Not All Screen Time May Be Harmful To Kids, Some Experts Begin To Consider

The Wall Street Journal: What If Children Should Be Spending More Time With Screens?
Imagine someone traveling through time to the days before the internet, regaling audiences with fantastical tales of a future in which children can access devices containing the sum of all human knowledge and which gain new powers daily to instruct, create and bring people together. Now imagine this time traveler describing the reactions of most parents to these devices—not celebration, but fear, guilt and anxiety over how much time their children spend with them. That’s where we are today. Parents are frequently admonished that the most important thing to do with iPhones, iPads and computers is limit children’s access to them. (Mims, 1/22)

The Washington Post: Transgender Kids Are New Focus For Doctors And Entire Medical Field
The California wildfires were still raging last fall as Jennifer Bilstein and her 15-year-old son inched their way down Highway 101, a two-hour drive in ordinary times that took four hours through the smoke-filled air and yellow sky. She was determined to get Jacob to his doctor’s appointment on time. It was his second visit to the adolescent gender clinic, where Jacob — a shy boy with pink cheeks, a cowlick and black oversize glasses — was being medically evaluated to begin taking testosterone. (Solovitch, 1/21)

The New York Times: Yes, People Really Are Eating Tide Pods. No, It’s Not Safe.
It seems every few weeks another challenge takes social media by storm. Some, like the “Ice Bucket Challenge,” promote a cause. Others, like the bottle-flipping craze, are benign. But then there are those fads that are ill-informed or, worse, dangerous. The latest, the “Tide pod challenge,” belongs in that category. It involves biting down on a brightly colored laundry detergent packet of any brand and spitting out or ingesting its contents, an act that poses serious health risks. (Chokshi, 1/20)

The Wall Street Journal: China, Unhampered By Rules, Races Ahead In Gene-Editing Trials
In a hospital west of Shanghai, Wu Shixiu since March has been trying to treat cancer patients using a promising new gene-editing tool. U.S. scientists helped devise the tool, known as Crispr-Cas9, which has captured global attention since a 2012 report said it can be used to edit DNA. Doctors haven’t been allowed to use it in human trials in America. That isn’t the case for Dr. Wu and others in China. (Rana, Marcus and Fan, 1/21)

The New York Times: Oral Contraceptives Reduce Risk For Ovarian And Endometrial Cancers
The long-term use of oral contraceptives reduces the risk for ovarian and endometrial cancers, and the effect is especially evident in smokers, the obese and those who exercise infrequently, a new study found. Earlier studies have demonstrated an association of previous oral contraceptive use with reduced risk for these cancers in postmenopausal women. This study considered the impact of various health and lifestyle factors, including smoking, obesity and physical activity. (Bakalar, 1/19)

NPR: Cancer Patients Get Little Guidance From Doctors On Using Medical Marijuana
Even three queasy pregnancies didn't prepare Kate Murphy for the nonstop nausea that often comes with chemotherapy. In the early months of 2016, the Lexington, Mass., mother tried everything the doctors and nurses suggested. "But for the most part I felt nauseous 24/7," she said. Murphy, then 49 and fighting breast cancer, dropped 15 pounds from her already slim frame in just two months. Then, she remembered what a fellow cancer patient had advised while she was waiting for her first dose of chemo: "Make sure you get some medical marijuana." (Weintraub, 1/21)

The Wall Street Journal: Americans Say Marijuana Is Less Of Health Risk Than Tobacco, Poll Finds
Americans are polarized on many issues, but they tend to be on the same page when it comes to assessing the health risks from marijuana, compared with alcoholic beverages, tobacco or sugar. Far more people say a cigarette, an alcoholic drink or a candy bar are more harmful to a person’s overall health than pot, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News survey finds. (Jamerson, 1/19)

NPR: What's The Science Behind Personalized Diets Based On Your DNA?
The idea that each of us has a unique nutrition blueprint within our genes is a delicious concept. Perhaps, this helps explain the growth in personalized nutrition testing and services such as Habit, Profile Precise and Nutrigenomix.So, what exactly can these tests tell you? (Aubrey, 1/22)

PBS NewsHour: Remembering AIDS Activist Mathilde Krim, ‘Mother Of The Movement’
The co-founder of amFAR (the American Foundation for AIDS Research), Dr. Krim died at the age of 91 this week. Her legacy was that of a most unusual triple threat: She easily bridged the worlds of science and public health; fundraising, Hollywood and activism; and pushing for changes to public policy in the halls of Washington, D.C. (Jacobson, 1/19)

The New York Times: One Day Your Mind May Fade. At Least You’ll Have A Plan.
When Ann Vandervelde visited her primary care doctor in August, he had something new to show her. Dr. Barak Gaster, an internist at the University of Washington School of Medicine, had spent three years working with specialists in geriatrics, neurology, palliative care and psychiatry to come up with a five-page document that he calls a dementia-specific advance directive. (Span, 1/19)

NPR: When A Tattoo Literally Means Life Or Death
The man was unconscious and alone when he arrived at University of Miami Hospital last summer. He was 70 years old and gravely ill. "Originally, we were told he was intoxicated," remembers Dr. Gregory Holt, an emergency room doctor, "but he didn't wake up." "He wasn't breathing well. He had COPD. These would all make us start to resuscitate someone," says Holt. "But the tattoo made it complicated." (Hersher, 1/21)