On a sunny day in Tallahassee, Florida State University students were preparing for their last classes before graduation. The day took a dark turn when a gunman started shooting on campus. Students like Meghan Bannister and Sarah Walker had practiced active shooter drills since they were young. T
The Earth has had some seriously cold periods. Two major ice ages happened during the Neoproterozoic Era. These were the Sturtian and Marinoan ice ages. During these times, the planet was covered in ice from pole to pole. This is known as a "snowball Earth. " The ice ages lasted for millions of year
Coffee is a big deal. It's one of the most traded and drunk products globally. Most of it is grown in tropical regions, while it's mainly consumed in the north. The weather plays a huge role in how much coffee is produced and how good it is. Wet and dry periods are crucial for the plant's life cycle
Cancer death rates in the US have been steadily dropping from 2001 to 2022. This is a big win, showing that efforts to fight cancer are paying off. However, the news isn't all good. The number of women getting diagnosed with cancer has been slowly increasing each year since 2003. This trend is a bit
The Vatican is preparing for a significant event: the selection of a new pope. This process, known as a conclave, is steeped in tradition and secrecy. The conclave is a gathering of cardinals who are locked away in the Vatican, cut off from the outside world. Their mission? To elect a new leader for
The closure of a key sexually transmitted infection (STI) lab at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has raised serious concerns. This lab was crucial in tracking and researching diseases like syphilis and gonorrhea. The shutdown comes at a time when syphilis cases are skyrocketing
The world of anesthesia is a bit like a magic trick. It can make kids go from wide awake to fast asleep in seconds. But sometimes, when they wake up, things get a bit wacky. This is known as pediatric anesthesia emergence delirium, or PAED. It's like when a kid wakes up from a nap and is super confu
The world of autism research is always buzzing with new ideas. One recent study has been looking into transcranial pulsed current stimulation, or tPCS. This fancy term refers to a technique that uses gentle electrical pulses to stimulate the brain. The goal? To see if it can help kids with autism sp
In 2018, Massachusetts took a big step forward in health care. They started using a new system called Accountable Care Organizations, or ACOs, for their Medicaid program. This system is designed to make health care better and more efficient. One key part of this new system is that it requires all AC
The number of children with high cholesterol is growing. This is a big deal because it can lead to heart problems later in life. Doctors need to spot this early and take action. A healthy lifestyle is key for all kids, but some might need medicine too. The focus here is on drugs that mess with chol
