Image A scene outside Bristol, Tenn., where the famous Bristol recording sessions showcased future stars of the country music scene. This building was demolished late last week. CreditMike Belleme for The New York Times While the rest of America was roaring to jazz during the ’20s, in a small corner of the South, where back roads…
Poaching destabilizes nations, disrupts ecosystems and threatens biodiversity. A recent study suggests still another consequence: Some types of poaching may also accelerate climate change. Forest elephants — the smaller, endangered relatives of African savanna elephants — promote the growth of large trees that excel at storing carbon, according to research published in the journal Nature…
In many areas of health policy, the best of intentions can lead to more harm than good. Such is the case with America’s approach to alcohol and pregnancy. The best evidence shows that punitive policies — such as equating drinking while pregnant as child abuse and threatening to involve child protective services — can dissuade…
Many premature babies, who are at increased risk for vaccine-preventable diseases, are not getting their vaccinations on time. Researchers in Washington State retrospectively studied vaccination rates among 10,367 infants born between 2008 and 2018 at academic medical centers or affiliated health care settings. About 20 percent were born prematurely. Preterm babies — those born before…
Consuming flavonoids, a large class of nutrients found in plant foods, may reduce the risk for cancer and cardiovascular death. Researchers used data on 56,048 Danes, following their diet and health prospectively for 23 years. During that time, 14,083 of them died. The study is in Nature Communications. After controlling for smoking, hypertension, cholesterol and…
Hello, newsletter readers! Melissa Clark and I are channeling Sam Sifton in his absence. When Sam goes away he goes away, and will not be heard from again until September. Let’s all pretend that month is a long way off from now, shall we? In the meantime, let’s cook the way he’d want us to.…
For reasons as yet unknown, Alzheimer’s disease is more likely to affect women. However, new research sheds light on the potential impact of stress on their cognitive functioning. Stress during midlife can put older women at risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia. Affecting millions of people in the…
For all of you with strong opinions and relevant experiences regarding Lyme disease, the public comment period on the 2019 Draft Guidelines for the Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Lyme Disease has been extended until Sept. 9. The guidelines are not final yet — that’s the whole point of a public comment period — but…
Beth Uffner, an avid tennis player, developed an aching pain first in her legs, then in her shoulders that got progressively worse until she lacked the strength to get out of a chair unaided, let alone play tennis. Faith Sullivan, a novelist, developed a headache so devastating that she could hardly read and had to…
PENNINGTON GAP, Va. — Years before there was an opioid epidemic in America, Sister Beth Davies knew it was coming. In the late 1990s, patient after patient addicted to a new prescription painkiller called OxyContin began walking into the substance abuse clinic she ran in this worn Appalachian town. A local physician, Dr. Art Van…