UA faculty visit Demopolis for community engagement tour
Demopolis Times – May 23
Faculty members of the University of Alabama made their way to the Marengo County History and Archives Museum in Demopolis Friday as part of a tour of the black belt region.
Churches Developing Armed Security Plans in Response to Shootings
Public News Services – May 23
Parishioners in Colorado and around the country are questioning what they would do if someone decided to target one of their weekly services or prayer sessions. Many places of worship in Colorado have responded by creating safety teams to protect their members. No matter the name — active-threat team, life-safety team, security team — the groups’ goals are the same … According to a 2016 study published by the University of Alabama, there were 292 mass shootings around the world from 1966 to 2012. Out of those, 90 occurred in the United States. That means 31 percent of the world’s mass shootings happened in this country.
Fossil Find Suggests Dinosaurs Crossed North America Before Extinction
Seeker – May 23
Prior to 68–66 million years ago, hefty horned dinosaurs migrated from western North America to the east … Sure enough, in about 10 minutes he was in contact with his soon-to-be co-author Andrew Farke, a paleontologist at the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology at The Webb Schools. Farke confirmed the suspicions of their mutual friend, Lynn Harrell of the University of Alabama, that the tooth was from a horned dinosaur. The dino looked a lot like Triceratops, they agreed, and might have even been this iconic species.
NFL adopting Alabama’s medical evaluation tent for sideline
Medical Health News – May 23
The NFL is already littered with former Alabama players on rosters. Now, it’s taking an idea born in Tuscaloosa and making it a standard policy on sidelines. Following the conclusion of the NFL owners meeting today in Chicago, Roger Goodell announced that medical tents will now be used on sidelines this season. Those tents, of course, were first utilized at the University of Alabama in 2015. The tents prevent fans, media and opponents from seeing injury evaluations on the sidelines, and it’s genius. In 2016, other college football programs began to implement the idea on their sideline, too.
YellowHammer – May 23
NBC Sports – May 23
TICKS 101: How to Avoid, Identify and Respond to Ticks this Summer
E Science News – May 23
Spring is here and summer is near, and with the increase in warm weather comes bloodsuckers. No, not vampires, but to some they cause just as much dread. It’s time for ticks, the long lost cousins of spiders and scorpions and the brothers of mites, to have their season, and Dr. John Abbott, director of museum research & collections at The University of Alabama Museums, has the low-down on what types are prevalent in the South, what they do, the dangers they pose, how to avoid them and what to do if bitten by one.
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – May 23
Blue Cross says autism mandate applies to plans covering 160,000 employees
AL.com – May 24
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama says a new state mandate to cover autism therapy will apply to its group insurance plans covering about 160,000 employees in Alabama, plus some individual plans. . . . Among the regulars were Suzanne Dowling of Tuscaloosa and her son, Sam, who has autism. They won’t directly benefit from the legislation. Sam is 25, beyond the age cap. “We were there for future Sams,” Suzanne Dowling said. The mandate covers diagnosis and treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder, including applied behavior analysis, called ABA. Dowling said she had not heard of ABA when Sam was diagnosed 23 years ago. But she said Sam received effective therapies from an early age through the University of Alabama’s psychology clinic and speech and hearing center. Suzanne Dowling is retired from the university and her husband, Rick, works there.