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How COVID-19 might increase risk of memory loss and cognitive decline

7Aug

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19

How COVID-19 might increase risk of memory loss and cognitive decline

Of all frightening ways that the SARS-COV-2 virus affects the body, one of the more insidious is the effect of COVID-19 on the brain. It is now clear that many patients suffering from COVID-19 exhibit neurological symptoms, from loss of smell, to delirium, to an increased risk of stroke. There are also longer-lasting consequences for the brain, including myalgic encephalomyelitis /chronic fatigue syndrome and Guillain-Barre syndrome. These effects may be caused by direct viral infection of brain tissue. But growing evidence suggests additional indirect actions triggered via the virus’s infection of epithelial cells and the cardiovascular system, or through the immune system and inflammation, contribute to lasting neurological changes after COVID-19. I am a neuroscientist specializing in...

Your coping and resilience strategies might need to shift as the COVID-19 crisis continues

13Jul

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19

Your coping and resilience strategies might need to shift as the COVID-19 crisis continues

As people in the U.S. mark six months of coronavirus, the challenges of coping with life during a pandemic continue to evolve. Most recently, reopening of parts of society under unsettled conditions and lingering threat are creating formidable demands on individuals and communities. Keeping your equilibrium can be a challenge in times of uncertainty. Léonard Cotte/Unsplash, CC BY By looking at how people have reacted to mass traumas in the past – think the terrorist attacks of 9/11 or the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina – psychology researchers like us can learn about which coping strategies have historically been effective. For instance, people were able to boost their self-esteem and curtail negative thinking in the wake of 9/11 if they engaged in activities that fit their personal value...

Linking self-driving cars to traffic signals might help pedestrians give them the green light

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

TECHNOLOGY

Linking self-driving cars to traffic signals might help pedestrians give them the green light

The big idea Automated vehicles don’t have human operators to communicate their driving intentions to pedestrians at intersections. My team’s research on pedestrians’ perceptions of safety shows their trust of traffic lights tends to override their fear of self-driving cars. This suggests one way to help pedestrians trust and safely interact with autonomous vehicles may be to link the cars’ driving behavior to traffic lights. In a recent study by my team at the University of Michigan, we focused on communication via a vehicle’s driving behavior to study how people might react to self-driving cars in different situations. We set up a virtual-reality simulator that let people experience street intersections and make choices about whether to cross the street. In different simulations, self-d...

Biden’s big night with moderates, African Americans and Baby Boomers

11Mar

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

Biden’s big night with moderates, African Americans and Baby Boomers

With the race for the Democratic nomination narrowed to two front-runners, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, six states went to the polls on March 10: Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota and Washington. We asked three scholars to examine the primary results. Keisha N. Blain, University of Pittsburgh The March 10 Democratic primary results highlight the power of the African American vote. Despite Sanders’ efforts to reach African American voters, he was unable to win their vote on Tuesday night. He underperformed in several states, including some he previously won in 2016. At the heart of Sanders’ loss is the African American vote. While African American voters are not a monolithic group, the majority lent their support to Biden on March 10. There are many factors that acco...

Black turnout in primaries might make Democrats think twice about swing voter strategy

11Mar

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

Black turnout in primaries might make Democrats think twice about swing voter strategy

Big wins for Joe Biden on Super Tuesday and in the South Carolina primary a few days earlier have seemingly bolstered a centrist view of how best to capture the presidency: appeal to the middle, pick up swing voters. It is true that a sizeable chunk of moderates cast a ballot for Biden over his main rival, the more radical Bernie Sanders, in these contests. But a closer look at how the vote broke down suggests a different interpretation: Biden’s surge may be less about moderates and more about getting out the anti-Trump vote. As a political scientist who teaches in South Carolina and studies African American politics, I believe that understanding what drove the outcome of these early primaries may be key to creating a successful Democratic strategy to beat Donald Trump. The Biden bounce...

5Jan

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

Journalism

The Elite Is Not Who You Think It Is—It Might Be You

To most, the Occupy movement is best characterized by the slogan “We are the 99 percent.” Indeed, a year before Occupy sprang to life, the top 1 percent held roughly 35 percent of the nation’s wealth, while the bottom 50 percent held about 1 percent. But the data tell a more complex story, and the bifurcated way that we define “elite” may need adjustment. As senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, Richard Reeves describes in his new book, Dream Hoarders, that while the top 1 percent overwhelmingly receives a disproportionate share of economic gains, the upper middle class is also "hoarding" resources. Families in the 80th to the 99th percentiles—or those earning at least $112,000—have made out pretty well over the past 35 years. Since 1980, incomes for the top 1 percent skyrocketed, a...