Population

First polar bear to die of bird flu – what are the implications?

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, January 16, 2024

It was recently confirmed that a polar bear from northern Alaska has died from the disease.

Key Points: 
  • It was recently confirmed that a polar bear from northern Alaska has died from the disease.
  • So, why are there such differences between species, and what are the implications of this polar bear’s death for the wider polar bear population, as well as other large mammals and humans?
  • But if genetic testing reveals that the polar bear’s H5N1 remains poorly adapted to mammalian hosts, we might expect few other cases in polar bears.
  • The consequences of failure to respond appropriately to a mammal-adapted H5N1 could be severe for polar bears – and for us.

Is economic growth good for our health?

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Is economic growth good for us?

Key Points: 
  • Is economic growth good for us?
  • Put another way, we know that growing the economy is good for business and for creating jobs.
  • Given how wealth contributes to health on the personal, individual level, the case for economic growth might seem intuitive.

Economics and life expectancy


There is a reliable historical correlation between economic prosperity and trends in life expectancy, which is enough for many scholars to suggest that growth is generally a good thing. However, this is not to say that we can expect continued improvements in health whenever we see economic growth.

  • As a political sociologist and epidemiologist, I understand health as a fundamentally political problem.
  • I am not alone in this; scholars have connected politics to population health since ancient times.

Politics and economics

  • The problem is that too many scholars have come forward with concerns that growth can be bad for our health.
  • A classic sociological study published in 1897 found that suicide rates spike after sudden improvements in a society’s economic prosperity.
  • There is also evidence that economic growth harms public health when governments do not plan for it carefully.

Priorities and population health


Arguably, many growing societies happen to be the same ones that invested in education and other beneficial infrastructures, which explains the correlation with health.

  • By the same token we cannot expect better health to come from economic growth if the pursuit of growth ends up increasing income inequality.
  • Nor can we expect better health after slashing budgets allocated to key priorities such as education or health care.
  • And then there is the issue of how health is defined.

A better way to grow

  • Such findings prompt the question of whether there is a better way to grow.
  • For many researchers, the answer is obvious and the case for it clear: Yes.
  • The takeaway here would seem to be that growth can be good for health.


Andrew C. Patterson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

RSV, flu and COVID: demystifying the triple epidemic of respiratory viruses

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Since 2022, a triple epidemic of respiratory viruses — RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 — has been disrupting our daily lives. In addition, the media constantly reminds us of how this is straining emergency departments. How does the present respiratory virus season differ from seasons during the pre-COVID era? As a specialist in virus-host interaction, I would like to shed some light on the new dynamics of the respiratory virus season.The infamous SARS-CoV-2Despite limited access to screening tests, analysis of the number of hospital admissions shows that the virus is still going strong.

Key Points: 


Since 2022, a triple epidemic of respiratory viruses — RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 — has been disrupting our daily lives. In addition, the media constantly reminds us of how this is straining emergency departments. How does the present respiratory virus season differ from seasons during the pre-COVID era? As a specialist in virus-host interaction, I would like to shed some light on the new dynamics of the respiratory virus season.

The infamous SARS-CoV-2

  • Despite limited access to screening tests, analysis of the number of hospital admissions shows that the virus is still going strong.
  • It has a strikingly efficient capacity to spread through aerosols, especially as we take refuge indoors to escape the cold.

Resurgence of seasonal flu

  • After a hiatus due to health measures, the influenza virus, which causes seasonal flu, has returned with the same force.
  • It is once again circulating in different variants belonging to Types (strains) A and B, although scientists believe that one Type B strain, the Yamagata lineage, has disappeared.

And what about RSV?

  • Bronchiolitis is characterized by the obstruction of the small airways, which can progress to wheezing or respiratory distress.
  • But RSV also severely affects the elderly and adults who are immunocompromised or have existing chronic conditions.
  • Admittedly, although these three viruses are attracting attention, other less publicized respiratory viruses are also circulating, demonstrating a diverse viral environment.

SARS-CoV-2 has turned everything upside down

  • The challenge is amplified by the extremely high transmission capacity of SARS-CoV-2 compared with influenza and RSV, which makes seasonal management much more complex.
  • But today, the picture has become even more complex with the continuing presence of SARS-CoV-2.

Beyond infection

  • In addition, it causes long-term consequences after infection, such as post-COVID syndrome (also known as long COVID), which affects millions of people.
  • The extent of the consequences of infection and reinfection on human health remains uncertain, as does the effectiveness of vaccines in limiting these effects.

The importance of vaccines

  • The final distinction from the pre-pandemic period is the arrival of RSV vaccines.
  • However, these two vaccines have not yet been officially recommended.
  • The trio of vaccines against COVID-19, influenza and RSV will certainly help to reduce the severe symptoms associated with respiratory virus infections in the coming seasons.


Nathalie Grandvaux received research funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé (FRQS), the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Fondation du centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, and the Ministère de l'économie et de l'innovation du Québec.

Netflix's You Are What You Eat uses a twin study. Here's why studying twins is so important for science

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, January 16, 2024

A new Netflix documentary, You Are What You Eat, showcases sets of identical twins as they adopt different diets.

Key Points: 
  • A new Netflix documentary, You Are What You Eat, showcases sets of identical twins as they adopt different diets.
  • For eight weeks one twin follows a vegan diet while the other one follows an omnivorous diet.
  • The experiment is compelling because, being genetically identical, the health of each twin is very similar before the trial.

Twins as comparisons for each other

  • The Netflix documentary highlights one important feature of twins – they are good for making comparisons.
  • Identical twins share nearly all of their genes, and usually grow up in the same household, meaning they experience the same parenting, schooling and so on.
  • By focusing on differences between twins, we eliminate genetic and common family factors, and can be more confident about causality.
  • Using twins doesn’t fully solve the problem of omitted factors, but it helps to reduce it.

Twins and heritability

  • Galton’s fascination with twins stemmed from wanting to know why we are the way we are.
  • The main approach is essentially to see whether identical twins, who are genetically the same, are more similar than fraternal twins, who on average share only 50% of the gene variants that make us unique.
  • If the identical twins are more similar, that indicates genes matter.

Limitations and misuse of twin research

  • One drawback to twin studies is that twins are a select group, and findings may not always generalise to the broader population.
  • Twin heritability studies also rely on strong assumptions, like that the common family environment matters to the same extent for identical and fraternal twins.
  • There has also been some misunderstanding and misuse of findings from twin studies.

The future of twin research

  • Twin studies have been conducted for decades, with more than 60 twin registries operating around the world.
  • In Australia, the largest registry is Twins Research Australia, who have around 75,000 members.


Nathan Kettlewell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

REPORT on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2017/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 on mercury as regards dental amalgam and other mercury-added products[...]

Retrieved on: 
Sunday, January 14, 2024

REPORT on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2017/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 on mercury as regards dental amalgam and other mercury-added products subject to manufacturing, import and export restrictionsCommittee on the Environment, Public Health and Food SafetyMarlene Mortler Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

Key Points: 


REPORT on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) 2017/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 on mercury as regards dental amalgam and other mercury-added products subject to manufacturing, import and export restrictionsCommittee on the Environment, Public Health and Food SafetyMarlene Mortler Source : © European Union, 2024 - EP

New analysis unlocks the hidden meaning of 15,000-year-old rock art in Arnhem Land

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, January 9, 2024

Despite this beguiling potential, rock art research can be highly challenging.

Key Points: 
  • Despite this beguiling potential, rock art research can be highly challenging.
  • Our new research published in Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences uses an innovative approach to understand rock art in Arnhem Land in a fundamentally different way.

A dramatic landscape change

  • It has also been the subject of dramatic landscape change as a result of sea levels rising significantly over the last 14,000 years.
  • The complex landscape of sandstone cliffs and flat floodplains would have dramatically changed: from open savanna, to mudflat, to mangrove swamp.

An astonishing rock art record

  • Arnhem Land has an astonishing rock art record that continues to be maintained by Traditional Owners today.
  • The rock art in Arnhem Land can be categorised into a number of different styles, which change over millennia.
  • For example, saltwater animals such as fish appear in the rock art record when the sea had risen enough to impact this area.


This is the first time this approach has been used in Arnhem Land. The results provide new insights into what inspired people to create rock art at different times in the past.

Valuable mangroves

  • Importantly, we found rock art production was most active, diverse in style, and covered the most area of the plateau during the period when mangroves completely covered the floodplains.
  • This may be because the mangroves provided abundant resources which sustained a large and stable human population.

Detailed landscapes provide deep insights

  • These rock art placements have the potential to tell us much more about the archaeology of Arnhem Land.
  • This reflects significant social and economic changes, which follow the landscape evolution over the long history of human occupation in western Arnhem Land.
  • Our work shows more detailed models of the landscape directly surrounding archaeological sites can yield profound insights into past human activities, even those as difficult to interpret as the incredible artwork of Arnhem land.
  • Daryl Wesley receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Flinders University, the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory and National Geographic.
  • Ian Moffat receives funding from the Australian Research Council, Flinders University, the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation.

ECB publishes new statistics on the distribution of household wealth

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, January 9, 2024

Through its TARGET Services, the Eurosystem facilitates the settlement of wholesale financial transactions in central bank money, the safest and most liquid settlement asset.

Key Points: 
  • Through its TARGET Services, the Eurosystem facilitates the settlement of wholesale financial transactions in central bank money, the safest and most liquid settlement asset.
  • Settling such transactions in central bank money helps to reduce risks to the financial system and to support financial stability and trust in the currency.

Five years on the road in Africa: how Lerato Mogoatlhe became a travel writer

Retrieved on: 
Monday, January 8, 2024

As a scholar of, among other areas, African travel writing and mobility, I chatted to Mogoatlhe about travelling solo, queer and black.

Key Points: 
  • As a scholar of, among other areas, African travel writing and mobility, I chatted to Mogoatlhe about travelling solo, queer and black.
  • Lerato Mogoatlhe: I have to say music videos were the most accessible way to experience the continent from my bedroom or lounge as a child in Pretoria, South Africa.
  • How do you hear Oumou Sangaré sing about Bamako in Mali and not want to experience the city?
  • Later influences in Johannesburg included university friends – and foods – from across Africa, bringing fresh perspectives and flavours.
  • In colonial contexts like South Africa it was used, among other terms like “vagrant”, to disparage and control indigenous people on the move.
  • I didn’t know anything about what was ahead, besides being ready to travel and seeing what would happen (in the absence of a travel budget).
  • Lerato Mogoatlhe: As a queer woman, it’s my declaration that there isn’t only violence in being queer in Africa and travelling around the continent.
  • Lerato Mogoatlhe: My story and connection to the continent is not the kind that amounts to “been there, done that, got the T-shirt”.


Janet Remmington has in the past received funding from the National Research Foundation and Oppenheimer Memorial Trust.

South Korea's gender imbalance is bad news for men − outnumbering women, many face bleak marriage prospects

Retrieved on: 
Monday, January 8, 2024

Following a historic 30-year-long imbalance in the male-to-female sex ratio at birth, young men far outnumber young women in the country.

Key Points: 
  • Following a historic 30-year-long imbalance in the male-to-female sex ratio at birth, young men far outnumber young women in the country.
  • As a result, some 700,000 to 800,000 “extra” South Korean boys born since the mid-1980s may not be able to find South Korean girls to marry.

The reasons

  • In most countries, more boys are born than girls – around 105 to 107 boys per 100 girls.
  • The gender imbalance is likely an evolutionary adaptation to the biological fact that females live longer than males.
  • After fluctuating a bit at elevated levels through the 1990s and early 2000s, it returned to the biologically normal range by 2010.

A preference for sons

  • South Korea experienced a rapid fertility decline in a 20- to 30-year period beginning in the 1960s.
  • From six children per woman in 1960, fertility fell to four children in 1972, then to two children in 1984.
  • Yet, South Korea’s long-held cultural preference for sons did not shift as quickly as childbearing declined.
  • Abortion, which is legal and socially acceptable in South Korea, was then often used to allow families to select the sex of their child.

Sex by the numbers


In South Korea, beginning in around 1980 and lasting up to around 2010 or so, many more extra boys were born than girls. When these extra boys reach adulthood and start looking for South Korean girls to marry, many will be unsuccessful. The extra boys born in the 1980s and 1990s are now of marriage age, and many will be looking to marry and start a family. Many more will be reaching marriage age in the next two decades.

  • I have calculated that owing to the unbalanced SRBs in South Korea between 1980 and 2010, there were born approximately 700,000 to 800,000 extra boys.
  • Already this is having an effect in a society where over the centuries virtually everyone was expected to marry, and where marriage was nearly universal.

Foreign brides and ‘bachelor ghettos’

  • If the extra bachelors do not marry immigrant brides, they will have no alternative but to develop their own lives and livelihoods.
  • Such “ghettos” have already been observed in other Asian cities where men outnumber women, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in China.
  • South Korea’s high fertility of the mid-20th century was holding the country back economically.
  • Its program to bring down a fertility rate of nearly six children per woman was hugely successful.
  • Women in South Korea have greater access to education and employment, and there is less pressure for men to be sole wage earners.


Dudley L. Poston Jr. does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

An overlooked and undercounted group of Arab American and Muslim voters may have outsized impact on 2024 presidential election

Retrieved on: 
Monday, January 8, 2024

For some Arab Americans, a community that overwhelmingly voted Democratic in the 2020 presidential election, that support may have negative consequences on Biden’s attempt to regain the White House in 2024.

Key Points: 
  • For some Arab Americans, a community that overwhelmingly voted Democratic in the 2020 presidential election, that support may have negative consequences on Biden’s attempt to regain the White House in 2024.
  • In fact, numerous Middle Eastern and Muslim American leaders have called for their communities to “abandon Biden” in the upcoming presidential election.
  • As a whole, the number of Middle Eastern or Muslim Americans is quite small.
  • In the 2020 presidential election, for instance, Biden won the state of Michigan by a total of 154,000 votes.

Working around statistical erasure

  • As a social scientist, I specialize in statistical analysis and research on how race, ethnicity and religion affect political outcomes in the U.S.
  • I know from firsthand experience that any effort to gauge the attitudes and behaviors of Middle Eastern and Muslim Americans requires a bit of analytic gymnastics.
  • That stipulation is found in that agency’s Race and Ethnic Standards for Federal Statistics and Administrative Reporting and is used in U.S. census reports.
  • Even public opinion surveys that record religious denomination typically offer little to no insight into this community.
  • When it comes to more prevalent religious groups – Catholics, Protestants, white evangelicals – their opinions are frequently reported and the subject of many polls.
  • But Muslims are nearly always relegated to the “other non-Christian” religious category, along with similarly small faith communities.

Impact of defections on 2024 presidential campaign

  • Among Muslim Americans the drop is worse, from 70% in 2020 to about 10% at the end of 2023.
  • If these poll numbers hold true until Nov. 7, the 2024 presidential election would be the first time in nearly 30 years that the Democrats were not the party of choice for Arab American voters.
  • Though the order survived numerous legal challenges, it was eventually overturned by Biden shortly after he took office in January 2021.
  • Michigan is not the only state where no-shows in these communities could jeopardize Biden’s prospects for victory.
  • But even if they were, the numbers show that a presidential election may swing on a lesser-known but potentially crucial voting bloc.


Youssef Chouhoud does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.