Money can’t buy happiness, but how about stronger brain development?

Happening in the World: Yesterday, the new James Webb Space Telescope reached its destination, 1 million miles from Earth. The $10 billion telescope was launched one month ago from French Guinea and will still require additional calibrations before observations can begin in June. The space telescope will enable astronomers to peer back into what the first stars and galaxies looked like 13.7 billion years ago, in addition to scanning other planets’ atmospheres for potential alien life. (AP)

Happening in the US: A study that provided low-income mothers with cash stipends for the first year of their children’s life appears to have altered the babies’ brain activity in ways associated with stronger brain development. Although these differences in activity were modest, the results of this study indicate the function that money may have in child development. Dr. Kimberly G. Noble, a physician at Teacher’s College, Columbia University, called the research “the first study to show that money, in and of itself, has a causal impact on brain development.” This finding comes in the midst of President Biden pushing for a program of increased subsidies for families with children. (NYT)

Happening in NYC: A popular dog run in McCarren Park in Williamsburg, Brooklyn closed yesterday while the Parks Department investigates a number of dog deaths linked to the park. Four dogs have died in the past week, showing signs of leptospirosis—a bacterial disease spread by rats. The city’s Health Department is working with the Parks Department to inspect the area for rat activity, and the park will close for up to one week while the Parks Department makes emergency repairs, like improved dog-run drainage and rodent-resistant garbage cans. Pet owners can also protect their dogs by vaccinating them against leptospirosis and keeping them from puddles. (Gothamist)

Happening in our Community: Today from 12:30 pm to 1:45 pm, the Columbia Global Centers | Paris will host the panel, New Utopias: Can We Heal the Wounds of the Past? The virtual event will feature an international panel of experts to propose unique perspectives on the legacy of systemic racism and how it affects today’s institutions. You can register for this talk here.

cash money via bwog archives