In the News
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January 9, 2020
While most Americans over 50 don’t fully rely on or trust online ratings of doctors, online reviews are given as much weight as what these older adults hear from family and friends, according to David Hanauer, associate professor of pediatrics and information, and Preeti Malani, chief health officer and professor of internal medicine. “People of all ages are turning to the web to find information, so it is not surprising that older Americans are looking up physician ratings online. But it is a bit of a surprise that these online ratings now carry as much weight as recommendations from family and friends,” Hanauer said.
U.S. News & World Report -
January 9, 2020
If Latinos — who make up 18 percent of the U.S. population but only 1 percent of all local and federal officials — continue to be elected at the same rate as they have in recent years, it will likely be more than 50 years before political parity is reached, said Angela Ocampo, research fellow in political science: “It’s going to take a very long time. It’s even worse when we look at gender, at Latina representation.”
USA Today -
January 9, 2020
“Technology in voting is very popular; only a small number of voters understand the risk of hacking. I don’t think we’re too flawed as a species to execute democracy, but we need to use the tools that are available to us that ensure the credibility of our results. BMDs have not been proved to be safe and effective,” said Alex Halderman, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, referring to ballot-marking devices, which attempt to marry the convenience of touchscreen technology with an auditable paper trail.
Bloomberg -
January 8, 2020
Shelly Flagel, associate professor of psychiatry at the Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Institute, and colleagues found a brain circuit in rats that may control compulsive behavior that contributes to problems such as addiction and eating disorders. This pathway may one day become a new therapeutic target.
Scientific American -
January 8, 2020
Research led by Michelle Moniz, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, found that the average new mother with insurance in the United States will pay more than $4,500 for her labor and delivery: “I don’t have many patients who have that kind of cash just lying around. I sometimes see patients struggling to afford their health care and sometimes choosing not to obtain health care because they can’t afford it.”
The Atlantic -
January 8, 2020
“The policy says, ‘Look, you can do it if it’s based on intelligence and risk and if there’s no adequate alternatives.’ On the basis of heightened tensions, if that’s the underlying basis, that’s not intelligence. I don’t understand what the point of extended questions of Americans is anyway because they have a right to be admitted to the country because they’re U.S. citizens. So that, too, would be troubling,” said Margo Schlanger, professor of law, on detaining Iranian Americans at U.S. ports of entry.
CNN -
December 16, 2019
“This is a really dangerous problem. People become obsessed with it, and it really is impossible,” said Jeffrey Lagarias, professor of mathematics, on the Collatz conjecture — quite possibly the simplest unsolved problem in mathematics, and one he has studied for decades. “Now I know lots more about the problem, and I’d say it’s still impossible.”
Quanta Magazine -
December 16, 2019
The expansion of Medicaid in Michigan in 2013 has resulted in a doubling of doctors’ visits, more preventive care and an increase in long-term health talks, according to research by Susan Dorr Goold, professor of internal medicine, and health management and policy, and Renuka Tipirneni, assistant professor of internal medicine, and colleagues. “The role of primary care providers, and their teams, in helping low-income and working-poor people understand what health risks they face, and encouraging them to modify the risk factors they can change, is crucial,” Tipirneni said.
U.S. News & World Report -
December 16, 2019
A newly discovered whale species represents an important step in the evolution of whale locomotion, says Philip Gingerich, professor emeritus of earth and environmental sciences, and ecology and evolutionary biology: “How do you go from a foot-powered swimmer to a tail-powered swimmer? That is the kind of intermediacy we have been looking for.”
The Guardian (U.K.) -
December 13, 2019
Although most summer camps welcome kids with food allergies, less than half require campers with allergies to have individualized emergency action plans developed by a clinician as a condition of attendance, according to research by Natalie Schellpfeffer, assistant professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics: “Preparedness is key — every child with a history of food allergy should have an emergency action plan.”
Reuters
