Newsweek – “Microplastics and other human-made particles are widespread in the seafood that we eat and could be damaging our health. A recent study by scientists at Portland State University (PSU)’s Applied Coastal Ecology Lab investigated particle pollution in nine species of seafood in Oregon. “If we are disposing of an utilizing products that release… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Health Care
Opioid settlement spending
Data is Plural: “KFF Health News, working with researchers at Johns Hopkins and Shatterproof, has published “a first-of-its kind database” tracking how states and local governments are using the billions of dollars received via opioid settlements in recent years. The database, drawing from “dozens of interviews, thousands of pages of documents, an array of public… Continue Reading
Sorry, but Your Paper Straw Is Covered in Forever Chemicals
Food & Wine – Here’s What to Use Instead – “If you’re concerned about your exposure to forever chemicals, you may want to ditch your paper straw. In 2023, researchers from the University of Antwerp, Belgium, published a study in the journal Food Additives & Contaminants reviewing 39 different brands of straws made from five materials: paper, bamboo,… Continue Reading
Gigantic SUVs are a public health threat
Vox – Why don’t we treat them like one? “The anti-tobacco playbook could help turn the US public against their beloved oversized cars. With an annual toll of 40,000 American lives, the deadliness of secondhand smoke is now common knowledge. But it was only a few decades ago that puffing on a cigarette was defended… Continue Reading
CFPB Finalizes Rule to Remove Medical Bills from Credit Reports
“Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized a rule that will remove an estimated $49 billion in medical bills from the credit reports of about 15 million Americans. The CFPB’s action will ban the inclusion of medical bills on credit reports used by lenders and prohibit lenders from using medical information in their lending… Continue Reading
EPA Report Finds That Formaldehyde Presents an “Unreasonable Risk” to Public Health
ProPublica: “A long-awaited report from the Environmental Protection Agency has found that formaldehyde presents an unreasonable risk to human health. But the report, released Thursday, downplayed the threat the chemical poses to people living near industrial plants that release large quantities of the carcinogen into the air.The health risk assessment was published weeks after a… Continue Reading
New resource available to help scientists better classify cancer subtypes
“A multi-institutional team of scientists has developed a free, publicly accessible resource to aid in classification of patient tumor samples based on distinct molecular features identified by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Network. The resource comprises classifier models that can accelerate the design of cancer subtype-specific test kits for use in clinical trials and cancer… Continue Reading
The Changing Medical Debt Landscape in the United States
Urban.org: “Medical debt can intensify financial challenges, affect health care access, and potentially worsen health outcomes. Starting in 2022, the three nationwide credit reporting companies made significant changes to medical debt reporting. Paid medical collections were removed from credit reports, debt in collections would no longer be used in calculating Vantage credit scores, the grace… Continue Reading
77 Facts That Blew Our Minds in 2024
The Atlantic – Gift Article: “Over the past year, the writers on The Atlantic’s Science, Technology, and Health desk have investigated academic fraud, tracked infectious-disease outbreaks, studied the evolution of artificial intelligence, and chronicled extreme weather events. We’ve reported on the quirks of animal behavior and the latest in psychedelics research. Along the way, we… Continue Reading
24 Things That Made the World a Better Place in 2024
Wired [unpaywalled] : “Let’s face it—2024 has felt at times like a relentless conveyor belt of doom. The climate crisis is still gaining momentum, COP underlined the lack of consensus on what to do about it, and attempts to create a plastics treaty failed. Political violence rose to the surface in the US, and there… Continue Reading
HHS launches campaign against vaccine misinformation
Beckers : “In response to declining childhood vaccinations and rising infection rates across the U.S., HHS haslaunched a vaccine education campaign, encouraging parents to make informed healthcare decisions for their children based on more balanced information. The Let’s Get Real campaign aims to “cut through the noise of misinformation” and “provide verifiable facts” to parents while also serving… Continue Reading
The Most Detailed Map of Cancer-Causing Industrial Air Pollution in the US
ProPublica: “It’s not a secret that industrial facilities emit hazardous air pollution. A recent ProPublica analysis shows for the first time just how much toxic air pollution they emit — and how much the chemicals they unleash could be elevating cancer risk in their communities. ProPublica’s analysis of five years of modeled EPA data identified… Continue Reading
