Author: healthadmin
State regulators held hours of public comment Monday on a proposed plan to address PFAS (“forever chemicals”) in North Carolina’s waterways. A hearing room filled with residents, scientists and medical professionals voiced their frustration and concerns about the proposal. The North Carolina Environmental Control Commission’s proposal would require certain industries and wastewater utilities to monitor PFAS emissions and develop plans to reduce pollution. PFAS are a group of man-made chemicals used in products such as nonstick cookware and firefighting foam. These are not easily broken down and are associated with cancer and other health risks. Critics argue that the proposal…
Hippocratic AI on Thursday announced two new artificial intelligence tools aimed at improving access to clinical care and assisting nurses at the bedside, touting the platform as an industry first. The first of the Palo Alto, California-based startup’s new developments is AI Front Door, an omnichannel agent-based voice AI tool that is available to patients at any time. Agents can schedule appointments, address billing issues, and other tasks based on each interaction. They can also contact employers and arrange referrals. Hippocratic AI Chief Product Officer Vishal Parikh said in a statement that the agent is powered by 31 tuned large-scale…
People tend to stereotype sexual minorities and black men as unusually young, driven by common cultural beliefs that these groups lack traditional values. This overlapping set of perceptions works to portray certain demographics as unique threats to social order. The study was published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. In the early 1970s, sociologist Stanley Cohen popularized the term “folk devils” to describe groups targeted by media-driven moral panics. Cohen analyzed how dominant institutions focused on youth subcultures and turned them into symbols of social decline. Through these depictions, young people were portrayed as actively rejecting established norms and…
Angus Cheng covers all issues broadly related to cancer, including medicines, policy, science and stocks. She joined STAT in 2021 after covering health and science at NPR and NPR affiliate stations. His work has been recognized with the national Edward R. Murrow Award and the June L. Biedler Award for Cancer Journalism, among others. You can access Angus.08 on Signal.SAN DIEGO — Allison Cameron fought to keep her myeloma under control for nearly a decade. She was diagnosed with smoldering multiple myeloma, a precursor to cancer, and had been on IV fluids for years to prevent it from progressing to…
Genentech is launching its “Life Doesn’t Wait” campaign to commemorate World Hemophilia Day, highlighting patient stories ahead of expected increased competition in the hemophilia A market. The campaign marks a change in the way the Roche division presents Hemlibra, its blockbuster drug for hemophilia A, to patients. Currently, visitors to the product website are shown an image of Ian, a child who has been taking a factor VIII mimetic since 2020, jumping to catch an American football as his mother and Hemlibra ambassador Veronica looks on. The text “Life Can’t Wait” appears above the hero image on the website. Genentech’s…
I don’t think reading or hearing about real-world violence makes people more creative about hurting others. In fact, people who frequently use true crime may be less likely to use their imagination for nefarious purposes. These findings were recently published in The Journal of Creative Behavior. Media consumption shapes how people think, feel, and behave in their daily lives. Researchers have spent decades examining how fictional violence in video games and movies affects aggression. Many psychologists suggest that consuming violent content stimulates aggressive thinking and desensitizes viewers to human suffering. But one extremely popular genre has largely escaped scientific scrutiny.…
Biogen and Minor League Baseball’s Durham Bulls are teaming up to celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary in the Triangle community. This major American milestone, marking 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, will take on a local feel in North Carolina’s Research Triangle region, where Biogen has a large manufacturing presence. The Biogen Foundation, a community investor organization, will donate $250 for every hit made by a Bulls batter in each of the six games during the “America 250” celebration. Donations will go to the Community Health Fund of North Carolina Community Foundation. From the end of June…
A groundbreaking study led by researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and published in 2016. molecular psychiatryidentified a significant association between prenatal prescription of commonly used medications and the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children. Analyzing 6.14 million maternal and child health records from the Epic Cosmos database (representing nearly one-third of U.S. births from 2014 to 2023), the researchers found that prescription of drugs known to inhibit the cholesterol synthesis pathway was consistently associated with increased rates of ASD in offspring. While previous studies grouped drugs by indication, the UNMC team grouped prescribed drugs…
Understanding which cells within a tumor form metastases remains one of the major challenges in cancer research. A study led by the Laboratory of Cellular Plasticity in Development and Disease, headed by Ángela Nieto at the Institute of Neuroscience (IN), a joint center of Spain’s National Research Council (CSIC) and Miguel Hernández University (UMH) in Elche, provided an unexpected answer. The idea is that the cells that cause metastasis can already be identified within the primary tumor. This study nature communicationscombines analysis of mouse models of breast cancer with patient data. This result indicates that there are specific cell populations…
Up to 80% of people receiving chemotherapy experience cancer-related cognitive impairment. This often includes mild to moderate changes, such as decreased attention, memory loss, and difficulty multitasking. A new Phase II trial found that exercise and low-dose ibuprofen each helped reduce cognitive problems and protect patients’ cognitive function. The findings are published on Wiley Online. cancera peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. Both exercise and anti-inflammatory drugs may improve cognitive outcomes in a variety of disease settings, but little is known in the cancer setting. Because exercise and ibuprofen both reduce inflammation through different pathways, their combined use may…