Month: July 2021

A World Health Organization expert advisory panel Monday issued two new reports recommending the implementation of global standards aimed at preventing unscrupulous, inequitable and potentially dangerous uses of Crispr and other gene-editing technologies. The reports call for efforts to develop global standards, the establishment of an international registry of gene-editing experiments and a way for whistleblowers to report concerns. Their release comes more than two years after a Chinese researcher triggered international outrage when he revealed that he had used Crispr to produce the first gene-edited babies. The committee, made up of ethicists, policy makers and lawyers, said in the reports that the use of gene editing had evolved dramatically since the...

While product-related injury visits to the emergency room saw an overall drop during the first seven months of the pandemic, those involving children and batteries saw a 93% increase. A Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) report published in January reported the spike in children ages 5-9 and said while most injuries involved ingestion, some included foreign body issues, such as when a battery was stuffed into an ear or nose.  The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which has a Button Battery Task Force, estimates that more than 2,500 button battery injuries in children occur each year. The batteries can be found in remote controls, flameless candles, bathroom scales and other household devices like light-up sneakers, watches and calculators.  They can cause severe tissue burns...

Like many people who struggle to control their drinking, Andy Mathisen tried a lot of ways to cut back. He attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, went to a rehab center for alcohol abuse, and tried using willpower to stop himself from binge drinking. But nothing seemed to work. This past year, with the stress of the pandemic weighing on him, he found himself craving beer every morning, drinking in his car and polishing off two liters of Scotch a week. Frustrated, and feeling that his health and future were in a downward spiral, Mr. Mathisen turned to the internet and discovered Ria Health, a telehealth program that uses online coaching and medication to help people rein in their drinking without necessarily giving up alcohol entirely. After signing up for the service in March, he receiv...

Los Angeles is experiencing an uptick of coronavirus cases in the last three days, with more than 3,000 incidences since Friday. Today the LA County Department of Public Health has reported 1,113 new cases, 4 new deaths and 373 current hospitalizations. More from Deadline This brings the county’s total deaths to 24,542 and 1,257,628 Covid-19 cases to date. The number of people hospitalized in Los Angeles County because of the virus is also rising steadily, swelling from 336 on Friday to 373 on Saturday, according to state figures. There were 79 people in intensive care as of Saturday, down from 83 the previous day. The 7-day average test positivity rate — considered one of the best measures of rising or falling infections — was 2.4%. One week ago that same rate was 1.5%. One month ago it...