Written by: Sahithi Gangavarapu Millions of Americans nationwide have lost Medicaid coverage since March 31, 2023, when a pandemic-era mandate for coverage expired. As of November 21, 2023, 10.8 million Americans have been disenrolled from Medicaid, including around 2.1 million children. Recent data shows that a large proportion of these people are being disenrolled for administrative and procedural reasons unrelated to their actual eligibility leaving many people in need without healthcare coverage. As coverage losses , millions of children and families are being detrimentally impacted. What ..read more

Written by Nanaki Bawa How many times have you been told that snoozing the morning alarm only hurts your sleep cycle and makes you more lethargic and unproductive throughout your day? I certainly have — one time too many, as a matter of fact. According to new research, snoozing may not be as bad for you as previously believed. The main reason snoozing is believed to negatively affect productivity and overall alertness is due to the concept known as sleep inertia. Sleep inertia is defined as a temporary “decline in performance and/or mood” shortly after awakening from sleep. This decline has th ..read more

Written by Anushka Angle  In October 2023, a conflict emerged between Israel and Hamas, a militant Islamist group operating in Gaza since 2006. While conflicts between Israel and Palestine have persisted for previous decades, recent attacks from both groups have exacerbated the pre-existing tensions. Hamas launched rockets into Israel and invaded towns along the border of the Gaza Strip, resulting in casualties and injuries among soldiers and civilians, as well as the taking of many hostages. In retaliation, Israel conducted intense retaliatory strikes and the government imposed a tight b ..read more

Written by Kranti Kaur The sunscreen paradox, as researchers at McGill University described the phenomenon, is related to increased rates of skin cancer even with increased sunscreen usage. According to their research, the rates of sunscreen usage have increased over time, but there has also been a surprising increase in the rates of melanoma. This is a paradox because the use of sunscreen is meant to protect the wearer from skin cancers like melanomas; If more people are using sunscreen, why are skin cancer rates increasing?  First, it is important to discuss what melanoma is. Melanoma i ..read more

Written by Luiza Ghazaryan In September of 2020, Azerbaijan attacked the peaceful residents of Republic of Artsakh. As a result, two months later, ethnic Armenians were forced to abandon their homes and give up a significant portion of their historic lands. As a fierce and resilient nation, Armenians once again revived and continued thriving in the remainder of Artsakh. When the wounds and memories were just starting to heal, in December of 2022, Azerbaijan closed “The Road of Life,” the Lachin corridor connecting Armenia and Artsakh. The blockade in Artsakh started. The second blockade after ..read more

Written by Luiza Ghazaryan  Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a mental illness that affects one’s ability to control emotions and comprehend self-image. The symptoms include fear of abandonment, unstable relationships, impulsive anger, feelings of emptiness, self-harm behavior, feelings of dissociation, etc. Living with BPD can feel scary, dark, lonely, however, many of the struggling people do not even know their true diagnosis. Only 1.4 percent of the adult U.S. population is diagnosed with BPD. Meanwhile, researchers at the University of North Texas and Brown University found th ..read more

Written by Luiza Ghazarya It’s not a secret that hospital walls usually carry an oppressing feeling, fears, and concerns about one’s health. However, there is a common feeling among patients – the feeling that they are going to die. It is known as impending doom, a feeling that something life-threatening or tragic is about to occur. Some doctors usually don’t pay attention to those sensations because every patient may feel scared or uncertain to some extent during their hospital visit.  In a New York Times article, an elderly man with a heart disease was receiving treatment and according ..read more

Written by Luiza Ghazaryan Social Context According to the UN, about 20 countries across the world still implement virginity testing. It is also referred to as the “two-finger” exam, a gynecological inspection of female genitalia, based on the false belief that it can determine whether the girl or the woman has had sexual intercourse in the past (the presence of the hymen). The testing is usually done by doctors, police officers or community leaders in order to assess the girl’s “innocence,” social value, and honor before marriage. Nevertheless, the UN states that virginity testing has no scie ..read more

Written by Reese Spicer Credit: createdigital.org Have difficulty concentrating on what people say to you, even when speaking directly to you: Check. I stared down at the line of checks on the ADHD symptoms questionnaire that my primary doctor had given me before handing it in. The rest of my appointment was per usual – my concerning responses weren’t addressed nor was I referred to a specialist in the field. It was clear that my primary physician wasn’t properly trained to provide care for the complex issue of mental health. My ADHD symptoms worsened and years passed without a proper diagnos ..read more

Written by Anushka Angle Credit: CIO Artificial intelligence – AI – has recently been implemented within society, promising to make the day-to-day tasks in a human’s lives much more efficient and accurate. With its algorithm-based programming and mathematical logic, the objectivity of AI might not necessarily be accustomed to the nuanced disparities that exist in our society, as it does not account for empathetic features in its programming. An AI algorithm is developed and trained with data that may embody existing social, racial, and gender biases which could exemplify such prejudice, espec ..read more