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A new study from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill shows that the likelihood of an individual to seek treatment for a mental health condition increased significantly following the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as Obamacare. The study was published in the medical journal Psychiatric Services and found both specific and overall increases in mental health coverage under the ACA. Mental health patients are now 8% less likely to be uninsured, 4% less likely to report unmet needs because of cost, and 6% more likely to report a steady care source. The conclusion is that accessible mental health care results in more people seeking treatment. That said, there are still serious barriers to affordable mental health care including an intense social ...

UPDATED 1/11/21 Living in a clean home feels amazing and is great for your mental health. That said, not everyone has the time or ability to maintain their home in the state that they want it to be in. Fortunately, these people aren't doomed to a disorganized and unkempt home for the rest of their lives. A reliable and helpful good maid service could come in handy for them. A fast and easy cleaner can upgrade your life in ways that you didn't know were possible. You can find a good cleaning company online. Read the reviews left for their services to see if they're good. When you find one that seems genuine, you could ask to get a cleaning consultation. This will serve as a preview of the services that you'll get from them. If you're dissatisfied, make sure to let the professi...

About one in two Americans (47% to be exact) haven't updated their home's design in five years or more, and outside of guilty pleasure reality TV shows, most Americans think of interior design as a distraction, if they think of it at all. But a fascinating new book from a University of Buffalo author shows exactly how interior design was used to soften the image of the world's most notorious dictator, Adolf Hitler. Before Hitler was exposed as the war-mongering, genocidal egomaniac we all know and loathe today, he was the subject of often fawning profiles in the international press. Despina Stratigakos is an architectural historian and the interim chair of Architecture at the University at Buffalo; she recently wrote Hitler at Home, which details how interior design was incorporated into ...

This summer, NASA awarded Clemson University researchers a three-year grant to study methods for transforming human waste into vitamins, plastics, and other useful materials for long-duration space flight. The South Carolina scientists will receive $200,000 per year for their research project, officially titled "Synthetic Biology for Recycling Human Waste into Food, Nutraceuticals, and Materials: Closing the Loop for Long-Term Space Travel." With the advanced alchemical process, the researchers say, they can use genetically engineered yeast to synthesize plastics from the waste. The plastics can then be used in 3D printing machines to make tools and parts on demand. NASA hopes the Clemson team can find new ways to recycle waste -- including carbon dioxide from human breathing, urine, and ...

In 2013, investigative journalism outfit ProPublica reported on the crusade of Dr. Daniel Budnitz, who wanted to save children from fatal medication poisoning. Dr. Budnitz is a scientist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and he believed a new plastic closure called a flow restrictor could stop kids from accidentally swallowing toxic amounts of medications like acetaminophen. Budnitz isn't just a professional epidemiologist; he's also a father. When he discovered that 74,000 kids like his end up in the emergency room each year from such poisonings, he made it his personal mission to reduce such drug overdoses. Because even more troubling, ProPublica revealed internal documents from Food and Drug Administration scientists who had been advocating behind-the-scenes for the ...

A giant abandoned termite mound was found in the Miombo forest area, located in central Africa. Scientists have predicted that the termite mound may be over 2,200 years old, making it the oldest termite structure ever dated. Another nearby mound was studied to ensure that the mound was not classified as an anomaly. This mound is at least 750 years old. Both mounds were built by a termite species known as Macrotermes falciger. These termites are native to the Lubumbashi region of Upper Katanga, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as reported by BBC World. The age of this ancient mound suggests that termites use the same mound for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. New generations of termites continue to use these mounds even after the previous generation dies off. These mounds allow t...