A new Global Health Security Index released today, the first comprehensive assessment and benchmarking of health security and related capabilities across 195 countries, suggests that not a single country in the world is fully prepared to handle an epidemic or pandemic.
Read moreAlleviating food insecurity is often seen as one of the fundamental roles a country should fulfill. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is effective in addressing the right to food in the US, and that the program can serve as an example for countries that struggle to provide food for all citizens.
Read moreEngineering biology is transforming technology and science. Researchers outline the technological advances needed to secure a safe, responsible future.
Read moreClimate change concerns have largely ignored the importance of universal access to effective contraception, despite the impact of population growth on greenhouse gas emissions, argue experts.
Read moreExtreme high temperatures caused by CO2 emissions could lead to losses in labor productivity. The authors found that every trillion tons of CO2 emitted could cause global GDP losses of about half a percent. They add that we may already be seeing economic losses of as much as 2% of global GDP as a result of what we have already emitted.
Read moreScientists witnessing the destruction of the natural world must be supported and 'allowed to cry,' researchers say.
Read moreWhen researchers or policymakers ask health related questions — which they do a lot — they often rely on self-reported rather than tested health data. Researchers looked into how reliable this type of data is for research and found that, depending on country or age, self-reported data could be highly biased.
Read moreGroundwater is the world's largest source of freshwater and it is of vital importance for food production. Increasing extraction of groundwater in recent decades has resulted in sinking water tables worldwide. A study by a hydrologist shows that almost 20 percent of the catchments areas where groundwater is pumped suffer from a flow that is too low to sustain freshwater ecosystems. This number is expected to increase to 50 percent by 2050.
Read moreAs research involving the transplantation of human 'mini-brains' — known as brain organoids — into animals to study disease continues to expand, so do the ethical debates around the practice. A new article seeks to clarify the abilities of brain organoids and suggests an ethical framework that better defines and contextualizes these organoids and establishes thresholds for their use.
Read moreWinter conditions are changing more rapidly than any other season and researchers have found clear signs of a decline in frost days, snow covered days and other indicators of winter that could have lasting impacts on ecosystems, water supplies, the economy, tourism and human health.
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