Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
Each week, KFF Health News finds longer stories for you to enjoy. Today's selections are on DNA sequencing, sickle cell, ADHD, toad venom, and more.
NBC News:
Cutting-Edge Test Uses DNA Sequencing To Yield Diagnoses For Some Medical Mysteries
A cutting-edge diagnostic test is helping some doctors find diagnoses for medical mysteries by analyzing DNA and RNA to detect a broad swath of viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites. (Bendix, 11/12)
Stat:
Sickle Cell Patient Juggles Pain, Thoughts Of What Might Have Been
All morning, nurses had been coming in, taking vitals, offering blankets, pressing buttons to silence alarms. It would stay quiet for a bit, but then the beeping would start again, telling Tammy Clemons over and over that she was back in the emergency room. (Boodman, 11/11)
Stat:
Adult Survivors Of Congenital Heart Defects Getting Inadequate Care
Until Jennifer Cortes joined a patient advocacy group of adults who have congenital heart defects, she’d never met anyone outside her family who was living with such a complex, life-changing condition. (Cooney, 11/13)
The New York Times:
A.D.H.D. Symptoms Are Milder With A Busy Schedule, Study Finds
Research has shown that A.D.H.D. symptoms can change over time, improving and then worsening again or vice versa. And according to a recently published study, having additional responsibilities and obligations is associated with periods of milder A.D.H.D. This might mean that staying busy had been beneficial, researchers said. It could also just mean that people with milder symptoms had been able to handle more demands, they added. (Caron, 11/13)
The New York Times:
Why Humans Cry
We’re the only species that sheds emotional tears, but much about them remains an enigma. (Smith, 11/14)
CNN:
Toxic Chemical ‘Hall Of Shame’ Calls Out Retailers In Time For Holiday Shopping
Major retailers are failing to protect consumers from hazardous chemicals and plastics in the products they sell, according to the 2024 Retailer Report Card released Thursday by Toxic Free Future, a nonprofit consumer product safety organization. On average, the 50 largest retailers in the United States and Canada — which represent 160 businesses that generate over $4 trillion in annual revenue — received a grade of D+ for their failing efforts to protect customers, according to the publication. (LaMotte, 11/14)
The New York Times:
Mike Tyson’s Inspiration For Jake Paul Fight: Smoking Toad Venom.
Mike Tyson, one of the greatest and most controversial boxers in the sport’s history, is no stranger to the fine art of promotion. At 58, and long past his athletic prime, he was still able to add a layer of curiosity to his upcoming, made-for-TV boxing match against the YouTuber Jake Paul by telling Interview magazine that God had told him to come out of retirement while he was experiencing the hallucinogenic effects of smoking toad venom. (Cacciola, 11/14)
