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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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: “

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

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

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

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

An Israeli company has received a preliminary green light from health officials to sell the world's first steaks made from cultivated beef cells, not the entire animal, officials said. Aleph Farms, of Rehovot, Israel, was granted the initial go-ahead by the Israeli Health Ministry in December, the company said in a news release. Aleph Farms joins Upside Foods and Good Meat, two California-based firms that got the go-ahead to sell cultivated chicken in the U.S. in June. Cultivated meat is grown in large steel tanks using cells that come from a living animal, a fertilized egg or a special bank of stored cells. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Black Angus, Lucy, Yoav Reisler Organizations: Israeli Health Ministry, Israeli, Aleph, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: U.S, Rehovot, Israel, Black, California

Surgeons externally attached a pig liver to a brain-dead human body and watched it successfully filter blood, a step toward eventually trying the technique in patients with liver failure. Now scientists are trying again with pigs whose organs have been genetically modified to be more humanlike. In recent years, kidneys from genetically modified pigs have been temporarily transplanted into brain-dead donors to see how well they function, and two men received heart transplants from pigs although both died within months. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesSome researchers also are looking to use pig livers. In a statement, the Penn team reported that the donor’s body remained stable and the pig liver showed no signs of damage.

Persons: Penn, eGenesis —, Parsia, wasn't, “, ” Vagefi Organizations: University of Pennsylvania, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Machines, Penn, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: U.S

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Turkey’s first astronaut along with a Swede and Italian launched Thursday to the International Space Station on a chartered SpaceX flight. Their escort on the trip: A retired NASA astronaut who now works for the company that arranged the private flight. Their capsule should reach the space station on Saturday. Russia has been welcoming paid visitors to the space station for more than two decades; NASA didn't until two years ago. With them is Michael Lopez-Alegria, who launched four times as a NASA astronaut before joining Axiom Space and escorting its first chartered flight.

Persons: — Turkey’s, NASA’s, NASA didn't, Alper, ”, Sweden’s Marcus Wandt, Walter Villadei, Michael Lopez, Alegria, “ Organizations: International, SpaceX, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, NASA, Houston, Turkish Airlines, Swedish Aeroplane Corp, European Space Agency, Italian Air Force, Virgin Galactic, Space, Control, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla, Italian, Russia, Turkey, Sweden, Italy

Federal health officials are expanding a warning about salmonella poisoning tied to charcuterie meat snack trays sold at Sam's Club and Costco stores. At least 47 people in 22 states have been sickened and 10 people have been hospitalized after eating Busseto brand and Fratelli Beretta brand meats, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. The CDC had previously warned about one recalled lot of Busseto brand charcuterie sampler trays, but the agency now advises retailers and consumers not to eat, serve or sell any lots of the foods. They include the Busseto charcuterie sampler sold at Sam's Club and the Fratelli Beretta brand Antipasto Gran Beretta products sold at Costco. The meat trays come in twin packs that include prosciutto, sweet soppressata, and dry coppa or black pepper-coated dry salami, Italian dry salami, dry coppa, and prosciutto.

Organizations: Sam's Club, Costco, Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, CDC, Beretta, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists have mapped the largest coral reef deep in the ocean, stretching hundreds of miles off the U.S. Atlantic coast. The largest yet known deep coral reef "has been right under our noses, waiting to be discovered,” said Derek Sowers, an oceanographer at the nonprofit Ocean Exploration Trust. Unlike tropical coral reefs, where photosynthesis is important for growth, coral this far down must filter food particles out of the water for energy. Deep coral reefs provide habitat for sharks, swordfish, sea stars, octopus, shrimp and many other kinds of fish, the scientists said. The world's largest tropical coral reef system, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, stretches for about 1,430 miles (2,301 kilometers).

Persons: ”, Derek Sowers, Stuart Sandin, —, Sowers, Erik Cordes Organizations: WASHINGTON, —, U.S, Exploration Trust, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Temple University, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: Atlantic, Florida, South Carolina, Yellowstone, Australia, U.S

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A U.S. company’s lunar lander will soon burn up in Earth’s atmosphere after a failed moonshot. Astrobotic Technology said its lander is now headed back toward Earth from the vicinity of the moon. Company officials expect the mission to end Thursday. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesNASA paid more than $100 million to fly experiments on the Peregrine lander. Another U.S. company, Intuitive Machines, is up next with its own lunar lander due to launch next month.

Persons: Astrobotic, Peregrine, rocketed, Gene Roddenberry, Arthur C, Clarke Organizations: —, Astrobotic Technology, ., NASA, Cape Canaveral, Peregrine, Carnegie Mellon University, “, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla, U.S, Cape

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