Infotrak

Dr. Gregory Poland, Director of the Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group, explains the pluses and minuses of herd immunity, what the similarities and differences are between COVID-19 and the flu, and how he thinks workplaces and schools may change in the future as a result of the pandemic, with less business travel and more e-learning.

Small businesses across the nation are struggling to pay their bills. Eric Groves, Co-Founder and CEO of Alignable, a social network for local businesses, says their recent poll found that over a third of small businesses won't be able to pay this month's rent.

As if the pandemic wasn't causing enough health worries for Americans experts are now concerned about a secondary health care crisis due to a virtual halt of all screenings, surgeries and routine tests. Dr. Benjamin Domb believes it threatens to be much larger than the crisis caused by COVID-19 itself.

Everywhere we go, we see visible signs of the pandemic, primarily people wearing cloth masks. Dr. Lisa Brousseau spent decades studying the efficacy and fit of surgical masks and respirators, and the aerosol transmission of infectious disease. She says there is no scientific basis for the general public to use cloth masks to prevent COVID-19. She explains why there is a great difference between the use of masks in medical settings vs going to the grocery store. She is concerned that authorities who are ordering the use of bandanas and the like are not taking the issue seriously, and that masks may cause the public to disregard physical distancing.

It’s being called the "Quarantine 15"-- gaining weight while staying at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Donald D. Hensrud, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Nutrition and Preventive Medicine at Mayo Clinic and Director of the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living Program talks about the common causes of weight gain during the coronavirus lockdowns and what people can do to avoid it and to get some exercise.

Tracing the sources of the coronavirus involves a lot of dedicated people. Prathit A. Kulkarni, MD, from Infectious Diseases Section of Baylor College of Medicine joins is to explain how contact tracing works and why it is useful.

Want to change the world? Jamie Amelio, the author of “Staying Bothered: Find Your Passion, Commit to Action, Change the World" says find one thing that bothers you, then take action to fix it!

Students in Asia outperform kids from other nations, including the US. Teru Clavel spent a decade living in Asia, with her three children attending public schools in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Japan, before returning to the US. She shared what she learned in her book “World Class: One Mother’s Journey Halfway Around the Globe in Search of the Best Education for Her Children.”

Recent research reveals an alarming increase in the death rate among 25 to 64 year old Americans Why? And which states have the highest mortality rates? Steven Woolf, MD, from Virginia Commonwealth University

Educational experts have long recognized that there is something of a "sweet spot" when it comes to learning. Prof. Robert Wilson from Arizona State University led a study using artificial intelligence that determined the sweet spot is when failure occurs 15% of the time and the right answer is given 85% of the time.

Millions of Americans suffer from it. It may be connected with serious illness. Yet many who have the problem are reluctant to admit it. It's hearing loss. David Owen, is the author of “Volume Control: Hearing in a Deafening World”, and he explains why hearing loss starts in youth. He also talks about the rapidly improving technology in hearing aids and similar devices.

The percentage of Americans living in poverty may be higher than official estimates. Prof. Chris Wimer from the School of Social Work at Columbia University led a recent study that suggests that the rate of inflation may hit those at the low end of the income scale harder. He outlined his results and explained the possible reasons behind it.

It's heartbreaking statistic: a child dies every five days in a train accident. Morag MacKay from Safe Kids Worldwide explains what can parents do to prevent these tragedies.

If you think cutting down trees has a big impact on the environment, think again! Prof. Brent Sohngen from Ohio State University led a recent study that found that deforestation's contributions to climate change are vastly overestimated.

Most college freshmen say they are attending college to get a better job. But Michael Itzkowitz from Third Way, a think tank in Washington, DC, found that half of the country’s schools in 2018 left the majority of their former students earning less than $28,000 a year, which is what the typical high school graduate makes.

A recent study found that the more a baby weighs at birth, the more likely it is that the child will develop food allergies. Dr. Kathy Gatford, from the Robinson Research Institute in Australia, explains what expectant parents need to know.

Geoffrey Sanzenbacher from The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College was the co-author of a shocking report that found that only about one-quarter of workers ages 50-62 are consistently in traditional jobs with benefits. He explains why this trend is doing serious damage to retirement planning.

Suicide attempts are rising among black teens in America, while early signs of suicidal tendencies get harder to spot. Prof. Michael Lindsey from New York University led a recent study exploring the reasons for this puzzling trend.

Today, Americans throw away over three-quarters of plastics after one-time use, but what if it could be easily and cheaply recycled? Dr. Massimiliano Delferro from the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory has developed a chemical recycling method for converting many discarded plastics into higher quality products, for eventual use in everyday products like detergents and cosmetics.

Prof. Rachel Voth Schrag from the University of Texas at Arlington joins us to discuss a little-known form of abuse: educational sabotage, which is a form of control intended to prevent the victim from furthering their education. She explained why it has a huge effect on the victim's long term economic independence and safety.