As officials struggle to fight the opioid epidemic that is plaguing the country, some big cities are considering creating "safe injection" sites. Addicts would be able to use their drugs under the watch of medical professionals, and they would be provided clean needles. While no city has submitted a formal plan, the idea is already stirring up controversy.
Dina Fine Maron, Health & Medicine Editor at Scientific American, explains the science behind safe injection sites. Allowing addicts to use drugs under supervision and with clean needles helps to reduce diseases associated with intravenous drug use such as HIV.
While no city in the United States has a "safe injection" site, Fine Maron says existing sites in Europe and Canada have proven to be a success. Data shows that opening these sites helps reduce opioid-related deaths and problems.
President Joe Biden is calling on global leaders to join him in sharing coronavirus vaccines with struggling nations around the world.
The NFL will spend up to $1 million funding up to five studies that will examine how to better help players ease their pain and find alternatives to opioids.
Turkey’s president has promised to rescue the Marmara Sea from an outbreak of “sea snot” that is alarming marine biologists and environmentalists.
Flights fell 55% in April 2020 compared to April 2019. So, it was shocking to a lot of people that the tiny Ted Stevens Anchorage Airport was bustling.
Government health officials have approved the first drug that they say may help slow Alzheimer’s disease.
California's reservoirs are shrinking quickly as a drought grips the western United States.
A new U.S. government report fails to give a definitive explanation of UFOs spotted by military pilots. It finds no evidence they are linked to aliens — but doesn't deny the possibility either.
A wandering herd of 15 elephants have been journeying in southwestern China's Kunming, Yunnan Province as local authorities try to keep them away from populated areas.
Critics of bitcoin's energy use argue that its carbon footprint is way out of proportion with its social value, while supporters assert that bitcoin is no different than the rest of the financial system.
NASA is returning to sizzling Venus, our closest yet perhaps most overlooked neighbor, after decades of exploring other worlds.
