Infection with the microscopic parasite Toxoplasma gondii is associated with increased risk-taking in rodents, wolves, and even humans.

Read more about how - and why - this parasite manipulates its hosts’ behavior in my article for National Geographic: This Parasite Manipulates the Minds of Wolves, Rats - Maybe Even You.

Octopuses are usually thought of as loners. But recent research suggests that some species show a variety of social behaviors when sharing space with others. Now, researchers report a new behavior: throwing debris, sometimes at other octopuses.

Read more at my Animal Minds blog: 8 Arms to Throw Things at You.

When living in a social group, it pays to keep the peace. Conflict resolution is an important aspect of the social lives of many animals, human and otherwise - but what about domestic pigs? In a new study, researchers from the University of Torino investigated how a group of 104 pigs housed at the ethical farm Parva Dormus resolves conflict after fighting.

Read what they found at my Animal Minds blog: Bystander Pigs Get Involved to Maintain Social Harmony.

Don Buckingham, MBOE, CPHQ, CSSBB, joined Nationwide Children’s Center for Clinical Excellence as a quality strategist eight years ago. In a Q&A, he shares how he leveraged his background in industry and business services improvement in projects for the T1D Exchange Quality Improvement (QI) Collaborative, which was established by the T1D Exchange clinic network to improve care delivery for people with type 1 diabetes.

Read the Q&A here: How Quality Improvement Can Expand Insulin Pump Use and More.

The climate of our planet is changing at an unprecedented and alarming rate, and these changes are already profoundly impacting human health. The World Health Organization estimates that between 2030 and 2050, we will see an increase of 250,000 excess deaths per year due to the effects of climate change.

The impacts of climate change on humans, however, go beyond physical health. Though they are less studied, the risks and impacts of climate change on mental health are becoming more evident, resulting in a range of direct and indirect consequences that disproportionately affect those who are most marginalized.

Read my latest article for IEEE Pulse: The Mental Health Impacts of a Changing Climate.