A Signal to End Child Marriage: Theory and Experimental Evidence from Bangladesh Despite improvements in female education and job opportunities, child marriage remains common in Bangladesh. Researchers tested a financial incentive to delay marriage coupled with a girls’ empowerment program. Girls eligible for the incentive were 19% less likely to marry young. Surprisingly, the empowerment…
Matching Mechanisms for Refugee Resettlement The existing refugee resettlement processes don’t consider the preferences of refugees or the needs of the host communities. Researchers have introduced a new method that factors in various aspects, like the sizes of refugee families and community capacities. They’ve developed multiple mechanisms and concepts to enhance the refugee resettlement process,…
Suicide Risks of Health Care Workers in the US This study aimed to estimate the risk of suicide among different groups of healthcare workers in the US. They analyzed data from a large sample of healthcare professionals and found that registered nurses, health technicians, and health care support workers had a higher risk of suicide…
Weather explains the decline and rise of insect biomass over 34 years Insects play a crucial role in ecosystems, but there has been a significant decline in their biomass in Central Europe and other regions. A study reanalyzed 27 years of insect data and found that this decline is strongly influenced by complex weather conditions….
Distinguishing features of Long COVID identified through immune profiling Some people develop post-acute infection syndromes (PAIS) after recovering from viral diseases like COVID-19, resulting in symptoms known as “Long COVID” (LC), including fatigue and cognitive issues. A study involving 273 individuals, some with LC and some without, used immune profiling and machine learning to identify…
Induced Abortion and the Risk of Rh Sensitization A study involving 506 individuals undergoing induced first-trimester abortion found that almost all participants (99.8%) had fetal red blood cell counts below the threshold for Rh sensitization after the procedure. This suggests that Rh testing or immunoglobulin administration following induced first-trimester abortion is unnecessary. Horvath S, Huang Z, Koelper…
Canadian Wildfire Smoke and Asthma Syndrome Emergency Department Visits in New York City In 2023, wildfires in Canada not only impacted air quality locally but also had effects hundreds of kilometers away, such as in New York City (NYC), where they caused increased levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) known to affect health. While previous…
Neural circuitry for maternal oxytocin release induced by infant cries Oxytocin is a hormone important for maternal and childcare functions like childbirth and nursing. New research in mice reveals a neural circuit that connects the sounds of infant vocalizations to oxytocin-producing neurons in the brain. These neurons respond to baby cries and help regulate maternal…
Global iron and steel plant CO2 emissions and carbon-neutrality pathways The iron and steel industry, a major source of CO2 emissions, is crucial for addressing climate change. A study mapped emissions and technologies for over 4,800 individual plants, creating tailored plans to reduce emissions. Retrofitting these plants with low-carbon tech during their operational years can limit…
Reductive carboxylation epigenetically instructs T cell differentiation Immune cells called CD8+ T cells play a crucial role in protecting the body from diseases like cancer by undergoing metabolic changes when activated. Researchers found that one specific metabolic process involving a mitochondrial enzyme called IDH2 affects the development of memory CD8+ T cells. Inhibiting IDH2 during…
