," Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., announced on Tuesday. Officials said two petroleum-based synthetic dyes would be phased out in the coming weeks, and others by the end of 2026. Experts have linked the dyes—which are found in dozens of foods, including cereals, candy, snacks and beverages—to neurological problems in some...
In Killing Grants, NSF Appears to Follow Ted Cruz's Blueprint
Source: ScienceThe National Science Foundation (NSF) has spent billions of dollars over several decades to attract more women and members of underrepresented groups into science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). But President Donald Trump says such efforts "stigmatize" people in the U.S. based on their race or sex and has ordered the agency to stop funding them. So last week NSF reversed course and began to terminate what could be as much as $2...
Psilocybin Use Rising Sharply in U.S., New Study Finds
Source: Science Daily - Top HealthUse of psilocybin, the hallucinogenic chemical found in what is known as "magic mushrooms," has increased significantly in the U.S. since 2019, according to a new study published today in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The researchers found that psilocybin use increased across all age groups, with the largest rise in young adults and older adults. In 2023, more adults used psilocybin than drugs like cocaine, LSD, methamphetamine, or illegal...
Pope Francis, Committed to Service, Humility, and Empathy, Dead at 88
Source: Canadian Broadcasting Company - Top Stories NewsPope Francis, whose 12-year papacy was grounded in empathy for the poor and disenfranchised, has died at 88, the Vatican said in a video statement Monday. Francis was the first pope from Latin America, the first from the Jesuit order, and made history in 2022 when he apologized for the "deplorable" conduct of some members of the Catholic Church in Canada's residential school system. A few months later, he said that system had carried out...
Trump to Cut Another $1 Billion From Harvard Health Research Funding
Source: Google News - HealthThe Trump administration plans to slash another $1 billion in federal grants and contracts for Harvard University health research, on top of an earlier $2.2 billion cut, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. The new cut comes after Harvard President Alan Garber publicly rejected the White House demands—such as reporting international students to federal agencies if they violated Harvard's conduct policies—in a Friday message to Harvard...
Think About Slavery Before Buying Cheap Clothes, Says Former PM
Source: BBC News - UK PoliticsFast fashion shoppers need to think about where cheap clothes come from before they make purchases, former UK Prime Minister Theresa May has said as she warned that the topic of modern slavery isn't receiving enough attention. Speaking to Radio 4's Woman's Hour, she said some—but not all—companies were actively checking their supply chains. The former PM now leads the Global Commission on Modern Slavery, which has produced a report on ending...
Trump Administration Declares Killings in Sudan Genocide
Source: United Press International - Health NewsAs the death toll mounts in Sudan, the Trump administration on Wednesday for the first time characterized the atrocities in that North African country as genocide, reaffirming a designation made by the former Biden administration in January. "They have murdered men and boys, and even infants on an ethnic basis, targeted fleeing civilians, and committed acts of brutal sexual violence against women and girls," a State Department spokesperson said...
U.K. Supreme Court Issues Key Ruling on Gender Definition
Source: CBS News - World NewsIn a potential landmark decision, the U.K. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that in a 2010 civil rights law called the Equality Act, the word "woman" refers to someone's biological sex. The five judges stressed that their ruling was limited to the 2010 law as it pertains to women, and that "it is not the role of the court to adjudicate on the arguments in the public domain on the meaning of gender or sex, nor is it to define the meaning of the word...

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