Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
Each week, KFF Health News finds longer stories for you to read. Today's selections are on Alzheimer's, teen mental health, the effects of U.S. foreign aid cuts, and more.
The New York Times:
He Was Expected To Get Alzheimer’s 25 Years Ago. Why Hasn’t He?
Scientists are searching for the secret in Doug Whitney’s biology that has protected him from dementia, hoping it could lead to ways to treat or prevent Alzheimer’s for many other people. (Belluck, 10/7)
The Washington Post:
School Offers Hikes Instead Of Detention. Teachers Are Seeing Results.
The high school students were breaking rules — skipping class, talking back to teachers or using their phones when they weren’t allowed. They got detention, meaning they would sit in a classroom for a few hours after school. Leslie Trundy, a Maine high school counselor and avid hiker, was excited to offer students an option to hike instead. Some students were less enthusiastic. “I kind of thought it would be boring,” sophomore Alexander Soto said. But after their first hikes — smelling pine trees, listening to birds chirping and discussing their lives — they realized hiking wasn’t so bad. In fact, they found it actually improved their moods. (Melnick, 10/8)
The New York Times:
In A Toxic World, Pets Could Be Vital Health Watchdogs
On a frigid February night in 2023, a freight train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. For days, the train’s hazardous contents spilled into the surrounding soil, water and air. It was an environmental and public health catastrophe, and efforts are underway to monitor the long-term health effects on the people of East Palestine. But one team of scientists is focused on a different group of local residents: the dogs. After the derailment, the researchers recruited dog owners in and around East Palestine, asking them to attach chemical-absorbing silicone tags to their pets’ collars. (Anthes, 10/7)
Stat:
Wellness Influencer Jay Shetty And His Health Advice Are Everywhere. It’s By Design
The author, entrepreneur, and host of the health podcast "On Purpose" helps people overcome issues from their past. His own past is a different story. (Lee, 10/10)
NPR:
How Trump's Research Cuts Affect A 4-Year-Old In Heart Failure
The device is about the size of a AA battery, and it has the potential to help a baby or infant heart keep beating in the face of failure. It's called the PediaFlow, an implantable artificial heart for the littlest, most vulnerable humans. James Antaki, a biomedical engineer at Cornell University in New York, has been developing this medical device for the last two decades. (Nadworny, 10/9)
AP:
Myanmar's Children Suffer As US Aid Cuts Take Hold
Mohammed Taher clutched the lifeless body of his 2-year-old son and wept. Ever since his family’s food rations stopped arriving at their internment camp in Myanmar in April, the father had watched helplessly as his once-vibrant baby boy weakened, suffering from diarrhea and begging for food. On May 21, exactly two weeks after Taher’s little boy died, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sat before Congress and declared: “No one has died” because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program. Rubio also insisted: “No children are dying on my watch.” (Gelineau, 10/8)
