Climate change may worsen Lyme Disease

Climate change may influence the severity of Lyme Disease, researchers from Yale and collaborating universities have discovered. The study, which was published in the April issue of Applied and Environmental Microbiology, shows that climate change affects the feeding patterns of the deer ticks that carry and transmit the disease. As a result, the scientists warn, climate change could exacerbate the disease’s symptoms.

Drink (wine) to your health

At the School of Public Health, researchers have found that regular wine intake may reduce the risk of relapse or death among Lymphoma patients. Of the over 500 women with non-Hodgkin lymphoma studied, researchers discovered that among those who had been regular wine drinkers in the 25 years preceding their diagnosis, the risk of relapse was 25 to 35 percent lower than that of those who had not. The connection was stronger still for patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma whose chance of relapse, death or secondary cancer was decreased by 40 to 50 percent. Neither liquor nor beer intake were found to have any beneficial effect.

Environment 360 wins honor

Treehugger.com, an online media outlet which promotes sustainability, recently named the University’s 11-month-old magazine Yale Environment 360 as the Best New Science Site. Treehugger.com said, “Yale Environment 360 has formed itself into a serious voice in the green media sphere. If you aren’t familiar with it yet, make yourself familiar with it. It should among the top bookmarks of your green/science websites.” Environment 360 is an online magazine started last June by the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and is read in 201 countries. This week the magazine, which is edited by former award-winning Mother Jones editor Roger Cohn, was also named an official honoree in both Best Science Site and Best Site for Copy/Writing in the Webby Awards, an international set of awards for online excellence. The Economist, Salon, Vanity Fair, Politico and Technology Review were among the other official honorees.