Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Disordered Eating Has A Genetic Component; Basic Steps Make Covid Mostly Non-Fatal
Food usually brings people together. It鈥檚 how we celebrate and connect. And yet I鈥檝e spent decades of my life avoiding and restricting it according to rigid rules of my own design. I find food terrifying and had long been afraid of passing that fear along to a future daughter. While plenty of men suffer from eating disorders, patients with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are overwhelmingly female. (Jillian Weinberger, 7/31)
Like so many others, we are living with COVID. The virus isn鈥檛 going anywhere, but how safely we live with it has changed dramatically. Most Americans have resumed the full range of their pre-pandemic activities 鈥 concerts, parties, summer camps, and family events. But with the virus still circulating, many who have gone back to pre-pandemic life still worry if they are safe. (Ashish Jha, 7/31)
Dr. Tessier-Lavigne made the announcement after a university investigation found that as a neuroscientist and biotechnology executive, he had fostered an environment that led to 鈥渦nusual frequency of manipulation of research data and/or substandard scientific practices鈥 across labs at multiple institutions. Stanford opened the investigation in response to reporting I published last autumn in The Stanford Daily, taking a closer look at scientific papers he published from 1999 to 2012. (Theo Baker, 7/30)
As a practicing physician, my life revolves around caring for my patients, helping them stay healthy, educating them about diseases and picking up on the signs of health concerns that need to be addressed.聽A few weeks ago, however, it became painfully obvious that I had missed the signs of my own major health issue. To my surprise, I was diagnosed with skin cancer on my scalp. The diagnosis of basal cell cancer, and the fact that I ignored it for so long, have really made me pause to reflect on my own health habits and some common misconceptions about skin cancer. (Susannah Hills, 7/29)
Sometimes people call me 鈥渢he tick guy,鈥 but I鈥檓 a mammal guy by training. Although I respect ticks, I don鈥檛 fear them, especially after developing an immunity that kills them when they try to bite me. (Richard S. Ostfeld, 7/31)