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Pesticides used in our homes, gardens and lawns and sprayed on foods we eat are contributing to a dramatic decline in sperm count among men worldwide, according to a new analysis of studies over the last 50 years. “Over the course of 50 years, sperm concentration has fallen about 50% around the world,” said senior study author Melissa Perry, dean of the College of Public Health at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. (LaMotte, 11/15)

Advances in childhood cancer are a success story in modern medicine. But in the past decade, those strides have stalled for Black and Hispanic youth, opening a gap in death rates, according to a new report published Thursday. Childhood cancers are rare and treatments have improved drastically in recent decades, saving lives. Death rates were about the same for Black, Hispanic and white children in 2001, and all went lower during the next decade. But over the next 10 years, only the rate for white children dipped a little lower. (Johnson, 11/16)

It’s long been thought that a torn ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament, has limited ability to heal on its own and requires surgery. Recent research suggests that a nonsurgical treatment, including physical therapy, could be as effective, sparking controversy among surgeons who perform dozens of ACL reconstructions every year. The study, published in June in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, found that 90% of ACL tears in 80 participants showed signs of healing on an MRI after they followed a new bracing protocol. (Camero and Herzberg, 11/15)

Infants born to mothers who used marijuana during pregnancy were twice as likely to be underweight and nearly twice as likely to be premature than infants who were not exposed to cannabis, a new study found. Cannabis-exposed infants were 2.5 times as likely to be admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit, compared with unexposed babies, according to the study. (LaMotte, 11/16)

Yellowstone National Park and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) announced yesterday that chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been confirmed for the first time in the park, which involves an adult mule deer found dead. ... So far, no infections in humans have been found, but health officials urge people to avoid eating meat from infected animals and to take precautions when field-dressing or butchering animals. (Schnirring, 11/15)

Despite the psychological toll of being shot by a firearm and surviving, victims may not seek mental health services from licensed professionals due to stigma, fear, and a lack of trusted resources, a new study found. (Li, 11/15)

The World Health Organization is making loneliness a global health priority, it said Wednesday, launching a new Commission on Social Connection. For the next three years, the commission will focus on ways to address the “pressing health threat” of a global epidemic of loneliness, reviewing the latest science and designing strategies to help people deepen their social connections. (Christensen, 11/15)

�鶹Ů�� Health News and MTPR: It’s Getting Harder To Find Long-Term Residential Behavioral Health Treatment For Kids 

Connie MacDonald works for the State Department at the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It’s a dream job, and she loved living abroad with her two sons. But earlier this year, MacDonald said, her 8-year-old son started to become aggressive. At first the family thought it was ADHD. Her son was indeed eventually diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder — as well as disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, which makes it difficult for her son to control his emotions, particularly anger. (Bolton, 11/16)