Commentary
‘Crisis standards of care’ involve excruciating choices, ethical decisions for hospital staff
Matthew Wynia, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus for The Conversation The Conversation is running a series of dispatches from clinicians and researchers operating on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. You can find all of the stories here. As the omicron variant brings a new wave of uncertainty and fear, I can’t help reflecting […]
The U.S. is making plans to replace all of its lead water pipes from coast to coast
Gabriel Filippelli, IUPUI for The Conversation The Biden administration has released a plan to accelerate removal of lead water pipes and lead paint from U.S. homes. As a geochemist and environmental health researcher who has studied the heartbreaking impacts of lead poisoning in children for decades, I am happy to see high-level attention paid to this […]
Is Santa’s sleigh zero carbon? The answer lies in reindeer poo
Mike Jeffries, Northumbria University, Newcastle for The Conversation Santa’s sleigh is famously pulled by eight reindeer, nine if you include the luminous Rudolf who pitches in when it’s foggy. The classic eight are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Vixen and Blitzen. Those last two are an easy-on-the-ear translation of Dutch, but the whole eight sound […]
A Christmas letter to the undiscovered country
Phil, You’ve been away for a good long while so here’s a Christmas letter to catch you up on all the news you’ve missed. So much has changed. Time steals like a shadow over the living, rendering us all Henry Adams at history’s eclipse. There’s much I want to share, because you could have helped […]
Opinion: Four more children dead, and a nation shrugs. Is enough finally enough?
Families in Michigan will set an empty place at the table this holiday season in the wake of the mass shooting at Oxford High School in southeast Michigan that left four children dead and seven more injured. The deaths at Oxford this week came a little more than two weeks before the ninth anniversary of […]
Opinion: How a Supreme Court decision limiting access to abortion could harm economy
Michele Gilman, University of Baltimore For The Conversation The Supreme Court on Dec. 1, 2021, heard oral arguments in a case that may result in a ruling that overturns Roe v. Wade. But reproductive health isn’t just about abortions, despite all the attention the procedures get. It’s also about access to family planning services, contraception, […]
‘Hunker down’ is not enough: 2021 hurricane season showed US isn’t prepared
Marina Lazetic, Tufts University and Karen Jacobsen, Tufts University for The Conversation Hurricane Ida hit New Orleans on Aug. 29, 2021, 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina flooded the city. This time the levees held. Billions of dollars invested in reinforcing them had paid off – at least for part of the population. […]
Guilty verdicts in Arbery killing give no pleasure, only relief
There’s no pleasure to be taken from the guilty verdicts returned Wednesday by a Glynn County jury in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery; there is only relief and thanksgiving that in the end justice could be done, at least in a case in which the evidence was so well-documented and seemingly obvious. Given that they […]
Giving thanks for vaccines, investments in American people, and those fighting gerrymandering
“Unfurrow your brow.” My mom’s frequent admonition to her easily impassioned daughter. I need a lot of reminding. I feel like I’ve been furrowing my forehead nonstop for almost two years straight. But on Turkey Day, I will take a moment, if not the whole day, to unknit that brow and give thanks for small […]
Giving thanks to America’s medical community for life-saving vaccines
If we were not still in the grip of a deadly pandemic, with the seven-day average U.S. death toll from the coronavirus hovering just over 1,100 a day, I probably would not have thought of giving thanks this year for the medical researchers who have given this country protection against many life-threatening illnesses. Back in […]
Pfizer’s vaccine for children: A pediatrician explains how it was tested for safety and efficacy
By Debbie-Ann Shirley, University of Virginia Editor’s note: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have granted approval to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. Elementary school children in the United States will soon have one more layer of protection to keep them safe from COVID-19. […]
As goes baseball, so goes America
Baseball is often referred to as the national pastime because it is intrinsically linked to American culture, history, and politics. Pivotal moments of baseball’s history, such as Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier, labor disputes, and various presidents throwing out ceremonial first pitches, are chronicled in Ken Burns’ award-winning, documentary mini-series, Baseball (1994). Last week, Major League […]