Did the stress of 9/11 lead to a spike in miscarriages? In the months after the terrorist attacks, the death rate for male fetuses in the U.S. went up 12%, as detailed in a new study in the BMC Public Health Journal. The study (PDF is here) hypothesizes that the rise in miscarriages may have been caused by “communal bereavement"--which may have in turn disproportionately impacted males, who seem to be more sensitive to stress hormones in the womb.
People have speculated for decades about how major disasters impact fertility rates.…
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It’s nice to take a break from the mayhem of the moment and reflect on the mayhem of days gone by. I have a piece in this week’s issue of TIME about Eleanor Roosevelt--a First Lady ahead of her time (and ours). I was struck by what she managed to get away with--close friendships with pacifists, lesbians and men half her age, an apartment in the Village, a role shaping U.S. policy on segregation, the military and education, among other things.
I’m not saying it was easy; the…
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Fascinating article in the NY Times about “virtual autopsies” being done on soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since 2004, CT scans have been given to every service man and woman killed (autopsies have been performed since 2001)—a new procedure implemented by Captain Craig Mallack, a Navy pathologist.
The CT scans have been valuable pragmatically and psychologically, it seems. For the military, the scans reveal blind spots in equipment. The findings have already led to improvements in body armor and medical gear.
But the detailed analysis is also important to the…
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“Fight or Flight”...and a few of my other favorites. Check out my piece on the mythology of disasters in the Times (of London).
Got any others you’d care to add? (Is this not the most fun party game of all time? Come on, admit it.)
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Nice piece in Nature about the way regular people use Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and whatever works to communicate within seconds of a disaster. Regular people are faster than the media, faster than the first responders.
After the Virginia Tech shooting, students used Facebook to figure out the list of the 32 fatalities a day before the university released the names. One of the first photos of US Airways Flight 1549 floating in the Hudson came from a guy on a ferry, posting to Twitter.
…
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I wonder how long before DHS lawyers shut down FEMA-nominee Craig Fugate’s Twitter account? Hopefully never. This is good stuff.
# Tallahassee this morning, flying out to DC to begin briefings to prepare for Senate Confirmation 9:35 AM Mar 24th
# Made it to Atlanta, missed original flight, maybe DC tonight, wonder if bags make it?2:48 PM Mar 24th
# No bag - great start in DC, the future of things to come? 5:39 PM Mar 24th
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I did a presentation for a group of Senate staffers yesterday on the Hill, and as usual with these things, the best part (for me) was at the end--when people came up to tell me their own stories. I keep waiting to give one speech in which this does not happen--or in which the things people tell me are not surprising and compelling and new in some way. But it hasn’t happened.
Anyway, one woman told me that when she was in a major earthquake years ago, time had “slowed down” for her--as it does for so many…
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For years, the feds have been using your tax dollars to promote marriage (see Kate Boo’s award-winning 2003 New Yorker Story, ”The Marriage Cure”). These campaigns seem to be continuing under Obama, although there is little evidence to show that they work.
What does lead people to marry? And what leads them to divorce? Will the recession raise or lower the divorce rate?
According to MSNBC, British lawyers have warned that divorce rates in their country could rise as the economic recession puts pressure on marriage. And that’s…
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