Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
US Lacks Protections As More Are Hurt, Killed From Extreme Heat At Work
State and federal agencies are scrambling to find measures to combat what experts call one of the harshest and most neglected effects of climate change in the U.S.: rising heat deaths and injuries of people who work in triple-digit temperatures. (Stern, 8/28)
麻豆女优 Health News and Tampa Bay Times: More Cities Address 鈥楽hade Deserts鈥 As Extreme Heat Triggers Health Issues
If it weren鈥檛 for the traffic along South MacDill Avenue, Javonne Mansfield swears you could hear the sizzle of a frying pan. The sun is scorching with such violent intensity that even weathered Floridians can鈥檛 help but take note. In a hard hat, Mansfield pushes a shovel into the earth. Heat radiates from the road, the concrete parking lots. It鈥檚 around 10:30 a.m., and his crew is starting a 10-hour shift fixing traffic lights in West Tampa. Cloud coverage is minimal 鈥 thin and wispy. There鈥檚 no greenery or trees to shield them, no refuge from the blistering sun. (Peace and Prator, 8/28)
Eric Hitchner teaches English on the fourth floor of a 111-year-old high school in Philadelphia. Come September, his classroom will be packed with a new crop of teenagers, but one thing will be the same: the lack of air conditioning. It can get so hot in his room, he says, "no one wants to even move, let alone do some strenuous thinking." (Carrillo, 8/28)
In other health and wellness news 鈥
Grand Canyon National Park officials are warning that E. coli bacteria has been detected in the water supply close to Phantom Ranch, the only lodging at the bottom of the canyon. Park authorities said visitors should not consume any water in that area without boiling it first. E. coli can lead to diarrhea, cramps, headaches and sometimes kidney failure and even death. Infants, younger children and immuno-compromised people are more at risk. (8/25)
Researchers from Dell Medical School in Austin, Texas, are warning parents and caregivers not to toss babies and young children into the air in rooms with ceiling fans. Some 2,300 children were treated in U.S. emergency rooms for head injuries between 2013 and 2021, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics this month. (Rudy, 8/27)
A group of Nigerian, British, and U.S. doctors have discovered a genetic variant that increases the risk of Parkinson鈥檚 disease in people of African and mixed-African descent and is not seen in those with European ancestry, a finding that could improve treatment of the movement disorder in a vastly underserved population. (McFarling, 8/25)
A recent study showed that tests for sick newborns that look at their full genetic blueprints are nearly twice as good at finding genetic problems as narrower, more commonly used tests. (Ungar, 8/26)
In celebrity news 鈥
Bronny James went into cardiac arrest during a basketball workout at the University of Southern California last month because of a congenital heart defect. ... 鈥淚t is an anatomically and functionally significant Congenital Heart Defect which can and will be treated,鈥 the statement said. 鈥淲e are very confident in Bronny鈥檚 full recovery and return to basketball in the very near future.鈥 (Harris, 8/25)
麻豆女优 Health News: A Nanoengineer Teamed Up With Rihanna鈥檚 Tattoo Artist To Make Smarter Ink聽
Mad-scientist kind of moments happen fairly often for nanoengineer Carson Bruns. A few months ago in his lab at the University of Colorado-Boulder, he tested his latest invention on his own arm and asked a colleague for help. 鈥淲e were like, 鈥極K, we鈥檙e going to tattoo ourselves. Can you help us today?鈥欌 he said. (Bichell, 8/28)