Health and Science

Frequently Asked Questions about Vaccination 8 Things to Know Facts about Vaccination Who Gets Vaccinated First? What to Expect at Your Vaccine Appointment Benefits of Getting Vaccinated Different Vaccinesplus icon Ensuring the Safety of Vaccines Ensuring Vaccines Work more »

Carving out a successful career in business and entrepreneurship is tough, but for women, rising to the top of their fields is even tougher. Those who do reach this pinnacle often find that they are the only woman in the room. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History features eight such women in its display, “The Only One in the Room.” This “New Perspectives” case will be on view in the museum’s business history exhibition, “American Enterprise,” through November 2021. The display will explore the stories of women who made a mark in their respective industries, including banking, beauty, advertising and manufacturing, and examine the obstacles they faced and the context of the times in which they lived. more »

Ferida Wolff writes: What used to be in the background of our busy lives has come to be more prominent in our awareness as we become more locally aware. Focusing on nature is a way to step out of our daily worries and be lifted by its beauty or be delightfully surprised by an unusual encounter. I think of it as a gift that opens me up to a wider perspective. It made me also think of people who have passed away, especially now when so many have died from the corona virus. They may be virtually gone but they, too, have left roots in our society. Some of those roots can still be seen, biologically visible in relatives. But it is the impact they have made through their work and interactions in society that are the hidden roots, the connections that affect all of us. more »

In the study older adults who took weekly 15-minute “awe walks” for eight weeks reported increased positive emotions and less distress in their daily lives. This shift was reflected in “selfies” participants took on their weekly walks, in which an increasing focus on their surroundings rather than themselves was paralleled by measurably broader smiles by the end of the study. “Negative emotions, particularly loneliness, have well-documented negative effects on the health of older adults, particularly those over age 75,” said Virginia Sturm, PhD, an associate professor of in the departments of Neurology and of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. more »