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Biologist Jennifer Erwin of the Lieber Institute for Brain Development, however, has no intention of babying her organoids: the world’s first human placentas in a dish that were made from stem cells. Challenging as the half-millimeter-across organoids were to create, she intends to starve them of oxygen and douse them with stress hormones, among other assaults. It’s all for a good cause: to mimic pregnancy complications that raise the risk of brain development going off the rails, resulting in conditions including schizophrenia, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and intellectual disability. (Begley, 7/31)

Several years ago I found myself lost one night near Big Sur, Calif. Fog encircled me, erasing the full moon that would have helped me find the path to my friend’s house. I stopped and waited, anxiety building, when suddenly I took several steps into a gap in the fog. The moon, uncovered again, revealed the way forward. A few tiny steps and my entire perspective had changed. I understood the metaphor: Change your perspective to change your life. (Petrow, 7/31)

The Los Angeles County coroner’s office says Disney actor Cameron Boyce died unexpectedly from epilepsy. An autopsy report released Tuesday states the “Descendants” star was found unresponsive at home on July 6, and later pronounced dead at the scene. Boyce’s family said previously that the 20-year-old died due to an ongoing medical condition for which he was being treated, but did not reveal specifics. (Campione, 7/30)

Clinics offering ketamine infusions tout it as “the path to happiness,” the “future of healing and hope,” and a way to “feel good again” and a way to “get back your life” and “feel again.” As use of the medication grows, so has the hype around it. One particularly eyebrow-raising example: A recent press release from Kalypso Wellness Centers boasts a 90% success rate for its infusions, personalized treatment plans based on a patient’s DNA, and success in treating multiple sclerosis, lupus, Lyme disease, and ALS with ketamine. (Thielking, 7/31)

Diapers promising to soften babies’ behinds and digitally track their sleep are hitting the market. Billed as parental aids, the new products also are helping the biggest diaper makers lift prices.Demand for diapers has declined in the U.S. and is set to fall further as Americans have fewer babies, a dilemma for Procter & Gamble Co. , maker of Pampers and Luvs, and Huggies maker Kimberly-Clark Corp. The number of babies born in the U.S. last year fell to a 32-year low, dropping 2% from 2017 to 3.79 million births. (Terlep, 7/31)

When heartburn or ulcer pain strikes, drugs can target stomach acid to calm bellies and offer relief. But a new study suggests the medications may come with a hive-inducing side effect: allergies. After analyzing health insurance data from more than 8 million people in Austria, researchers found that prescriptions of anti-allergy medications surged in those who were prescribed stomach acid inhibitors, a class of drugs that includes proton-pump inhibitors and H2 blockers. (Azad, 7/30)

[Dr. Jeffrey] Wang and transplant specialists at HCMC in Minneapolis said they hope the development can reduce waiting times that have sometimes amounted to a death sentence for patients with kidney failure. In Minnesota alone, 2,160 people are awaiting kidney transplants, and 704 have been waiting at least three years. Last year, 93 people on Minnesota’s list died awaiting transplant, and another 74 were removed from the list because they had become too sick. (Olson, 7/30)

People who exercise in the morning seem to lose more weight than people completing the same workouts later in the day, according to a new study of workouts and waistlines. The findings help shed light on the vexing issue of why some people shed considerable weight with exercise and others almost none, and the study adds to the growing body of science suggesting that the timing of various activities, including exercise, could affect how those activities affect us. (Reynolds, 7/31)