Low-hanging fruit

For seven years now, the University of California system has been working hard to reduce its carbon emissions as part of its Carbon Neutrality Initiative. Each campus has been charged with finding ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions through a variety of measures — such as increased energy efficiency and replacement of fossil fuel sources…

Certain pre-existing conditions may double, triple mortality risk for COVID-19

HERSHEY, Pa. — A large, international study of COVID-19 patients confirmed that cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic kidney disease, stroke and cancer can increase a patient’s risk of dying from the virus. Penn State College of Medicine researchers say their findings may help public health officials improve patient care and develop interventions…

New perspectives to treat neuropschychiatric diseases

Researchers at the Institute of Biology, Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Budapest, Hungary, studied the major types of neurons of the prefrontal cortex of the brain in an international collaboration. The research team has identified molecular differences in neurons that may support drug development for the treatment of psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia or depression. It…

India’s culture of coping with cancer

When Dwaipayan Banerjee began studying the lives of poor cancer patients in and around Delhi, India, he noticed something distinctive: Virtually none of them used the word “cancer” itself. One elderly man Banerjee met got upset at seeing a medical van with the words “caring for cancer” on the side; the man insisted he was…

Young people hospitalized with COVID-19 face substantial adverse outcomes

While older age is widely recognized as a risk factor for increased morbidity and mortality due to COVID-19, younger patients have received less attention as a population vulnerable to adverse clinical outcomes. Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital analyzed records from 419 hospitals using the Premier Healthcare Database to study the clinical trajectories of 3,222…