Cogent – Curated – Updated || Since 1999 || Information you need-produced by humans
Is use of Facebook (and other social media sites) a genuine hazard to our physical and mental health? Are the purported benefits of digital social media outweighed by the risks? Past research has found negatives and some positives. “Prior research has shown that the use of social media may detract from face-to-face relationships, reduce investment in meaningful activities, increase sedentary behavior by encouraging more screen…
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Bots–“simple computer scripts–were originally designed to automate repetitive tasks … sparing humans hours of tedium.” But, bots “can also be used to operate large numbers of fake [social media] accounts, which makes them ideal for manipulating people.” As became evident after the 2016 election in the United States and from many other examples, not only do bot-operated fake social media accounts “broadcast extremist viewpoints,” but…
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Read this — it’s important! The United States prides itself on being a model for democracy. And, yet, widespread (and increasing) voter suppression and high rates of nonvoting have occurred for so long in the US that they have become accepted and a social norm. As a representative democracy, the US compares unfavorably with many places in the world. If you are a minority or…
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It may seem like absolutely everyone today is glued to their phones and uses social media incessantly. Facebook, the largest social media network globally, claims “over 2.7 billion monthly active users as of the second quarter of 2020.” Billions do use social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.), but billions also do not. Further, there are many people counted as “active users” who simply are…
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“Preterm birth (<37 gestational weeks) interrupts the development and maturation of the kidneys during a critical growth period. The third trimester of pregnancy is the most active period of fetal nephrogenesis [development of the kidney], during which more than 60% of nephrons [the functional units of the kidney] are formed.” Interruption of this process results in a lower nephron number that is lifelong. “Lower nephron…
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Adults and children–even children as young as three–“are really quick to sort themselves into … social groups and to form a preference for their in-group.” This tendency has been found in people–again, even children–across “gender, race or ethnicity, language, nationality, and religion.” Decades of research indicate that in-group favoritism occurs even when the group is based on very superficial criteria; the group does not have…
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News: Donald Trump, the former President of the United States, continues to make and post derogatory statements that are based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, and a host of other things. The fact that the (former) highest elected official in the United States, a position with immense influence in the U.S. and in other countries, makes and made these statements on a regular basis creates…
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Domestic and wild animals get cancer. Animals, like humans, see an increase in cancer when living in areas of heavy chemical contamination. But, some animal species rarely get cancer; why? And, if any cell could become cancerous, why don’t larger animals have a greater risk of cancer than smaller animals? Animals far larger than humans–like elephants–rarely get cancer. That must mean their cells somehow fight…
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Are we living longer than our ancestors or even people that lived thousands of years ago? It seems that way; life expectancy, until recent years, has risen steadily for decades in many countries (but not in many others or even not within the same country; the benefits of medical advances have not been shared or experienced equally). But, life expectancy–a statistic, an average–is different than…
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There is a direct connection between wildfires in the western United States and climate change. Featured article: Park Williams, A., Abatzoglou, J. T., Gershunov, A., Janin Guzman‐Morales, Bishop, D. A., Balch, J. K., & Lettenmaier, D. P. (2019). Observed impacts of anthropogenic climate change on wildfire in California. Earth’s Future, 7(8), 892-910. [PDF] [Cited by] “Recent fire seasons have fueled intense speculation regarding the effect…
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