Latest news with #GeorgiaStateUniversity
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Health
- Time of India
Obesity can mess up the brain for good; here's how
Those extra pounds, which may seem harmless, could be really messing with your mind. And it's not what you think. Obesity may do more than harm physical health, it could also contribute to anxiety and cognitive dysfunction. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now A new study found that obesity contributes to anxiety and cognitive impairment A , led by Desiree Wanders, PhD, of Georgia State University, looked at how diet-induced obesity affects behavior and brain function. Obesity and anxiety and anxiety rates are rising, especially among younger Americans, and the new research suggests that the two conditions are connected. The research conducted in mice linked diet-induced obesity with anxiety-like symptoms, alterations in brain signaling, and differences in gut microbes that may contribute to impaired brain functioning. 'Several studies have pointed to a link between obesity and anxiety, though it is still unclear whether obesity directly causes anxiety or if the association is influenced by societal pressures. Our findings suggest that obesity can lead to anxiety-like behavior, possibly due to changes in both brain function and gut health,' Desiree Wanders, PhD, associate professor and chair of nutrition at Georgia State University, said in a statement. What obesity does to the brain Though it is known that can lead to conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart disease, the potential impacts on brain health are less clear. To understand the connections between obesity, cognitive function, and anxiety, the researchers designed a series of experiments in 32 male mice. During the 6 to 21 weeks of age (equivalent to adolescence into early adulthood in humans), half of the mice were fed a low-fat diet and half were fed a high-fat diet. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The researchers found that the mice fed a high-fat diet weighed significantly more and had significantly more body fat than those fed a low-fat diet, towards the end of the study. They also found that the obese mice displayed more anxiety-like behaviors, such as freezing (a defensive behavior mice exhibit in response to a perceived threat), compared with lean mice. Interestingly, these mice also showed different signaling patterns in the hypothalamus, a region of the brain involved in regulating metabolism, which could contribute to cognitive impairments. The researchers also observed distinct differences in the makeup of gut bacteria in obese mice compared with lean mice. 'These findings could have important implications for both public health and personal decisions. The study highlights the potential impact of obesity on mental health, particularly in terms of anxiety. By understanding the connections between diet, brain health and gut microbiota, this research may help guide public health initiatives that focus on obesity prevention and early intervention, particularly in children and adolescents,' Wanders said. Diabetes & Obesity 'While our findings suggest that diet plays a significant role in both physical and mental health, it is important to remember that diet is just one piece of the puzzle. Environmental factors, genetics, lifestyle choices and socioeconomic status also contribute to the risk of obesity and its associated health outcomes. Therefore, while these results are important, they should be considered in the context of a broader, multifactorial approach to understanding and addressing obesity-related cognitive impairments and mental health issues,' Wanders added.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ossoff to speak about corporate landlords buying up Georgia homes
The Brief Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff is hosting an oversight session in Atlanta to discuss the alleged mistreatment of Georgia renters by out-of-state corporate landlords. The senator says that nearly 30% of the state's single-family rental homes are owned by one of four major companies. He's asking Georgians who have been affected by this rise in corporate property purchases to tell his office their stories through his website. ATLANTA - Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff says that he's planning to expose the "mistreatment of Georgians" by out-of-state corporate landlords on Monday. The senator is hosting an oversight session in Atlanta with Georgia renters to discuss the issue. By the numbers The session comes weeks after Ossoff announced that he would be launching an inquiry into multiple out-of-state corporations that have bought up thousands of single-family homes and driven up prices. According to a report by the Government Accountability Office in 2024, large companies owned one in every four single-family renter homes in the metro Atlanta area. Officials say that makes the area the most impacted region in the country. The latest data released last week by a Georgia State University researcher showed that the number had increased to 30%. In Henry County, Ossoff says that nearly 70% of all single-family rental properties. Paulding County's number is reportedly even higher at 78%. Ossoff and Georgia State University professor Dr. Taylor Shelton said that it could mean higher home prices for Georgia families. What they're saying "There is a housing crisis, not just in metro Atlanta, but across the state of Georgia, and more and more Georgians are unable to afford a home," Ossoff said in a statement. "More and more Georgians who are renting instead of buying are facing mistreatment or abusive practices by corporate landlords." "I think we can all agree that we face a housing crisis that a young family with a new child who wants to purchase their first home now can't afford it, and that those who are renting face higher and higher rents and more and more mistreatment from these large, out-of-state corporate landlords. I launched this investigation in order to bring transparency and accountability and to lower home prices for my constituents in Georgia," he said. Dig deeper Ossoff has requested information from four companies - Invitation Homes, Main Street Renewal, Tricon Residential, and Progress Residential - on their home purchases across Georgia. He has asked the companies to provide the information no later than July 1. The senator is asking any Georgians who believe they've been mistreated by large corporate landlords or who have been unable to afford homes to share their stories on his website. The Source Information for this story came from multiple releases by the Office of Sen. Jon Ossoff, a study by the Government Accountability Office, and previous FOX 5 reporting.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Why grandparents are more important than ever
This story originally appeared in , Vox's newsletter about kids, for everyone. . We often hear about the isolation of contemporary American family life — the parents forced to go it alone, the kids stuck inside, the disappearing village. But there's another trend pushing American childhood in a more communal direction: Grandparents are playing a larger and more enduring role in kids' lives. For starters, there's a demographic shift at play. As birth rates fall, the average number of grandchildren per grandparent has fallen as well. Susan Miller, a 67-year-old grandma in the Washington, DC, area, told me that while her mom had 13 granddaughters, she has four grandchildren. Having fewer grandkids 'gives you more time with them,' she said. Longer life expectancy also means kids actually get more years with their grandparents than they used to, even though people are having kids later in life, according to Ashton Verdery, a sociologist at Penn State University. These trends are 'likely leading to deeper relationships between grandchildren and grandparents,' Verdery said. Miller and her husband spend the summers in Minnesota with their grandkids, cooking, crafting, roughhousing, and putting on plays and puppet shows. Her 11-year-old granddaughter has 'my husband really wrapped around her finger,' she said. 'He'll dress up,' Miller said. 'He'll pretend to be a ballerina.' Beyond participating in impromptu ballet performances, grandparents provide a host of benefits for kids. Across cultures, spending more time with grandmothers and grandfathers is linked to better educational and mental health outcomes, Verdery said. They can also offer kids a fresh perspective and sometimes come at child care with a more relaxed outlook than their stressed-out adult children, said Susan Kelley, a professor emerita of nursing at Georgia State University who has studied grandparents raising grandchildren. But grandparents are also increasingly stepping in to plug holes in America's crumbling child care system, a role they're not always excited about filling. Experts say policymakers should embrace reforms that allow grandmothers and grandfathers to spend time with their grandkids because they want to — not because their families have no other choice. Close relationships between grandparents and grandchildren are far from new. 'Intergenerational caregiving by grandparents, especially grandmothers, reaches back to the dawn of our species,' Tobi Adejumo, a doctoral candidate at the University of Colorado Denver who has studied grandparent care, told me. Multigenerational households have long been common in many communities, with Asian American, Black, and Latino families all more likely than white ones to have grandparents and grandkids under one roof. Still, the idea that grandparents used to provide a lot of child care isn't necessarily accurate, as Faith Hill reports at The Atlantic. In the early US, people often became grandparents while still raising their own young kids, limiting how much time they could spend with grandkids. But today, smaller families and later childbirth mean grandparents are less likely to still be actively parenting. While the falling birth rate may be bad news for older adults who want lots of grandkids to spoil (or for those who end up not having grandchildren at all), it also means grandmothers and grandfathers have more quality time to spend with each child. While white grandfathers born in 1880 had an average of nine grandchildren, grandpas born in 1960 have fewer than six. The drop for Black men has been even steeper, from around 11 to around six. The way grandparents and grandchildren relate to each other is also shifting. Older adults are more active than they once were, making them more able to play with their grandkids, said Donna Butts, executive director of Generations United, a nonprofit that works to connect children and older people. They're also richer — prior to the 1960s, older age groups had the highest rates of poverty, but now they have the highest rates of wealth, Verdery said. So not only can grandparents buy their grandkids presents, but they can also take them on outings and travel to visit them more easily. Meanwhile, skyrocketing child care costs and parents' increasingly demanding jobs have led to an increased need for help from grandma and grandpa, said Jennifer Utrata, a sociologist at the University of Puget Sound who studies grandparenting. More grandparents are responding to this need by providing child care on a regular basis, sometimes stepping in for multiple days per week, a phenomenon some call 'intensive grandparenting.' While grandparent care has historically been more common in communities of color and immigrant communities, it's now on the rise among white, middle-class families, Utrata said. One 2023 poll found that more than 40 percent of working parents relied on their children's grandmother for child care, Hill reports. Miller, the DC grandma, often cares for her grandchildren in the summer and on visits, including staying with them while their parents took a two-week trip. Her granddaughter becomes 'like a child, almost' rather than a grandchild when her parents are away, Miller said. 'She's comfortable with us.' In addition to taking some pressure off parents, grandparents can have a big impact on kids' worldview, experts say. They can serve as role models but may also be less focused on work than parents in the middle of their careers, and more able to make kids the center of attention, Kelley said. Spending time with grandparents can also transform a child's view of aging. People who have close relationships with grandparents will often say they 'don't look at older people as icky' but rather as 'vibrant,' Butts said. Of course, grandparents can also offer high-quality, trusted care at a time when that's hard to come by. But regular caregiving can also be hard on grandparents, even if they're in good health. The demands of intensive grandparenting fall disproportionately on grandmothers, who can struggle to balance their own needs with those of their grandkids, Utrata said. Some grandparents retire early to help with grandchildren, which can be a financial strain, especially in low-income families, Adejumo said. Many grandparents pay for necessities like food and diapers while watching their grandkids, adding to the financial stress. Vice President JD Vance has suggested that grandparents could 'help out a little bit more' as a way of addressing the high cost of day care. But 'we should not be foisting our child care challenges on an older generation,' Utrata said. Grandparents want to help out, but they want it to be a choice, not 'the only way that their daughters are going to be able to work for pay.' Affordable, accessible child care would help grandparents be involved in their grandkids' lives without pressure or exhaustion, Utrata said. Paid parental leave would also help since many grandparents are called in to be with babies when their parents have to return to work, Adejumo said. In California and other states, grandparents can receive subsidies for taking care of grandchildren, but they are often too low to cover the real cost of care, Adejumo said. One sentiment she's heard a lot from grandparents: 'I would really appreciate a living wage.' There's a growing recognition in American society that making sure parents are healthy and financially stable also benefits kids. Now, experts say, it's time to extend that understanding to grandparents, too. The Trump administration's tariffs are indeed hitting baby goods, with stroller manufacturer UPPABaby announcing price hikes. Trump, meanwhile, says all costs are down, except for 'the thing you carry the babies around in.' He also says tariffs might mean American kids have 'two dolls instead of 30.' Federal grants for STEM education and mental health support in schools have been terminated, which advocates say compromises education and services for kids. However, after a legal challenge and widespread criticism, the administration is no longer planning to eliminate all funding for Head Start in its proposed budget. My older kid and I just read the first book in the Lightfall series, about a young girl searching for her missing grandfather, a pig-wizard, in the mysterious realm she calls home. Thanks so much to all of you who responded to my question a few weeks back: What do the kids in your life want to be when they grow up? What do they want to do in the world? If you'd still like to weigh in, we've created a Google Form to make it easier – feel free to share! And as always, you can still reach me anytime at
Fast Company
08-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
The 7 reasons curiosity is the career superpower we all need right now
Recently, I had the joy of welcoming Neil Hoyne, Chief Strategist at Google, to Georgia State University at a Future of Marketing conference for a fireside conversation about careers, innovation, and something we're both incredibly passionate about: curiosity. What began as a casual, unscripted discussion quickly evolved into a deep dive on how curiosity isn't just a soft skill—it's a strategic, creative, and career-defining force. Across our different industries and career paths, we've both seen the same truth again and again: Curiosity may be the most underestimated—and most powerful—advantage you can bring to your work. We talked about emerging tech (AI, of course), career pivots, hiring blind spots, and the disconnect between companies saying they want innovation and actually rewarding the behaviors that lead to it. There's a tendency to treat curiosity as something cute or optional. But when you really step back and look at how organizations grow—and how careers evolve—curiosity is the engine behind it all. Here are seven reasons we believe curiosity is your ultimate career superpower. 1. It helps you spot what others miss. Whether you're analyzing data, launching a campaign, or leading a team, curiosity gives you the instinct to ask better questions. It's how you catch faulty metrics, challenge outdated assumptions, and uncover opportunities hiding in plain sight. 2. It separates hype from real opportunity. Trends come and go (remember the metaverse?). Curiosity is how you evaluate what's meaningful and what's marketing. It encourages you to investigate—'What does this do? Who is it for? Why now?'—instead of blindly jumping on a bandwagon. 3. It makes you a stronger collaborator. The best ideas rarely come from a single person—they come from unexpected intersections. Neil shared how his teams literally sit with different departments just to learn their language and observe their rhythms. Curiosity helps you bridge silos and build empathy across roles. 4. It drives continuous learning. Careers stall when learning stops. Curious people stay energized because they're always discovering. When you measure your career not just in promotions, but in how much you're growing, that's when things get really interesting. 5. It creates career resilience. Neil's journey to Google wasn't smooth; he was rejected more than 30 times before landing the role. But his curiosity kept him asking, 'Where can I create the most value?'That mindset turned rejection into insight, and ultimately, into a breakthrough. 6. It builds more innovative teams. Too often, companies hire for 'safe' over 'interesting.' But diverse thinkers—those who ask 'why' and 'what if'—are the ones who push teams forward. Cultures that reward curiosity, not just conformity, are the ones that actually innovate. 7. It leads to meaningful work. Neil said it best: 'I'm not paid to be right—I'm also paid to ask, what if we're wrong?' That simple reframing is what opens possibility. It's how great leaders future-proof their decisions, and how great marketers connect more deeply with their audiences. He went on to say he knows many people whose career journey at Google hasn't been smooth, with some being rejected more than 70 times. The common trait? Their curiosity kept them asking. Curiosity is how we connect the dots between what we do and why we do it. It's how we stay aligned with purpose. It helps us find not just any job, but the right one. Not just any solution, but the one that truly makes a difference. One of my favorite takeaways from our conversation was this: curiosity isn't just a tool for early-career professionals or researchers in labs. It's just as essential in the boardroom, at the front of a classroom, or around a startup table. Whether you're navigating your next big pivot, mentoring a student, leading a team through change, or just wondering what's next in your own career, stay curious. Ask better questions. Learn someone else's language. Reimagine what's possible. Curiosity may not always be the easiest road, but it will absolutely take you somewhere extraordinary. And who doesn't want to take the ordinary to extraordinary?
New Straits Times
02-05-2025
- General
- New Straits Times
Malaysian maths teacher named among world's top 18 educators
SEREMBAN: A local mathematics teacher was recently selected as one of the top 18 teachers in the world to attend the Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement (TEA) Programme Spring 2025 in the United States. Lee Chye Mei, a teacher at Sekolah Menengah Teknik Tuanku Ja'afar, became the sole representative from Malaysia after undergoing a rigorous selection process from among thousands of applicants before being chosen to attend Georgia State University. "This experience has truly opened my eyes. I learned how students can become more active, critical and confident when teachers act as facilitators rather than merely as transmitters of knowledge," said Lee, who also had the opportunity to teach at North Atlanta High School for six weeks. Lee said a student-centred learning approach and creative use of technology made classrooms there more vibrant and interactive. Lee also had the opportunity to introduce Malaysian culture to the school community and her peers from other countries. "Speaking about Malaysia gave me a sense of pride that is hard to put into words. It's not just about food or clothing, but about values, hopes and the spirit of our people." Lee also expressed her gratitude to the Malaysian-American Commission on Educational Exchange (MACEE) for the opportunity she was given. "Without their encouragement, I might not be here. They saw a small spark of potential that could make a big impact." For Lee, the role of a teacher is not only to educate in the classroom but also to build young people's confidence so that they dare to dream and believe in their potential.
