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Science & Medicine

Perspectival Realism

Public trust in model-based science: moving beyond the “view from nowhere”

By Michela Massimi

Never more than during the COVID-19 pandemic, the public has been reminded of the importance of science and the need to trust scientific advice and model-based public health policy. The delicate triangulation among scientific experts, policymakers, and the public, which is so central to fight misinformation and mistrust, has shone a light on a well-entrenched “view from nowhere” that science is often identified with. Why trust experts and their model-based policy anyway?

Equity in health care [podcast]

By Steven Filippi and Christine Scalora

There are many factors that affect our ability to be healthy, but we unfortunately do not all face the same barriers to accessing care. Such roadblocks can be related to cost, discrimination, location, sexual orientation, and gender identity, to name just a few.

Oxford Open Immunology

Were you prepared for this pandemic?

By John Patcai

Did you have a stock of fitted, unexpired N95 masks in your closet and a six-month supply of non-perishable foods in the pantry? Pretty much nobody was fully prepared, including me. Were you relying on the healthcare system to keep supplies on hand? Should we expect better preparedness from ourselves and our society?

International Affairs

Global health diplomacy and North Korea in the COVID-19 era

By Dong Jin Kim

The COVID-19 pandemic set off an unprecedented scale of border closures, a rise in health nationalism, and inequitable global distribution of vaccines, which have all exacerbated the humanitarian situation in low-income countries. This has led to calls for greater cooperation to support vulnerable populations beyond sovereign borders.

Enraged, Rattled, and Wronged: Entitlement's Response to Social Progress

Guns and the precarity of manhood

By Kristin J. Anderson

Manhood is precarious. Unlike womanhood, manhood is hard won and easily lost and therefore men go to great effort to perform it—for the most part for other boys and men—sometimes to their own and others’ detriment.

Management of Healthcare Systems

How can we build the resilience of our healthcare systems?

By Sonu Goel and A. K. Aggarwal

An effective and efficient health care system is a key to good health of citizens and plays a significant contribution to their country’s economy and overall development (WHO). Poor health systems hold back the progress on improving health in countries at all income levels, according to a joint report by the OECD, World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank.

Public Policy & Aging Report

Aduhelm and the politics of drug approval in the United States

By Michael K. Gusmano

During the past several decades, the US Congress has authorized billions of dollars for Alzheimer’s disease research, but this has not yet led to a major breakthrough in the treatment. It is therefore understandable why there was a great deal of excitement about a new drug being developed by Biogen for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, aducanumab (Aduhelm).

The Changing Energy Mix

The versatility of hydrogen: storable, portable, and renewable

By Paul F. Meier

Hydrogen is becoming a more versatile fuel, with the potential of storing and transporting renewable energy. This OUPblog post explores hydrogen’s use in electricity and heating and predicts greater demand for it in the future.

A Concise Guide to Communication in Science and Engineering

The curious popularity of “however” in research articles

By David H. Foster

There are many ways to signal a change of direction in a piece of text, but the most common is by inserting a “but.” Alternatives such as “although,” “though,” “however,” “yet,” and “nevertheless” generally run a poor second. In research articles, though, the prevalence of “however” increases—especially in some disciplines.

The Changing Energy Mix

Renewable solar energy: how does it work and can it meet demand?

By Paul F. Meier

While it is impractical to have solar panels dotting virtually every available surface of the earth, it does show the awesome potential of solar energy as a renewable energy to meet our needs for generations to come.

The Journals of Gerontology: Series A

We are what we breathe: environmental factors in biological ageing

By Yanfei Guo and Fan Wu

Volcanic eruptions, floods, and heatwaves have forced us to think seriously about whether the air we breathe will allow us to age healthily. To try to answer this question, we selected a unique sample of five middle-income countries on four continents and used NASA satellite remote sensing data to assess the associations between long-term exposure to ambient PM2.5 and frailty in older populations.

Journal of Animal Science

How avocados may boost dog health [infographic]

By Madeline McCurry-Schmidt

In a new Journal of Animal Science study, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign report that dogs can benefit from fiber in their diet, which can help with weight loss and supports beneficial bacteria.

The role of DNA research in society [podcast]

By Steven Filippi and Stella Edison

For today’s episode of The Oxford Comment, we’re commemorating National DNA Day in the United States with Amber Hartman Scholz and Dee Denver.

The Silken Thread

Rough Walkers: the true story of Roosevelt’s Rough Riders

By J. Ray Fisher and Robert N. Wiedenmann

The recent controversy over a statue of Theodore Roosevelt reveals a larger story: one about the Rough Riders, the first United States Volunteer Cavalry. Although their victory at the Battle for the San Juan Heights is well-known, the Riders’ real enemy was not the Spanish they fought but the deadly yellow fever and malaria carried by mosquitoes.

The Changing Energy Mix

Electric vehicles: a shift in the resource landscape for the transportation market

By Paul F. Meier

At this time, the critical resource for the transportation industry is crude oil, the energy source needed to power vehicles. This could change, however, as some parts of the world move away from fossil fuel driven vehicles and towards battery electric vehicles.

Ecosystem-based fisheries management

A more holistic approach to fisheries management: including all the players

By Jason S. Link and Anthony R. Marshak

EBFM is rapidly becoming the default approach in global fisheries management, with the clarity of its definition and approaches for its implementation sharpening each year in US and international jurisdictions. The challenge is to objectively and quantitatively ascertain progress towards EBFM, and ensure wide-ranging applicability of the findings.