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Pregnant women living in parts of Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’ are far more likely to give birth prematurely and to babies that have low birth weight compared to women living outside the state, according to research in a Human Rights Watch report published Thursday.  The research, which is part of a study currently under peer review, argues people living in Louisiana’s most air-polluted areas have premature birth rates as high as 25.3 percent, almost twice the state average of 13.5 percent. That number is also about two and a half times the U.S. average of 10.4 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (O'Connell-Domenech, 1/25)

A year after an investigation revealed widespread use of a substandard cancer drug, the World Health Organization and national drug regulators around the world have come under fire for failing to protect children from the dangerous chemotherapy. (Furneaux and Margottini, 1/25)

When is cancer not cancer? It’s an unexpected question that has stirred the world of cancer treatment in recent years, most notably now with prostate cancer. A growing number of doctors are advocating what might seem like an unusual position: That low-grade prostate cancers that grow very slowly or not at all shouldn’t be called cancer or carcinoma. The reason, they say, is that those words scare men, their families and sometimes even their doctors into seeking more aggressive treatment than patients need—leaving men with debilitating side effects—rather than pursuing a carefully monitored wait-and-see approach.  (Reddy, 1/24)

Nature talks to Sholto David about his process for flagging image manipulation and his tips for scientists under scrutiny. (Kozlov, 1/24)

Congressional Republicans are rallying behind Zyn, a brand of flavored oral nicotine pouches, amid a push from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) for federal action on the tobacco and electronic cigarette alternative. “This calls for a Zynsurrection!” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) posted on X, formerly Twitter. Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, posted a photo of himself holding a pack of Zyn on X. “Big Brother Schumer doesn’t want us to chew or smoke. Now he’s against an alternative that’s helped many quit. Come and take it!” Hudson said in the post. (Brooks, 1/24)

The American Lung Association is urging state and federal lawmakers to crack down on the sale of flavored tobacco products. In a scathing new report released Wednesday, the organization argues products like wintergreen chewing tobacco, fruit-flavored vapes and menthol cigarettes, as well as targeted marketing schemes, not only harm young users but can lead to a disproportionate number of tobacco deaths among Black Minnesotans compared to their white peers. (Wurzer, Stockton and Levin, 1/24)

The Food and Drug Administration issued a new warning late Tuesday about supplements that contain the ingredient tianeptine, commonly known as "gas station heroin." The products — sold under the name Neptune’s Fix and often found at gas stations, convenience stores and online — are linked to serious side effects including seizures, loss of consciousness and death. ... Tianeptine is an antidepressant that is approved in some European, Asian and Latin American countries, but not in the United States. (Lovelace Jr., 1/24)

Three people sought medical treatment for dangerously low blood sugar in the U.S. last year after taking suspected fake versions of Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Ozempic, America's Poison Centers told Reuters. One person also experienced hypoglycemia in 2023 after injecting a compounded version of Ozempic, said the organization, which represents 55 regional poison centers across the country and works with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to identify public health risks. (Wingrove, 1/24)

Stew Leonard's is recalling some cookies after a person died. The Vanilla Florentine cookies were made by an outside manufacturer and sold only at Stew Leonard's in Danbury and Newington, Conn. from Nov. 6 - Dec. 31, 2023. The cookies contained peanuts, but that wasn't listed on the label. Órla Baxendale, 25, a dancer, died anaphylactic shock. It's believed she consumed the cookies while at an event in Connecticut. (Zanger, 1/24)

The Pennsylvania attorney general's office and the state Department of Agriculture have filed a lawsuit against Miller's Organic Farm after authorities say they've been trying to bring it into compliance with the law for years. The complaint submitted Tuesday alleges the violation of multiple laws, including Pennsylvania's Milk Sanitation Law and the Food Safety Act. Two recent E. coli illnesses reported by other state's departments of health are suspected to have originated from Miller's Organic Farm raw milk, the attorney general's office said. (Bartos, 1/24)

A new estimate shows hearing loss affects approximately 37.9 million Americans and is more common in rural areas than urban ones and in men than women. The study, published Wednesday in The Lancet Regional Health-Americas Journal, is the first to estimate hearing loss rates at the state and county level, and was led by NORC at the University of Chicago. The estimates are for 2019 and only include people who have hearing loss in both ears. (Shastri, 1/24)

A kind of protein implicated in Alzheimer’s disease might also contribute to the breakdown of cartilage that’s characteristic of osteoarthritis. In a new study, published in Science Translational Medicine on Wednesday, researchers analyzed tissue samples and joint fluid from 12 people, both those with osteoarthritis and healthy controls. They found those with osteoarthritis in their knee had a fourfold increase in apolipoprotein E, or APOE. (Cueto, 1/24)