If the Shoe Floats

It seemingly happened so long ago that the event has assumed elements of urban legend — the saga of the Great Sneaker Spill. Sometimes referred to as the Great Shoe Spill, the tale recounts an event on May 27, 1990, when, during a sudden violent storm in the North Pacific, five shipping containers were swept…

How the Trump Era Has Strained, and Strengthened, Politically Mixed Marriages

There are few remaining areas of American life in which people aren’t sorting themselves by political allegiances — including romantic relationships. Politically mixed marriages are rare, and over the last four years, Americans have become less willing to date someone with different political views, research has shown. Now there’s evidence that the heightened partisanship has…

Respecting Children’s Pain

In a new report on pediatric pain in the British medical journal The Lancet, a commission of experts, including scientists, doctors, psychologists, parents and patients, challenged those who take care of children to end what they described as the common undertreatment of pain in children, starting at birth. Isabel Jordan, of Squamish, British Columbia, took…

Do You Have the Heart for Marijuana?

Do you have the heart to safely smoke pot? Maybe not, a growing body of medical reports suggests. Currently, increased smoking of marijuana in public, even in cities like New York where recreational use remains illegal (though no longer prosecuted), has reinforced a popular belief that this practice is safe, even health-promoting. “Many people think…

For pregnant women with heart disease, multidisciplinary care may be essential

NEW YORK, NY (Oct. 26, 2020)–Cardiovascular disease is now the number one cause of maternal mortality in the United States, but a new study suggests that care from a multidisciplinary cardio-obstetrics team may improve pregnancy outcomes and reduce hospital readmission rates. The study was conducted by researchers from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and…

How we get around

Whether or not we’re aware of it, humans — animals in general — constantly use environmental cues to navigate from one place to another. We choose a feature from the landscape and use it to guide our behavior, gathering and computing information about our surroundings. It’s a process so old and so essential for survival…