Leaked Documents Imply Meta Hid Kids’ Safety Risks In VR Apps, Devices
Meta publicly committed to making child safety a top priority across its platforms, but internal documents recently disclosed to Congress include guidance from Meta’s legal team on how researchers should handle sensitive topics that risked bad press, lawsuits, or action by regulators. The company has vehemently denied the accusations. Plus: chronic pain, hearing loss, cancer, and more.
The Washington Post:
Meta Suppressed Research On Child Safety, Employees Say
At her home in western Germany, a woman told a team of visiting researchers from Meta that she did not allow her sons to interact with strangers on the social media giant’s virtual reality headsets. Then her teenage son interjected, according to two of the researchers: He frequently encountered strangers, and adults had sexually propositioned his little brother, who was younger than 10, numerous times. “I felt this deep sadness watching the mother’s response,” one of the researchers, Jason Sattizahn, told The Washington Post regarding the April 2023 conversation. “Her face in real time displayed her realization that what she thought she knew of Meta’s technology was completely wrong.” (Swaine and Nix, 9/8)
In other health and wellness news —
CNN:
Experimental Brain Stimulation May Help Turn Off The ‘Fire Alarm’ Of Chronic Pain
Edward Mowery lived with excruciating pain for years: Picture being put into a hot frying pan, he said, and then someone holding you down on that pan forever. The fiery, shooting pain got so bad that he quit his job, stopped playing sports and had to abandon his beloved death metal band just as the group was taking off. (Christensen, 9/7)
Newsweek:
Adding Salt To Meals May Increase Risk Of Hearing Loss
You've likely heard that consuming too much salt can be bad for your heart, but what about your ears? Frequently adding salt to meals has been associated with an increased risk of hearing loss, according to a new study. Researchers in South Korea sampled 492,168 participants aged 40 to 69 with no hearing loss whose genetic, lifestyle and health data are held in the UK Biobank. (Millington, 9/4)
WLRN Public Media:
Selective Hearing Isn't Just A Family Punchline. It's A Real Neurological Issue
We've all probably joked about "selective hearing" — like when teens ignore chores but perk up when they hear, "We're ordering pizza." But audiologists say selective hearing isn't just a family punchline. It's a real neurological process. (Sanchez, 9/5)
NPR:
Got Hypertension? Millions Of Americans Can Slash Stroke And Dementia Risk. Here’s How.
By age 40, more than half of Americans have high blood pressure, but many are unaware of it. Hypertension has long been known as the silent killer. When it's left untreated it can be deadly. And it's considered a silent threat since most people have no symptoms. You can't feel the pressure in your blood vessels increasing. New recommendations from the American Heart Association aim for early treatment, including lifestyle changes and medications, once systolic blood pressure rises above 130/80 mm Hg, (which stands for millimeters of mercury, a measure of pressure). (Aubrey, 9/7)
Fox News:
Marathon Runners May Face Higher Cancer Risk, Study Suggests
Long-distance running, like marathons and ultramarathons, may not always be the health badge we thought it was. In fact, it could increase your cancer risk, according to a new study out of Virginia. Dr. Timothy Cannon of the Inova Schar Cancer Institute began work on the study, which was presented at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago, after noticing ultramarathoners under 40 were showing up with advanced colon cancer. (Quill, 9/7)
Phys.org:
Cooling Pollen Sunscreen Can Block UV Rays Without Harming Corals
Materials scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have invented the world's first pollen-based sunscreen derived from Camellia flowers. In experiments, the pollen-based sunscreen absorbed and blocked harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays as effectively as commercially available sunscreens, which commonly use minerals like titanium dioxide (TiO2) and zinc oxide (ZnO). (9/4)
On aging and death —
The New York Times:
Why Are More Older People Dying After Falls?
Public health experts have warned of the perils of falls for older people for decades. In 2023, the most recent year of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 41,000 Americans over 65 died from falls, an opinion article in JAMA Health Forum pointed out last month. More startling than that figure, though, was another statistic: Fall-related mortality among older adults has been climbing sharply. (Span, 9/7)
NBC News:
Space Travel May Accelerate The Aging Of Stem Cells As Much As Tenfold, Study Says
Traveling to space is brutal on the body. Spaceflight can cause astronauts’ bones to lose density, their brain and eye nerves to swell, and their genes to change expression. Research suggests spending time in space is akin to fast-tracked aging. NASA’s pioneering study of the identical twin astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly tracked signals of aging in both men while Mark remained on Earth and Scott spent 340 days in space. (Bush, 9/6)
The Wall Street Journal:
The Billionaires Fueling The Quest For Longer Life
How much would you invest in the possibility of living to 150 or beyond? Or having 20 extra healthy years? For the ultrawealthy, it’s more than $5 billion over the past 2½ decades, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of longevity investment deals in PitchBook, public company statements and regulatory filings. (Shifflett, Dockser Marcus and Janin, 9/6)
KFF Health News:
When I Go, I’m Going Green
Our annual family vacation on Cape Cod included all the familiar summer pleasures: climbing dunes, walking beaches, spotting seals, eating oysters, reading books we had intended to get to all year. And a little shopping. My grandkid wanted a few small toys. My daughter stocked up on thousand-piece jigsaw puzzles at the game store in Provincetown. I bought a pair of earrings and a couple of paperbacks. And a gravesite. (Span, 9/8)
