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☆ A rash of proposed Florida laws use 'genocidal rhetoric' to attack trans people, legal experts say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

If passed, the bills would restrict access to gender-affirming care and classify it as child abuse. Experts told Insider the bills are posturing ahead of the 2024 presidential race. New legislation 'short circuits existing law'The proposed new bills go further to expand anti-trans legislation than others across the nation, disrupting established custody and health care precedent, legal experts told Insider. "I think that's important, just to note how brazen the language has become — it's genocidal rhetoric," Caraballo told Insider. "This is all about politics, and this is all about bolstering DeSantis is run for the presidency," Caraballo told Insider.

☆ Elon Musk says it's 'super concerning' that smart youths aren't having as much sex as those with average IQs, referencing data from a study published 23 years ago
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk says it's "super concerning" that smart youths aren't having more sex. He was responding to a tweet about high IQ youths not having as much sex as average IQ youths. The tweet's content can be traced back to a paper published in 2000, titled: "Smart teens don't have sex." Williams referenced research that said youths with IQs over 130 are "3-5 times less likely" to have had sex than those with average IQs. Williams' tweet references a research paper published in the Journal of Adolescent Health in 2000, titled "Smart teens don't have sex (or kiss much either)."

☆ Why Children Need Nurturing Fathers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Jennifer Breheny Wallace | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Until a few decades ago, American parents generally fell into specific gender roles, with fathers as providers and mothers as nurturers. Though many more mothers are also providers today, research suggests that fathers still lag behind as responsive caregivers. A soon-to-be published survey of more than 1,600 teenagers by the Harvard Education School’s Making Caring Common project found that almost twice as many 14-to-18-year-old boys and girls feel comfortable opening up to their mothers (72%) as to their fathers (39%) about anxiety, depression or other mental-health challenges. The gap suggests that fathers can become much more involved at home, offering the kind of emotional support that many children today so urgently need. Intimacy between a parent and a child acts as a protective buffer against the day-to-day challenges of life.

☆ FDA Widens Path for Rare-Disease Treatments With New Approval
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( Amy Dockser Marcus | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Photo: Eric Lee for The Wall Street JournalThe Food and Drug Administration, headquartered in Silver Spring, Md., has said it is willing to approve a drug based on results from one trial and “confirmatory evidence.”Federal regulators approved a drug to treat a debilitating disease using data collected about patients over decades, creating an opening for researchers of other rare conditions who often struggle to prove their treatments work. The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved Reata Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s drug Skyclarys, or omaveloxolone, for treating the neurological disorder Friedreich’s ataxia in adults and adolescents age 16 and older.

☆ CDC advisors recommend mpox vaccine for at-risk adults in future outbreaks
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's independent advisors on Wednesday unanimously recommended administering the two-dose Jynneos vaccine to adults at risk of mpox in the event of future outbreaks, following last year's unprecedented epidemic. "It's important to state that an mpox outbreak will be determined by public health authorities, and a single case may be considered an mpox outbreak at the discretion of the public health authority," said Dr. Pablo Sanchez, head of the CDC committee's mpox workgroup. "Local health departments, state health departments, federal can all make that determination of what is considered an outbreak," Rao said. The CDC advisors will meet again in June to discuss using the Jynneos vaccine for kids at risk of mpox in future outbreaks. The U.S. is currently offering the vaccine to adults and adolescents who are at risk in the current epidemic.

☆ FDA advisors recommend over-the-counter use of life-saving opioid overdose treatment Narcan
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Narcan nasal spray quickly reverses an overdose from heroin and prescription painkillers. The Food and Drug Administration's independent advisors on Wednesday unanimously recommended over-the-counter use of the nasal spray Narcan to reverse opioid overdoses, which would significantly expand access to the life-saving treatment. Emergent BioSolutions ' Narcan is the most commonly sold treatment for opioid overdoses. Emergent BioSolutions said Narcan would be available for the over-the-counter market by late summer if the FDA approves it next month. Opioid overdose deaths spiked 17% during the pandemic from about 69,000 in 2020 to nearly 81,000 in 2021.

☆ Teen girls seeing 'dramatic' rise in poor mental health - U.S. CDC
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Nandhini Srinivasan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The data shows a "dramatic" rise in experiences of violence, poor mental health and suicide risk in teens, especially in girls, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said on Monday. "The levels of poor mental health and suicidal thoughts and behaviors recorded by teenage girls are now higher than we have ever seen," said CDC's Kathleen Ethier told reporters. The current study did not examine the cause of the spike but the CDC noted there was also a 20% increase in reports of sexual violence among high school girls since 2017, when the agency started monitoring this measure. "CDC and many other researchers have looked at this and we know that with sexual violence, it is associated with mental health issues, substance use and also long-term health consequences," CDC's Debra Houry said. Overall, 42% of high school students felt so sad or hopeless almost every day for at least two weeks in a row that they stopped their usual activities.

☆ Perfectionism can be your biggest enemy—but it’s simple to fix, says mental health author
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Natasha Piñon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Mental health author Morra Aarons-Mele disagrees. Too many people think that "if we don't give 100%, if we're not perfect, it's a judgment on us," she adds. Unlearning the most painful parts of your perfectionist tendencies can start today, Aarons-Mele says. Learn how to recognize the signsThere's a reason you've been clinging onto perfectionist tendencies this long, Aarons-Mele says: They probably seem to work for you. Longer term, perfectionism usually leads people down one of two paths, neither of which are good for you, Aarons-Mele says.

☆ LGBTQ+ founders face extra challenges when fundraising, with 75% hiding their sexual or gender identity, report finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

LGBTQ+ founders face extra barriers when fundraising, and many feel the need to conceal their identities. A new report tracking the experiences of LGBTQ+ founders and investors in the UK startup and venture capital ecosystem paints a dire picture. LGBTQ+ founders — especially those who identify as women and nonbinary — face additional barriers when fundraising, the report found. Cisgender refers to a person whose gender identity is the same as the sex assigned to them at birth. Funds could also commit a proportion of investment to diverse founders, including LGBTQ+ founders, the report's authors said.

☆ The best acne treatment for teens, according to dermatologists
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Vivian Manning-Schaffel | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +10 min

| How to treat teen acne | What makes teen acne worse? To help you find the right products for you, we spoke to dermatologists about teen acne treatments and ingredients to look for. The best treatments for teen acne to shop, according to expertsBelow, we gathered expert-recommended face washes and spot treatments that can help improve teen acne. It’s fragrance-free, non-comedogenic and should remove any excess oil, dirt or makeup from the skin, according to the brand. Making sure to minimize or avoid ways that could make acne worse is the key to reducing breakouts, according to our experts.

“She wouldn’t be able to walk up to medical without help,” the former staff member said, referring to the office where staff medical professionals worked. James Shirey Jr., 14, died of complications from congenital adrenal hyperplasia, a genetic disorder, while at Diamond Ranch Academy in 2009. Diamond Ranch Academy disputed some of the lawsuit’s allegations in a court filing, and denied wrongdoing, but paid his family a $750,000 settlement in 2017. Diamond Ranch Academy was founded in 1999 by Rob and Sherri Dias. Dean Goodridge wants to see accountability for Diamond Ranch Academy, and any other facilities where children have died.

☆ Fact Check-Flu vaccine study unrelated to Group A Strep doesn't show increase of illness
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is the name for bacteria that can cause infections like strep throat, scarlet fever and impetigo. However, the 2014 study examined different bacteria and found that while their numbers increased following the nasal flu vaccine, that did not lead to increased bacterial disease. A recent UK study has also found that while infections of influenza itself be linked to increased cases of Group A Strep, the nasal vaccine is associated with a reduction in bacterial infections. But it did not investigate group A strep bacteria; rather, the study investigated Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus, which Mina said in an email, are “very different” pathogens to group A strep. A 2014 study does not show the nasal spray flu vaccine causes Group A Strep.

☆ Can Intermittent Fasting Help Combat Childhood Obesity?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Sumathi Reddy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Parents and doctors are looking for new strategies to help adolescents with obesity. One controversial approach drawing the interest of some families is intermittent fasting, which limits people to eating for just a part of the day or week. Intermittent fasting has gained traction among adults who use it to try to manage weight and improve health. Doctors have largely avoided trying it with adolescents out of concern that introducing a fasting period to their schedules might result in nutritional gaps or trigger eating disorders when teens are rapidly growing and developing.

☆ Can Intermittent Fasting Help Combat Youth Obesity?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Sumathi Reddy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ How January 2023 top diet trends can enable eating disorders
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Erin Harrop | Dr. Erin Harrop Is An Assistant Professor At The University Of Denver Graduate School Of Social Work. Their Research | Teaching | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +12 min

Many fad diets are not actually sustainable or healthy — and some can lead to unhealthy obsessions and dangerous eating disorders. And critically, the majority of people living with eating disorders today do not fit the cookie-cutter stereotype of people with eating disorders. Among adults, people previously thought to be the least at risk for eating disorders — such as men, people over 45 years old and lower-income individuals, have demonstrated the most significant increases in eating disorders. As an eating disorder survivor, many parts of my story fit the eating disorder stereotypes. My journey with my eating disorder was long, and I struggled to get treatment during a time when eating disorder treatment programs were few and far between, and health care lacked mental health parity.

☆ Do Overweight Kids Need Pills?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Allysia Finley | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Childhood obesity rates have been climbing since the 1970s, but kids have never packed on as many pounds as quickly as they did during Covid shutdowns. According to one study, the share of 5- to 11-year-olds classified as obese ballooned by nearly 40% between March 2020 and January 2021. About 1 in every 4 kids by the end of the study was considered obese. The AAP last week recommended weight-loss drugs and bariatric surgery for obese adolescents and teens. Such interventions are supposed to be a last resort, but medicating children has become the go-to solution for common problems like anxiety and impulse control.

☆ New guidelines for treating childhood obesity include medications and surgery for first time
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Kaitlin Sullivan | Kaitlin Sullivan Is A Contributor For Nbcnews.Com Who Has Worked With Nbc News Investigations. She Reports On Health | Science | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Intensive behavioral and lifestyle changes should be the first-line approach, but the AAP also includes recommendations for anti-obesity medications and surgery for the first time. The guidelines say that pediatricians should offer weight-loss drugs for children age 12 and up with obesity. She also acknowledged that these lifestyle changes can be really hard to adopt, especially for overworked and low-income parents. The more adverse the environment around you, the harder it is to live a healthy lifestyle,” Hassink said. Medications and surgery are expensive, and asking overstretched parents to implement lifestyle changes is not always realistic.

☆ U.S. experts recommend weight-loss drugs for obese children
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Bhanvi Satija | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Metformin has been used off label to achieve weight loss in children. Of the 27 randomized trials of metformin for weight loss in children reviewed by the guidelines panel, 74% showed some positive effect of the medication. Wegovy last month won U.S. approval for chronic weight management in children ages 12 and older. For children ages 2 to 12 years, AAP said there was not currently enough evidence to recommend use of these medications. They also include recommendations for diagnosing obesity annually in children ages 6 years and older, through checks on BMI, and practices such as motivational interviewing.

☆ Exercise Can Help Children With Symptoms of Depression
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Sarah Toy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

School closures, social isolation and other hardships during the peak years of the Covid pandemic have hurt young people’s mental health. Regular exercise can alleviate symptoms of depression in children, a new analysis showed. International researchers who published their analysis this week in JAMA Pediatrics reviewed 21 studies to determine whether physical activity was associated with a decline in depressive symptoms in children. In the studies, which included data from more than 2,400 young children and adolescents, exercise sessions encompassed activities including sports and simple aerobics such as running or jumping.

A potential cause of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin's jarring collapse and cardiac arrest — witnessed in real time by millions of viewers watching "Monday Night Football" — was immediately recognized by heart experts who also happened to be watching the game. In a statement, the Buffalo Bills has only said that Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest, when the heart stops beating properly, and is now in critical condition. While there are several potential causes for Hamlin's cardiac arrest, cardiologists suggested that a rare phenomenon called "commotio cordis" was to blame. It is in this exact moment, experts say, that a blow to the chest in the exact right place can launch an otherwise healthy person into cardiac arrest. But there are several other reasons a person may go into cardiac arrest.

☆ Workers haven't given up on getting their 'dream job' — but what they're looking for has changed
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Shana Lebowitz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Some dislike the term "dream job." While younger generations are starting to think differently, people continue to beat themselves up over not having landed their dream job soon enough. Dreaming about workThe very term "dream job" is divisive. "I don't dream of labor," an allusion to the term "dream job," is a common refrain on TikTok. "When I think about dream job, I am mostly thinking about the money that it will pay to support my dream life," a chartered financial analyst wrote.

☆ TikTok banned on government devices under spending bill passed by Congress
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The bill includes an exception for law enforcement, national security and research purposes. TikTok has repeatedly said its U.S. user data is not based in China, though those assurances have done little to alleviate concern. While it fell short of antitrust advocates' hopes, the inclusion of the merger filing fee bill still gained praise. Miller said the bill will "significantly strengthen antitrust law for the first time since 1976." Empowering state AGs in antitrust casesAnother antitrust bill included in the package was a version of the State Antitrust Enforcement Venue Act.

☆ FBI warning on teens and ‘sextortion’ means parents need to take these steps
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Teresa Huizar | Teresa Huizar Is The Ceo Of | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

This week, the FBI issued a rare public safety alert warning of an alarming increase in “sextortion” cases targeting children and teens. One former investigator with the New Jersey State Police reported that sextortion cases have increased 400% in the last four years. One told a 13-year-old he would rape her and kill her parents if she didn’t perform certain sexual acts on camera. Tell kids to be highly selective about sharing any personal information and to never, ever share intimate images online. And anytime a child is blackmailed or extorted for sexual images, that should be reported to law enforcement.

☆ Why detransitioners are crucial to the science of gender care
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +43 min

A Canadian health provider said it couldn’t participate, citing recent threats to hospitals offering youth gender care. But as Reuters found, hard evidence on long-term outcomes for the rising numbers of people who received gender treatment as minors is very weak. Dr Marianne van der Loos, the Dutch study’s lead author, is a physician at Amsterdam University Medical Center’s Center for Expertise on Gender Dysphoria, a pioneer in gender care for adolescents. For those who also received medical treatment, detransitioning typically includes halting the hormone therapy they otherwise would receive for years. One is Max Robinson, who was 16 when she sought gender care at Kaiser in 2012.

☆ The Year in Pictures 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +57 min

Every year, starting in early fall, photo editors at The New York Times begin sifting through the year’s work in an effort to pick out the most startling, most moving, most memorable pictures. But 2022 undoubtedly belongs to the war in Ukraine, a conflict now settling into a worryingly predictable rhythm. Erin Schaff/The New York Times “When you’re standing on the ground, you can’t visualize the scope of the destruction. Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 25. We see the same images over and over, and it’s really hard to make anything different.” Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 26.

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