Disaster Plan News

August 26, 2025

Top Headlines

The Surprising Reason X-rays Can Push Arthritis Patients Toward Surgery

Aug. 26, 2025 — Knee osteoarthritis is a major cause of pain and disability, but routine X-rays often do more harm than good. New research shows that being shown an X-ray can increase anxiety, make people fear exercise, and lead them to believe surgery is the only ...

Maui’s Fires Drove a 67% Jump in Deaths. Most Went Uncounted

Aug. 25, 2025 — Researchers uncovered that the Maui wildfires caused a spike in deaths far higher than reported, with hidden fatalities linked to fire, smoke, and lack of medical access. They warn that prevention rooted in Native Hawaiian ecological knowledge is ...

Why Listening May Be the Most Powerful Medicine

Aug. 20, 2025 — In a health system where speed often replaces empathy, researchers highlight the life-changing power of listening. Beyond simple questions, values-driven listening—marked by presence, curiosity, and compassion—can transform both patients and ...

Could This New Earthquake System Give Alaska 50 Seconds to Prepare?

Aug. 16, 2025 — A new study reveals that an earthquake early warning system, similar to the USGS ShakeAlert used in California, Oregon, and Washington, could give Alaskan communities precious seconds to prepare before strong shaking hits. Modeling shows that towns ...

Scientists Warn Ocean Could Soon Reach Rapa Nui’s Sacred Moai

Aug. 13, 2025 — Advanced computer modeling suggests that by 2080, waves driven by sea level rise could flood Ahu Tongariki and up to 51 cultural treasures on Rapa Nui. The findings emphasize the urgent need for protective measures to preserve the island’s ...

Researchers Discover Key Social Factors That Triple Long COVID Risk

Aug. 4, 2025 — New research led by Mass General Brigham reveals that people facing social challenges—like food insecurity, financial strain, and limited healthcare access—are two to three times more likely to develop long ...

Even Without Catching COVID, the Pandemic May Have Quietly Aged Your Brain

July 24, 2025 — Even people who never caught Covid-19 may have aged mentally faster during the pandemic, according to new brain scan research. This large UK study shows how the stress, isolation, and upheaval of lockdowns may have aged our brains, especially in ...

Three-person DNA IVF Stops Inherited Disease—eight Healthy Babies Born in UK First

July 18, 2025 — In a groundbreaking UK first, eight healthy babies have been born using an IVF technique that includes DNA from three people—two parents and a female donor. The process, known as pronuclear ...

Scientists’ Top 10 Bee-magnet Blooms—turn Any Lawn Into a Pollinator Paradise

July 7, 2025 — Danish and Welsh botanists sifted through 400 studies, field-tested seed mixes, and uncovered a lineup of native and exotic blooms that both thrill human eyes and lure bees and hoverflies in droves, ...

Multisensory VR Forest Reboots Your Brain and Lifts Mood—study Confirms

July 6, 2025 — Immersing stressed volunteers in a 360° virtual Douglas-fir forest complete with sights, sounds and scents boosted their mood, sharpened short-term memory and deepened their feeling of nature-connectedness—especially when all three senses were ...

Scientists Just Found a Major Flaw in a Key COVID Drug Study

July 4, 2025 — A promising path to fighting COVID and other coronaviruses may have been based on a serious mistake. Scientists had zeroed in on a part of the virus called the NiRAN domain, believed to be a powerful target for new antiviral drugs. But when a ...

Artificial Intelligence Isn’t Hurting Workers—It Might Be Helping

June 23, 2025 — Despite widespread fears, early research suggests AI might actually be improving some aspects of work life. A major new study examining 20 years of worker data in Germany found no signs that AI exposure is hurting job satisfaction or mental health. ...

Latest Headlines

updated 1:28pm EDT

Scientists Modeled Nuclear Winter—the Global Food Collapse Was Worse Than Expected

July 26, 2025 — What would happen if a nuclear war triggered a climate-altering catastrophe? Researchers have modeled how such a scenario could devastate global corn ...

It’s Not That You Look—it’s When: The Hidden Power of Eye Contact

July 17, 2025 — A groundbreaking study from Flinders University reveals that it's not just making eye contact that matters, but precisely when and how you do it. By studying interactions between humans and virtual ...

Scientists Just Reconstructed Half the Neanderthal Genome—thanks to Indian DNA

June 29, 2025 — India’s complex ancestry—intertwined with Iranian farmers, Steppe herders, and local hunter-gatherers—has now been decoded through genomic data ...

Half of Today’s Jobs Could vanish—Here’s How Smart Countries Are Future-Proofing Workers

June 22, 2025 — AI is revolutionizing the job landscape, prompting nations worldwide to prepare their workforces for dramatic changes. A University of Georgia study ...

HIV Is Surging in Over-50s—But Campaigns Still Target the Young

June 21, 2025 — HIV is surging among adults over 50 in sub-Saharan Africa, yet prevention and treatment campaigns still focus mainly on the young. New research reveals older adults face comparable or higher ...

Cluck Once, and the River Shakes: Inside the Amazon’s Giant Snake Saga

June 16, 2025 — A lifelong fascination with nature and fieldwork led this researcher to the world of ethnobiology a field where ecology, culture, and community come together. Investigating how local people relate to ...

Africa's Pangolin Crisis: The Delicacy That's Driving a Species to the Brink

June 14, 2025 — Study suggests that appetite for bushmeat -- rather than black market for scales to use in traditional Chinese medicine -- is driving West Africa's ...

Clean Energy, Dirty Secrets: Inside the Corruption Plaguing California’s Solar Market

June 11, 2025 — California s solar energy boom is often hailed as a green success story but a new study reveals a murkier reality beneath the sunlit panels. ...

Coastal Flooding More Frequent Than Previously Thought

June 2, 2025 — Flooding in coastal communities is happening far more often than previously thought, according to a new study. The study also found major flaws with the widely used approach of using marine water ...

Researchers Use Deep Learning to Predict Flooding This Hurricane Season

June 2, 2025 — Researchers have developed a deep learning model called LSTM-SAM that predicts extreme water levels from tropical cyclones more efficiently and accurately, especially in data-scarce coastal regions, ...

Earlier Measles Vaccine Could Help Curb Global Outbreak

May 29, 2025 — The global measles outbreak must trigger an urgent debate into whether a vaccine should be recommended earlier to better protect against the highly contagious disease during infancy, a new review ...

A Cheap and Easy Potential Solution for Lowering Carbon Emissions in Maritime Shipping

May 29, 2025 — Reducing travel speeds and using an intelligent queuing system at busy ports can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from oceangoing container vessels by 16-24%, according to researchers. Not only ...

Trees Vs. Disease: Tree Cover Reduces Mosquito-Borne Health Risk

May 28, 2025 — A study finds small-scale tree cover in Costa Rica boosts biodiversity while limiting dangerous mosquito ...

Involving Communities in Nature-Based Solutions to Climate Challenges Leads to Greater Innovation, Study Shows

May 28, 2025 — Involving communities in nature-based solutions to tackle urban climate and environmental challenges leads to innovation and multiple benefits, a study ...

Breakthrough AI Model Could Transform How We Prepare for Natural Disasters

May 22, 2025 — From deadly floods in Europe to intensifying tropical cyclones around the world, the climate crisis has made timely and precise forecasting more essential than ever. Yet traditional forecasting ...

How to Use AI to Listen to the 'Heartbeat' of a City

May 21, 2025 — AI-driven “sentiment maps” built from geotagged Instagram posts reveal how city dwellers actually feel in specific locations. By pairing emotional signals with Google Street View imagery, ...

May 21, 2025 — Hurricane winds are a major contributor to storm-related losses for people living in the southeastern coastal states. As the global temperature continues to rise, scientists predict that hurricanes ...

Southeast Asia Could Prevent Up to 36,000 Ozone-Related Early Deaths a Year by 2050 With Stricter Air Pollution Controls

May 21, 2025 — A study has found that implementing robust air pollution control measures could mean Southeast Asian countries prevent as many as 36,000 ozone-related premature deaths each year by ...

Landmark Report Reveals Key Challenges Facing Adolescents

May 20, 2025 — Poor mental health, rising obesity rates, exposure to violence and climate change are among the key challenges facing our adolescents today, according to a global ...

Coastal Squeeze Is Bad for Biodiversity, and for Us, Experts Say

May 20, 2025 — Worldwide, coastal areas are squeezed between a rising sea level on one end and human structures on the other. The distance between a sandy coastline and the first human structures averages less than ...

Agrivoltaics Enjoys Comparatively High Acceptance

May 20, 2025 — Photovoltaic systems are increasingly being installed not only on roofs but also on open land. This does not always meet with citizens' approval. What is known as agrivoltaics (Agri-PV), ...

Investment Risk for Energy Infrastructure Construction Is Highest for Nuclear Power Plants, Lowest for Solar

May 19, 2025 — The average energy project costs 40% more than expected for construction and takes almost two years longer than planned, finds a new global study. One key insight: The investment risk is highest for ...

Study Reveals Healing the Ozone Hole Helps the Southern Ocean Take Up Carbon

May 16, 2025 — New research suggests that the negative effects of the ozone hole on the carbon uptake of the Southern Ocean are reversible, but only if greenhouse gas emissions rapidly decrease. The study finds ...

Asians Made Humanity's Longest Prehistoric Migration and Shaped the Genetic Landscape in the Americas

May 15, 2025 — A groundbreaking international study has revealed that early Asians undertook humanity s longest known prehistoric migration walking more than 20,000 kilometers over thousands of years from North ...

Tech Meets Tornado Recovery

May 14, 2025 — Traditional methods of assessing damage after a disaster can take weeks or even months, delaying emergency response, insurance claims and long-term rebuilding efforts. New research might change that. ...

New Study Shows AI Can Predict Child Malnutrition, Support Prevention Efforts

May 14, 2025 — A multidisciplinary team of researchers has developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model that can predict acute child malnutrition in Kenya up to six months in advance. The tool offers governments ...

Addressing Hearing Loss May Reduce Isolation Among the Elderly

May 12, 2025 — Providing hearing aids and advice on their use may preserve social connections that often wane as we age, a new study shows. Its authors say that this approach could help ease the loneliness epidemic ...

Studies Point to Redlining as a 'Perfect Storm' for Breast Cancer

May 9, 2025 — New research indicates that while the residential segregation policy was outlawed decades ago, it still impacts women's health ...

Researchers Develop Practical Solution to Reduce Emissions and Improve Air Quality from Brick Manufacturing in Bangladesh

May 8, 2025 — A new study analyzes the results of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) that showed that brick kiln owners in Bangladesh are willing and able to implement cleaner and more efficient business ...

Nature Visits Can Improve Well-Being Disparities Among Urban Dwellers

May 8, 2025 — How relatedness-to-nature is linked to well-being is determined by district-level socioeconomic status. A new analysis is based on survey results from two major Japanese metropolitan ...