Writing and Content Creation Posts
China Leads World’s Embrace of Inexpensive Approach to Clean Water
Charting New Waters: State of Watershed Payments 2012 tallies an uptick in investments by governments, NGOS and private companies that pay communities to shelter or clean up water supplies. The study found that more than $8 billion was invested in these projects—a $2 billion increase from the study’s findings in 2008.
Early Declines in Childhood Obesity Rates May Propel the National Movement
For thirty years, childhood obesity rates have been on the rise. Nearly one in three young people in the U.S. is overweight or obese. But The New York Times reported some encouraging news: childhood obesity rates are dropping in some cities and states.
Can Bananas Feed the World if Climate Change Worsens?
Hurricane Sandy crashed into the northeast U.S. at the end of October 2012, demonstrating the type of severe weather that climate change is expected to bring with increasing regularity. At the same time, the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)—a Burness client—released two research papers looking at how feeding the world contributes to global warming, and how agriculture in particular needs to be revamped as climate change continues to worsen.
Protecting Privacy in Whole Genome Sequencing
Whole genome sequencing—which provides a map of a person’s entire genetic makeup—has huge potential for improving medical care. Yet, concerns about personal privacy and misuse of data from these tests could deter people from getting their genes sequenced and sharing their genetic information with researchers and clinicians. That’s why the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues has undertaken a review of the privacy and data access issues that arise from whole genome sequencing.
Progress in East Africa as Farmers Begin Adapting to Changing Weather
In a year when abnormal weather has wreaked havoc on farmers around the globe—from record drought in the U.S. to the failed monsoon in India—new research recently published by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) shows that smallholder farmers across East Africa have started to adapt to the changing climate.
Challenging Rabies’ Killer Reputation
Rabies has been thought of as one of the world’s deadliest infections, and exposure to it—usually through the bite of a rabid animal—an automatic death sentence unless immediately treated with a series of painful injections. But according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researchers have uncovered a pocket of people in a remote area of the Peruvian Amazon who show a natural resistance to the disease.
New Trove of Data Sheds Light on High Health Care Spending in the U.S.
The United States spends far more than any other nation on health care, but that does not translate to better health. As policymakers devise ways to spend our health care dollars more effectively, a new report by the Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI, a Burness Communications client) brings us one step closer to understanding what is driving health care spending growth and how to control for it.
New Report Supports Use of Dental Therapists in U.S.
Nearly 50 million people in the United States can’t get dental care where or when they need it. As community, tribal, state and national leaders debate how best to solve the nation’s intensifying oral health care crisis, a recent research review, entitled A Review of the Global Literature on Dental Therapists: In the Context of the Movement to Add Dental Therapists to the Oral Health Workforce in the United States, indicates that serious consideration should be given to incorporating mid-level providers such as dental therapists into the dental health team.
How Healthy Is Your County?
The University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (a Burness client) released the 2012 County Health Rankings. The Rankings highlight the healthiest and least healthy counties in every state, as well as those factors that influence health outside of the doctor’s office
Junk Food Is Widely Available in U.S. Schools—but New Standards Are Coming Soon
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced healthier new standards for school meals. Soon, students will find more fruits, vegetables and whole grains on their cafeteria trays, and these meals will be subject to stricter limits on calories and salt.
