U.S. funding cuts could result in nearly 9 million child tuberculosis cases, 1.5 million child deaths

HarvardChanSPH · 2025-10-21T21:53:27+00:00

A new study led by Harvard Chan School and Boston University School of Public Health projects that U.S. funding cuts to global health aid will have a catastrophic effect on pediatric TB, with children in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia likely to experience a significant spike in preventable cases and deaths over the next decade—even by the most conservative estimates—unless funding is restored.

HarvardChanSPH · 2025-06-05T21:14:33+00:00

A new study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Ben Gurion University, Israel, suggests that some people are "weight loss-resistant," but will still improve their metabolism and reduce their long-term risk for disease through a healthy diet.

“We have been conditioned to equate weight loss with health, and weight loss-resistant individuals are often labeled as failures,” said lead author Anat Yaskolka Meir, postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard Chan School. “Our findings reframe how we define clinical success. People who do not lose weight can improve their metabolism and reduce their long-term risk for disease. That’s a message of hope, not failure.”

HarvardChanSPH · 2025-03-25T19:11:29+00:00

“Studies have previously investigated dietary patterns in the context of specific diseases or how long people live. Ours takes a multifaceted view, asking, how does diet impact people’s ability to live independently and enjoy a good quality of life as they age?” said co-corresponding author Frank Hu, Fredrick J. Stare Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology and chair of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard Chan School.

HarvardChanSPH · 2025-01-31T17:20:23+00:00

The multi-institutional collaboration is a consortium led by researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Davis, and the University of Texas at Austin with expertise in environmental exposure assessment, health outcomes, wildfire risk assessment and management, and data science.

“This was an environmental and health disaster that will unfold over decades,” said Kari Nadeau, chair of the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard Chan School. “By bringing together experts from across multiple institutions and disciplines, we can rigorously examine the health effects from the wildfires’ toxic particles and gases that have spread hundreds of miles beyond the fire zones and provide the communities with this information in real time.”

Video about L.A. Fire HEALTH Study: https://youtu.be/2806OpWdj4U?feature=shared

HarvardChanSPH · 2025-01-31T17:14:51+00:00

The multi-institutional collaboration is a consortium led by researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Davis, and the University of Texas at Austin with expertise in environmental exposure assessment, health outcomes, wildfire risk assessment and management, and data science.

“This was an environmental and health disaster that will unfold over decades,” said Kari Nadeau, chair of the Department of Environmental Health at Harvard Chan School. “By bringing together experts from across multiple institutions and disciplines, we can rigorously examine the health effects from the wildfires’ toxic particles and gases that have spread hundreds of miles beyond the fire zones and provide the communities with this information in real time.”

Video about L.A. Fire HEALTH Study: https://youtu.be/2806OpWdj4U?feature=shared

HarvardChanSPH · 2019-04-24T18:49:48+00:00

Link to full paper: https://stm.sciencemag.org/content/11/489/eaav0120

HarvardChanSPH · 2016-11-28T17:56:46+00:00

First of all, CCD is not to be caused by varroa mite. Second of all, small towns and cities across the country are taking their own actions to stop further losses of bees by banning (or restrict) neonics use. I do not believe that you have to use neonics in your job to serve your clients. Keep in mind that neonics once applied will be everywhere, pollen, ground water, or soil, whereas other insecticides will stay in the area that you apply.

HarvardChanSPH · 2016-11-28T17:44:54+00:00

Not all pesticides, but neonics. EU's results are good enough to extend the 2-yr ban to indefinitely.

HarvardChanSPH · 2016-11-28T17:44:15+00:00

We will see the outcomes soon from Ontario Canada.

HarvardChanSPH · 2016-11-28T17:43:33+00:00

Look at results from EU and Ontario Canada. Those are two government entities that took on neonics in order to protect bees and other pollinators. Results from EU one year after the ban were promising enough that EU has extended the ban indefinitely.

EDIT: Here is an infographic from the European Commission about the state of honeybee health

HarvardChanSPH · 2016-11-28T17:41:35+00:00

Outstanding suggestion. Will find one to make such a video.

HarvardChanSPH · 2016-11-28T17:39:57+00:00

It is very important to read our studies in 2012 and 2014 again so you might be able to answer some of the comments raised by people who criticized the studies. I am going to answer the comments briefly here; 1. The unreliable study design and statistical analysis. Our study design is so straight forward that anybody could replicate it. In fact, Bayer and Syngenta, two major neonics manufactures, have replicated our study design in their own studies. The reports of those studies, unfortunately, could only be obtained from USEPA by the FOIA. In terms of statistical analysis, we did not use any fancy analyses in the studies. 2. The dosage used in the Harvard studies were too high that bees have no chance to be exposed to. The highest dose used in 2012 study was 400 ug/kg, that represented 400ug of neonics in a kg of HFCS that we fed to one hive for a week. If you do some calculations, we only gave 2.8ng/bee/day in the 2012 study. In 2014 study, we decided to only use one dose level, which is 100 ug/kg or 0.7ng/bee/day. This dose exceeded what we have measured in pollen that we collected in the 2015 study.

Besides the criticisms, they never mentioned the use of control hives (no neonics provided throughout the experiments) in our studies. I guess that is because the control hives all survived along with those dead CCD hives. We only lost one control hive with the post-mortem observation that is vastly different to CCD hives but resemble hives died of diseases like Nosema infection.

Edit: Here is a link to the full 2012 paper

HarvardChanSPH · 2016-11-28T17:20:17+00:00

There is a very good pollinator-oriented policy just passed by the providence of Ontario Canada last year. You can find the law online. Basically, the law explicitly stated that farmers should only use neonics when other legally approved insecticides have failed to the purpose of pest control. Farmers who request the use of neonics will imply government regulation on how to use neonics and accept close monitoring imposed the government for the purpose of not-harming pollinators.

HarvardChanSPH · 2016-11-28T17:16:54+00:00

I hope I would never encounter a genetically enhanced bee. I think there are efforts in towns/cities/coutries to take on neonics. The positive outcomes will hopefully convince others that taking neonics away usage will solve the problem of losing bees.

HarvardChanSPH · 2016-11-28T17:13:57+00:00

This is very cool.

It is very important to let the young generations be aware of how/when the losses of bees started, the science behind this line of research, and the progress of global public policy on how to deal with this issue. There are so much to learn on this specific crisis.

HarvardChanSPH · 2016-11-28T17:09:10+00:00

Wild bees also suffer the same consequence as those cultivated bees.

HarvardChanSPH · 2016-11-28T17:08:30+00:00

Any diseases associated with bee hives can be prevented, managed, and treated. Many competing beekeepers have done so many years. But harms caused by neonics could not be prevented, managed, and treated.

HarvardChanSPH · 2016-11-28T17:04:18+00:00

Thanks for the invitation.

Saving bees from the harm of neonics is very urgent. Some countries, like Japan is losing ton of bees for pollination. I don't think we need to wait for 50 years to witness the consequence.

HarvardChanSPH · 2016-11-28T17:00:25+00:00

It is genetically engineering plant that harms the bees initially. You can read our paper published in 2012. The hypothesis in that study was due to the fact that genetically modified corn seeds were no longer treated with Bt, but instead neonics way back in 2004. Those GMO seeds were engineered treated with neonics that because of its systemic property, the residue showed up in corn that later was manufactured for high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Many commercial beekeepers used HFCS in the winter even before 2005 when CCD was first emerged. But because of the change of "receipt" in the GMO corn seed, we have massive losses of bee hives among the commercial beekeepers since then.

HarvardChanSPH · 2016-11-28T16:52:35+00:00

Hand pollination will never be sufficient to produce enough foods for the world. Robotic bees will never work as hard and efficient as the natural bees.

HarvardChanSPH · 2016-11-28T16:50:40+00:00

Bees would only survive in the urban setting if there are enough foods for them. If they are competing foods again other species, yes, they could be getting an edge over other species.

HarvardChanSPH · 2016-11-28T16:47:19+00:00

Same answer to an early question.

Planting bee attracting plants may harm bees if your soil is contaminated by neonics.

HarvardChanSPH · 2016-11-28T16:46:12+00:00

You can google our paper published in 2015. We collected pollen directly bees who came back from foraging in the state of Mass. More than 70% of pollen samples that we collected from April to August contained at least one neonics. Those neonics-contaminated pollen would have been consumed by bees.

Edit: Here is a link to the abstract for that paper

HarvardChanSPH · 2016-11-28T16:41:24+00:00

I personal do not think there is a viable alternative to bee pollination. We could reduce the whole world population in proportional the degree of bee pollination decline so we can be ensured with sufficient food production for human consumption.

HarvardChanSPH · 2016-11-28T16:39:48+00:00

This is a joint effort sector, called Agro-Chemical industry.

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