Possibility Of Zika Contamination Flagged For Miami-Area Sperm Banks

The New York Times: Zika Warning Is Issued Over Sperm Banks In The Miami Area
Women who are considering trying to become pregnant with semen from sperm banks in the Miami-Dade County area of Florida should consider the possibility that sperm collected as far back as mid-June might be infected with the Zika virus, federal health officials said Monday. (Belluck, 3/13)

Stat: Tom Price Expresses Concern On Genetic Testing Bill
President Trump’s top health official suggested that there would be “significant concerns” with a House bill that would allow companies to require employees to undergo genetic testing, but said the administration had not yet examined the issue. Tom Price, the secretary of Health and Human Services, was asked about the bill on NBC’s “Meet the Press” over the weekend. “I’m not familiar with the bill, but it sounds like there would be some significant concerns about it,” Price said. “If the department’s asked to evaluate it, or if it’s coming through the department, we’ll be glad to take a look at it.” (Joseph, 3/13)

Stateline: As Legal Marijuana Spreads, Worries About Teen Addiction Grow
Dr. Christian Thurstone, a pediatric addiction psychiatrist at Denver Health Medical Center who treats teens and works with Ingram and other counselors in six local high schools, sees a link between growing addiction to marijuana among teens and the state’s decision to make it legal — even though there are no indications more Colorado teens are using it. Since the state allowed private companies to market and sell medical marijuana in 2010, the number of adolescents coming to Denver Health seeking treatment for marijuana dependence has doubled, he said. (Vestal, 3/13)

WBUR: Why Are So Many Middle-Aged Men Killing Themselves?
A recent rise in suicides in Massachusetts -- an increase of 40 percent from 2004 to 2014 — is driven by a rise in middle-aged men taking their own lives, according the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. In fact, 40 percent of all people who die by suicide in the United States are men between the ages of 35 and 64. It’s a staggering number, especially since this demographic represents only 19 percent of the nation’s total population. (Reed, 3/14)

Stat: Gene Drives Could Halt Malaria In West Africa — If Residents Agree To It
This small village of mud-brick homes in West Africa might seem the least likely place for an experiment at the frontier of biology. Yet scientists here are engaged in what could be the most promising, and perhaps one of the most frightening, biological experiments of our time. They are preparing for the possible release of swarms of mosquitoes that, until now, have been locked away in a research lab behind double metal doors and guarded 24/7. The goal: to nearly eradicate the population of one species of mosquito, and with it, the heavy burden of malaria across Africa. (Swetlitz, 3/14)

Los Angeles Times: Your Kids Aren't Killing You; One Day They May Actually Help You Live Longer 
Sometimes — a lot of times — it feels as if being a parent is shaving years off your life, but a new study suggests that’s not the case. In fact, just the opposite may be true. (Netburn, 3/13)

Bloomberg: Sugar And Salt Content Shrivels As Consumers Get Wise On Health 
Global consumer-goods makers reduced ingredients such as sugar and salt in about 20 percent of their products in 2016 as shoppers shift toward healthier brands. A survey of 102 companies, including Nestle SA and Procter & Gamble Co., found that 180,000 products were reformulated in 2016, according to a report from the Consumer Goods Forum. That was about double the previous year...The biggest producers are losing share to smaller, localized brands which are capitalizing on shoppers’ growing preference for healthier and more sustainable products. Organic growth for global consumer companies has fallen to less than 3 percent for the last three years, according to Credit Suisse analysts. Kraft Heinz Co.’s $143 billion approach for Unilever underscored the pressure building on companies to breakout from the sector’s malaise. (Chambers, 3/13)

KQED: Can Probiotics Help Your Depression? What We Know, What We Don’t
What if your psychiatrist prescribed yogurt and vegetables as an antidepressant? It may sound like alternative medicine, but researchers at the intersection of psychiatry and biochemistry think that adding certain beneficial bacteria to a person’s intestines could be the future for treating anxiety and depression. (Cantrell, 3/13)

Miami Herald: Hearing Loss Will Spike As The U.S. Population Ages: Study
A Johns Hopkins study published earlier this month found that, as Americans age, more of them are expected to suffer from hearing loss. Researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore predict that 44 million — or 15 percent of U.S. adults — will have some hearing loss by 2020. That will increase to 23 percent of all adults 20 and older by 2060. (Veciana-Suarez, 3/13)

Miami Herald: Sales Of Adult Diapers Expected To Boom As World Population Ages
Baby boomers are buying more absorbent hygiene products than ever, helping a beleaguered paper industry that has seen its fortunes plummet as information grows increasingly digital and paperless. U.S. retail sales for incontinence products are projected to increase 9 percent in 2017 and 8 percent in 2018, according to Svetlana Uduslivaia, the head of industry research at Euromonitor International. In 2016 sales adult incontinence products racked up almost $2 billion. (Veciana-Suarez, 3/13)