In a new New York Times Magazine piece, John Tierney pulls together the results of several studies that suggest willpower is finite and decisionmaking exhausting. While these findings are important in many ways (Tierney leads off with an example from the criminal justice system), I was especially interested in the implications for dieting. The whole […]
I somehow missed this when it first happened, but the state of Connecticut made history last month when Governor Dan Malloy signed legislation requiring up to five paid sick days per year for service workers at businesses with 50 or more employees. Christopher Keating gave these details in the Hartford Courant after the state’s House […]
The US spends far more per capita on healthcare than any other developed country — $7,538 per person, compared to $3,129 in the UK, $4,079 in Canada, and $5,003 in Norway (the second-biggest spender), according to 2008 totals compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation. One contributor to our high healthcare costs is high administrative costs, […]
Jim Salter of the Associated Press reports that many law enforcement agencies are reducing their attempts to shut down methamphetamine manufacturing because they can no longer afford to clean up the labs. Brian Freskos of North Carolina’s Star News reported back in May that Congress has generally appropriated $10 million for meth lab cleanup annually, […]
Last week, I was fortunate to be able to attend the opening of a Smithsonian Museum of Natural History exhibit dedicated to the rescue of 33 miners from the San José mine in Chile, and meet two of miners whose story captivated the world as they endured 69 days underground following a mine explosion. Carlos […]
A strain of salmonella, Salmonella Heidelberg, has sickened at least 77 people in 26 states and killed one in California. The outbreak has been linked to ground turkey produced at an Arkansas plant, and Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation has announced a recall of about 36 million pounds of the meat. The meat is sold under […]
I wrote last month about the Institute of Medicine recommendations regarding preventive health services for women that should be covered by all new health plans without requiring co-payments or other cost sharing. Like many other supporters of women’s health, I was especially interested in the proposal that contraceptives be covered at no charge to women. […]
A few of the recent pieces I’ve liked: Brad Plumer at Ezra Klein’s blog: Will the new fuel economy rules actually work? Maryn McKenna at Superbug: Is Polio Eradication Slipping Out of Reach? David Bornstein at the New York Times’ Opinionator: Treating the Cause, Not the Illness John Culhane at Slate: Concussions and Cigarettes (“A […]
Months of a severe drought in East Africa have led to famine in two regions in Southern Somalia. According to the UN’s definition, famines can only be declared under the following conditions: At least 20 per cent of households in an area face extreme food shortages with a limited ability to cope; acute malnutrition rates […]
Though the disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant has faded from the headlines, cleanup work continues amid high radiation levels. TIME’s Krista Mahr reports that Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has just released a document that includes an April estimate that 1600 workers will be exposed to high levels of radiation while […]