Topic: Health

Book Review / Happiness

A Method to Happiness: Tested in the Lab and in Life

Cassie Holmes’ book combines social science and personal history; jilted on the way to the altar

FDA building Feature / Health Care

A Tool to Make FDA Drug Approval Practices Transparent

Researchers aim to help the agency, drug companies and patients better understand the complex authorization process

Aerial photo of university buildings and surrounding landscaping Research Brief / Health Care

Academic Medical Centers Resilient After Cuts

Following Medicare reimbursement rate changes, research actually increased

Research Question / Happiness

As Income Rises, Link Between Meaning and Happiness Weakens

Globally, lower-income people feel a stronger connection

Computer model of chromosomes unwinding Feature / Health Care

BRCA Mutation: New Model Quantifies How Surgeries Reduce Cancer Risk

Informed by personal experience, a researcher parses data to help those mulling mastectomy and gynecological surgeries

Research Brief / Technology

Can Algorithms Help Reduce Hospital Readmissions?

Measuring the utility of increased care and testing, inputs that aren’t always immediately available

A refugee carrying a basket on their head walks through a tent encampment. Research Brief / Sustainability

Can Humanitarian Aid Turn Wastefulness to Sustainability?

Seeing global crises as ongoing, rather than episodic, and applying modern supply-chain management

Poster with text that reads, "colorectal cancer screening tests here" Research Brief / Nudges

Cancer-Screening Procrastination Can Be Deadly: a Nudge Lifts Compliance

At-home test for colorectal cancer delivered with a deadline

Two letters from UCLA Health Research Brief / Health Care

Carefully Crafted Messaging Boosts Uptake in Cancer Screening

Embedding psychological nudges in mail reminding people to get tested improves compliance

A color image of a genome. Research Brief / Behavioral Economics

College Completion and Your Genome (Don’t Get Too Excited)

It’s still early days in genetic research, though advances will aid study of educational attainment and, notably, disease

Research Brief / COVID-19

COVID Tested U.S. Health Systems — and its News Habits

Social media optimal for spreading conspiracy theories

A close up image of flowers, candles, and photos to remember those who have died from COVID-19 Forecast / COVID-19

COVID-19 Death Rates Vary Widely by County, But Why?

As the pandemic wears on, a search for the factors that cost lives

Pharmacists preparing perscriptions Feature / Health Care

Curbing Over-Prescription of Antibiotics: Ranking Clinicians Is a Nudge That Sticks

Peer ranking might cut dangerous antibiotic overuse

Person looking through a multifaceted gemstone Research Brief / Health

Embryo Selection, Polygenic Scoring and Unrealistic Expectations

False hope for instilling disease resistance and desirable traits?

A hospital hallway full of mediical personnel and patients Research Brief / Health Care

Exhausted Doctors Less Likely to Prescribe Pain Meds

At the end of a night shift, empathy for patients’ hurting seems diminished

Yellow prescription bottles Research Brief / Health Care

Exploring the Relationship between Off-Label Prescriptions and Clinical Trials

A study looks at how changes in FDA labeling affect pediatric utilization of drugs