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As people in the U.S. prepare to set their clocks ahead one hour on Sunday, March 10, 2024, I find myself bracing for the annual ritual of media stories about the disruptions to daily routines caused by switching from standard time to daylight saving time. About one-third of Americans say they don't look forward to these twice-yearly time changes. And nearly two-thirds would like to eliminate them completely, compared with 17% who aren't sure and 21% who would like to keep moving their clocks back and forth. But the effects go beyond simple inconvenience. Researchers are discovering that "springing ahead" each March is connected with serious negative health effects, including an uptick in heart attacks and teen sleep deprivation. In contrast, the fall transition back to standard time is not associated with these health effects, as my co-authors and I explained in a 2020 commentary. I've studied the pros and cons of these twice...

Soon after the first COVID-19 vaccines appeared in 2021, reports of rare cases of heart inflammation, or myocarditis, began to surface. In most instances, the myocarditis has been mild and responded well to treatment, though up to four potentially mRNA vaccine-related deaths from myocarditis in adults have been reported worldwide. No known verified deaths of children have been reported based upon publicly available data. The exact number remains a topic of very heated debate because of variability in the reporting of possible myocarditis-related deaths. Studies have largely confirmed that the overall myocarditis risk is significantly higher after an actual COVID-19 infection compared with vaccination, and that the prognosis following myocarditis due to the vaccine is better than from infection. The specific myocarditis risk varies by age and has been debated because of differing views among a small group of physicians related to risk tolerance and support for or against COVID-...

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia's GOP-controlled state Legislature voted Saturday to allow some students who don't attend traditional public schools to be exempt from state vaccination requirements that have long been held up as among the most strict in the country. The bill was approved despite the objections of Republican Senate Health and Human Resources Chair Mike Maroney, a trained doctor, who called the bill “an embarrassment” and said he believed lawmakers were harming the state. “I took an oath to do no harm. There's zero chance I can vote for this bill,” Maroney said before the bill passed the Senate 18-12. The House already approved a version of the bill in February and swiftly approved the Senate bill on Saturday, the last day of the state's 60-day legislative session. “It’s a bad bill for West Virginia, it’s a step backward. There’s no question, no question there will be negative effects," Maroney said. He added, “It’s an embarrassment for me to be a ...

An outbreak of a respiratory infection that most often affects birds has killed five people in Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) warns. During 2023 and the start of 2024, Austria, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands have reported an "unusual and unexpected increase" in cases of so-called parrot fever, beyond what's been seen in previous years, the WHO said in a statement Tuesday (March 5). In all, the illness has affected almost 90 people, with five deaths reported among them.  Parrot fever, or psittacosis , is caused by a species of bacteria called Chlamydia psittaci (also spelled Chlamydophila psittaci ) . The bacteria can infect many mammals — including dogs, cats and horses — but most often infects birds.  Humans can catch psittacosis by inhaling airborne particles containing C. psittaci , but human-to-human transmission of the disease is very rare , with only a handful of cases ever reported. Instead, most people develop psittacosi...

A tiny, implantable device could detect when tissues in the body spring a leak following gastrointestinal (GI) surgery, and it could do so before those leaks become deadly, new animal research suggests.  Patients who've had GI surgery — for example, to remove cancer from their stomach or pancreas — can develop leaks in the days after their procedure. This can occur if the tubes that connect organs in the GI tract are not properly resealed afterward. Between 2.7% to 25% of GI surgeries result in leaks, depending on where the tubes are resealed. This leaking fluid can ooze into other parts of the body, triggering infections, and in serious cases, blood poisoning and sepsis. Doctors usually spot leaks by closely tracking a patient's symptoms and scanning their abdomen using techniques such as computed tomography (CT). However, it can be difficult from these scans to distinguish bodily fluid in its proper place from that which has leaked out of an abdominal organ...

M ore adults are using melatonin to get to sleep at night. Unfortunately, that means more young children are finding their parents' tablets and gummies and taking them by accident. A new analysis in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which is published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, finds that melatonin was responsible for a surprisingly large share of emergency-department visits—7%—among infants and young kids who accidentally ingested a medication from 2019 to 2022. During that time span, melatonin caused about 11,000 such incidents. Past research shows that from 2009 to 2020, emergency department visits of this type spiked by 420% among this age group. In 2022, other research found a 530% increase in accidental melatonin poisonings from 2012 to 2021 among people 19 years old and younger. Melatonin, a naturally occurring hormone, helps regulate the body’s circadian cycle and is sold as tablets and gummies. In the new analysis, 47% of the kids who ...

Putting a computer inside someone’s brain used to feel like the edge of science fiction. Today, it’s a reality. Academic and commercial groups are testing “brain-computer interface” devices to enable people with disabilities to function more independently. Yet Elon Musk’s company, Neuralink, has put this technology front and center in debates about safety, ethics and neuroscience. In January 2024, Musk announced that Neuralink implanted its first chip in a human subject’s brain. The Conversation reached out to two scholars at the University of Washington School of Medicine – Nancy Jecker, a bioethicst, and Andrew Ko, a neurosurgeon who implants brain chip devices – for their thoughts on the ethics of this new horizon in neuroscience. How does a brain chip work? Neuralink’s coin-size device, called N1, is designed to enable patients to carry out actions just by concentrating on them, without moving their bodies. Subjects in the company’s PRIME study – short for Precise Ro...

An onlooker – even one without prior training – can successfully administer naloxone to an overdose victim within about a minute of a drone delivering the lifesaving opioid reversal agent. That’s the key finding of my team’s newly published study. Naloxone is also known by the name brand Narcan. The study involved 17 participants responding to a simulated overdose . Each simulation included an un trained participant who portrayed a bystander , a box of naloxone deliver ed by drone , a mannequin as the overdose victim , and a panicked observer. The latter added a sense of urgency by continually shouting at the bystander throughout the simulation. Via a video playing on a screen carried by the drone, the bystander received instructions on how to use the naloxone, which is administered as a nasal spray. We timed each participant on how long it took them to correctly give the medication during this crisis moment. Our trial revealed that the average time for someon...

by David Brussat, Architecture Here and There, contributing writer Photo: Adeline Slicer House (1887) still looks about the same as in 2003. (Photo by David Brussat.) Little Compton’s town council will soon receive advice from this corner that was good when originally delivered in 2003, in my Journal column of Aug. 28 of that year as part of my “Outside Providence” series. The series looked at efforts in the other 38 cities and towns to maintain their historical character. Dr. Ara Sadaniantz asked me to offer the council advice on whether to adopt a proposed historic district for the Commons, along with a regime for rewarding good stewardship with plaques. I have done so, but since Little Compton is about as lovely as it has always been, my advice has not changed much since 2003. Below is a reprint of that ancient column. The photo at the top is of the same house more than 20 years later. *** LITTLE COMPTON Tracking down the origin of the name of the town of ...

When choosing a new fitness tracker, the decision often boils down to one key contest: Fitbit vs Apple Watch. The two mammoth brands have been at the top of the tracker game for years and, though the likes of Garmin and Whoop also boast some of the best fitness trackers on the market, the pair remain two of the biggest names in the wearable space.  But, with many people looking to upgrade, which one should you pick to take pride of place on your wrist? Unfortunately, there’s no simple answer to that question. Instead, you have to consider your health and fitness goals, what you plan to use the tracker for, and the metrics you value most to determine which brand wins. Not only this, but you’ve also got to pick which Fitbit or Apple Watch you want, with different models and generations offering varying degrees of detail in their health and fitness feedback (not to mention catering to a range of budgets).  To help you make your mind up, we’ve considered t...