Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together. In 30 years, I’ve never faced so tough a reporting challenge — and one so unexpected. Who wouldn’t want to talk about a fungus? Last year, I began spade work on a series of articles…
Stamina describes a person’s ability to sustain physical and mental activity. People with low mental stamina may find it difficult to focus on tasks for long periods and become distracted easily. People with low physical stamina may tire when walking up a flight of stairs, for example. Having low stamina often causes a person to…
Anyone above a certain age who has drawn a blank on the name of a favorite uncle, a friend’s phone number or the location of a house key understands how fragile memory is. Its speed and accuracy begin to slip in one’s 20s and keep slipping. This is particularly true for working memory, the mental…
Last fall, the MacArthur Foundation announced their annual “genius awards.” One name in particular stood out: Gregg Gonsalves, 55, an assistant professor of microbial diseases at the Yale School of Public Health. In the 1980s, Dr. Gonsalves was a leading member of the AIDS advocacy group Act Up; he went on to found or support…
Allan Gallup, a retired lawyer and businessman, grew increasingly forgetful in his last few years. Eventually, he could no longer remember how to use a computer or the television. Although he needed a catheter, he kept forgetting and pulling it out. It was Alzheimer’s disease, the doctors said. So after Mr. Gallup died in 2017…
I’m a pediatrician, and when I see adolescents in my clinic, I ask them if they are drinking alcohol (among other risky activities). Then I counsel them if they answer in the affirmative. I want young people to be safe. But doctors lack the evidence base — we don’t have enough studies — to know…
Behavior problems in children, especially aggression and defiance, don’t get a great deal of sympathy, said Dave Anderson, a psychologist who is senior director of national programs at the Child Mind Institute in New York City. “For a child to get better requires just as much empathy and scaffolding as for a child who might…
I suspect most of you already do many things to help preserve the viability of the planet we all call home. Perhaps you recycle glass, plastic and paper and compost organic waste; shop with reusable bags; rely heavily on public transportation or bicycles or, failing that, at least drive fuel-efficient cars. But have you given…
The connection between eating large amounts of red or processed meat and certain diseases is well-known, but a new study suggests that consuming even a small amount of these foods could be risky. New research suggests that eating red meat even occasionally may shorten life. The world is eating more meat. The global consumption of…
IMAGE: Cortical and subcortical motor neurones (red) and affective neurones (green). view more Wyss Center, Geneva, Switzerland – A new paper published in Nature Reviews Neurology suggests that recent advances in deep brain stimulation (DBS) for Parkinson disease could lead to treatments for conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Gilles de la Tourette syndrome and depression.…