In the News
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May 5, 2023
The misuse of prescription drugs introduced opioids to a huge population of people who used and abused the drug outside of a doctor’s oversight. “It was ‘the medicine cabinet problem,'” said Amy Bohnert, professor of anesthesiology, of psychiatry and of epidemiology. “When there are that many pills being prescribed, some of them get diverted to curious teenagers and others, and some of those people will get addicted.”
Newsweek -
May 5, 2023
“All of this anti-trans rhetoric is absolutely about power and control, though some people may also hate trans people,” said Shanna Kattari, associate professor of social work and of women’s and gender studies. “We are seeing the pendulum swing back in response to all the progress towards equity and justice that has been made over the past decade or so.”
USA Today -
May 5, 2023
Justin Wolfers, professor of economics and public policy, says he has complete confidence in the FDIC to cover deposits to avoid a banking crisis, but is much less optimistic about the U.S. defaulting on its debt. “There’s a great fear that this generation of legislators are more irresponsible, more polarized and more willing to do damage than any previous generation,” he said.
CNN -
May 4, 2023
Drag is likely as old as gender norms — it’s a “part of the human condition,” said Larry La Fountain-Stokes, professor of American culture, of Spanish, and of women’s and gender studies. “As long as people have been using clothes or marking gender in different ways, you’ve had people transgressing and challenging those conventions.”
CNN -
May 4, 2023
Research by Jimo Borjigin, associate professor of molecular and integrative physiology, and of neurology, found that the brains of dying people may spark to sudden life in their final moments. “To think that when you are undergoing cardiac arrest — where the heart is stopping or not pumping blood — and the brain does nothing? It’s beyond me. The brain should be going crazy — which is exactly what happens,” she said.
The Hill -
May 4, 2023
“We are at a moment in our political history where polarization of politics has become really severe. … It’s gotten to the point where, I think, a lot of people genuinely don’t understand when their political views on subjects are in the minority and don’t really believe it when their candidates lose in an election,” said Jonathan Hanson, lecturer in statistics in public policy.
The Associated Press -
May 3, 2023
Elizabeth Tibbetts, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, says by reducing mowing it gives insects more places to live and food to eat: “You wouldn’t do well eating the same food all day. … Insects don’t do well with that either. So, grass is not a very good environment. If there are more little plants and weeds growing in there, the insects are much happier.”
WXYZ/Detroit -
May 3, 2023
“More than half of Americans now report having had COVID-19, and more than 450,000 have been hospitalized, so the potential number experiencing serious financial issues linked to their experience with the virus is high,” said Nora Becker, assistant professor of internal medicine, whose research shows that those who had COVID-19 are more likely to have low credit scores and overdue bills sent to a collection agency.
HealthDay -
May 3, 2023
“Wars don’t usually make for easy peace. It’s unclear if either of these two generals will back down without an actual victory on the ground, and that’s the terrifying part,” said Susan Page, professor of practice in international diplomacy and law, on the fighting between Sudan Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
NewsNation -
May 2, 2023
“There are a lot of lessons that can be learned from influenza vaccination, where the strains that are included … can change from year to year, and that could potentially be the case here for a COVID booster as well,” said Lisa Prosser, professor of pediatrics and health management and policy. But setting a regular booster schedule might not be sustainable, as “one of the big differences between COVID and the flu is that seasonality has not yet been clearly established,” said Arnold Monto, professor emeritus of epidemiology.
Smithsonian Magazine
