The Know Daily - Wednesday 28 February 2024

_{Read in 5m 22s ∙ Listening to M83 ∙}

A “transformational gift” of one billion dollars to a medical school in New York City means that starting this August, no student will have to pay tuition again. The dean at Albert Einstein College of Medicine said that the donation from Dr. Ruth Gottesman would help the school to “continue attracting students who are committed to our mission, not just those who can afford it”. 👏

🍃 The EU’s green leap

The European Union is close to approving a “major plan” to combat climate change across its 27 member countries.

Go on…
Despite having a “rough ride” through the EU’s complicated approval process, the Nature Restoration Plan was yesterday adopted by the EU parliament, reported Associated Press. EU member states will now have a final vote on the plan, and it is expected to pass.

What does the plan involve?
The Nature Restoration Plan is a key part of the EU's European Green Deal, which aims to make Europe “the first climate-neutral continent in the world”. Under the plan, member states would be required to meet restoration targets for specific habitats and species, explained The Independent.  

However, protests from farmers and opposition from the biggest party in the EU parliament - the European People’s Party (EPP) - led to the original plan being “watered-down”, said AP.

What criticism did it face?
The EPP had argued that the plan could “undermine food security, fuel inflation and hurt farmers,” said The Independent. For weeks, farmers have been protesting across the European Union, “angry at low food prices, cheap imports and new EU environmental measures”, said the BBC.

What's the other side?
The co-president of the Greens Group said that although the plan “lacks ambition”, it provides a “starting point to build upon the future”. Other green activists are more optimistic, with one saying the plan’s approval by parliament offers “fresh hope” for Europe’s ability to combat “the worst effects of climate change and biodiversity loss for decades to come,”.

🩸What is PMDD?

A new study on PMDD has found that around 31 million women and girls worldwide have the condition.

First things first - what is PMDD?
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder is a “more severe” form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS), explains The Independent. While symptoms vary from person to person, they can include anxiety, mood swings, joint pain, difficulty concentrating, headaches and insomnia.

How common is it?
While most women experience some premenstrual symptoms, PMDD impacts a much smaller proportion. New research from the University of Oxford has found that around 1.6% of women and girls have PMDD, equivalent to around 31 million worldwide.

But Dr Thomas Reilly, who led the research, cautioned that the true number of those affected is likely to be higher. “Because diagnostic criteria is so strict [...] many more women and girls may be undiagnosed,” he said. 

It takes an average of 12 years to receive a diagnosis of PMDD. Senior report author Dr Alexis Cullen told The Independent that this may be because PMDD can “easily be mistaken” for another mental or physical condition.

What needs to change? 
The report’s authors called for better awareness and training among health professionals, so that patients can benefit from “effective, evidence-based” support. Dr Reilly added that while PMDD is “debilitating”, the condition is also “highly treatable”. 

What else is going on?
At the same time, awareness around PMDD appears to be growing. A number of TikTok creators - such as women’s health practitioner Britney Marsden - are sharing their experiences online, helping to reduce stigma around PMDD.

To learn more about PMDD, you can visit Mind - and this wonderful piece by Beth McColl in Glamour is definitely worth a read. 

👏 Crooked House: The owners of “Britain’s wonkiest pub” have been ordered to rebuild it, after it burned down a fortnight after it was sold in August last year.

💰 Council cuts: London’s Southwark council has launched a crowdfunding scheme for climate-friendly projects, as a new report warns that many councils in England face “effective bankruptcy” unless the funding system is reformed.

🇺🇸 White House race: President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump won the Michigan primaries last night, cementing their “all-but-certain rematch” in November.

📸 “You've Got the Power”: Monica Lewinsky has been signed by fashion house Reformation as the face of its new campaign encouraging women to vote in the 2024 US election.

🍬 Pure imagination: A Willy Wonka “immersive experience” that promised “optical marvels” turned out to be “such an epic letdown” that customers called the police to the Glasgow venue. It has to be seen to be believed…

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