In The News

South China Morning Post: Gene-Edited Babies

Phoebe Zhang January 22, 2019
Much of the world expressed concern after reports of the birth of gene-edited infants in November. An investigation in China confirmed that the infants are real and the scientist acted on his own. A preliminary investigation, as reported by Xinhua News Agency, explains that the researcher avoided surveillance, forged ethical papers, and worked with foreign staff and eight couples, reports Phoebe...

Phys.org: Human Diet Damages Planet

Marlowe Hood January 17, 2019
The diet of more than 7.5 billion humans could cause “catastrophic” damage to the planet, reports research published in Lancet. People should consume half as much sugar and red meat and twice as many vegetables, fruit and nuts, suggests a commission of more than 30 researchers. Almost a billion people go hungry and more than 2 billion eat too muchof some foods that contribute to obesity, heart...

Conversation: Design Cities to Counter Loneliness

Tanzil Shafique December 24, 2018
Residents in the world’s wealthiest countries, including cosmopolitan centers complain about loneliness. The condition has health consequences, especially for the elderly. Community infrastructure and architecture can encourage or discourage human interactions, and Tanzil Shafique suggests that “architects and planners, albeit unwittingly, are complicit in producing an urban landscape that...

The Atlantic: Abortion by Mail

Olga Khazan October 19, 2018
For many years, organizations like Women on Web assist women in challenging settings like war zones to obtain medications to induce abortions. Women on Web provides Skype consultations, prescriptions and pills that trigger miscarriages, but also was “inundated with requests from women in countries such as the United States, where abortion is technically legal but growing more difficult to access...

The Lancet: Mental Health for All – A Global Goal

Helen Franish, Niall Boyce and Richard Horton October 12, 2018
More than 1 billion people – one out of every seven worldwide – suffer from mental or substance-use disorders. The suffering has consequences for entire communities, and treatment varies worldwide. “Human rights violations remain common and people with mental disorders are often marginalised and even abused, with large numbers of people forcefully detained or locked away in institutions,”...

Stratfor: War on Drugs – A Conflict as Old as Humanity

Ian Morris August 17, 2018
Drug addiction as a security issue threatens workplaces, communities and individual health. Archeologists have found evidence of societies throughout history embracing and battling certain drugs, explains Ian Morris. Ancient Peruvians used cacti for mescaline and Ice Age cave painters may have used hallucinogens. “When Greek traders started showing up in the West Mediterranean, only one thing...

Wall Street Journal: For Immigrant Families, Scars of Separation Remain

Arian Campo-Flores and Melanie Grayce West July 21, 2018
Parenting styles vary with cultures around the globe. Earlier this year, the Trump administration launched a new policy of abruptly separating children from immigrants and asylum seekers, with no warning and no plan in place for eventual reunions. A US court gave officials deadlines to organize reunions for more than 2,000 children. Another court ordered a temporary end to deportations. Parents...