Jonathan Emens, M.D., talks with How Stuff Works about how people's bodies adjust into new sleep-wake patterns when they are isolated from sunlight: "You can think of it like your heart — the pacemaker in your heart spontaneously generates the rhythm in electrical impulses that ultimately cause your heart to beat. We similarly have a pacemaker in our brain — the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) in the hypothalamus spontaneously generate a near-24-hour rhythm."

In a column for Newsweek, OHSU alumnus Jennifer Lincoln, M.D., says she "sought out my residency training program, Oregon Health and Science University, because of their excellent access to elective abortion training."

AFSCME members vote to authorize the union to declare a strike, and the union declares impasse. OHSU says in a statement that it is hopeful a strike can be averted and the two sides can reach agreement on a “new contract that reflects our shared goals of a safe, healthy and respectful working environment.”

A New England Journal of Medicine perspective written by Honora Englander, M.D., asserts U.S. hospitals have a key role to play in addressing a national drug epidemic that claimed more than 100,000 lives last year: "One in nine hospitalized adults has a substance use disorder, yet most U.S. hospitals do not offer evidence-based addictions care."

HealthLeaders covers the permanent appointment of Jennifer Doll as CFO for OHSU Health. She says, "As a teaching institution, OHSU helps people learn every day, myself included. I continue to learn from those around me and aspire to help the organization continue its remarkable achievements through data-informed decision-making. I’m excited to continue my OHSU journey."

Stoke Therapeutics enrolls its first patient in a prospective natural history study of people living with autosomal dominant optic atrophy that seeks to understand what causes the condition. Julie Falardeau, M.D., says, the study will generate "data that will provide new insights into how the disease affects patients, which will be important as we study potential new treatments."

OHSU is among the universities offering free and reduced college tuition for Native Americans this year.

Legal Reader covers a recent publication by Todd Korthuis, M.D., that highlights how methamphetamine use is common in rural communities and is driving up the overdose rate: “That’s a huge problem that’s often overlooked. ... Some people view rural areas as immune to problems like drug use and overdose, but they’re not.”

Charles Roberts, Ph.D., describes a new nonhuman primate study that will look for the molecular clues that increase the chances that someone who survives an initial COVID-19 infection will later develop diabetes and obesity.

Oregon Health Authority points to a COVID-19 hospitalization forecast by Peter Graven, Ph.D., as evidence that the pandemic is receding.