Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
Opposition to the use of sewage sludge as fertilizer is growing across the country. While the practice has been happening for decades, there are increasing concerns about potential pollution of groundwater from toxic chemicals in wastewater. (Bickel and Murphy, 3/26)
Five years after the pandemic began, the neurocognitive effects of long covid are numerous and troubling. And some may extend to people who quickly recovered. (Sima, 3/27)
The prospect of dementia, which encompasses Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and a number of other cognitive disorders, so frightens Americans that a recent study projecting steep increases in cases over the next three decades drew enormous public attention. ... Now the findings are being challenged by other dementia researchers who say that while increases are coming, they will be far smaller than Dr. Coresh and his co-authors predicted. (Span, 3/22)
It鈥檚 hard to escape the fruit snacks-juice box culture many parents and children live in. But a growing body of research supports limiting children鈥檚 sugar intake for the first 1,000 days of life 鈥 starting at conception 鈥 or until age 2. A study released last year based on World War II-era data highlights the importance of eating well, particularly during pregnancy, says Robert Siegel, a pediatrician and pediatric obesity specialist at Cincinnati Children鈥檚 Hospital and Medical Center. (Frost, 3/24)
Demand for facial hair surgery is soaring 鈥 despite the dangers that lurk in an unregulated industry. Are the risks worth it for the chance of a thicker, fuller beard? (Usborne, 3/25)
At a certain point, there鈥檚 no stopping a sneeze. But doctors say there are ways to turn down the volume of an 鈥渁choo.鈥 (Amenabar, Valino and Galocha, 3/24)
The steel shell that encloses the site of the world鈥檚 worst nuclear disaster was built to endure for a century. But war was a scenario its engineers never envisioned. (Barker, 3/25)
His studies showed that a B vitamin deficiency could cause hardened arteries. It took the medical profession more than a decade to catch up. (Rosenwald, 3/21)
