A hallucinatory party drug could point the way to the first new treatments for depression in a generation. Scientists have discovered that ketamine (“Special K”), which club-goers take for dream-like highs, also improves mood disorders by repairing damaged connections in the brain. What’s more, ketamine works within hours as opposed to weeks— even for people whose mood disorders have proved […]
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75% – Percentage of workers worldwide who do not have a permanent job, according to the International Labor Organization. Global unemployment reached an estimated 201 million in 2014; most people work without a contract or are self-employed.
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Global life expectancy has risen by more than six years since 1990 as healthy life expectancy grows; ischemic heart disease, lower respiratory infections, and stroke cause the most health loss around the world. SEATTLE — People around the world are living longer, even in some of the poorest countries, but a complex mix of fatal and nonfatal ailments cause a […]
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Dead and dying bottlenose dolphins are washing up along the Mid-Atlantic coast at an alarming rate. Since June, more than 120 dolphins have appeared on beaches from New York to Virginia—seven times the typical number. Early this month, the National Marine Fisheries Service declared the strandings “an unusual mortality event” requiring immediate attention. “All indications show there’s something serious going […]
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“When the final result is expected to be a compromise, it is often prudent to start from an extreme position.” – John Maynard Keynes
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ON PORPOISE Am I watching the dolphins Or are they watching me, Somersaulting on backfins, While I swim clumsily? At the junction of our worlds Where the land meets the sea, Somewhat shallow for their twirls, I can stand awkwardly. I’m not native to water; They’re not native to land. Still each other we ought to […]
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“I’ve always considered it a type of sin against the vast and wondrous panorama of life to make your world small, shrink-fitted to convenience, immunized against change and unfamiliarity.” – Bob Shacochis
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“To a brave man, good and bad luck are like his left and right hand. He uses both.” – St. Catherine of Siena
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People tormented by a neverending flow of negative thoughts can greatly benefit from an alternative to expensive psychotherapy or medications: a walk in the woods. Psychologists at Stanford University found that walking outdoors in natural settings can ward off the human tendency to harp on that breakup, layoff, or family problem. The study involved 38 city participants, some of which […]
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