November 26, 2024
(New Scientist) – Reperfusion technologies that can reanimate human brains are raising the possibility that death could be a reversible condition, even hours after a cardiac arrest That was when something incredible happened. The cortex turned from grey to pink. … Read More
November 26, 2024
(Wired) – Elon Musk’s brain implant company, Neuralink, announced on Tuesday that it is launching a study to test its implant for a new use: allowing a person to control a robotic arm using just their thoughts. “We’re excited to … Read More
November 22, 2024
(Associated Press) – Four cities, spanning Portland suburbs and rural and coastal towns, added new voter-approved prohibitions for the federally illegal compound in the Nov. 5 election. A dozen other communities that approved two-year moratoriums in 2022, when a majority … Read More
November 22, 2024
(Plough) – A husband caring for a loved one with dementia finds dark valleys, but also limitless spiritual resources. Sherwin B. Nuland, MD, in How We Die, describes the experience of dementia caregivers as “spiritually exhausting.” At times, that was my … Read More
November 21, 2024
(Associated Press) – Yorktown isn’t alone. The decision to add fluoride to drinking water rests with state and local officials, and fights are cropping up nationwide. Communities in Florida, Texas, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming and elsewhere have debated the idea in … Read More
November 21, 2024
(New York Times) – Experts are puzzling over which interventions are saving lives. The evolving illicit supply itself may hold important clues. After years of relentless rises in overdose deaths, the United States has seen a remarkable reversal. For seven … Read More
November 21, 2024
(NPR) – Nearly 15 years ago, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Georgia for unnecessarily segregating people with developmental disabilities and mental illness. The state settled the case and agreed to a massive overhaul of the services it offers to … Read More
November 20, 2024
(The New Yorker) – From the “cozy gaming” trend to a new generation of A.I. companions, our devices are trying to swath us in a digital and physical cocoon. Coziness is achieved not only through what’s on our screens but … Read More
November 19, 2024
(The Conversation) – Thanks to bestselling authors like Jonathan Haidt and Jean Twenge, the public has become increasingly aware of the rapid rise in mental health issues among younger people in many western countries. Their warnings about the destructive impact … Read More
November 19, 2024
(New York Times) – As revolutionary new weight-loss drugs turn consumers off ultraprocessed foods, the industry is on the hunt for new products. For decades, Big Food has been marketing products to people who can’t stop eating, and now, suddenly, … Read More
November 18, 2024
(Axios) – The Drug Enforcement Administration and Health and Human Services ended an impasse over the virtual prescribing of controlled substances that threatened access to drugs like Adderall by extending pandemic-era flexibilities through the end of 2025. Why it matters: … Read More
November 15, 2024
(Aeon) – As a hearing parent of a deaf baby, I’m confronted with an agonising decision: should I give her an implant to help her hear? In a recent interview with the news site Truthout, the Deaf philosopher Teresa Blankmeyer … Read More
November 14, 2024
(NPR) – Street drug deaths in the U.S. are dropping at the fastest rate ever seen, according to a new report issued on Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Preliminary data shows roughly 97,000 fatal overdoses over … Read More
November 14, 2024
(Washington Post) – Feeling lonely increased risk for all-cause dementia by 31 percent and cognitive impairment by 15 percent. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy, who last year issued a public health advisory on loneliness, said the risk for premature … Read More
November 13, 2024
(New York Times) – The pounding that sailors’ brains take from years of high-speed wave-slamming in the Special Boat Teams can cause symptoms that wreck their careers — and their lives. Seeking an edge in combat, the Navy has created … Read More
November 12, 2024
(Nature) – Through brain implants, neural interfaces and skin grafts, researchers are starting to restore sensation for paralysed or amputated limbs. Back in 1985, a car crash shattered three of Imbrie’s vertebrae and severed 70% of his spinal cord, leaving … Read More
November 11, 2024
(Wall Street Journal) – While marijuana can help calm agitation, there are risks Roughly 20% of the people who come for a cannabis consultation now are dementia patients, says Dr. Jeffrey Hergenrather, a general practitioner in Sebastopol, Calif., who has … Read More
November 11, 2024
(Associated Press) – After working at a crowded and dangerous internment camp in Iraq, Air Force Staff Sgt. Heather O’Brien brought home with her anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. A bouncy labradoodle and a Kansas City-area program helped her get … Read More
November 11, 2024
(New York Times) – Technology and loneliness are interlinked, researchers have found, stoked by the ways we interact with social media, text messaging and binge-watching. I went down a rabbit hole for the last few months reading research papers and … Read More
November 8, 2024
(Nature) – Controversy has erupted among researchers over an effort to adopt blood tests and brain scans for diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease, rather than the cognitive screening that has been used for decades. Proponents of the change say that new biomarker … Read More
November 6, 2024
(Medscape) – A group of international experts is challenging revised diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) as laid out by the Alzheimer’s Association (AA) earlier this year. In a paper published online on November 1 in JAMA Neurology, the International … Read More
November 4, 2024
(Washington Times) – Massachusetts could become the third U.S. state to decriminalize psilocybin, the psychedelic drug found in mushrooms, if enough state voters mark “yes” on their ballot’s Question 4. Many drug policy researchers say legalization could be dangerous because … Read More
November 1, 2024
(The Guardian) – Politicians say use of common yet toxic paraquat can’t be justified due to apparent health and environment risks More than 50 US lawmakers are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to join dozens of other countries … Read More
November 1, 2024
(IBT) – A researcher is set to unveil research that finds humans can feel pity for robots if they exhibit distress signals, like sad sounds or trembling motions. Marieke Wieringa conducted a series of experiments at Radboud University that studied … Read More
November 1, 2024
(Aeon) – For all the promise and dangers of AI, computers plainly can’t think. To think is to resist – something no machine does But there is another origin of our impulse to concede mind to devices of our own … Read More
