‘It’s Not Just About Polar Bears’: Report Finds Climate Change Is Making Americans Sicker
Health issues will increase with dirtier air, more contaminated water and tainted food, the report warns. It also forecasts thousands of heat-wave deaths, longer allergy seasons and diseases such as those spread by mosquitoes.
The Associated Press:
Fever: Federal Report Says Global Warming Making US Sick
Man-made global warming is making America sicker, and it's only going to get worse, according to a new federal government report. The 332-page report issued Monday by the Obama administration said global warming will make the air dirtier, water more contaminated and food more tainted. It warned of diseases, such as those spread by ticks and mosquitoes, longer allergy seasons, and thousands of heat wave deaths. (Borenstein, 4/5)
In other public health news, one man's quest to prove spinal cord injuries aren't a life-long sentence offers a glimmer of hope, and researchers in Hawaii are utilizing data in their fight against Zika —
STAT:
A Dogged Quest To Fix Broken Spinal Cords Pays Off With New Hope For The Paralyzed
There are tiny rat treadmills in the lab. And jars of Nutella, also for the rats. There are video cameras, heaps of electrodes, and instruments for slicing frozen brain tissue. And in the center of it all: Reggie Edgerton, a 75-year-old physiologist [ at the University of California, Los Angeles] who has spent four decades on a stubborn quest to prove, in the face of scientific ridicule, that severed spinal cords can be jolted back to life — and that paralyzed patients need not be paralyzed forever. Now, he’s got the data to prove it. (McFarling, 3/30)
The Associated Press:
Hawaii Researchers Focus On Data To Combat Zika Virus
As the Zika outbreak takes hold in Latin America, researchers thousands of miles away in Hawaii are using data to figure out where it might spread next. In the last three months, researchers from the University of Hawaii at the Pacific Disaster Center have focused on combating the mosquito-spread virus. So far, the Maui-based center has worked to map the spread of Zika, which can help health officials and local governments figure out where to target mosquito eradication efforts or increase access to health services. (Starleaf Riker, 4/5)
