The Northeast Medical Student Queer Alliance is launching a social media initiative to promote a culture of respect for transgender patients, 70 percent of whom experience discrimination when accessing medical care.
President Obama announced plans to close the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Now two scholars are proposing to transform the naval base into a marine research center and international peace park.
As America continues to adopt more children internationally than any other country, hundreds of thousands of children in the U.S. – most of whom are children of color – sit in foster care awaiting adoption. Though some Americans express a desire to adopt non-white children, even they have limitations when it comes to adopting children of certain races, especially African Americans, according to a new study.
A new study examining the impact of a series of gender quotas passed by Mexico to ensure equal representation in government shows no drop in the qualifications of women in office after two election cycles, and also refutes the widely held perception that women rely on personal connections more than men to get elected.
A team of Harvard scientists and colleagues has used University of Vermont findings from 2000 to develop a possible treatment to prevent hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), an inherited disease that can cause the heart to thicken and stop pumping blood effectively, leading to heart failure
By chance, scientists have discovered a malaria parasite that infects white-tailed deer. It’s the first-ever malaria parasite known to live in a deer species and the only native malaria parasite found in any mammal in North or South America.
A new study indicates that children with Down syndrome who have motor speech deficits have been inadequately diagnosed, which could have a major impact on the interventions used by speech pathologists when treating patients.
College students whose parents lay on the guilt or try to manipulate them may translate feelings of stress into similar mean behavior with their own friends, a new study by a University of Vermont psychologist has found.
The students’ physical response to stress, which the researchers measured in a laboratory test, influenced the way they carry out that hostility – either immediately and impulsively or in a cold, calculated way.
New research uses time lapse microscopy to show that bacteria use a hedging strategy to trade off varying degrees of antibiotic resistance even when they are not under threat. This new insight could explain why some infections persist in spite of antibiotic treatment and suggests that a different dosing strategy that would wait out trading off strategy could be effective.
The first national study to map U.S. wild bees suggests they're disappearing in many of the country's most important farmlands. If losses of these crucial pollinators continue, the new nationwide assessment indicates that, over time, the problem could destabilize the nation's crop production.
November 19, 2015 marks the date of the Great American Smokeout, when cigarette smokers are asked to refrain from smoking for one day in hopes that the effort will lead to quitting forever. Most people know a smoker they would like to see stop, but wonder if making that request is appropriate. Research from the University of Vermont says “yes” – smokers who are exposed to cues to stop are twice as likely to try to quit.
In a major break with the current payment system for health care, the University of Vermont Medical Center’s CEO has announced an ambitious goal to have 80 percent of the care provided by the Medical Center to be paid for based on quality of care, instead of the traditional method of being paid for the amount of care provided, by 2018.
$1 million NIH technology transfer grant will speed adoption of interactive raised line graphics devices in schools that help young blind students learn to draw and, later, facilitate their taking math and science courses that require them to interact with graphics. The devices were developed by University of Vermont start-up E.A.S.Y. LLC.
In the long term, cognitive behavior therapy is more effective at treating seasonal affective disorder that light therapy, considered the gold standard, a study to be published in the American Journal of Psychiatry found. Two winters after the initial treatment, 46 percent of research subjects given light therapy reported a recurrence of depression compared with 27 percent of those who were administered CBT. Depressive symptoms were also more severe for those who received light therapy.
Feature length film focuses on the life of Victor Jara, considered the Bob Dylan of South America, who was assassinated shortly after the Chilean coup of 1973 for his political views and support for the democratic election of Popular Unity party candidate, President Salvador Allende
In the past, whales, giant land mammals, and other animals played a vital role in keeping the planet fertile by transporting nutrients via their feces. However, massive declines and extinctions of many of these animals has deeply damaged this planetary nutrient recycling system, threatening fisheries and ecosystems on land, a team of scientists reports.
Vermont future physicians weigh in on the Sanders platform issue that is likely to have the greatest impact on their future careers - single payer healthcare - as they approach the milestone of the White Coat Ceremony.
A new study funded by the National Science Foundation shows that abandoned oil and gas wells near fracking sites can be conduits for methane escape not currently being measured, a significant finding given the current debate over new EPA rules regulating fracking-related release of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
The new movie about Steve Jobs is expected to draw huge crowds eager to see yet another romanticized story about a well known business celebrity. Thomas Streeter, professor of sociology at the University of Vermont, explores why in his new paper, “Steve Jobs, Romantic Individualism, and the Desire for Good Capitalism” in the International Journal of Communication. He writes that this desire says “more about our culture than the man,” and that Jobs’ story fits perfectly with the romantic individualist story that American culture can't seem to get enough of.
The number of college graduates willing to start new businesses -- the largest producer of private sector jobs over the past 25 years -- could depend heavily on the entrepreneurial focus and structure of the universities from which they graduate
University of Vermont chemists have invented a nanoscale wrench that allows them to precisely control nanoscale shapes. Their use of “chirality-assisted synthesis” is a fundamentally new approach for controlling the shape of large molecules--one of the foundational needs for making complex synthetic materials, including new polymers and medicines.
A new study finds that an enhanced inflammatory response could be the key link between high saturated fat intake – a recognized risk factor for obesity-related disorders – and the development of diseases like type 2 diabetes and atherosclerosis
As high schools across the country continue to reduce physical education, recess, and athletic programs, a new study shows that regular exercise significantly reduces both suicidal thoughts and attempts among students who are bullied.
University of Vermont scientists have invented a new way to create what they are calling “an electron superhighway” in an organic semiconductor that promises to allow electrons to flow faster and farther--aiding the hunt for flexible electronics, organic solar cells, and other low-cost alternatives to silicon.
A new study published in Park Science shows that nearly 90% of visitors to a major national park value viewing the night sky and want the National Park Service to reduce light pollution. The study also established a threshold below which visitors found light pollution of the night skies unacceptable.
A new book details, over a seven year period, the impact of Hurricane Katrina on children in New Orleans and surrounding areas. It includes insights into why and how children's post-disaster trajectories differed and provides policy recommendations for lessening children's suffering in the next disaster.
A five-year Vermont-led study of 30 practices and up to 2000 patients nationwide will examine whether outcomes improve when behavioral care is integrated into primary care.
Less than a month before Congress votes on whether to reauthorize a controversial program mandating healthier school lunches, a new study confirms the suspicions of school officials – many students are putting the fruits and vegetables they’re now required to take straight into the trash, consuming fewer than they did before the law took effect.
New research confirms that the land under the Chesapeake Bay is sinking rapidly and projects that Washington, D.C., could drop by six or more inches in the next century--adding to the problems of sea-level rise.
A new study released just days after the U.S. House passed a bill that would prevent states from requiring labels on genetically modified foods reveals that GMO labeling would not act as warning labels and scare consumers away from buying products with GMO ingredients.
Most anti-bias trainings probably won’t be as effective as organizers hope, according to a study just published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. The research finds that only those whites who are aware of their racial biases will internalize negative feedback about their racial preferences and take steps to correct their behavior.
More than a dozen years have passed since Professor Stuart Hart co-authored the landmark paper “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid.” Two books and major investments followed from corporations looking to capitalize from -- and liberate -- the four billion people living on $8 a day.
A new study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology finds that whites aware of their biases are better equipped to address contemporary racial challenges, where prejudice is often expressed in subtle, unintentional and unconscious ways, than those who claim to have no racial preferences.
People with blue eyes might have a greater chance of becoming alcoholics, according to a unique new study by genetic researchers at the University of Vermont.
Children of parents who are frequently in conflict process emotional interactions differently and may face social challenges later in life compared with children from low conflict homes. The findings are based on measuring research subjects’ brain activity during a psychological test
Ellen Andersen, associate professor of political science and gender, sexuality, and women’s studies at the University of Vermont, and author of "Out of the Closets and into the Courts: Legal Opportunity Structure and Gay Rights Litigation" breaks down the U.S. Supreme Court's 5-4 vote in favor of same-sex marriage.
Vermont scientists have invented a new technique for discovering potentially dangerous drug interactions--before they show up in medical databases like PubMed--by searching millions of tweets on Twitter.
A team of scientists have shown that two species of silver flies from the Pacific Northwest will attack and eat hemlock woolly adelgid, the pest responsible for killing millions of hemlock trees in seventeen East Coast states. The team has released the flies, from Washington State, in experiments in Tennessee and New York, and early results look promising. If their experiment succeeds, these flies could help protect threatened eastern and Carolina hemlock trees.
A major international study finds that surprisingly few bee species are responsible for pollinating the planet's crops: only two percent of wild bee species pollinate 80 percent of bee-pollinated crops worldwide.
Palm oil is widely used in food and cosmetics. But the conversion of forests to oil palm plantations has devastated many species, including tigers and elephants. A new study shows willingness among consumers to pay higher supermarket prices for palm oil made by companies that help to protect endangered species.
A study of marine mammals finds that several once endangered species, including the humpback whale, the northern elephant seal and green sea turtles, have recovered and are repopulating their former ranges. But returning species create a new challenge: some people interpret the return of these animals as a hostile invasion. The study presents strategies for “lifting baselines” to help manage and celebrate recovering species.
America’s population of senior citizens is growing, and with it, a reliance on canes, wheelchairs and scooters. This proliferation of senior mobility devices is surprising considering that prior research showed a correlation between device use and falling — the leading cause of death resulting from injury among adults 65 and older.
When parents of children with disabilities drop their child off at kindergarten they often worry about whether they will make friends – a key factor in reducing anxiety, depression and the likelihood of being bullied. The response from schools has been to create inclusive classrooms, where a significant number of students with disabilities receive their education. A new study, however, finds that inclusive classrooms with disability awareness curricula alone do not increase friendships for those students.
Women who watched food television and cooked frequently from scratch had a higher body-mass-index, or BMI – weighing on average 10 more pounds – than those who obtained information from sources like family and friends, magazines and newspapers, or cooking classes. Women who watched food television but didn’t cook from scratch failed to see their viewing habits translate to a higher BMI.
A new study explores what multiple sclerosis patients know, or want to know, about their physician’s financial relationship with the pharmaceutical company sponsoring clinical trials.
Vermont researchers have identified a remarkable protein that helps choreograph the highly specific series of events that ensure the heart beats consistently and accurately. Called myosin-binding protein C (cMyBP-C), this protein performs its masterpiece inside the sarcomere, a part of the heart muscle tissue that is one-fiftieth the diameter of a human hair. Trillions or more sarcomeres must contract simultaneously in order for the heart to maintain its beat. Problems with this protein can cause sudden death via a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Bad hiring decisions cost employers millions of dollars, damage workplace morale, reduce productivity and account for more than half of employee turnover nationwide. It doesn’t have to be that way according to a new study that reveals how a few minor changes in the wording of a job advertisement can increase the size and quality of an applicant pool.
Socializing with neighbors leads to more planet-friendly behaviors than spending time with friends or family, research finds.
That's due to the diversity of neighbors and overwhelming similarity of loved ones, researchers say.
So be kind to your neighbors: they may hold the secret to greater action on climate change.