Consortium for Dark Sky Studies, International Dark-Sky Association bring global conferences to Utah

November 2, 2018

Worldwide, light pollution is growing twice as fast as Earth’s human population. In many places, artificial light at night has obliterated our view of the stars and impacted wildlife, public health, and air quality. Next week, members of two international organizations dealing with the issue of light pollution will convene in Snowbird, Utah. The state […]



Wasatch Front inversions cause more than 200 cases of pneumonia each year

January 11, 2018

Air pollution trapped along the Wasatch Front by winter inversions are estimated to send more than 200 people to the emergency room with pneumonia each year, according to a study by University of Utah Health and Intermountain Healthcare. Bad air quality especially erodes the health of adults over age 65, a population particularly vulnerable to […]



Yarraman flu or horse flu? Words and graphics influence willingness to vaccinate

June 22, 2017

“Yarraman flu is a virus quickly infecting the U.S. …” The mock announcement was enough to make readers worry. But when the name of the hypothetical illness was changed to “horse flu,” the news elicited a different reaction. Readers were not as concerned, and reported being less motivated to get a vaccine that would prevent […]



Intensive Blood Pressure Control Could Prevent 100,000 Deaths Each Year

February 13, 2017

Researchers have projected that aggressively lowering blood pressure could help prevent more than 100,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. “The public health impact of adopting intensive treatment in the right patients is enormous,” says Adam Bress, University of Utah assistant professor of population health sciences. Bress and his fellow experts from institutions across the country built […]