Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
14-Year-Old Invents Soap To Treat Skin Cancer, Wins Top Young Scientist Prize
USA Today: 14-Year-Old Virginia Boy Named 'America's Top Young Scientist'
"America's Top Young Scientist" is a 14-year-old who invented a soap that treats skin cancer. Heman Bekele, a ninth grader from Annandale, Virginia, won the prestigious award from 3M and Discovery Education, considered one of the country's top middle school science competitions. "I believe that young minds can make a positive impact on the world," Heman said in his submission for the award. (Al-Arshani, 10/23)
In other health and wellness news —
The Washington Post: An Estimated 220,000 U.S. Kids Under 18 Diagnosed With Arthritis
Some 220,000 youths in the United States — children and adolescents younger than 18 — have been diagnosed with arthritis, a disease most commonly associated with older people, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The finding is based on analysis of 2017 to 2021 data from the Census Bureau’s National Survey of Children’s Health. Details came from the parents of 173,406 youths, with responses weighted to reflect a nationally representative sample. (Searing, 10/23)
CNN: Nearly 1 In 4 People Worldwide Feel Lonely, According To New Gallup Poll
If you feel lonely, you’re actually in good company: Nearly 1 in 4 adults across the world have reported feeling very or fairly lonely, a new Meta-Gallup survey has found. The new survey, taken across 142 countries, found 24% of people age 15 and older self-reported feeling very or fairly lonely in response to the question, “How lonely do you feel?” (Nicioli, 10/24)
CBS News: Hot Yoga Could Help Treat Depression Symptoms, Mass General Study Finds
According to researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, heated yoga, commonly known as "hot yoga," could help treat symptoms of depression. In a randomized controlled trial, 80 adults with moderate to severe depression were randomized to either perform 90 minutes of Bikram yoga in a 105-degree Fahrenheit room at least twice a week for eight weeks or get placed on a waitlist. The subjects in the yoga group reported significantly fewer depressive symptoms. (Marshall, 10/23)
Stat: STAT Summit: Ending The Crisis Of Black Deaths In The U.S.
In the last two decades, Black Americans have suffered 1.63 million excess deaths compared to white Americans. Experts gathered at the STAT Summit in Boston last week to discuss the crisis of Black deaths in the U.S. and interventions that can help advance health equity. (Nayak, 10/23)
KFF Health News: Epidemic: What Good Is A Vaccine When There Is No Rice?
The 1970s was the deadliest decade in the “entire history of Bangladesh,” said environmental historian Iftekhar Iqbal. A deadly cyclone, a bloody liberation war, and famine triggered waves of migration. As people moved throughout the country, smallpox spread with them. In Episode 7 of “Eradicating Smallpox,” Shohrab, a man who was displaced by the 1970 Bhola cyclone, shares his story. After fleeing the storm, he and his family settled in a makeshift community in Dhaka known as the Bhola basti. Smallpox was circulating there, but the deadly virus was not top of mind for Shohrab. “I wasn’t thinking about that. I was more focused on issues like where would I work, what would I eat,” he said in Bengali. (10/24)
KFF Health News: Millions Of Rural Americans Rely On Private Wells. Few Regularly Test Their Water
Allison Roderick has a warning and a pledge for rural residents of her county: The water from their wells could be contaminated, but the government can help make it safe. Roderick is the environmental health officer for Webster County in north-central Iowa, where a few thousand rural residents live among sprawling corn and soybean fields. Many draw their water from private wells, which are exempt from most federal testing and purity regulations. Roderick spreads the word that they aren’t exempt from danger. (Leys, 10/24)
In celebrity news —
The New York Times: Mary Lou Retton Is Released From Hospital, Daughter Says
Mary Lou Retton, the decorated Olympic gymnast, has been released from a hospital, one of her daughters said on Monday, about two weeks after her family reported that the gold medalist had a rare form of pneumonia and was in an intensive care unit “fighting for her life.” “We still have a long road of recovery ahead of us, but baby steps,” McKenna Lane Kelley, Retton’s daughter, said on Instagram, noting that her mother was at home. “We are overwhelmed with the love and support from everyone. Grateful doesn’t scrape the surface of the posture of our hearts.” (Jimenez, 10/23)
