Category Archives: Health

Political News: “Brooks & Capehart” On Covid-19 Response (PBS Video)

New York Times columnist David Brooks and Washington Post columnist Jonathan Capehart join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest political news, including how the surging coronavirus is affecting President Trump’s public support, the significance of the Supreme Court’s recent rulings and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s economic policy recommendations.

Health Podcasts: Massive Coronavirus Outbreak At San Quentin Prison

Nature PodcastNature discusses the massive coronavirus outbreak that struck the iconic Californian prison after it rejected expert aid.

In this episode:

01:47 Disaster in San Quentin

San Quentin prison is facing a massive outbreak, we dig into how they got there. The crisis has arisen despite warnings from experts, and offers of free tests, which were declined. We ask why? And what can be done now?

News: California’s San Quentin prison declined free coronavirus tests and urgent advice — now it has a massive outbreak

29:51 One good thing

For the last episode of Coronapod, our hosts pick out ways that the pandemic has changed them for the better, including professional flexibility, a renewed focus on the power of reporting and time with family

36:07 Lockdown and children’s health

Reporter Stewart asks if lockdowns could have any lasting impact on her young children – what evidence is there on the effect of isolation on young minds?

Survey: Co-Space Study: Supporting Parents, Adolescents and Children during Epidemics

Health & Consumers: “How Coronavirus Is Changing Grocery Shopping” (WSJ)

 

Will the coronavirus pandemic lead to long-term changes in how we shop for food? To better understand the challenges facing grocery stores, WSJ’s Alexander Hotz spoke with an industry insider, a store owner and a Walmart executive.

Health: “Making Sense Of Coronavirus Data” (Video)

Public health organizations track the spread of coronavirus and use graphs and charts to visualize the data. WSJ’s Brianna Abbott explains what to look for in the data to understand how the virus is impacting your community.

Photo illustration: Laura Kammermann/WSJ

Health Studies: Declining “REM Sleep” Linked To Increasing Death Rates

From U.S. News (July 7, 2020):

“Numerous studies have linked insufficient sleep with significant health consequences. Yet, many people ignore the signs of sleep problems or don’t allow enough time to get adequate sleep,” said lead researcher Eileen Leary. She is a senior manager of clinical research at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.

Jama Neurology

“REM sleep appears to be a reliable predictor of mortality and may have other predictive health values,” Leary said. “Strategies to preserve REM may influence clinical therapies and reduce mortality risk, particularly for adults with less than 15% of REM sleep.”

REM (rapid eye movement) sleep is when dreams occur and the body repairs itself from the ravages of the day. For every 5% reduction in REM sleep, mortality rates increase 13% to 17% among older and middle-aged adults, researchers report.

Read Study

For the study, Leary and her colleagues included more than 2,600 men, average age 76, who were followed for a median of 12 years. They also collected data on nearly 1,400 men and women, average age 52, who were part of another study and were followed for a median of 21 years.

Poor REM sleep was tied to early death from any cause as well as death from cardiovascular and other diseases, the researchers found.

Read full article

 

Wednesday Podcast: Virus Misinformation, 2020 Election & Surveillance

Axios TodayThe spread of misinformation is crippling our fight against the coronavirus. Social media and a deeply partisan divide are fueling what the World Health Organization calls an “infodemic,” which is just as urgent as the virus itself.

  • Plus, the 2020 election could determine the future of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines.
  • And, going back to work might require getting used to surveillance and data collection in the workplace.
  • Guests: Axios’ Bryan Walsh, Ben Geman, and Erica Pandey