In a New York Times op-ed, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy wrote that the U.S. needs to focus on its "epidemic of loneliness," and that half of Americans are lonely — including himself. He pointed out that some of the health risks of loneliness, such as depression, anxiety, heart disease, dementia, and stroke, make it comparable to smoking daily. He proposed a three-step process to help with the epidemic: invest in social infrastructure, reconsider how we use technology, and strengthen our personal connections.
PREVENTING DEMENTIA
A new study shows that being bilingual can help prevent dementia. Researchers tested hundreds of older people on learning, memory, language, and decision-making and found that those who used two languages daily performed consistently better than those who knew only one language.
CANCER-DETECTING AI
Researchers and doctors at the National Health Service in the United Kingdom have built an artificial intelligence application that can detect cancer. According to new research published in The Lancet, the AI tool was developed using hundreds of lung scans from real patients, training it on the subtle differences between cancerous and non-cancerous growths that are often difficult to see with the human eye.
Because tennis balls are extremely hard to recycle and the industry has yet to develop a ball to make that easier, nearly all of the 330 million balls made worldwide each year eventually get chucked in the garbage, with most ending up in landfills.
The relief money, totaling roughly $190 billion, was meant to help schools address needs arising from COVID-19, including making up for learning loss during the pandemic. But the latest national data shows large swaths of American students remain behind academically.
Spanish state prosecutors say soccer player Jenni Hermoso has accused Luis Rubiales of sexual assault for kissing her on the lips without her consent after the Women’s World Cup final.
