Category: Featured Article

Wildfires: Increasing frequency and intensity

Featured Article

Wildfires are in the news literally every day. Fire seasons are starting earlier and ending later. In recent times, Canada, Greece, Brazil, Hawaii, Chile, Oregon, and California–among many other places–have faced record-breaking and devastating fires. Featured article: *Cunningham, C. X., Williamson, G. J., & Bowman, D. M. J. S. (2024). Increasing frequency and intensity of the most extreme wildfires on Earth. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 8(8), 1420-1425….

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Discrimination based on how we talk and how we sound

Featured Article

Does discrimination happen based on how people talk and sound? Based on accents, word choice, enunciation, emotion, etc.? In the United States, people can be judged harshly because they do not sound “American” or do not speak what a person may consider is “standard English”, or because they (often women) show emotion through voice and actions in a way considered inappropriate (but not when a…

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Can Voters Tell When Politicians are Lying?

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“… Dishonesty in politics is a long-standing tradition. Many politicians have clearly benefitted from telling voters what they want to hear or what they want to believe, and history is filled with examples of politicians lying to cover up crime and corruption.” “Dishonesty in politics is important because it poses a threat to electoral accountability. Citizens who can detect political lies are more safeguarded against…

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“Ultra-processed foods damage health and shorten life”

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“Ultra-processed foods … encompass a broad range of ready to eat products, including packaged snacks, carbonated soft drinks, instant noodles, and ready-made meals. These products are characterized as industrial formulations primarily composed of chemically modified substances extracted from foods, along with additives to enhance taste, texture, appearance, and durability, with minimal to no inclusion of whole foods.” “Analyses of worldwide ultra-processed food sales data and consumption…

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Oxycodone pills

Opioids: little benefit for muscle pain

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Opioids are commonly prescribed and used for the management and treatment of muscle pain in humans. Research is showing, however, that they work no better for muscle pain than other safer treatments. While opioids can be effective, for instance, for “short-term relief of other types of severe pain, such as right after surgery and with broken bones” (Dr. Hance Clarke, medical director of the pain…

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Moderate drinking has no health benefits

Featured Article

Does drinking alcohol have any positive health outcomes? In particular, some past studies have implied that moderate drinking could have some benefit. A journal article that reviewed past research says “no.” Moderate drinking has no health benefits. “This systematic review and meta-analysis of 107 cohort studies involving more than 4.8 million participants found no significant reductions in risk of all-cause mortality for drinkers who drank…

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