DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

Officials in Ecuador have named the likely source of contaminated ground cinnamon used in fruit pouches tied to more than 400 potential cases of lead poisoning in U.S. children, the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday. Carlos Aguilera, a cinnamon-processing company in Ecuador, supplied the spice added to WanaBana and other applesauce pouches sent to the U.S., according to the Ecuadorian regulatory agency ARCSA. The cinnamon, which was sent to another supplier, Negasmart, was found to be contaminated with high levels of lead and chromium, an FDA analysis showed. The unprocessed cinnamon sticks used in the products were originally imported from Sri Lanka. The sticks were tested and found to have no lead contamination, ARCSA told FDA.

Persons: Carlos Aguilera, ARCSA Organizations: Food and Drug Administration, FDA, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: Ecuador, U.S, Ecuadorian, Sri Lanka

A California cheese and dairy company is the source of a decade-long outbreak of listeria food poisoning that killed two people and sickened more than two dozen, federal health officials said Tuesday. They include a person who died in California in 2017 and one who died in Texas in 2020, CDC officials said. The strain of listeria linked to the outbreak was found in a cheese sample from Rizo-Lopez Foods. Federal officials confirmed that queso fresco and cojita made by the company were making people sick. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group.

Persons: Tio Francisco, Don Francisco, Rizo, Campesino, Dos, Casa, cojita Organizations: Rizo, Foods of, Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, Rizo Bros, CDC, Foods, Federal, El Super, Cardenas, Northgate, Numero Uno, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: California, Foods of Modesto , California, Texas, Rio Grande , Food City, El, San Carlos, Santa Maria, Casa Cardenas, Cardenas Market, Northgate Gonzalez, Superior, El Rancho, Vallarta, Food City, La

He’s seeing this develop as co-CEO of Amwell, a Boston-based company that provides telemedicine software and technology for health systems and insurers. The company works with more than 55 health plans and health systems representing over 2,000 hospitals. Q: What is some care patients seek in-person now that you expect will become largely virtual in the future? The revolution that’s going on right now is where people are beginning to utilize these technologies to interact with their regular caretakers. If the patient is not doing well, (the technology) will have the smarts to escalate that patient right back in front of (a nurse or doctor).

Persons: Roy Schoenberg, He’s, Schoenberg, We’re, Ido, We’ve Organizations: Associated Press, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: Boston, telemedicine

The effect of police violence on Black Americans is tracked in two new studies, with one tying police-involved deaths to sleep disturbances and the other finding a racial gap in injuries involving police use of Tasers. The health effects of police violence on Black people “need to be documented as a critical first step to reduce these harms,” three editors of JAMA Internal Medicine wrote in an editorial published Monday with the studies. For the sleep study, researchers looked at responses from more than 2 million people from 2013 through 2019 in two large government surveys. They focused on people's reports of sleep in the months following police-involved killings of unarmed Black people. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group.

Persons: Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, ”, Atheendar, Tasers, “, Kevin Griffith Organizations: Mapping, Justice Department, University of Pennsylvania, Vanderbilt University, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: U.S

WASHINGTON (AP) — Women are far more likely than men to get autoimmune diseases, when an out-of-whack immune system attacks their own bodies — and new research may finally explain why. One theory is that the X chromosome might be a culprit. The X chromosome is packed with hundreds of genes, far more than males’ much smaller Y chromosome. Every female cell must switch off one of its X chromosome copies, to avoid getting a toxic double dose of all those genes. “We think that’s really important, for Xist RNA to leak out of the cell to where the immune system gets to see it.

Persons: ”, John Wherry, wasn’t, Howard Chang, Chang, ” Chang, Epstein, Barr, Chang’s, Xist, hadn't, Penn’s, they’re, Stanford’s Chang Organizations: WASHINGTON, Stanford University, University of Pennsylvania, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Associated Press ’ Health, Science Department, Associated Press Health, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP

NEW YORK (AP) — The latest versions of COVID-19 vaccines were 54% effective at preventing symptomatic infection in adults, according to the first U.S. study to assess how well the shots work. The shots became available last year and were designed to better protect against more recent coronavirus variants. Studies coming out later this year will assess how effective the shot was at preventing symptoms severe enough to send patients to a doctor's office or hospital, she said. Photos You Should See View All 45 ImagesThe CDC recommends the new shots for everyone 6 months and older, but most Americans haven't gotten them. The latest CDC data suggests only about 22% of U.S. adults have gotten the shots, and only 11% of children.

Persons: what's, it's, Ruth Link, haven't, Gelles Organizations: Centers for Disease Control, CVS, Walgreens, CDC, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: U.S

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An asteroid as big as a skyscraper will pass within 1.7 million miles of Earth on Friday. Don’t worry: There’s no chance of it hitting us since it will pass seven times the distance from Earth to the moon. That means the asteroid could be similar in size to New York City’s Empire State Building or Chicago’s Willis Tower. It won’t be back our way again until 2032, but it will be a much more distant encounter, staying 45 million miles (72 million kilometers) away. On Sunday, an asteroid roughly half the size of 2008 0S7 will swing by, staying 4.5 million miles (7.3 million kilometers) away.

Persons: Willis Organizations: NASA’s, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla, New York

Those heavy lead aprons may be on their way out at the dentist office, depending on where you live. The nation's largest dental association said Thursday it will no longer recommend the use of lead aprons and thyroid collars on patients who are getting dental X-rays. Photos You Should See View All 45 Images“It’s like taking a flight from, let’s say, from Michigan to San Francisco, it gives you the equivalent of one dental X-ray,” Kumar said. True change depends on state dental boards, dentists and patients, Kumar said. It will take advocacy and education to change more minds around the use of the aprons among patients, dentists and policymakers, he said.

Persons: Purnima Kumar, ” Kumar, Kumar, Sanjay Mallya, ”, Mallya, Robert Wood Johnson Organizations: American Dental Association, Scientific Affairs, University of California, American Academy of Oral, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, AP Locations: Michigan, San Francisco, California, Los Angeles

The study found military personnel stationed at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune were at higher risk for some types of leukemia and lymphoma and cancers of the lung, breast, throat, esophagus and thyroid. Camp Lejeune was built in a sandy pine forest along the North Carolina coast in the early 1940s. People who got sick after being at Camp Lejeune also have criticized the federal government for being slow to investigate. Frank Bove, a senior epidemiologist, has led the agency's Camp Lejeune research for many years and was in charge of the latest study. A federal law signed by President Joe Biden in August 2022 included language to address concerns of people who developed certain health problems they believe were linked to Camp Lejeune water contamination.

Persons: Camp Lejeune, Lejeune, David Savitz, ”, —, Richard Clapp, Aaron Bernstein, Frank Bove, Clapp, Joe Biden Organizations: — Military, U.S . Marine Corps Base, Brown University, Military, Marine Corps, Agency, Toxic Substances, Centers for Disease Control, Camp Lejeune, Boston University, Lejeune, Pendleton, Battelle Memorial Institute, Camp, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: Camp, Carolina, United States, U.S, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Atlanta

Sea otters eat constantly and one of their favorite snacks is the striped shore crab. Researchers found that the return of the crab-eating sea otters to a tidal estuary near Monterey, California, helped curb erosion. Hunting bans and habitat restoration efforts helped sea otters recover some of their former range. For the new study, researchers analyzed historic erosion rates dating back to the 1930s to assess the impact of sea otters' return. Other research has shown that sea otters help kelp forests regrow by controlling the number of sea urchins that munch kelp.

Persons: Brent Hughes, Hughes, Johan Eklöf, ”, Brian Silliman Organizations: WASHINGTON, Sonoma State University, Nature, Stockholm University, Duke University, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: California, Monterey , California, Elkhorn Slough, Alaska, Russia, Japan, Monterey, Stockholm

Rather than being attracted to light, researchers believe that artificial lights at night may actually scramble flying insects' innate navigational systems, causing them to flutter in confusion around porch lamps, street lights and other artificial beacons. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesThat would make sense if the strongest light source was in the sky. But in the presence of artificial lights, the result is midair confusion, not attraction. They also documented that some insects will flip upside down — and often crash land — in the presence of lights that shine straight upward like search lights. Insect flight was least disrupted by bright lights that shine straight downward, the researchers found.

Persons: that's, ”, Tyson Hedrick, Hill, “ They're, Sam Fabian, Avalon Owens Organizations: WASHINGTON, University of North, Imperial College London, Nature Communications, Harvard, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: University of North Carolina, Costa Rica

But there's some unexpected good news: The rate of new gonorrhea cases fell for the first time in a decade. Total cases surpassed 207,000 in 2022, the highest count in the United States since 1950, according to data released Tuesday. About 59,000 of the 2022 cases involved the most infectious forms of syphilis. STD testing was disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and officials believe that's the reason the chlamydia rate fell in 2020. “We are encouraged by the magnitude of the decline,” Mermin said, though the gonorrhea rate is still higher now than it was pre-pandemic.

Persons: It's, gonorrhea, Philip Chan, Meghan O’Connell, O'Connell, Jonathan Mermin, ” Mermin Organizations: U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, CDC, Brown University, Plains Tribal, ’, U.S . Department of Health, Human Services, District of Columbia, CDC’s National Center, HIV, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: United States, U.S, Providence , Rhode Island, Alaska, South Dakota, New Mexico, South, Rapid City , South Dakota

WASHINGTON (AP) — The company behind a global recall of sleep apnea machines said Monday it will stop selling the devices in the U.S., under a tentative agreement with regulators that could cost the company nearly $400 million. Philips executives disclosed the tentative agreement during a quarterly earnings update. Under terms of the agreement, Philips would continue servicing recalled machines in the U.S., but would not be able to sell new ones until meeting several corrective actions laid out by the FDA. In November, the agency issued a new warning that the machines can overheat, in rare cases causing fires. Untreated sleep apnea can cause people to stop breathing hundreds of times per night, leading to dangerous drowsiness and increased heart attack risk.

Persons: ” Philips, Roy Jakobs, Philips, “, ” Organizations: WASHINGTON, Manufacturing, Philips, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Justice, FDA . Company, FDA, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: U.S, Pennsylvania, Canada, Australia, Israel, Chile

Allegations of research fakery at a leading cancer center have turned a spotlight on scientific integrity and the amateur sleuths uncovering image manipulation in published research. The blogger, 32-year-old Sholto David, of Pontypridd, Wales, is a scientist-sleuth who detects cut-and-paste image manipulation in published scientific papers. By Jan. 22, the institution said it was in the process of requesting six retractions of published research and that another 31 papers warranted corrections. The sleuths download scientific papers and use software tools to help find problems. Some journals told the AP they are aware of the concerns raised by David's blog post and were looking into the matter.

Persons: Jan, David, He's, Farber, DANA, FARBER, Sholto David, Dana, Laurie Glimcher, William Hahn, sleuths, Claudine Gay, Barrett Rollins, Elisabeth Bik, ” Bik, Ivan Oransky, Oransky, “, ” Oransky, —, ” They're, Bik Organizations: Dana, Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, The Harvard Crimson, WHO, Associated Press, American Society for Microbiology, Technology, New York University, “, AP, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group Locations: British, Pontypridd, Wales, PubPeer, California

“I feel comfortable.”Plaza del Sol is one of two dozen sites run by Urban Health Plan Inc., which is one of nearly 1,400 federally designated community health centers. Sometimes, it’s just that.”Fifty years ago, Dr. Acklema Mohammad started as a medical assistant in Urban Health Plan’s first clinic, San Juan Health Center. About 150 elders get at-home visits, said Dr. Manuel Vazquez, Urban Health Plan’s vice president of medical affairs who oversees the home health program. Building community trustOne of the nation’s first community health centers opened in the rural Mississippi delta in 1967, in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement’s Freedom Summer. Delta Health Center in Mound Bayou, Mississippi today operates the health center has 17 locations in five counties, including free-standing clinics and some in schools.

Persons: Elisa Reyes, ” Reyes, they’ve, Matthew Kusher, ” Kusher, “, ”, Kyu Rhee, Yelisa Sierra, “ It’s, Sierra, Acklema Mohammad, Mo, pediatricians, ” Mohammad, telehealth, Manuel Vazquez, isn’t, ‘, there’s, Temika Simmons, New York City’s, Angelica Flores, DaSilva, they’re, ” Simmons, You've, Kasturi Pananjady, Robert Wood Johnson Organizations: del, Family Health, Urban Health, Inc, Associated Press, U.S . Health Resources, Services Administration, —, National Association of Community Health Centers, Urban Health Plan’s, San Juan Health Center, El Nuevo San Juan Health Center, Civil, Delta Health Center, Delta Health Center’s, Staff, Press, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, AP Locations: Queens, Sol, U.S, El Nuevo, Mississippi, Mound Bayou , Mississippi, Leland, Greenville, Jackson, Memphis, del Sol, Corona, New York, In Mississippi

An enlarged prostate doesn’t always cause symptoms, but when it does, they can be annoying. WHAT CAUSES AN ENLARGED PROSTATE? WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF AN ENLARGED PROSTATE? The symptoms of an enlarged prostate can include frequent urination and needing to get up many times in the night to pee. HOW IS AN ENLARGED PROSTATE DIAGNOSED?

Persons: King Charles III, Stephen Nakada, “, ” Nakada, it’s, Antihistamines, There's Organizations: University of Wisconsin urologist, palmetto, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: “

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials say 93 Americans have died after cosmetic surgery in the Dominican Republic since 2009, with many of the recent deaths involving a procedure known as a Brazilian butt lift. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesComplications from cosmetic surgery are not unique to the Dominican Republic. The CDC on Thursday issued a separate report about 15 cases of bacterial infections in women who went to one Florida cosmetic surgery center in 2022. After an increase in U.S. deaths in 2019 and 2020, the U.S. Embassy contacted the CDC, which investigated along with the Dominican Republic Ministry of Health. They tallied 93 cosmetic surgery-related deaths of U.S. citizens in the Dominican Republic from 2009 to 2022, or an average of about seven a year.

Persons: “, ”, Matthew Hudson, Hudson Organizations: —, U.S, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, CDC, U.S . Embassy, Dominican Republic Ministry of Health, American Society of Plastic Surgeons, State University of New, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: — U.S, Dominican Republic, United States, Florida, Mexico, Matamoros ., U.S, State University of New York, Buffalo

WASHINGTON (AP) — The maker of Robitussin cough syrup is recalling several lots of products containing honey due to contamination that could pose a serious risk to people with weakened immune systems. Haleon’s recall covers eight lots of Robitussin Honey CF Max Day Adult and Robitussin Honey CF Max Nighttime Adult, which were distributed to stores and pharmacy suppliers. The products have the potential to cause “severe or life-threatening adverse events,” if taken by people with weakened immune systems, such as organ transplant recipients or those with HIV. Several million people in the U.S. have conditions that impair the immune system's ability to fight off infections. Haleon did not disclose the nature of the contamination but said use of the products could result in severe fungal infections.

Persons: Honey, Haleon Organizations: WASHINGTON, Max, Drug Administration, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: U.S, New Jersey

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s little Mars helicopter has flown its last flight. While it remains upright and in contact with flight controllers, its $85 million mission is officially over, officials said. Originally intended as a short-term tech demo, Ingenuity logged 72 flights over three years at Mars. Ingenuity hitched a ride on NASA’s Perseverance rover, landing on Mars in 2021. The helicopter ascended to 40 feet (12 meters) on its final flight last week, hovering for a few seconds before descending.

Persons: Bill Nelson Organizations: NASA, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A new estimate shows hearing loss affects approximately 37.9 million Americans and is more common in rural areas than urban ones and in men than women. The estimates are for 2019 and only include people who have hearing loss in both ears. Experts say rural Americans need better access to hearing screenings and specialists. Audiologist Melanie Buhr-Lawler, a clinical professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said she saw the threats to hearing health growing up on a farm in rural Wisconsin and later researching hearing loss in rural residents. “People who live in rural areas have a hearing health double-whammy," said Buhr-Lawler, who was not involved with the study.

Persons: NORC, audiologist Nicholas Reed, ”, David Rein, Audiologist Melanie Buhr, Lawler, Buhr, Robert Wood Johnson Organizations: MILWAUKEE, University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University, University of Wisconsin, “, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, AP Locations: Madison, Wisconsin, Tomah , Wisconsin

Gene therapy has allowed several children born with inherited deafness to hear. Globally, 34 million children have deafness or hearing loss, and genes are responsible for up to 60% of cases. Hereditary deafness is the latest condition scientists are targeting with gene therapy, which is already approved to treat illnesses such as sickle cell disease and severe hemophilia. Also, some people consider gene therapy for deafness ethically problematic. "This is real proof showing gene therapy is working,” Chen said.

Persons: ”, Zheng, Yi Chen, Dr, Yilai Shu, Chen, Eli Lilly, Akouos, he's, John Germiller, ” Germiller, “, Lawrence Lustig, Teresa Blankmeyer Burke, ” Chen Organizations: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Fudan University, Shanghai Refreshgene Therapeutics, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Decibel Therapeutics, Columbia, Gallaudet University, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: China, Shanghai, Philadelphia, Spain

Previously unknown colonies of emperor penguins have been spotted in new satellite imagery. Emperor penguins, considered “near threatened” with extinction, are the world’s largest penguins. At least some emperor penguins are moving their colonies as melting ice from climate change threatens breeding grounds, according to research released on Wednesday. “Emperor penguins have taken it upon themselves to try to find more stable sea ice,” he said. Scientists currently know of 66 emperor penguin colonies.

Persons: penguins, Peter Fretwell, hadn't, Fretwell, Daniel Zitterbart, ” Organizations: British Antarctic Survey, Oceanographic Institution, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: Halley, —

Cameroon will be the first country to routinely give children a new malaria vaccine as the shots are rolled out in Africa. Gavi said it is working with 20 other African countries to help them get the vaccine and that those countries will hopefully immunize more than 6 million children through 2025. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesCameroon will use the first of two recently approved malaria vaccines, known as Mosquirix. That vaccine is cheaper, requires three doses and India’s Serum Institute said they could make up to 200 million doses a year. Neither of the malaria vaccines stop transmission, so other tools like bed nets and insecticidal spraying will still be critical.

Persons: Aurelia Nguyen, Gavi, Gavi's Nguyen Organizations: World Health Organization, GlaxoSmithKline, GSK, Oxford University, WHO, Serum Institute, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: Cameroon, Africa, Central Africa, Oxford

Astrobotic Technology said contact and then tracking was lost as its lunar lander reentered Earth's atmosphere Thursday, 10 days after launching from Florida. It was the first U.S. lunar lander in more than a half-century. Right before Friday’s U.S. news conference, a lunar lander from Japan touched down on the moon, but it was unable to generate crucial solar power. The U.S., Russia, China and India have successfully landed spacecraft on the moon and only the U.S. has landed astronauts. Flight controllers were able to turn on some experiments and collect data,The company is already is working on an even bigger lunar lander that will carry NASA's Viper rover to the moon in a year.

Persons: company’s, moonshot, John Thornton, ” Thornton, Astrobotic, Thornton, Peregrine, NASA —, Gene Roddenberry Organizations: —, Pacific, Astrobotic Technology, . Space Command, NASA, Pittsburgh, Engineers, “, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla, U.S, Florida, Japan, Russia, China, India

COVID-19 is leading hospital admissions among the respiratory viruses, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last week, 25 U.S. states had high or very high levels for respiratory illnesses with fever, cough and other symptoms. Since the beginning of October, there have been at least 16 million illnesses, 180,000 hospitalizations, and 11,000 deaths from flu so far this season. With vaccination rates low, what can you do to protect yourself from respiratory viruses, including influenza, COVID-19 and RSV? That’s important to see if you need one of the medicines that can help prevent severe illness: Paxlovid for COVID-19 and Tamiflu for flu.

Persons: you’ve, Jennifer Sonney, Sonney, ” Sonney Organizations: U.S . Centers for Disease Control, CDC, HOME, University of Washington School of Nursing, National Association of Pediatric, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: U.S, United States, Seattle, COVID

Search resuls for: "Associated Press Health"

25 mentions found