New study breaks down health disparities among AIAN adults, urges Tribal partnership, and state and local investment in culturally responsive programs.
Science Friday interviewed UCLA’s Andrea Ghez about the game-changing discovery that led her to receive a Nobel Prize for her observations of a supermassive compact object at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. Ghez, who was a 2020 Nobel Prize winner in physics, had developed techniques that allowed her to peer through galactic dust clouds with the Keck telescopes and observe the movements of stars orbiting the galactic center. Measuring their velocity and orbits provided information about the galactic core. Read more about UCLA in today’s The Hill, Bloomberg and others.
LAist reported that city air quality officials have ramped up demands of Lineage LLC as it oversees the cleanup of its Boyle Heights warehouse after residents filed more than 900 complaints of “rotten, sour, garbage-type smells” in the last week. According to Yoshira Ornelas Van Horne, an exposure scientist and assistant professor with the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health’s Department of Environmental Health Sciences, the waste is being hauled away by trucks that can hold 20 tons at once. Ornelas Van Horne said beyond the smells of the material they’re holding, these trucks may pose health concerns of their own, similar to those near warehouses across LA County and the Inland Empire. Read more about UCLA in today’s Discover, Wired and others.
The Associated Press reported that a federal appeals court ruled New Jersey’s ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines is unconstitutional, the first federal appeals court to invalidate such a state law. UCLA law professor Adam Winkler said the decision was surprising because federal appeals courts have previously upheld assault weapons bans, and suggested it could signal how the Supreme Court may approach the issue. He added that the ruling shows that “very few gun laws” are currently safe from constitutional challenges. Read more about UCLA in today’s New York Times, CNN and others.
National Public Radio reported on heavy smoke over parts of the Northeast this week, as over 900 wildfires burn in Canada following a week of high temperatures and dry conditions. Data has shown that the pollution from wildfires has many health effects, according to Dr. David Eisenman, a professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Eisenman, who is also the co-director of the Center for Healthy Climate Solutions at UCLA, points to studies showing an increase in heart attacks, heart failure, stroke and respiratory illness. “Even if the sky is not brown, it still might be toxic for you.” Read more about UCLA in today’s CNN, Los Angeles Times and others.
Variety reported that the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and the Sundance Institute have set a collaboration to develop the next generation of filmmakers and storytellers. The five-year agreement is targeted to begin in September. The pact combines UCLA’s academic resources with Sundance Institute’s experience and Sundance Collab’s international community of more than 130,000 artists across 177 countries. (UCLA’s Celine Parreñas Shimizu was quoted. Also: KABC-TV, KNBC-TV and LAist.) Read more about UCLA in today’s KNBC-TV and The Advocate.
UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies’ Brian Taylor responded to a Los Angeles Daily News query about the 710 North Pasadena signs, saying he didn’t see any malicious effort, despite saying directional signs on freeways can be “a head scratcher.” Read and see more about UCLA in today’s Los Angeles Times, KTLA and others.
Tiffany Naiman, director of the music industry programs and an assistant teaching professor at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, talks about the World Cup halftime show and more.
Dr. Timothy Fong, an addiction psychiatrist and co-director of UCLA’s Gambling Studies program, told LAist that as prediction markets have taken off, his program has “definitely seen an increase in the number of folks coming into treatment.” Read and see more about UCLA in today’s Los Angeles Times, Vice and others.
Jon Christensen, director of the Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies at UCLA, told the Los Angeles Times that river revitalization can be part of a “green gentrification cycle” as new development pushes out old communities. Like the chicken-and-egg paradox, it’s hard to tell which comes first: the amenities surrounding the L.A. River or the more affluent people seeking them. Read and see more about UCLA in today’s Salon, the BBC and others.
CBS Los Angeles reported on the community response to the air conditions following the Boyle Heights warehouse fire, with people sharing concerns that the rotting meat is posing health risks. “When that meat decomposes, it creates toxins that definitely can be a hazard,” said UCLA professor of health policy and management and faculty research director Arturo Vagas Bustamante. Read more about UCLA in the Los Angeles Times, Laist and others.
