Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
How To Measure Biological Age: Researchers Focus on Latinos' Longevity for Clues
Los Angeles Times: Scientists Unlock A Secret To Latinos’ Longevity, With Hopes Of Slowing Aging For Everyone
A new way to measure how humans age suggests that Latinos withstand life’s wear and tear better than non-Latino Caucasians, and that they may have their Native American ancestors to thank for their longer lives. The new findings offer some insight into a longstanding demographic mystery: that despite having higher rates of inflammation and such chronic diseases as obesity and diabetes, Latinos in the United States have a longer average lifespan than do non-Latino whites. Those findings emerge from an intriguing effort to devise a biological clock — a standard measure of age more revealing than birthdays, walking speed, wrinkled skin or twinkly eyes. (Healy, 8/18)
NBC News: Brain-Eating Amoeba Found In Grand Teton National Park
Park rangers are warning guests not to swim in warm and hot springs in Grand Teton National Park after confirming the presence of a deadly brain-eating amoeba. (8/19)
CBS News: FDA Issues Safety Alert For Popular Hair Care Product Over Hair Loss Complaints
The FDA began investigating the company after reports of hair loss, balding and rashes. Last month, the agency took the rare step of issuing a safety alert after learning the company had received 21,000 complaints.The company tells CBS News it is cooperating, and its products are safe. (Duncan, 8/18)
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Early Prostate Cancer Cases Drop As PSA Screening Declines
When an influential federal panel recommended in 2012 that doctors omit prostate cancer screening from routine health care, it set off a firestorm. Many men and their doctors seem to have heeded the advice, though the long-term implications won't be clear for a while, a new analysis suggests. (McCullough, 8/19)
