With exploding human populations and a globalized economy, the threat of pandemic disease and fear surrounding such pandemics is a pandemic in itself. Human beings have never been so connected, and it has never been easier for an emerging infectious disease to spread across borders and across oceans. Frightening diseases such as high pathogenicity avian influenza and ebola appear regularly in the news and threaten to cause high mortality in the countries where they emerge as well as abroad. How do we as a society deal with the threat of these dangerous, potentially pandemic pathogens? The answer to that question is more controversial than you might think.
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REM sleep is widely known to be essential for mood, memory, and learning. But why is it needed in the first place? Here, Xinyue Chen details her own experiences with sleep deprivation and discusses the four key features of REM sleep in humans, explaining how a full understanding of such a critical and well known biological process remains elusive.
The metaverse is a concept not typically associated with the healthcare industry. However, healthcare companies are quickly beginning to invest in this technology, promising virtual hospitals and pharmacies among other benefits in the not-too-distant future. Here, Khushbu Kabra discuses the potential role the metaverse will play in future healthcare, as well as the current state of the technology and concerns that will need to be addressed.
Exposure to dogs and other animals can help to reduce stress and improve patient outcomes in hospital settings. Here, dog-owner Alec Kittredge explains how animal-assisted interventions have been used and studied for the past several decades.
The history of science is full of examples of discovery, both intentional and accidental. But how do scientists study subject matter incapable of being explained by simple models? And additionally, if science can produce favorable results (say, in the clinic), to what extent does it matter whether or not the results can be fully explained? Here, Siddhant Iyer outlines the ways in which scientists may study as-of-yet unexplained phenomena and argues for a framework involving the use of complex models while also acknowledging limitations.