By Ann Z. Bauer, University of Massachusetts Lowell The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea A mounting body of evidence shows that the use of acetaminophen – widely known by its brand name Tylenol – during pregnancy may pose risks to the fetus and to early childhood development. That was the conclusion of a new review study on which I was a lead author. Acetaminophen, which has the chemical name paracetamol, is a Healthy

By Brad R. Fulton, Indiana University Centuries of systemic racism and everyday discrimination in the U.S. have left a major mental health burden on African American communities, and the past few years have dealt especially heavy blows. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that Black Americans are twice as likely to die of COVID-19, compared with white Americans. Their communities have also been hit disproportionately by job losses, food insecurity and homelessness as a result of Healthy

By Anna Maria Barry-Jester, Kaiser Health News The tipping point for Dr. Paula Braveman came when a longtime patient of hers at a community clinic in San Francisco’s Mission District slipped past the front desk and knocked on her office door to say goodbye. He wouldn’t be coming to the clinic anymore, he told her, because he could no longer afford it. It was a decisive moment for Braveman, who decided she wanted not only to heal ailing patients but Healthy

By Woody Holton, University of South Carolina Many Americans of the founding era denounced government tyranny, celebrated the Declaration of Independence – and favored lockdowns and mass inoculations to combat a viciously contagious disease. Unchecked, smallpox kills more than one in 10 of its victims, leaving many of the rest blind, disfigured and sometimes sterile. Many historians say the reason George Washington never had children was his near-fatal bout of smallpox in 1751. The summer of 1776 was a time Healthy

As told to Nicole Audrey Spector As a maternal fetal medicine nurse, I’m used to running around from one patient to the next. But on that day in December 2012, the floor was unusually quiet. So I figured, « What the heck? May as well go have my fetal stress test done. » Just shy of 36 weeks pregnant, I had another eight days to go before my pregnancy would be full-term. I expected my blood pressure reading to be normal because Healthy

As told to Nicole Audrey Spector It started with a cough and shortness of breath. This was in May of 2020, and my biggest fear was that I had Covid. So when the Covid test came back negative, I was overcome with relief. But my upper respiratory symptoms persisted. I was spending a lot of time outdoors with my husband and our kids since there was so little we could safely do inside during lockdown. Maybe I was just having Healthy