10 times Augusta University made national news in 2016

Augusta University appeared in national headlines hundreds of times over 2016. Here are just a few of our top mentions for the year.

1. How Meditation Can Help Active-Duty Soldiers

Huffington Post (Jan. 13)

A small study from researchers with the Medical College of Georgia focused on a group of 74 active-duty service members seeking treatment for PTSD symptoms and anxiety disorders at the Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center’s Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic in Augusta. After one month, 83.7 percent of those who meditated had stabilized, reduced or stopped the use of medications to treat their PTSD or anxiety disorders.

2. Can Secondhand Smoke Lead To Weight Gain?

Forbes (Jan. 29)

A “study conducted by a research team led by Catherine L. Davis at the Medical College of Georgia found that in a sample of 220 overweight or obese girls and boys ranging from 7 to 11 years old, exposure to tobacco smoke was associated with higher weight, bigger bellies and more fat.”

3. In Cuba, racial inequality deepens with tourism boom

Yahoo! News (Feb. 2)

“Afro-Cubans have been the biggest reservoir of support for the revolution and are those most affected by worsening inequality,” Paolo Spadoni, a political scientist at Augusta University told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

4. Telestroke technology speeds lifesaving care

Chicago Tribune (May 31)

At Augusta University, Dr. David Hess is the chairman of the department of neurology at the Medical College of Georgia and a designer of a telestroke system known as REACH, a platform that reaches out to rural and underserved Georgian hospitals without stroke specialists.

5. Stay safe while playing ‘Pokémon Go’

Los Angeles Times (July 30)

Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris is telling consumers they should Poke Stop and think before playing the wildly popular “Pokemon Go” game app, according to an article featuring a photo of Augusta University Keyanna Arnett playing the popular game on her cellphone.

6. Here’s another reason not to trust TV news reports about election polls

Washington Post (Aug. 23)

Many news consumers know by now to take any single election-year poll with a grain of salt. Because of sampling variation and the vagaries of survey research, the best approach is to focus not on individual polls but on polling averages, according to an article co-authored by Martha Humphries Ginn, associate professor of political science.

7. What You Need To Know About The Link Between Sleeping Pills And Suicide

Huffington Post (Oct. 17)

“Does taking a sleep medication alone make you suicidal? Or only if you are also experiencing or are at risk for depression?” asked study coauthor Peter Rosenquist, vice chair of the department of psychiatry and health behavior. “This is a major limitation of nearly all the studies.”

8. Record Number of Gun Background Checks Ahead of Election

ABC News, Yahoo! News (Nov. 3)

“The approximate number of firearms units sold has increased. Part of that is because we’re seeing a population increase across the country, it’s currently hunting season and there is a pre-election impact,” said Jurgen Brauer, an economics professor at Georgia’s Augusta University who specializes in the firearm industry.

9. People in US illegally no longer barred from 2 GA schools

Washington Post (Nov. 24)

Prospective college students in the country illegally are now eligible for consideration at two Georgia state universities that have prohibited their admission in recent years.

10. Researchers uncover algorithm which may solve human intelligence

MSN (Nov. 29)

Our brain power may be based on “a relatively simple mathematical logic,” according to Dr. Joe Tsien, neuroscientist at the Medical College of Georgia and author of a new paper on the “Theory of Connectivity,” which proposes that human intelligence is rooted in an algorithm.

Want more? View Augusta University “In the News” for other top stories from outlets like CNN, Men’s Health, The Wall Street Journal and more.