Author: Ranveer Kumar

Heart attacks in young adults are twice as likely to be fatal among those with inflammatory conditions, such as psoriasis, lupus, or rheumatoid arthritis. This is the finding of a new study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). At least 2% of people worldwide have systemic inflammatory diseases, which often affect multiple organ systems. Many of these systemic inflammatory diseases are driven by autoimmunity, meaning the body’s immune system attacks itself. Psoriasis is the most common of these, and causes red, itchy, scaly patches on the skin, and can…

Highlights The most common way adolescents get marijuana is from friends (bought or shared). Male students and students who use frequently are more likely to get marijuana in risky ways. Adolescents infrequently get marijuana from medical marijuana prescriptions. Demographic differences in getting marijuana can inform best prevention practices. Introduction Efforts to understand how adolescents acquire marijuana will help to contextualize its use among youth. Little is known about ways of getting marijuana and how they differ between subgroups of adolescents. The present study sought to determine how adolescents get marijuana and if modes of access vary by sociodemographic characteristics. Method…

The global demand for clean and safe water will continue to grow well into the 21st century. Moving forward, the lack of access to clean water, which threatens human health and strains precious energy resources, will worsen as the climate changes. Therefore, future innovations that produce potable water from contaminated sources must be sustainable. Inspired by nature, a solar absorber gel (SAG) is developed to purify water from contaminated sources using only natural sunlight. The SAG is composed of an elastic thermoresponsive poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm) hydrogel, a photothermal polydopamine (PDA) layer, and a sodium alginate (SA) network. Production of the SAG…

For the first time ever, scientists have shown that lakes on Greenland’s ice sheet can drain during the winter months, in a phenomenon that could accelerate the rate of glacial melt. The rate at which the second largest ice sheet in the world is draining into the northern Atlantic ocean may be occurring faster than we think, according to new research published in the Cryosphere on Wednesday. As the new paper shows, water that collects on the surface of the Greenland ice sheet during the summer can remain in a liquid state during the winter and leak through cracks that appear along…

Extreme weather events caused by the climate emergency are an existential threat to homeowners and industry alike It was the Monday after the Warragamba Dam overflowed that Dr Kim Loo began to understand the scale of what was happening. A patient had called in to her clinic in Riverstone in Sydney’s west to cancel an appointment to pick up a prescription as the bridge into town was out. Loo, chair of the New South Wales chapter of Doctors for the Environment, has lived and worked in western Sydney her whole life. Over the years she has watched the market gardens once run…

Researchers have confirmed for the first time that Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica could cross tipping points, leading to a rapid and irreversible retreat which would have significant consequences for global sea level. Pine Island Glacier is a region of fast-flowing ice draining an area of West Antarctica approximately two thirds the size of the UK. The glacier is a particular cause for concern as it is losing more ice than any other glacier in Antarctica. Currently, Pine Island Glacier together with its neighbouring Thwaites glacier are responsible for about 10% of the ongoing increase in global sea level. Scientists…

A new analysis shows how oil and mining businesses used tax changes in the CARES Act to improve cash flow and reward shareholders rather than maintain employment. When Congress looked to prop up a tanking economy and stanch its hemorrhaging of employment as the pandemic spread last year, the oil industry was among those that sought relief. Now, a new analysis shows that dozens of fossil fuel companies received billions of dollars in tax benefits in the coronavirus relief package, but slashed tens of thousands of jobs anyway. While Congress ended up sending billions in direct loans to small and…

Honolulu food vendors won’t be allowed to provide customers with plastic utensils under a new law that took effect Thursday. The city ordinance prohibits plastic forks, knives, spoons, straws, stir sticks, picks and sushi grass. The rules were originally due to kick in on Jan. 1, but were postponed for 90 days because of the hardship they would place on businesses during the pandemic and to allow for more public education. Other cities such as San Francisco and Seattle have already banned some single-use plastics. Advocates say the plastic becomes trash that pollutes the ocean and contributes to climate change…

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL If you are concerned about the growing impacts climate change is having on communities across the U.S. and the world, you probably breathed a sigh of relief when Joe Biden was elected president. After four years of inaction on climate, President Biden is finally pointing the United States in the right direction. In the first few months of his term, he’s reversed many of the previous administration’s climate rollbacks, rejoined the Paris Agreement and ordered all federal agencies to be part of the climate solution. This week Biden…

The Biden administration says it needs to restore trust in the agency by ‘resetting’ membership on two key science advisory panels. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan will purge more than 40 outside experts appointed under President Donald Trump from two key advisory panels, a move he says will help restore the role of science at the agency and reduce the heavy influence of industry over environmental regulations. The unusual decision, announced Wednesday, will sweep away outside researchers picked under the previous administration whose expert advice helped the agency craft regulations related to air pollution, the oil-and-gas extraction method known as fracking…