A pilot study found that young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disabilities (ID) were able to lose or maintain their weight with a system of education and support in place. But maintaining a healthy weight may present unique challenges for young adults with inherent barriers such as cognitive impairment. A pilot study…

Carbon footprint declarations are used in construction to ease product selection for low carbon building, but these standards don’t yet exist for green elements like soil, bushes and plants. A new study maps out how green infrastructure can be a resource for cities on the path to carbon neutrality. The study, done in collaboration with…

A new study finds that marijuana access leads to reductions in opioid-related deaths. The study examined how the changing legal status of marijuana has impacted mortality in the United States over the past two decades. Investigators found that legalization and access to recreational marijuana reduced annual opioid mortality in the range of 20% to 35%,…

Researchers have combined location density with real-world mobility data to predict the risk of infection from COVID-19 at specific locations with unprecedented accuracy. At USC, researchers are advocating for a new approach to predict the chance of infection from Covid-19: combining anonymized cellphone location data with mobility patterns — broad patterns of how people move…

The recent wave of recreational cannabis legalization across the US could generate $22 billion in sales per year, but not everyone is happy about it. New research shows the alcohol industry could be impacted when the substance is legalized. «It appears the alcohol industry has valid reason to be concerned about legal marijuana and may…

Researchers found that physical abuse in adults increased substantially, with Black and Native American people being disproportionately affected. Conducting one of the first studies to date examining the impact of a modern recession on hospital and emergency room visits, researchers found that physical abuse in adults increased substantially between the time periods, with Black and…

The high monetary cost and environmental toll of disposable N95 masks could be dramatically cut by adopting reusable masks, according to a new study that calculated the financial and environmental cost of several different mask usage scenarios. All of those masks carry both financial and environmental costs. The Covid-19 pandemic is estimated to generate up…

Sites favored by illegal cannabis farmers on the West Coast of the United States overlap with the habitat ranges of three threatened predators, potentially exposing them to toxic pesticides, according to a new study. Illegal cannabis cultivation is often associated with the rampant use of pesticides, such as rodenticides, which can be passed up the…

A study compared crime rates near abandoned houses that were demolished and similar properties that were not, finding no reduction in violent or property crime near those torn down. Findings suggest simply demolishing dangerous houses is not enough to reduce crime. Since the housing foreclosure crisis of 2007-08, the number of abandoned homes across the…

The findings of a new study suggest that childhood adversity is a major contributor to early and preventable causes of mortality and a powerful determinant of long term physical and mental health. Researchers found that childhood adversity is associated with elevated risk for chronic disease including heart disease and cancer. «Childhood adversity has consistently been…