December 4, 2024: Trouble in the Chesapeake Bay, hypochondria is very real, and the first wolf pollinators. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | | An Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis) feeding among blooming Ethiopian red hot poker flowers (Kniphofia foliosa). Adrien Lesaffre | | | • "Brain rot" is the official Word of the Year for 2024, according to the Oxford English Dictionary's publisher. It's the act of mindlessly scrolling through Internet memes and sludge. | 2 min read | | | Duy Linh Tu and Sebastian Tuinder | | | Trouble in the Chesapeake | The Chesapeake Bay is the country's largest estuary. It spans more than 4,500 square miles–more than twice the size of Delaware. And the area is home to 10 million people and 3,600 species of marine life. In 2021, 260 million pounds of nitrogen and 15 million pounds of phosphorus poured into the bay, according to one estimate. Nearly half of that was runoff from farms raising chickens and livestock.
What can be done: The Environmental Protection Agency has put forth goals to reduce pollution in the six states that feed the bay (though most states are not on track). And some groups are planting hearty native grasses with the hope that they not only provide habitat, food, shelter and oxygen, but that they also uptake excess nutrients from the water. | | | Unhealthy Health Fixation | Recent medical research has shown that hypochondria is as much a real illness as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Evidence suggests that hypochondria is actually two syndromes: One is illness anxiety disorder, in which people are excessively preoccupied with the general idea of getting sick. And the second syndrome is somatic symptom disorder, in which people worry about actual symptoms—a rapid heartbeat, say, or high blood pressure. Estimates of hypochondria's frequency range from as high as 8.5 percent to as low as 0.03 percent in medical settings.
Why this matters: In extreme cases, people with hypochondria may not be able to hold down a job, or some might not be able to leave the house, cook meals, or take care of themselves or others. One study of more than 4,100 people in Sweden with the condition found they had a nearly 70 percent increase in the probability of death of both natural and unnatural causes.
What the experts say: Clinical trials show that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) successfully helps people reframe and replace their terrifying thoughts with more realistic assessments of their health. Antidepressants can also help. Family and friends can help loved ones who seem to have a fixation on their health. "Expressing empathy first and then offering to help the person connect with resources can be a good approach," says clinical psychologist Jessica Borelli of the University of California, Irvine. | | | • Empathy is important in a democracy, writes C. Daryl Cameron, an associate professor of psychology at Penn State University. For example, our collective empathy may facilitate policy change and civic participation. But scientific studies find that empathy not only requires effort, but it is a choice, he says. "Especially in the current climate, we should double down on desires to empathize, and remember that the willingness to empathize may be just as important as the ability to do so. The effort matters." | 5 min read | | | • Bird flu cases are on the rise in California, and lab staff say they are overworked and exhausted. | Los Angeles Times | | | • Disgraced billionaire Greg Lindberg built a network of egg donors and surrogates, some who say he conned them with the help of fertility clinics. | Bloomberg | | | • Formaldehyde is a toxic cancer-causing air pollutant. Look up your address to see risk of exposure. | ProPublica | | | An interesting finding from research on people with hypochondria is that vulnerable individuals may be lured into hyper health vigilance by the barrage of television ads by pharmaceutical companies for this illness and that illness. Indeed, television and the Internet are bursting with information on health. How to make sense of it all? I'm pleased to say that Scientific American just published a special collection of articles on Science for a Better, Healthier Life that can serve as an antidote to all the clamor. Download it from our site, or find it on newsstands near you! | —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters . | | | | Scientific American
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