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As each new year emerges, I reflect on the year before and beat myself up about what didn’t work out. That someone might be a younger version of you, begging for a chance to share their insight. Instead of excitement, I often just feel relieved that the urge to do something meaningful is temporarily muted. Right now, that tween is my wisest teacher, whose first lesson was a simple demand that I try to respect myself again. I’ve been held hostage by self-loathing and perfectionism in recent years, but thanks to my inner tween, next year’s resolutions are all about liberation.

☆ Dogs poop less if they eat human-grade food, but it may not be better for their health, say experts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It's not clear whether human-grade food is better for dogs' health, experts said. A 2021 study followed the poop output of 12 dogs fed "fresh" dog food (from the FreshPet brand), classic dog food ( from Blue Buffalo), or "human-grade" beef or chicken dog food (JustFoodForDogs) for 28 days. The study found that the dogs pooped around half as much when eating fresh and human-grade food — a drop of 50% to 70%. None so far have definitively shown that kibble or canned food is worse for the dog's health or lifespan, he said. In the process, molecules that could be bad for your dog's health appear in the food.

☆ Psychedelic therapies are on the horizon. Who will administer them?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Danica Jefferies | Danica Jefferies Is An Intern With The Data Graphics Team For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

Psychedelic therapy is nowhere near as simple as filling a prescription and taking a pill at home. A clinical psychologist, she founded and now leads the first accredited psychedelic therapy training program in the U.S. at the California Institute of Integral Studies. The psychedelic therapy program entails 150 hours of instruction and several in-person training sessions. So why the growing interest in using psychedelic drugs for mental health? Treatment with psychedelic drugs is not as simple as giving the patient a pill to take at home, and it’s not for everybody.

☆ I fed ChatGPT my childhood journal entries to talk to my inner child. The results were very therapeutic.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Michelle Huang used OpenAI GPT-3 Playground to create an inner child chatbot as an experiment. I decided to train an AI chatbot on my childhood journal entries to engage in real-time dialogue with my inner child and I discovered how an AI tool can be used for therapeutic benefits. I told her that she was loved, cared for, and safe: the words that my past self always wanted to hear. Hearing my inner child say "I'm proud of you" was healing. I tweeted a tutorial for how to create your own inner child chatbot for anyone who wants to replicate the experiment.

☆ How athletes are cashing in on 'the Netflix effect' as sports documentaries boom at Apple TV+, Amazon, and more streamers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Elaine Low | Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A boom in sports documentaries has offered athletes more ways to be on screen and build their brands. Players and their agents are looking for hits like Netflix Formula 1 doc series "Drive to Survive." Apple TV+, HBO, and Amazon are all competing for sports docs that bring viewers into athletes' lives. Being featured in a sports doc can dramatically raise an athlete's profile, giving them more fans and more branding power. Netflix's "Drive to Survive" was credited with doing wonders for F1 fandom, particularly stateside, where American interest has historically been scarce.

☆ Why can't some people smell months after catching Covid? Their immune response could be the answer
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The researchers took biopsies deep inside the nasal cavities of patients struggling to regain their smell months after coming down with Covid. Millions of people around the world lost their smell for at least six months after contracting Covid. Goldstein and Jafari also said the study’s findings could provide clues to how cases of long Covid are affecting other body systems, too. “There’s not a lot of studies that have obtained biopsies of organs affected by long Covid,” Goldstein said. “Are there immune cell mechanisms … involved in other long Covid problems?”

☆ Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss, high-functioning depression and why ‘checking in’ isn’t enough
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Randi-Richardson-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Randi Richardson | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +12 min

High-functioning depression is a colloquial term and not a technical clinical diagnosis, explains Rheeda Walker, Ph.D., psychologist and leading researcher on suicide in the Black community. Persistent depressive disorder is another official diagnosis that, for some patients, may include high-functioning depression, Walker says. But she also stresses that because high-functioning depression is not a technical diagnosis, she’s hesitant to say they’re the same. But a 2021 study indicates the Black suicide rate is likely higher than documented because the manner of death is often misclassified. If you’re concerned about a loved one attempting suicide, Walker notes that anxiety is “as strong a predictor” as depression.

☆ TikTok creator Cooper Noriega died of an accidental drug overdose, coroner says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Morgan Sung | Morgan Sung Is A Trends Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

TikTok star Cooper Noriega, whose body was found in a Los Angeles parking lot in June, died of an accidental drug overdose, according to authorities. The medical examiner confirmed that Noriega died in the parking lot. In a now-deleted TikTok video posted hours before his death, Noriega wrote, “who else b thinking they gon d!€ young af”Cooper Noriega in an image from his Instagram feed. @cooper.noriegaNoriega, who had more than 1.7 million followers, had been candid about his drug use and open about his mental health on social media. In the days before his death, Noriega announced plans to start a Discord server for discussing mental health experiences.

☆ Kenyans Kipyokei, Rionoripo handed long bans for doping, Lempus charged
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Fellow Kenyan Betty Wilson Lempus has been charged with the presence of triamcinolone acetonide. As of the end of November, 55 Kenyan athletes were banned and eight provisionally suspended, according to the AIU. Her ban has been backdated to June 27 this year, when the AIU provisionally suspended her, and her results have been disqualified back to and including Oct. 11, 2021. Furosemide was found in Rionoripo's urine in an out-of-competition test on May 30 in Kenya, the AIU said. Athletics Kenya, the ADAK, and Kenya's minister for sports Ababu Namwamba did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

☆ Goldman Sachs says this little-known biotech stock can jump more than 50%
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Shares of Ventyx Biosciences could surge more than 50% on a competitive slate of treatments for autoimmune diseases, according to Goldman Sachs. Analyst Chris Shibutani initiated coverage of Ventyx Biosciences with a buy rating, saying the company has a promising new oral treatment in development for plaque psoriasis. The TYK2 inhibitor from Ventyx Biosciences is notable, because it's expected to have "one of the cleanest safety profiles" among its competitors. "Commercially, VTX958 is being developed for large, well-established I & I markets that generate tens of billions of dollars in annual sales," Shibutani wrote. Shares of Ventyx Biosciences have surged more than 60% in 2022.

☆ Drug Companies Join Medical Psychedelic Movement—but Without the High
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Daniela Hernandez | Brianna Abbott | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Psilocybin, found in mind-bending mushrooms, is one of the compounds researchers hope can be developed into drugs that are safe enough to be taken at home. Drug developers are designing new psychedelic compounds to treat depression and other mental-health conditions but skip the trip. Mind-bending psychedelics including MDMA (aka “ecstasy”), “magic mushrooms” and LSD are being studied as potential treatments for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction. Dozens of companies and academic laboratories are also making changes to the structure of those drugs, or designing similar compounds, to take advantage of their therapeutic properties without the high.

The UK government has promised to overhaul the youth gender care system, after it was deemed inadequate by England’s regulator of health and social care. They described a deeply flawed system that is now hobbled by a toxic political climate around gender care. The letter said a decision would be made at some point from early 2022 on whether the child “is likely to meet the access criteria” for gender care. The family has received no NHS gender care or mental health support since the referral, she said. These recommended supporting “identity exploration” and mental health treatment as the first steps to ensure that any psychological issues are addressed.

Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom® cardholders can activate the Q1 bonus categories through their Chase account starting December 15, 2022, until March 14, 2023. How Chase Freedom quarterly bonus categories workEach quarter of the year, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom® cards earn 5% back (or 5x points) on a different set of bonus categories. That's why you can think of the Chase Freedom Flex℠ and Chase Freedom® bonus categories as earning you either 5% back or 5x points. Previous Chase Freedom quarterly bonus categoriesFor Q4 2022 (October through December), the Chase Freedom bonus categories are Walmart and PayPal. Right now, there are alternative bonuses available directly through Chase for the Freedom cards — find out more in our guide to the current Chase Freedom offers and in our Chase Freedom Flex review.

☆ A Y Combinator-backed startup just raised $39 million to develop new psychedelic treatments for depression
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The company is creating psychedelic drugs that work faster and may not have hallucinogenic effects. The company just raised $39 million from investors and plans to start clinical trials next year. One of the treatments in development is called GM-1020 and is similar to ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic with hallucinogenic effects that has shown promise in treating depression. GM-2505 will have psychedelic effects, though they're expected to last just an hour. By comparison, some other psychedelic drugs in development — like psilocybin and MDMA — have hallucinatory effects that are expected to last up to 8 hours in the clinic.

☆ I trained an AI chatbot on my childhood journal entries to talk to my inner child. It felt like I was reaching into the past and giving her a giant hug.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Michelle Huang used OpenAI GPT-3 Playground to create an inner child chatbot as an experiment. That interaction felt very similar to a normal texting conversation, as if I were texting my past self in real time. I told her that she was loved, cared for, and safe: the words that my past self always wanted to hear. Hearing my inner child say "I'm proud of you" was healing. I tweeted a tutorial for how to create your own inner child chatbot for anyone who wants to replicate the experiment.

☆ Fact Check-Pepto-Bismol not a proven treatment for COVID-19
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Pepto-Bismol, the familiar pink over-the-counter medicine, might be expected to ease diarrhea symptoms in people with or without COVID-19. The claim that “big pharma” is hiding the benefits of Pepto-Bismol as a treatment for COVID-19 is part of a narrative that COVID-19 was manufactured for the pharmaceutical industry as a source of profit, previously debunked by Reuters (here). Bruce Yacyshyn, an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati and co-principal investigator of the Pepto-Bismol clinical trial, told Reuters via email that there was a valid scientific reason to test the medication in the context of COVID-19. But it remained as yet an “unproven treatment” for the virus because “no placebo controlled, randomized clinical trial data is yet available for this drug in this indication.”WHY PEPTO-BISMOL? There is no scientific evidence that Pepto-Bismol provides any benefit as a treatment for COVID-19, and a clinical trial testing that question has not yet produced results.

☆ This biotech stock can jump more than 90%, Barclays says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Little-known Insmed could take off as one of its drugs with conditional approval and another in development show promise, according to Barclays. Analyst Leon Wang initiated the stock as overweight with a price target of $37, which presents a 94.9% upside from Wednesday's close. The company focuses on pulmonology-focused commercial biotech, with two major medications for bronchiectasis, which is when airways in lungs are widened, and a lung disease. Assuming strong data out of the third trial, Wang said the medication could hit the market in 2025. He said Insmed will likely surpass sales guidance, which was already set for a 30% year-over-year increase, in 2022.

☆ Neck pain associated with poor sleep position
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Neck pain may have many causes: Stress, poor posture, texting, injuries from sports, car or other accidents and chronic illnesses such as fibromyalgia, to name a few. Don't sleep on your stomach if you want to avoid neck pain, experts say. What to do about neck painWhat’s the best course of action if you wake up with neck pain? Studies show exercise can improve neck pain from sleep much better than other noninvasive interventions such as massage, acupuncture, yoga or relaxation techniques. A 2020 study found mood and sleep improved when people with chronic neck pain increased their exercise levels.

☆ Pfizer to invest more than $2.5 bln to expand European manufacturing
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Michael Erman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Puurs site has played a key role in the production of COVID-19 vaccine shots Pfizer developed with its German partner BioNTech (22UAy.DE) using the messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. Output started there in late 2020 when Europe and the United States began rolling out shots to tackle the pandemic. "It is all aligned with the growth of our pipeline," Pfizer Chief Global Supply Officer Mike McDermott told Reuters. Pfizer has also been spending significantly to expand its manufacturing capacity in the United States. The New York-based drugmaker has announced plans to expand its Kalamazoo, Michigan, Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and McPherson, Kansas plants.

☆ Noom sells psychology-driven weight loss — but former employees say they were unprepared for and overwhelmed by users' eating disorders, depression, and trauma
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +31 min

Before joining Noom, users fill out a questionnaire asking about what diet programs or mental health apps they've used in the past. Very overly optimistic and happy, doesn't acknowledge what I'm really saying," one Noom user wrote on Reddit. Some of the coaches Insider interviewed said they were interacting with Noom users within two weeks of starting. Emotional bandwidthRachel Clair was hired as a Noom coach in 2018, at a time when the coaching staff grew from 60 to about 200. Annette Riedl/picture alliance via Getty ImagesIn October, 500 more Noom coaches were abruptly called into a virtual meeting and laid off.

☆ Eisai, Biogen Alzheimer's drug slows cognitive decline, safety for some becomes focus
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Deena Beasley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The drug, lecanemab, was associated with a type of brain swelling in 12.6% of trial patients, a side effect previously seen with similar drugs. He suggested that could be because homozygous study patients who were given a placebo fared better than expected. Overall, lecanemab patients benefited by 23% to 26% compared with a placebo on these secondary trial goals. Detailed data from the study were presented at the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease meeting in San Francisco and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Howard Fillit, chief science officer at the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, said doctors always balance the benefits and risks of therapies.

☆ Rare success for Alzheimer's research unlocks hope for future therapies
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Julie Steenhuysen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Eisai and Biogen are scheduled to present full data from their lecanemab study on Tuesday at the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease conference in San Francisco. Lecanemab’s success rests on years of research into the causes of Alzheimer’s as well as advances in measuring amyloid deposits through brain scans and spinal fluids. At least 16 treatments are being tested in clinical trials, with results expected over the next three years, according to a Reuters review of the clinicaltrials.gov registry. The drugmaker has been largely absent from the Alzheimer's space after the high-profile failure of its drug verubecestat five years ago. But several antibody therapies from Lilly, Biogen and AbbVie(ABBV.N) that were designed to slow the rate of tau accumulations failed outright last year.

“I needed help and when you take a parent like me that is desperate to get their child help, we put trust into places like Brooklawn,” Janeway said. Shortly after Anthony entered Brooklawn, Janeway said he was being antagonized by staff, which she heard multiple times on the phone. According to the suit, Anthony told her he had been “choked” during a phone call in October 2021 prompting Janeway to immediately drive down to the facility. It is unclear if the matter was reported to the state agency, which denied a public records request. “I trusted a broken system that is supposed to help my son, not hurt my son, and it failed him,” she said.

☆ Why there is so much stoppage time at the 2022 World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

But, at the 2022 World Cup, audiences are experiencing games which have just got longer – a lot longer. In fact, according to stats website Opta, the five single halves with the most stoppage time in a single World Cup match, since records began in 1966, were all on Monday and Tuesday at the 2022 World Cup. Former England and Liverpool midfielder Jamie Carragher said on Twitter: “Enjoying the amount of time that is being added on by the officials at the Qatar World Cup 2022. He said that the 32 World Cup teams andtheir members of staff will have to work “harder” to improve players’ recovery in between games. Examples would include soft tissue, swimming pools and ice chambers.”Injury concerns aside, brace yourself for a lot more World Cup minutes until the tournament concludes on December 18.

☆ Predictive value of 'good' cholesterol level varies by race, U.S. study finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Nancy Lapid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In contradiction to what has generally been assumed, low HDL levels did not confer any higher risk of heart disease in Black people, researchers said. Among white people, however, those with HDL levels below 40 milligrams per deciliter had a 22% higher risk for coronary heart disease compared with those whose HDL levels were higher. High HDL levels (above 60 mg/dL), which are thought to be protective, were not linked with lower coronary heart disease risks in either race, researchers found. Participants of both races were similar in age, cholesterol levels, and other heart disease risk factors, the researchers said. The early studies that shaped perceptions about healthy cholesterol levels overwhelmingly involved white American participants, Pamir said.

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