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It’s Not Warming, It’s Dying: A New Campaign to Raise Awareness of Climate Change
By The Editors Milton Glaser, one of the most celebrated graphic designers in the United States, has launched an environmental campaign to raise awareness of climate change. He is known for the ubiquitous I heart NY logo, his Bob Dylan poster, the Brooklyn Brewery logo, and a lot more. You can view a collection of his work here. The campaign…
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Global Threats: Soil and Topsoil Erosion and Degradation
By Roberta Attanasio “Soil anaemia also breeds human anaemia. Micronutrient deficiency in the soil results in micronutrient malnutrition in people, since crops grown on such soils tend to be deficient in the nutrients needed to fight hidden hunger. (…) Managing our soil and water resources in a sustainable and equitable manner needs a new political vision.” M.S. Swaminathan — the “Indian Father…
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Paradoxical Thinking May Lead to Conflict Resolution
By Roberta Attanasio Agreeing with people might be the best way for leading them to reconsider their beliefs. A team of scientists from Israel has recently shown that such a strategy may promote long-term conflict resolution — the study included 161 Jewish-Israeli participants, was based on the conflict between Israeli Jews and Palestinians, and was carried out in collaboration with The Fund…
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Yes, Dogs Can Be Jealous
By Roberta Attanasio Dogs can be jealous — we’ve known this for a long time. However, these days, stories about the “surprising” finding of jealousy in dogs are all over the news, thanks to a research article (Jealousy in Dogs, July 23, 2014) published in the scientific journal PLOSone by Christine Harris and Caroline Prouvost (both at the University of…
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Nuisance Flooding: Climate Change and Increasing Sea Levels on U.S. Coasts
By Roberta Attanasio According to a new report released yesterday (July 28, 2014) by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), nuisance flooding — which causes public inconveniences such as frequent road closures, overwhelmed storm drains and compromised infrastructure — is a growing problem along the U.S. coasts. Indeed, nuisance flooding has increased between 300 and 925 percent since the 1960s. The…
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Double Blue: Blue Economy and Blue Growth
By Roberta Attanasio The ocean is one of the most valuable natural resources of our planet. We need to preserve and maintain its health, resilience and productivity for the prosperity of present and future generations — in other words, we need to achieve the sustainable development of the “Seven Seas”. A few months ago, José Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the Food and…
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Food-Borne Parasites: The “Top Ten” List
By Roberta Attanasio Food-born parasites affect the health of millions of people all around the world, causing huge social costs. However, we don’t know much about these parasites — where they come from, how they live in the human body, and how they make us sick. Today (July 1, 2014), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released,…
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Emotional Contagion and Social Networks
By Roberta Attanasio More than two decades ago, Gerald Schoenewolf described emotional contagion as a process in which a person or group influences the behavior of another person or group through the conscious or unconscious induction of emotional states and behavioral attitudes. However, “The science of emotional contagion goes back to 400 B.C., when Hippocrates, the founder of medicine, observed that some…
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From Old to Young: Rejuvenating Effects of Fasting on the Immune System
By Roberta Attanasio The beneficial effects of prolonged fasting — fasting that lasts 48–120 hours — have been known for several years. One of these effects is the enhancement of the cellular resistance to toxins in both experimental animals and humans. Now, results from a new study (Prolonged Fasting Reduces IGF-1/PKA to Promote Hematopoietic-Stem-Cell-Based Regeneration and Reverse Immunosuppression) published in the journal…
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School Aged Children and Bullying: Influence on the Adulthood Inflammatory Response
By Roberta Attanasio Bullying can happen anywhere and to anyone. According to stopbullying.com, a federal government website managed by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, “Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Bullying includes actions such as making threats,…
