December 27, 2024
(ABC) – From a pig kidney transplant to restoring genetic deafness, 2024 was a year full of medical breakthroughs. The breakthroughs include the discovery of a cause of an autoimmune disease, the development of a “game-changing” drug and potential hope … Read More
December 25, 2024
European Journal of Human Genetics (vol. 32, no. 12, 2024) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
December 24, 2024
(Wall Street Journal) – A two-tier system that has long made workers leave offspring behind in villages is cutting into birthrates Even as China’s leaders have looked for ways to lift sagging birthrates, Beijing thought there was one group who … Read More
December 24, 2024
(WSET via MSN) – Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton and Senator Tim Kaine (both D-VA) celebrated the inclusion of their bipartisan “Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0” in the continuing resolution to fund the government. The bill reauthorizes federal funding for … Read More
December 23, 2024
(New York Times) – There is no one factor that causes autism — or explains its growing prevalence. Researchers are seeking explanations for the surge. Here are some possibilities. Autism spectrum disorder, as it is officially called, is inherently wide-ranging, … Read More
December 23, 2024
(MIT Technology Review) – No vaccine is perfect, but these medicines are still saving millions of lives. This year marks the 50-year anniversary of an ambitious global childhood vaccination program. The Expanded Programme on Immunization was launched by the World … Read More
December 23, 2024
Clinical Ethics (vol. 19, no. 4, 2024) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
December 18, 2024
(NPR) – What happened to Gomez is common enough that some have coined a term for it: “cancer ghosting.” This social isolation and loss of support – even from close friends and family members – is a devastating and often … Read More
December 18, 2024
(New York Times) – Problems with getting vaccines to families have left many children unvaccinated and in danger of contracting the virus. There were more than 311,000 reported cases of measles in Congo last year. Some 6,000 of them ended … Read More
December 13, 2024
(ProPublica) – Leaked internal documents show that the insurance giant is culling providers of applied behavior analysis from its network and scrutinizing the medical necessity of therapy. Advocates say the company’s strategy may be illegal. ProPublica has obtained what is … Read More
December 13, 2024
(NPR) – “The for-profit sector is focusing on conditions, such as sickle cell disease, such as cancer, which are commercially viable because there are just enough people with them,” Urnov says. The problem is, “that leaves 99.5% of folks outside … Read More
December 11, 2024
(Medpage Today) – Independent experts found unacceptable safety risk The British government on Wednesday indefinitely banned puberty blockers for children with gender dysphoria after independent experts found there was an unacceptable safety risk in prescribing the medication. The decision, which … Read More
December 11, 2024
(Stars and Stripes) – A proposal to ban health care coverage of certain medical treatments for the transgender children of service members has become a point of contention as the House readies this week for a vote on a defense … Read More
December 11, 2024
(Aftermath) – Embodied, maker of the AI robot called Moxie, is shuttering. With their closing, parents have to explain to their kids that Moxie is dead. AI company Embodied announced this week that they would be shutting down following financial … Read More
December 9, 2024
(New York Times) – New technology alerts schools when students type words related to suicide. But do the timely interventions balance out the false alarms? A law required that these devices be fitted with filters to ensure safe internet use, … Read More
December 6, 2024
(NPR) – Every year, an estimated 400,000 children worldwide develop a form of cancer. Five-year survival rates in high-income nations are typically over 80%, with an expected cure rate of near 100% for some cancers like retinoblastoma — a malignant … Read More
December 6, 2024
(Wired) – The WHO has sent epidemiologists to the country to uncover the cause of the illness, which has killed more than 70 people, half of them children. Deaths in the southwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from … Read More
December 6, 2024
(Associated Press) – Thirteen children under the age of 14 have died in central Mexico and authorities said Thursday they suspect contaminated IV feeding bags as the culprit. The federal Health Department ordered doctors across the country not to use … Read More
December 4, 2024
(Wall Street Journal) – Justice Gorsuch remains silent during hearing on Tennessee’s ban of treatments for minors Several Supreme Court justices signaled a willingness Wednesday to let states prohibit transgender teenagers from obtaining puberty blockers and other treatments, but the … Read More
December 4, 2024
(ABC News) – Many moms-to-be opt for blood tests during pregnancy to check for fetal disorders such as Down syndrome. In rare instances, these tests can reveal something unexpected — hints of a hidden cancer in the woman. In a … Read More
December 4, 2024
(New York Times) – In the time since she left us, I have thought often of Orli’s question. All that spring, Orli asked, pointedly, why did we think a cure was still possible, that cancer would not continue to return? … Read More
November 27, 2024
(The Verge) – The restrictions will prevent under-18s from using ‘appearance-altering effects’ that are difficult to detect. TikTok is placing age restrictions on some of its beauty filters to address concerns about how they impact the mental health of its … Read More
November 27, 2024
(The Walrus) – Time, relationships, identity, and, yes, finances: for a few years, a child’s arrival can upend anyone’s world. But between the housing crisis, an underperforming child care system, soaring food costs, and a status-driven culture that encourages top-of-the-line … Read More
November 25, 2024
(New York Times) – Two couples in California discovered they were raising each other’s genetic children. Should they switch their girls? Alexander would convince himself that everything was fine, only to be walloped once again by the suspicion that May … Read More
November 25, 2024
(Wall Street Journal) – A mother found success with a weight-loss drug after a lifelong battle. Noticing her daughter start down the same path, she decided to have her try semaglutide. Pediatric use of GLP-1 drugs—which the manufacturers and most … Read More