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Westfield Public Health Bulletin: Pollution in environment has direct effect on lungs

When I was child, I fretted about some environmental issues. I was so very worried when the gypsy moths were destroying trees and imagined they would kill them all. I worried about humans cutting down too many trees. I hated when people littered. But there was a definite disconnect of not understanding how ruining this earth was a global issue. Most the gypsy moths were down south, so I thought we were safe from them. Driving to my grandparents in New Jersey, we drove through the visible smoke and pollution of Elizabeth and Newark. I felt lucky that we lived north of it, safe in Massachusetts, and my grandparents were safe down by the shore. I remember swimming in Congamond and Hampton Ponds before there were concerns of pollution. Environmental issues have been in the forefront of the news for many years. I think many of us as adults still feel some disconnect of the ubiquitous problems and how they directly affect public health. Or feel it is such a massive problem intermingled with politics and economics, it’s bigger than them. The effect of the wildfires in Canada visibly affecting our air here in New England was undeniable evidence for us. Further stressing the point was the warnings to stay inside because of the effects on one’s health. The wildfires on the Hawaiian Islands clearly illustrates the public health damage to the community.

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Why You Should Eat More Nuts and Seeds

This is Day 4 of Well’s Mediterranean Diet Week. Start at the beginning here. It’s time to add a bit more crunch to your diet, so let’s talk about nuts and seeds. These nutritional powerhouses are rich in essential vitamins and minerals, as well as protein and gut-healthy fiber. Just a handful of almonds, for instance, provides about six grams of protein and three grams of fiber, about the amount you’d get from eating an egg and three-quarters of a cup of blueberries. Nuts and seeds are also impressive sources of heart-healthy fats, which have been linked to improved cholesterol levels and protection from cardiovascular disease. One recent review of more than three dozen studies, for instance, found that people who ate a little more than a handful (or about one ounce) of nuts and seeds every day had a roughly 20 percent lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease than those who ate little to none.

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2 Masterpieces Reveal the Big Bang Moment of Our Art Universe

One room in Contarini’s home displayed the lovely “St. Francis” he’d bought: 50 years on, it still ranked as one of the great portrayals of the holy man. But for all the spiritual heft of that picture, Contarini doesn’t seem to have used it for any prayerful purpose, the way its first owner must have. The collector added it to walls hung with other paintings that could hardly have had less to do with the sacred: Neighboring the “St. Francis” was a Giorgione that illustrated the classical tale of Paris, the Trojan prince, being abandoned in the wilderness as a babe. (We now know that work through copies.) It seems likely that Contarini paired the two paintings because they were about the same size and because both could be admired for their wild landscapes, and for the rivalry they set up between mentor and mentee. In a room nearby, Contarini placed another Bellini, of Christ carrying the cross, and again the collector paired sacred with secular: That Christ hung near two portraits of contemporary women that Contarini almost certainly bought for their art appeal, not because he cared much about their sitters, as earlier owners of portraits would have done. Even more surprising, Bellini’s Christ kept company with three of Venice’s famous courtesans, portrayed in another recent painting. Contarini used this room to compare the latest in people-pictures — even if one of these people was the son of God. And then there was a final space in Contarini’s collection that had a more miscellaneous grouping: a painting of horses, another Trojan scene, and finally “The Three Philosophers” that has settled this fall at the Frick. At first glance, that canvas might have come across as yet another sacred picture. Giorgione’s “Philosophers” has hallmarks of earlier Nativity scenes: Three “wise” men, dressed in what was considered exotic “Eastern” clothing and holding astronomers’ tools and diagrams, stand near the kind of cave that had played manger in some earlier pictures of Christ’s birth. But Mary and the Christ Child are nowhere in sight, and in their absence no one has been able to pin down who the painting’s three figures are supposed to be — wise art historians have suggested possibilities ranging from the prophet Abraham to Pythagoras, by way of a Turkish sultan and Giorgione himself. But the puzzle itself may be a crucial clue to what’s going on. Even an art-loving contemporary of Giorgione’s couldn’t hit on the painting’s subject when he took some notes on Contarini’s collection in 1525. Leading us to our current title, he described the scene as “three philosophers out in nature, two of them standing and one, seated, who is considering the sun’s rays.” (A setting or maybe rising sun glows gorgeous on the horizon.) And it could be that not fully revealing his subject was the painter’s goal — that he was aiming for precisely the puzzlement and pondering that are hallmarks of the way fine art went on to work in Western culture. That note taker was a minor Venetian nobleman named Marcantonio Michiel, and he lets us know that “The Three Philosophers” was only begun by Giorgione — he died of the plague in 1510, in his 30s — to then be finished by his follower Sebastiano del Piombo. As the art historian Charles Hope has pointed out, it’s possible to spot Sebastiano’s stylings on the surface we see today. And sure enough, X-rays hint that the painting started out with more legible, explicitly wise-man-ish gear on its figures, only to see that detail toned down to yield the puzzling ambiguity we’re left with now. It’s as though, in finishing the painting, the younger man was bringing it even more fully in line with that new thing we call “art” that was just then coming to be.

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How to Take Care of Your Skin in the Fall and Winter

As the outside air cools and the heat starts to crank on indoors, you may notice your skin becoming flaky, maybe even a bit itchy. Welcome to fall and winter. Your skin’s main job is to “keep the inside world in and the outside world out,” said Dr. Brittany Craiglow, an associate adjunct professor of dermatology at the Yale School of Medicine and a dermatologist in Fairfield, Conn. The outermost layer, the lipid barrier, which is composed of fatty compounds, helps to prevent germs and toxins from entering your body and hydration from leaving it. When temperatures drop, the air gets drier — both indoors and outdoors — and moisture gets pulled from the lipid barrier. With less hydration, the turnover of skin cells is impaired and they start to clump together, which people can experience as dry, flaky or even scaly skin, Dr. Craiglow said. Some are more susceptible to developing dry skin in cooler weather, particularly older adults and those with eczema, said Dr. Jeffrey Weinberg, a clinical professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. But it can happen to anyone.

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Hochul to Propose $25 Million in State Funding for A.L.S. Research

Gov. Kathy Hochul is set to propose an appropriation on Tuesday that would provide one of the largest sums ever invested by a state into research of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the neurodegenerative disease known as A.L.S. The appropriation, part of Ms. Hochul’s overall budget proposal, would commit $25 million to A.L.S. research, creating a program that would support various endeavors, including drug development. The governor said she hoped the program could serve as an outline for tackling other rare diseases as well. Ms. Hochul’s mother, Patricia Courtney, died from A.L.S., also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, in 2014. She never saw her daughter become lieutenant governor or governor. But last week, as Ms. Hochul stood in the State Assembly and outlined her goals for the coming year in her State of the State address, she had her mother in mind as she announced her commitment to funding research into “rare diseases like A.L.S., that rob millions, like my own mother, of their vitality.”

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3 baby girls born at Boston hospitals at midnight on New Year's Day

Just as 2024 arrived in Boston, three baby girls were making their debuts at two of the city's hospitals.All three were born precisely at midnight on Jan. 1, according to a statement from the hospitals.Selena was born at born at Brigham and Women’s Hospital to mom Margarita and dad Roberto of Dorchester. Margarita and Roberto said they were not expecting their baby for another couple of weeks, but Selena had other ideas."They told us: 'She's ready to come, we're going to get a doctor in,' and that's when they told us: 'You might have the first baby of the new year,'" Roberto said."We went in with an original plan. God bless any woman who goes in and they think that they're going to stick with that plan, because my whole plan flipped at the last minute and I didn't stick with the original one whatsoever," Margarita said.Meanwhile, Emily Margaret was born as the third child of Eileen and Andrew DeRoma of Canton and Ophelia was born to of Min Li and Huaien Wang of Quincy at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.The city's big hospitals said they keep in contact at the start of each new year to determine which has the honor of welcoming the first babies of 2024. Just as 2024 arrived in Boston, three baby girls were making their debuts at two of the city's hospitals. All three were born precisely at midnight on Jan. 1, according to a statement from the hospitals. Advertisement Selena was born at born at Brigham and Women’s Hospital to mom Margarita and dad Roberto of Dorchester. Margarita and Roberto said they were not expecting their baby for another couple of weeks, but Selena had other ideas. "They told us: 'She's ready to come, we're going to get a doctor in,' and that's when they told us: 'You might have the first baby of the new year,'" Roberto said. "We went in with an original plan. God bless any woman who goes in and they think that they're going to stick with that plan, because my whole plan flipped at the last minute and I didn't stick with the original one whatsoever," Margarita said. Meanwhile, Emily Margaret was born as the third child of Eileen and Andrew DeRoma of Canton and Ophelia was born to of Min Li and Huaien Wang of Quincy at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. The city's big hospitals said they keep in contact at the start of each new year to determine which has the honor of welcoming the first babies of 2024.

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Congress Must Act to Eliminate Hepatitis C - The New York Times

But nearly a decade later, at least 2.4 million Americans remain infected with hepatitis C. About two in five people with hepatitis C don’t even know that they have the virus. Of those who do, many do not have access to the cure. Congress has an opportunity to turn this ongoing human tragedy into a public health advancement, by providing support for a five-year project to eliminate hepatitis C in the United States. But the time available for approval is growing short. Hepatitis C progresses slowly. Over years, the virus causes fibrosis of the liver that can result in cirrhosis, esophageal bleeding and liver failure requiring transplantation. Hepatitis C is also the leading cause of liver cancer, responsible for half of the 40,000 annual liver cancer cases in the United States. Each year, about 15,000 Americans die from hepatitis C, many in their 40s and 50s. Given the safe and effective cure available for the last nine years, the correct number of deaths in 2023 should be zero. Put simply, we are squandering one of the most important medical advances of the 21st century. It’s time to eliminate this threat to the health of Americans. It’s no secret what has gone wrong. The cost of curative medications remains stubbornly high, so many insurance companies and Medicaid programs have erected barriers to coverage, requiring, for instance, abstinence from drugs and alcohol before people can receive treatment, referral to a specialist, or that the patient already shows liver scarring. Relatively few doctors offer treatment, and many sites where people at risk come for care do not even offer testing, let alone the cure. The result is that fewer than one in three people diagnosed with active infection get timely treatment. After stepping down as N.I.H. director in 2021, I was asked to serve as the acting science adviser to President Biden. I learned that many other countries — including the United Kingdom and Australia — have taken great strides toward hepatitis C elimination. Egypt is essentially there. Will the United States be last? That can’t be the right answer. So I was delighted when in March, President Biden came out in favor of a five-year program to put the United States on track to eliminate hepatitis C.

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Firefighters Rescue Animals From Burning Home In Fire That Displaced 6 In Boston

Fire crews arrived at 343 Market St. on Sunday evening, Dec. 3, around 10 p.m. to stop the blaze in the attic of the building, the Boston Fire Department said. Photos shared on X, formerly Twitter, show firefighters taking a black cat as well as what appears to be a fish tank to safety. The fire caused more than $250,000 in damages to the home, and around six residents were displaced, according to the department. No one was injured. Another fire happened overnight just a few miles in Allston on Saturday, Dec. 3. Fire crews arrived to put out a heavy fire in a first-floor apartment at 38 Fordham Rd. The fire in Allston was extinguished shortly before 9 p.m. before crews began a secondary search, the fire department said in a social media post. Three adults were displaced, but there were no injuries in the Allston fire. Click here to follow Daily Voice Suffolk and receive free news updates.

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Abraham Bergman, Doctor Who Sought Answers on SIDS, Dies at 91

Dr. Abraham B. Bergman, a pediatrician who was instrumental in passing a federal law to combat sudden infant death syndrome, a once misunderstood loss that caused not just parental heartbreak but guilt and blame, and who put his stamp on other enduring public health laws, died on Nov. 10 in Seattle. He was 91. The cause of his death, on a family member’s boat, was amyloid heart disease, his son Ben said. In the 1960s and early ’70s, Dr. Bergman was president of the National Foundation for Sudden Infant Death, a grass-roots group that supported parents who had lost children to what was once commonly called crib death. Although SIDS, as the syndrome became known, was the leading killer of infants less than a year old, its cause was unknown. Parents often blamed themselves, marriages broke up and, in some cases, the authorities investigated for child abuse. “What we do to those parents is crime,” Dr. Bergman told The New York Times in 1972. “The police investigate, there’s a coroner’s inquest, and often the family doctor abandons the parents.” Dr. Bergman’s group sought to destigmatize SIDS, support grieving parents and raise money for research. Its efforts led to the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Act of 1974, which appropriated millions of dollars for research.

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Whats Next for OpenAI, Binance Is Binanceled and A.I. Is Eating the Internet

Apple | Spotify | Amazon | YouTube Listen and follow ‘Hard Fork’ The drama at OpenAI is not over. Kevin and Casey take stock of new information they’ve gathered since last week, and look at how other artificial intelligence companies are trying to capitalize on the debacle. Then, why people are still buying cryptocurrency even after Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, and its founder pleaded guilty to money laundering violations. And finally, three ways A.I. is ruining web search. Or is it? Today’s guest: David Yaffe-Bellany covers crypto for The New York Times. Additional Reading:

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7 Investigates: Dangerous mold spreading through luxury apartments in Quincy - Boston News, Weather, Sports

QUINCY, MASS. (WHDH) - A new luxury apartment complex in Quincy has great water views and high end amenities. But all was not what it seemed. Dave Puglisi has tonight’s 7 Investigates. Sandra Fernandez said everything was great in her new Quincy apartment until her son developed a rash. “I was like ‘Something is not right in this apartment,’” she said. “‘My son is sick every night.’” Sandra says she begged management to check inside her walls after she found numerous leaks and suspected mold was growing. “I asked them, they kept denying it and denying it and denying it until we opened the walls,” she said. Mold was discovered in two bedrooms and under her carpets. “They have put our health in danger, my son’s health in danger,” she said. Now some residents have filed a class action lawsuit against Marina Bay, LLC and Bozzuto Management. “We had black mold over here that they recently had to do from the exterior,” said Jared Hannigan. “Our entire wall was taken out.” The suit claims that, by the fall of 2020, “defendants and their agents learned that microbial mold growth, caused by water intrusion through the buildings, had been discovered.” In a response to the tenants’ lawsuit, “Marina Bay admits the allegations.” Even so, tenants claim Marina Bay “continued to market and lease, the Property’s luxury apartments to tenants without disclosing these health and safety hazards.” “They never told us it was mold,” Fernandez said. “They never told us it was leaks in the building. We had no idea.” The Quincy Health Department has filed at least one violation against the complex for not providing safe living conditions due to cracked walls and mold in one unit. “The more and more testing we’ve done, the more and more that we’ve seen the mold,” Hannigan said. Meriel Marina Bay tells 7 Investigates they “conduct visual inspections and indoor air tests. Based on everything observed, there are no widespread mold issues in the buildings that pose a risk to indoor air quality.” They also tell us that they have a comprehensive plan to address the issues and have been updating residents regularly about each phase of the project. “And they’re continuing to bring people in here while we’re still suffering,” Hannigan said. Residents told 7NEWS they thought about breaking their leases. But the penalty costs are so high, they feel they have no choice but to stick it out. They hope that, when this construction is over, the problems will be gone. But they told 7NEWS, they’re not convinced (Copyright (c) 2023 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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How Astronomers Are Saving Astronomy From Satellites For Now

In December 2020, astronomers documented a burst of highly energetic light in one of the most distant galaxies ever observed. But less than a year later, the paper’s claims lay in limbo. Other scientists said it had merely been a passing satellite. “I was a bit sad that the gamma ray burst turned out to be just an artificial satellite,” said Krzysztof Kamiński, an astronomer at the Astronomical Observatory Institute in Poland who said he matched the position, time and brightness of the discovery to an orbiting spacecraft. Linhua Jiang, an astronomer at Peking University in Beijing who led the original finding, said his team stood by their work, adding that the probability of a satellite passing directly in front of the distant galaxy at exactly the right moment was minuscule at best. The dispute likely will not be the last time that scientists argue over whether a passing satellite is being mistaken for an astronomical discovery.

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Massachusetts can solve a litter problem by adopting Connecticuts approach (Editorial)

A nickel for every returned “nip” bottle. That’s the gist of a program in the Constitution State yielding dividends for cities and towns and reducing litter. Connecticut’s “nickel-per-nip” program is worth implementing in Massachusetts. The two-year-old program has generated $8.9 million for municipalities that sell nips. Under that state’s law, passed in 2021, a nickel surcharge is added to the cost of each 50-milliliter nip when sold. During each subsequent April and October, each municipality gets the 5 cents back from the state for each bottle returned. In Hartford, for example, from Oct. 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023, the city sold 1.6 million nip bottles; this year, it got back $87,423, while taking in $295,607 in total since the law went into effect. The town of South Windsor is using its funding to help pay for recycling coordinators. Statewide, Connecticut sold 47.3 million nips, returning $2.4 million to cities and towns this year, and giving back $9 million since the program began. People involved hail it as a national model. Anyone who walks, runs or bikes in the commonwealth, or who performs litter patrol in their neighborhood, knows how pervasive discarded nip bottles are. To those throwing them away, we say: Come on. Have a heart. Their presence isn’t just an eyesore. A lot of these bottles will find their way to moving water, which will eventually put many in our oceans and on our beaches. About 68,000 nips are sold daily in the Bay State, with about 25 million sold annually, according to estimates in a CommonWealth Beacon report. Were the state to pass a mini-bottle bill to address the nip problem, it would mean more than a million dollars going back to Massachusetts’ cities and towns to boost recycling and sustainability efforts. It also would mean considerably cleaner roadsides. Bans on the bottles have been considered in Springfield, Chicopee and Ware, and already have been implemented in Chelsea, Falmouth, Mashpee, Nantucket, Newton and Wareham, according to Boston.com. Its report earlier this year noted that in Chelsea, alcohol-related arrests and hospitalizations plummeted after the city outlawed nips. The convenience of nips cannot be denied — especially for those who want to conceal their drinking — but that’s not enough to endure the blight they leave. It’s time to end the nip problem in Massachusetts. We ask legislators to follow Connecticut’s lead and advance a nickel-for-a-nip bill here, so we can reap the benefits of cleaner streets.

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How Viral Infections Cause Long-Term Health Problems

Every day, Davida Wynn sets herself one task: Take a bath. Or wash the dishes. Or make an elaborate meal. By the end of the chore, she is exhausted and has to sit or lie down, sometimes falling asleep wherever she happens to be. “Anything beyond that is truly excruciating,” Ms. Wynn, 42, said. Her heart races even during small tasks, and she often gets dizzy. At least once a month, she falls at her home outside Atlanta. Once she badly bruised her face, and another time she banged up her knee. Ms. Wynn was infected with the coronavirus in May 2020, when she was a nurse in a hospital Covid unit, and became so ill she was put into a medically induced coma for six weeks. Ever since, her bloodwork has indicated that she is experiencing extreme inflammation, a hallmark of autoimmune disease. Infection with the coronavirus is known to leave behind a long legacy of health problems, many of which are characterized as long Covid. But mounting evidence suggests that independent of that syndrome, the coronavirus also befuddles the immune system into targeting the body, causing autoimmune disorders in some people.

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Why Cold Symptoms Are Worse at Night

It’s cold and flu season. That means you’re very likely surrounded by a symphony of coughs and sniffling noses — if you’re not actively coughing yourself. And whether your main complaint is a cough, a fever, a headache or a runny or stuffy nose, you may notice that you tend to feel worse at night. That’s not your imagination. Several factors are to blame, starting with your circadian rhythm, which is your body’s internal clock. When the sun sets, it tells your brain to wind down for bed and, at the same time, spurs certain immune cells to become more active. Every night, those cells are recruited to different parts of your body, on the lookout for invading pathogens like viruses and bacteria. “When they identify and try to fight off viruses, the immune cells can cause irritation and inflammation, which ends up making respiratory symptoms worse at night,” said Dr. Diego Hijano, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

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Opinion | Botox Destroyed What I Liked About My Face

I tried Botox for the first time two years ago. I was rapidly approaching my 40th birthday, and like so many other people, I spent the early Covid years staring at my increasingly pallid and wrinkled visage through daily video calls. That I succumbed to the expensive allure of cosmetic injectables as a result of this scrutiny was both banal and mildly embarrassing. Banal because what could be more boring and superficial than a woman approaching middle age and beginning to fret about her wrinkles when there are a million and six more important things happening in the world? And I’m certainly not the only one who was horrified after staring at herself during hours of Zoom calls — according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, neuromodulator injection, which includes the use of Botox, was up a staggering 73 percent in 2022 compared with 2019. It’s mildly embarrassing because in my late 30s, I thought I’d reached a level of radical acceptance about my looks that would preclude injecting toxins into my forehead. I spent my teens hating myself for not looking like (insert name of blond actress or singer here — usually it was Kirsten Dunst). My 20s and early 30s were spent learning to appreciate what I had, which was more of an acquired, Shelley Duvall-in-the-1970s kind of taste. I wasn’t really interested in what the beauty industry had to offer, anyway, though I get why others enjoy experimenting with different kinds of makeup. I’ve always hated the feeling of foundation on my face. And I’m too lazy to wear lipstick or mascara if I’m just running out to do errands, though I tend to put them on when I need to look pulled together.

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Northern Lights Could Appear Farther South in U.S., Forecasters Say

A powerful geomagnetic storm could set off a colorful display of the northern lights this weekend, appearing in some sections of the United States where they are not usually visible, weather officials said on Friday. The National Weather Service issued a geomagnetic storm watch for Saturday and Sunday after the agency said it observed multiple coronal mass ejections from the sun on Thursday and Friday. The storm watch came less than a day after the Weather Service recorded the largest solar flare since 2017. The flare, the Weather Service said, temporarily disrupted radio communications for some aircraft. Officials said it was “likely one of the largest solar radio events ever recorded.”

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COVID in Mass.: New Year's surge arrives

The impact on infections and hospitalizations won’t be known for at least another week, when Massachusetts releases numbers for early 2024. But, while some on the front lines say they are seeing more infections now than at this time last year, most say hospitalizations have still not reached last year’s levels. As a highly infectious new COVID variant races across the country, the vast majority of workers returned to the office this week in the same state in which they attended holiday parties, traveled through busy airports, and dined with friends and loved ones over the holiday break: blissfully maskless and un-boosted. (According to the latest state numbers, just 18 percent of state residents had received the updated COVID vaccine as of late December). Advertisement In Rhode Island, Dr. Leonard Mermel, medical director of epidemiology and infection control at Lifespan, which runs hospitals across the state, says the number of weekly positive tests for respiratory viruses has already surpassed January 2023 levels. “I think generally people have let their guard down,” he said. “So we have suboptimal uptake of vaccines that will reduce the risk of getting infected and severity of infection. There’s probably more social gathering indoors without any sort of respiratory protection than previously.” In Worcester, Dr. Robert Klugman, medical director of Employee Health Services at UMass Memorial Medical Center, said emergency room visits and hospitalizations for COVID have tripled over the last three weeks. But they remain below what they were last year at this time. Meanwhile, the number of employees who have called in sick has also nearly tripled – “numbers we haven’t seen for several years.” Klugman notes that health care workers skew young and healthy, which means few of them are likely to end up hospitalized. That same youth may make them less likely to take precautions that would have prevented them from testing positive and having to miss work in the first place. Advertisement “Omicron was bad,” he said “This is worse. We’ve had, some days, 40 to 50 people calling in with COVID. We haven’t seen numbers like this since ‘21.” Dr. Larry Madoff, medical director for the bureau of infectious disease and laboratory sciences at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, said COVID and flu infections rose at “very brisk levels” over the last week. “Anecdotally, all of my colleagues are very busy,” he said. But he said a surge is “not unusual this time of year.” Last year, hospitalizations peaked the week after Christmas with close to 24 percent of emergency room admissions related to acute respiratory illnesses, including flu and COVID. That was down from 2022, when close to 30 percent of ER admissions were caused by acute respiratory disease. “Historically, influenza-like illness has peaked post-Christmas. In the last couple years, COVID rates [have been] similar, which may mean they are settling down into the seasonal patterns we see with other viruses,” he says. Coming into the holiday break this year, the week ending Dec. 23 — the most recent week for which state data are available — the number of emergency room visits for respiratory infections was substantially lower — 16.7 percent. “It’s lower because we have more vaccine and infection derived immunity,” said Dr. Cassandra M. Pierre, an infectious disease physician and the associate hospital epidemiologist at Boston Medical Center. “Even though we had a fair amount of immunity last year, we have even more now. So that’s one factor we have that plays in our favor.” Advertisement Still, this year’s COVID surge may just be getting started. “I am not a forecaster, but I think we have yet to see our peak,” she said. “And my thought is that we’ll see high levels of transmission, at least until the end of January is my guess.” If you’re feeling a little less casual than your maskless colleagues, or the public at large, here are some things you can do to protect yourself: Get the latest booster “Even though we are kind of in the midst of respiratory virus season, it is really not too late,” said BMC’s Pierre. “Protect yourself, because we still have a few more weeks of this intense rise ahead of us.” Test at the first sign of symptoms. And, if you are at high risk, consult a doctor about medication. “COVID vaccinations are disappointingly low – it will protect you against severe disease,” said Madoff of the state public health department. “But therapeutics are also being underutilized for both flu and COVID. People at higher risk should get treated with antivirals as quickly as possible.” Mask more frequently Since the JN.1 variant is more contagious, it takes fewer virus particles and less time for someone to become infected, said Klugman. High-ceiling spaces, like supermarkets, are safer than bars or bistros, because they have room for a greater volume of air, which allows it to circulate and lessens your chance of inhaling infectious particles. Advertisement The same is true of offices. Klugman notes that, in offices, coworkers are breathing the same air, and are at risk of infecting one another. Masks, particularly in cramped spaces, are a good idea, he said. Minimize large indoor gatherings Mermel suggests minimizing large indoor social gatherings as much as possible as we move into peak season. But there are ways to minimize the risks. In addition to masking, vaccinating and testing, finding ways to ensure air circulation can reduce the risk of transmission. Most hospitals, he notes, have strict guidelines regarding airflow, with the capacity to ensure air exchange so that viral particles can be quickly removed. At home, opening windows can make a difference. Test more Klugman says the incubation period for COVID has fallen in recent years, and anyone infected on New Year’s Eve, is likely to see the first symptoms in 48 to 72 hours. Mermel said it usually takes three to four days. Both note that plenty of people exposed to COVID might not see any symptoms at all – and should test if they are concerned about exposure and worried about getting others sick. Matthew Fox, a professor in the departments of epidemiology and global health at Boston University, notes it can take anywhere from a few days to, in rare cases, as long as three weeks. Most will see symptoms within the first week. Adam Piore can be reached at adam.piore@globe.com.

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Linneaus Gitonga IDd in fatal crash with a tree in Bridgewater

A Rockland man died on Sunday after his car crashed into a tree, Bridgewater police announced on Monday. At around 10:50 p.m., the Bridgewater Police and Fire departments were notified of a car crashing into a tree in the area around 46 Auburn St., according to a statement from Bridgewater Police Chief Christopher Delmonte. First responders found a 2006 Chevrolet Avalanche up against a tree with significant damage, police said. Firefighters approached the pickup truck to pull the driver out. The driver, Linneaus Gitonga, 34, was pronounced dead at the scene. He was the only person in the truck. Early findings in the investigation suggest the truck was driving fast and veered off the road before it hit a parked an unoccupied pickup truck before it struck the tree, police said. The crash continues to be under investigation by Bridgewater police detectives, assisted by the Taunton Police Department Accident Reconstruction Team and the Plymouth County Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

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Salmonella concerns prompt recall of 11,000 pounds of dried meat

A New Jersey-based food company — Fratelli Beretta USA, Inc. — is recalling more than 11,000 pounds of ready-to-eat meat products after concerns over Salmonella bacteria contamination, according to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. The potentially contaminated products include Busseto Foods brand charcuterie meats. The product subject to recall are 18-ounce plastic tray packages called “Busseto Foods Charcuterie Sampler Prosciutto, Sweet Sopressata, and Dry Coppa” with lot code L075330300 and “Best if used by APR 27 24.″ The products are sold as a twin pack with two 9-ounce packages. The products subject to recall bear establishment number “EST. 7543B” inside the USDA mark of inspection and “EST. #47967″ printed with the lot and date codes. The Food Safety and Inspection Service was told a sample collected by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture tested positive for Salmonella. The packages were shipped to Sam’s Club distribution centers in eight states, including Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas. People who have bought the products, which were produced in October, should throw them away or return them to their place of purchase. The test was taken as a part of an ongoing investigation into a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Salmonella bacteria cause an infection of the intestinal tract. Infections with Salmonella are common, according to the Mayo Clinic — most people develop diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps between eight hours and three days after exposure. While most people recover within a few days to a week, in some cases severe dehydration caused by the infection can require medical attention, according to the Mayo Clinic. Life-threatening complications can occur if the infection spreads beyond the intestines, the clinic said.

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Mystery dog illness now in 14 states, including these four New England states

A mysterious and potentially deadly respiratory illness in dogs has spread to 14 states, according to a veterinary organization. The largest number of cases – 200 – are in Oregon, USA Today reported. The other 13 states – California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington – haven’t reported individual numbers. Dr. Rena Carlson , president of the American Veterinary Medical Association told USA Today the cause of the illness remains under investigation. Symptoms start with a cough that can last for weeks, runny eyes and sneezing. The most serious cases evolve into pneumonia. It can be deadly, most likely for dogs with weakened immune systems or underlying health issues, experts said. If a dog has a cough that won’t stop along with other respiratory symptoms, experts recommend contacting a veterinarian immediately. Advice for pet owners: Make sure all dogs are up-to-date on all their vaccines including canine influenza, Bordetella and parainfluenza. For event organizers: Dogs should have a health check 12-24 hours before the event. Have a DVM onsite checking dogs for health issues (mild nasal discharge, cough, elevated temperature, being off food). Consult with your veterinarian for dog-specific advice before attending any events where dogs are congregated. The Oregon Veterinary Medicine Association offers additional recommendations:

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Day 3: How to Eat for Better Energy

This is Day 3 of the 6-Day Energy Challenge. To start at the beginning, click here. When I wake up in the morning, my first thought is usually about what I want to eat — and as soon as I’m done with a meal, I’m already planning the next one. This tendency to look ahead is pretty common, said Dr. Nate Wood, a culinary medicine researcher at the Yale School of Medicine and a trained chef. But, he added, “rarely do we look back and reflect on how the foods that we eat make us feel, unless maybe our stomach is upset.” Tuning in to how our food affects us, he said, can help us understand which foods give us energy and which make us sluggish. It can also help us eat for better energy going forward. That’s the focus of today’s challenge. Track your energy after you eat. The task is simple: Notice how the foods you eat make you feel. An hour and a half to two hours after you have a meal or snack, jot down any sensations you’re experiencing: Are you satisfied, tired, peckish? Then rate your energy level from one to five.

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Fresh Inflation Data Shows Intact, but Bumpy, Cool-Down

Consumer price data released Thursday showed Federal Reserve officials, the White House and American households that inflation continued to slow at the end of 2023, capping a year in which the price increases bedeviling families and policymakers cooled in earnest. Prices overall climbed more quickly in December than November on a yearly basis: 3.4 percent versus 3.1 percent previously, which was more than economists in a Bloomberg survey had forecast. But after stripping out volatile food and fuel prices to get a sense of the underlying inflation trend, a “core” price measure climbed 3.9 percent in the year through December, down from 4 percent previously. That marked the first time the core index has dropped below 4 percent since May of 2021. The data underscores that while inflation remains faster than usual — and month-to-month bumps are still likely as gas prices and other volatile costs fluctuate — the measure is making progress back toward a normal pace. That is likely to come as welcome news to central bankers and President Biden after nearly three years of rapid price increases that have pushed up costs for consumers and strained many household budgets.

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Woburn mans ashes will fly into space with those of Gene Roddenberry

A Woburn, Massachusetts, native will soon share a spacecraft with several actors from the original “Star Trek” series, heading out into deep space on a flight referred to as the Enterprise flight. However, it’s not for a new movie or TV series. Some of the ashes of Francis “Fran” Gillis, along with the DNA and ashes of 264 individuals, will be aboard a spacecraft heading for deep space launched from Cape Canaveral on Jan. 8. Gillis, 67, died on July 20, 2018, according to his obituary shared by Celestis, a company that conducts memorial spaceflights that orbit remains, DNA or digital make-ups and genetic codes on MindFiles around Earth, the moon and, beginning on Jan. 8, into deep space. “He would talk about ‘adventure,’” his sister Jacqueline Gillis, of Hudson, said to MassLive. “He was an avid reader of science fiction, an adventurer; he loved the outdoors and had an interest in science and was a ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Star Wars’ fan. He knew after he died, he wanted to go into deep space.” Gillis went to Woburn High School and was active in the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps, eventually receiving an Army scholarship to Northeastern University and serving 22 years in the U.S. Army, retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel. All throughout his life, he was active in the Boy Scouts of America, now known as BSA Scouts, and had an appreciation of the outdoors. He served as scoutmaster of Troop 629 in Johns Creek, Ga., until his death. Gillis died suddenly while making a drive up to the Continental Divide in Canada after meeting with a nephew in Idaho — “He loved to drive,” Jacqueline said. He was a bachelor and a loyal brother to five siblings, uncle to eight nieces and nephews and great-uncle to eight grandnieces and grandnephews, as well as a devoted scout leader. With Gillis’ journey into the final frontier, Jacqueline said the family was curious about watching a part of their loved one be sent into space, someone who she always saw “with a science fiction novel in his hands.” In discussing his will, an accountant expressed uncertainty over spending Gillis’ money to send some of his ashes into space. It was at that moment, according to Jacqueline, that a light overhead in Gillis’ house flickered. The moment assured her that her brother’s final wish to go into deep space “was meant to be,” she said. The inaugural flight, called the Enterprise Flight, but properly known as the Deep Space Voyager Mission, will house on the United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket the partial remains and DNA of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry, his wife and “Star Trek” actress Majel Barrett Roddenberry, along with actors Nichelle Nichols, James Doohan and DeForest Kelley — who played Lt. Uhura, engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott and Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy, respectively — among others from the show. Capsule containing the remains of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry, along with several actors from the original series, will be launched into deep space from Cape Canaveral on Jan. 8. Courtesy of Celestis Memorial Spaceflight.Celestis Part of Gillis’ ashes interred at Arlington National Cemetery were removed and sent to Celestis, Jacqueline said. The request made of her was to send two grams of ashes, one to go onboard the Enterprise flight and another as a backup in case there is a problem with the launch. Majel Barrett watched Celestis’ first commercial spaceflight in 1997, Celestis president Colby Youngblood told MassLive on Friday. When she spoke with CEO Charles Chafer, he promised her that he would send her and her late husband’s ashes into space one day. Over time, the company became close with actors from the original series, Youngblood said, and they made it their wish to have part of their remains sent into deep space one day. Even Roddenberry and Barrett’s son, Rod — “very much alive,” Youngblood noted — has a DNA swab from his cheek inside a capsule that will also take part in the Enterprise flight. The craft will even have hair samples belonging to former presidents George Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy. The company was gifted a collection of hair samples of historical figures and celebrities with the idea they could one day be launched into deep space, Youngblood said. “We chose three presidents who we felt would be honored by this first voyage into deep space,” he said, adding that approval was made with the estates and foundations of the three American presidents. Capsules containing remains of over 200 individuals, including "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry and "Star Trek" actors Majel Barrett, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols and James Doohan, will launch into deep space on Celestis Memorial Spaceflight's Enterprise Flight on Jan. 8, 2024. Courtesy of Celestis Memorial Spaceflight.Celestis The rocket will launch a Peregrine Lunar Lander on the Moon carrying 70 capsules, while the Enterprise flight will continue into an orbit around the sun, Youngblood said. Once orbit is achieved, the Enterprise flight — by then referred to as the Enterprise Station by Celestis — will become the human race’s “furthest outpost — where it will journey endlessly, perhaps awaiting discovery by a distant-in-time civilization.” Celestis was founded in 1994 by a team of entrepreneurs, retired astronauts and pioneers of the commercial space age. Since 1997, it has launched 17 missions into space and as a company “engages licensed funeral directors, maintains a trust fund licensed and audited by the Texas Department of Banking, and is a proud member of the Better Business Bureau,” its website said. Memorial spaceflight experiences through Celestis range in price. The starting price to be launched into space and then brought back to Earth is $2,995, while being launched into Earth’s orbit hikes up to $4,995, according to Celestis’ website. Being launched to the moon to go either into its orbit or land on its surface starts at $12,995, and being part of the Deep Space Voyager missions shares the same starting price. “We have to price them so that every person can partake in (a space flight),” Youngblood said. “How do we do that? We take our largest missions, like the Voyager Mission, or the lunar service, and we price those competitively with the average U.S. funeral, which is $15,000.” While each of these options creates what the website describes as “permanent memorials,” the Earth orbit service ends in the spacecraft re-entering the atmosphere and “harmlessly vaporizing like a shooting star in a final tribute.” The launch is expected to be at 2:18 a.m. on Monday, Jacqueline said. In case of any delays, she said it could be pushed to Jan. 9, Jan. 10 or Jan. 11 at around the same time. One of Gillis’ nephews will go to Florida to watch the launch, while Jacqueline and the family hope to be awake to say one more farewell. “I’m thrilled for him,” she said. “What fun! What a bang for his buck.”

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Bluetooth stack modifications to improve audio quality on headphones without AAC, aptX, or LDAC codecs

These artworks are connecting the Boston community From "MassQing" to a volunteer-run theater, local communities are brought together by art Share Copy Link Copy THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK. I AM NOT EXPERIMENTING WITH FACE PAINT FOR BRAZILIAN CARNIVAL IN FACT, THIS ISN’T REALLY FACE PAINTING AT ALL. I DON’T TAKE REQUESTS. IT’S A NEW ART FORM CALLED MASKING, AS PERFORMED BY JAMAICA PLAIN ARTIST DANIEL CALLAHAN. I JUST START SEEING THINGS. THINK OF IT AS A CONVERSATION BETWEEN ARTIST AND SUBJECT. CALLAHAN INTERPRETS THROUGH BRUSHSTROKES TO REVEAL SOMETHING ABOUT WHO I AM. AT THIS MOMENT, I CAN TELL YOU EXACTLY HOW IT’S INFLUENCING YOUR YOUR MASK. WE’LL FIND OUT. YEAH, WE WILL FIND OUT BEFORE WE SEE HOW THIS ENDS UP, LET’S REWIND TO WHEN DANIEL CALLAHAN, THE HIP HOP ARTIST, WAS LIVING IN CALIFORNIA AND HAD A NOVEL IDEA FOR AN EVENT. ART WE WANTED TO THROW A BALL AND WE DIDN’T WANT TO DO THE VICTORIAN THING WHERE PEOPLE CAME WITH MASKS ON BECAUSE WE FELT LIKE THAT WAS HIDING PEOPLE. SO WE DECIDED WE WOULD PAINT ON PEOPLE’S FACES INSTEAD, DESIGNS WERE IMPROVISED TO CELEBRATE THE PARTICIPANTS DIVERSITY AND PERSONAL STORIES. AND SO IT BECAME THIS INCREDIBLE CULTURAL CELEBRATION THAT WE CALLED THE MASK BALL. AND THAT’S WHERE I KIND OF FELL INTO THE MASK WORK, WHICH WAS REALLY KIND OF CHANGED MY LIFE SINCE THEN. IT WAS ABOUT THIS TIME THAT CALLAHAN FOUND HIMSELF AT A LOW POINT. HIS MUSIC CAREER STALLED AND HE RETURNED HOME TO BOSTON, WHERE HE BEGAN A DAILY SELF MASKING RITUAL FOR INSPIRATION. WHAT DID THE MASKING PROCESS REVEAL ABOUT YOURSELF? THE BEAUTIFUL THING ABOUT MASKING IS IT ALLOWS YOU TO SEE YOURSELF IN A DIFFERENT WAY. YOU KNOW IT’S STILL YOU, BUT YOU LOOK DRASTICALLY DIFFERENT WHEN YOUR FACE IS COVERED WITH PAINT. AND SO IT ALLOWS YOU TO SEE DIFFERENT POSSIBLE REALITIES OF WHO YOU COULD BE AND WHAT HE SAW WAS THE POSSIBILITIES WERE LIMITLESS. AT FIRST. IT WAS A FORM OF SELF THERAPY, AND THEN IT REALLY BECAME A WAY FOR ME TO CONNECT WITH OTHER PEOPLE. CALLAHAN HAS NOW MASKED PEOPLE FROM AROUND THE WORLD ON TOP OF RUNNING LOCAL WORKSHOPS, WHERE HE TEACHES THE PROCESS AS THE ART OF TRANSFORMING FACES AND MINDS. IT’S A WAY OF US SEEING EACH OTHER AS WORKS OF ART, AS BEAUTIFUL AS SOMETHING TO BE CELEBRATED, AND THEN SEEING OURSELVES DEEPER IN A DEEPER WAYS. AND FINALLY SEE MY CHANCE TO SEE MYSELF TRANSFORMED THROUGH THE WORK OF THE MASKING PIONEER HIMSELF. ALL RIGHT. WHOA. THAT. THAT IS SO COOL. IS THIS THE FACE OF A CHRONICLE REPORTER READY TO TAKE ON HER NEXT CHALLENGE? YOU REALLY GET TO DETERMINE WHAT YOUR MASK MEANS AND IF THAT’S WHAT YOU SEE, THEN THAT’S WHAT IT IS. JAMAICA PLAIN IS ALSO HOME TO THE MORE TRADITIONAL MASKS OF COMEDY AND TRAGEDY, WHICH HAVE BEEN PLAYED OUT HERE FOR MORE THAN 140 YEARS. THE FOOTLIGHT CLUB IS THE OLDEST, CONTINUOUSLY OPERATING COMMUNITY THEATER IN AMERICA. WE’VE BEEN AROUND SINCE 1877. FOR CONTEXT. WELL, TODAY’S PATRONS ARE REMINDED TO SILENCE THEIR CELL PHONES. EARLY GUESTS HERE WERE DIRECTED TO REMOVE THEIR BONNETS. YES. SO THAT THE PERSON IN FRONT OF YOU COULD ACTUALLY SEE THE PERFORMERS UP ON THE STAGE. DOUG ELIZABETH BEAN IS THE CURRENT PRESIDENT OF THE CLUB, A POSITION THAT COMES WITH LOCAL PRESTIGE BUT NO PAY. WE ARE A 100% VOLUNTEER RUN ORGANIZATION. EVERYBODY FROM OUR ACTORS IS ON STAGE TO THE PEOPLE WHO DESIGN THE SETS, THE LIGHTS, THE PROPS. IT’S A LABOR OF LOVE FOR SURE, BECAUSE THE VOLUNTEERS ARE NOT PAID. TICKET SALES COMBINED WITH GENEROUS GRANTS AND DONATIONS, CAN SUPPORT WHAT REMAINS OF VITAL ARTIST OUTLET IN THIS COMMUNITY. THERE’S SUCH A NEED FOR NONPROFESSIONAL THEATER HERE IN OUR COMMUNITIES. WE HAVE TICKET PRICES ANYWHERE FROM 22 TO 28 AND WE HAVE REALLY QUALITY PERFORMANCES HERE. FOOTLIGHT ALUM HAVE HAD VERY SUCCESSFUL CAREERS AND ONE IN PARTICULAR IS STILL SINGING THEIR PRAISES. YOU PROBABLY KNOW A LITTLE PERSON NAMED JOEY MCINTYRE. HE HE DID THEATER HERE, AS DID HIS SISTER, CAROL GALLAGHER. SHE RUNS OUR RUNS AND STARS IN OUR HOLIDAY SHOW EVERY YEAR, WHICH SHOWS AUDITIONING REGULARLY. WHO KNOWS WHEN YOU’LL FIND THE NEXT NEW KID ON THE BLOCK. WE’RE REALLY EXCITED TO SEE WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT ON OUR STAGE. IT’S GREAT. AND LIZ BEAN, NOT JUST THE PRESIDENT OF THE FOOTLIGHT CLUB, BUT A PERFORMER THERE AS WELL. YEAH, SHE SHARES WITH US THAT DURING HER VERY FIRST AUDITION SHE FELL DOING THE CHARLESTON AND BROKE HER ARM IN TWO PLACES, BUT SHE STILL GOT THE PART. I THINK THE SAYING, THOUGH, IS REALLY BREAK A LEG, NOT BREAK AN ARM. BUT IT SHOWED HER COMMITMENT. THERE YOU GO. STILL AHEA GET LOCAL BREAKING NEWS ALERTS The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. Your Email Address Submit Privacy Notice

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An Ally in the Climate Fight: Nature Itself

Nature can be harnessed in the struggle to curb global warming and its most tragic effects in myriad ways: Forests store carbon and reduce temperatures, coral reefs help shield coasts from extreme weather, and grasslands safeguard water sources from droughts. But to fully protect various ecosystems and help them combat climate change, we have to understand them — and there’s a lot to figure out. For example, scientists estimate that a staggering 91 percent of ocean species have yet to be classified, and 80 percent of the oceans remain unmapped. Some help from space One piece of the puzzle is coming into focus: how much carbon ecosystems are actually storing. Scientists are now using space-based lasers to gauge the biomass of forests all around the world, which lets them calculate how much planet-warming carbon the trees are keeping out of Earth’s atmosphere. NASA’s Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (or GEDI, pronounced like the order of knights in “Star Wars”) deployed a sensor on the International Space Station in 2018. Data from that project is now being analyzed, with surprising results: Forests hold, on average, about 30 percent more carbon than what countries have previously reported. Keeping those forests healthy, and preventing their massive stores of carbon from being released into the atmosphere, is even more crucial than we thought. Over the last century, governments around the world have drawn boundaries to shield thousands of the world’s most valuable ecosystems from destruction, from the forests of Borneo and the Amazon to the savannas of Africa.

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What Is COP28? And Other Questions About the Big U.N. Climate Summit

There are two main sites for the event: the Blue Zone and the Green Zone. The Blue Zone is where the official negotiations take place, and where world leaders will speak. The Green Zone is more widely accessible and is a venue for exhibits and side events organized by youth and civil society organizations, academics, business groups and others. What is the goal of COP28? Look for three significant results from this summit. The first is what’s called the global stocktake. This is the first formal assessment of whether nations are on track to meet a goal they set in Paris in 2015 to limit the rise in average global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels. That’s the threshold beyond which scientists say it will be increasingly hard for humans to cope with the severe storms, drought, heat and sea level rise that will intensify as the planet continues to heat up. Spoiler alert: The planet has already warmed by 1.2 degrees Celsius and emissions that are driving the change are going up, not down. The review will lay the groundwork for ambitious actions countries must take going forward, activists hope. Second, there is an expectation that nations will finalize the so-called “loss and damage” fund they agreed to create last year. The major questions to be resolved include who will pay into the fund and who will have access to the money. Finally, there is the political agreement that could emerge from the summit. It is likely that nations could agree on a deal to replace polluting fossil fuels with clean energy such as wind and solar power. The question is whether nations agree to phase out fossil fuels and, if so, what caveats are attached.

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Fatal overdoses in Massachusetts remain at grim record highs

In Massachusetts, there’s no let up in the pace of deaths after a drug overdose. A bi-annual report out Wednesday from the state Department of Public Health showed the rate is expected to hold steady through the end of the year. It was a grim reminder that overdoses remain one of the most challenging public health crises facing the state, as well as the nation. The fatal overdose rate remained high even as the state flooded outreach groups with naloxone, the drug that can reverse an opioid overdose, funded more mobile treatment programs and opened housing for people using drugs. Public health officials have also targeted programs in the hardest hit areas: Boston, Worcester, Plymouth County and the Cape and Islands. State Public Health Commissioner Dr. Robbie Goldstein said he’s hopeful these efforts, and others, are saving lives. But he acknowledged, “It’s hard to find hope in the numbers.” Deaths are leveling off, “but we’re leveling off at the highest number of opioid-related overdose deaths that we’ve ever seen in the commonwealth,” Goldstein said during a briefing on the data. “That’s a really jarring, sobering number to have to report every six months.” A key challenge for Massachusetts, and the country, is the widespread threat of fentanyl. This synthetic opioid is often detected in cocaine, methamphetamines and fake Xanax or Adderall pills. It can kill people who have no idea they are at risk for an overdose death. Fatal overdoses where both cocaine and fentanyl were present increased 11% in the past year, the report found. State public health officials said they plan to launch a Night Life campaign focused on occasional drug users. It will explain the fentanyl risk. The state Department of Public Health already funds an overdose prevention hotline where staffers alert emergency medical services if the caller becomes unresponsive. In addition to fentanyl, public health experts said autopsies are also showing more xylazine mixed with other drugs. It’s an animal tranquilizer that can complicate efforts to revive someone who has overdosed. “We have a toxic drug supply that does not just affect people who have an opiate use disorder,” said Deirdre Calvert, director of the state’s Bureau of Substance Addiction Services. But Calvert cautioned outreach campaigns will be ineffective unless people feel comfortable discussing drug use. That can be difficult if they risk legal, financial and personal repercussions. We have to “allow people to access treatment without fear of incarceration, fear of losing their children, fear of not having health insurance,” Calvert said. Massachusetts is, for the first time, posting more details about the people who suffer a fatal overdose. Goldstein said for every fatal overdose between 2013 and 2021 there were nine non-fatal overdoses. One of every 11 people who experienced a non-fatal opioid overdose later died after an OD. In addition, having a mental, mobility or developmental disability doubled or tripled the risk of a non-fatal overdose, the data showed. Goldstein said the state will use this information to target services like vending machines where people can purchase clean needles and other supplies, hospital-based addiction specialists, emergency room trainings on medications to treat a substance use disorder and walk-in clinics where people who use drugs can begin treatment. The Department of Public Health is also releasing a report that recommends the Legislature pass laws that would make it easier for municipalities to open supervised injection, or overdose prevention, sites where staff are on hand to reverse an overdose if needed. The latest reports don’t update information about racial disparities in overdose deaths. Data released in June showed substantially higher death rates for Black and Hispanic people. Massachusetts has made equity its top priority in spending settlement funds stemming from lawsuits against opioid makers and distributors, committing $10 million a year. The bulk of that, $6.5 million, is dedicated to programs for men and women leaving prison, because fatal overdoses soon after incarceration are common.

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What It Takes to Save the Axolotl

Xochimilco is a large, semirural district in the south of Mexico City, home to a vast network of canals surrounding farming plots called chinampas. Starting around A.D. 900, this maze of earth and water produced food for the Xochimilcas, a Náhuatl speaking people who were among the first to populate the region and engineer its wetlands. Nowadays in the early mornings, farmers — many of them descendants of Xochimilco’s original inhabitants — can be seen loading canoes with lettuces and flowers grown in the rich sediments dredged from the canals. On weekends, hundreds of brightly colored party boats crowd the waters, full of urbanites seeking escape. The Mexican axolotl — a dusky amphibian with the remarkable habit of neoteny, or retaining its juvenile body type all its life — once thrived in these canals. Though axolotls have been reproduced widely as lab animals and in the aquarium trade, where they are more often pink or yellow thanks to genetic mutations, it is now questionable whether any significant wild population remains. At last count, a decade ago, there were 35 axolotls per square kilometer in the Xochimilco wetlands, down from thousands in the 1990s. Pollution, urbanization and introduced fish species had made life nearly impossible for them. In the early 2000s, Luis Zambrano, an ecologist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, or UNAM, was studying the effects of invasive carp when he was tapped by the government to survey axolotls. After decades of steady environmental degradation in Xochimilco, Mexico wanted to know how many axolotls remained in the species’ last stronghold. Axolotls were of deep cultural importance, a feature of the region’s traditional diet and cosmology. And laboratory biologists all over the world, who for more than a century had used axolotls to study tissue regeneration, worried that their animals were becoming inbred, without a wild population from which to draw new bloodlines.

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How Nations Are Losing a Global Race to Tackle A.I.s Harms

When European Union leaders introduced a 125-page draft law to regulate artificial intelligence in April 2021, they hailed it as a global model for handling the technology. E.U. lawmakers had gotten input from thousands of experts for three years about A.I., when the topic was not even on the table in other countries. The result was a “landmark” policy that was “future proof,” declared Margrethe Vestager, the head of digital policy for the 27-nation bloc. Then came ChatGPT. The eerily humanlike chatbot, which went viral last year by generating its own answers to prompts, blindsided E.U. policymakers. The type of A.I. that powered ChatGPT was not mentioned in the draft law and was not a major focus of discussions about the policy. Lawmakers and their aides peppered one another with calls and texts to address the gap, as tech executives warned that overly aggressive regulations could put Europe at an economic disadvantage. Even now, E.U. lawmakers are arguing over what to do, putting the law at risk. “We will always be lagging behind the speed of technology,” said Svenja Hahn, a member of the European Parliament who was involved in writing the A.I. law.

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As Iceland Waits for Volcanos Eruption, Heres What to Know for Now

As Iceland waits for a possible volcanic eruption, the more than 3,000 residents of a small fishing town that was evacuated on Saturday are slowly gathering some of their personal possessions with the help from emergency workers. “We are hoping that nature will allow us this time for everyone to retrieve their most valuable personal possessions,” Jon Thor Viglundsson, a spokesman for Iceland’s Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management said on Thursday. As of Thursday, the Icelandic Met Office, the country’s weather service, continued to warn that there was a “significant likelihood of a volcanic eruption in the coming days.” Since late October, tens of thousands of earthquakes have been reported in the Reykjanes Peninsula, in the southwestern part of the country. At one point there were as many as 1,400 in a single 24-hour period.

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Westfields Armbrook Village raises flag to mark dementia care accreditation

WESTFIELD — Armbrook Village, an assisted living community in Westfield’s North Side, raised a purple flag last week in celebration of receiving Purple Flag for Dementia Care accreditation. The accreditation recognizes facilities that follow 60 different practice standards to care for those with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia.

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Inside the A.I. Arms Race That Changed Silicon Valley Forever

Eventually a compromise was reached. They would limit the rollout, Ms. Gennai said. And they would avoid calling anything a product. For Google, it would be an experiment. That way it didn’t have to be perfect. (A Google spokeswoman said the A.T.R.C. did not have the power to decide how the products would be released.) What played out at Google was repeated at other tech giants after OpenAI released ChatGPT in late 2022. They all had technology in various stages of development that relied on neural networks — A.I. systems that recognized sounds, generated images and chatted like a human. That technology had been pioneered by Geoffrey Hinton, an academic who had worked briefly with Microsoft and was now at Google. But the tech companies had been slowed by fears of rogue chatbots, and economic and legal mayhem. Once ChatGPT was unleashed, none of that mattered as much, according to interviews with more than 80 executives and researchers, as well as corporate documents and audio recordings. The instinct to be first or biggest or richest — or all three — took over. The leaders of Silicon Valley’s biggest companies set a new course and pulled their employees along with them. Over 12 months, Silicon Valley was transformed. Turning artificial intelligence into actual products that individuals and companies could use became the priority. Worries about safety and whether machines would turn on their creators were not ignored, but they were shunted aside — at least for the moment. At Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, who had once proclaimed the metaverse to be the future, reorganized parts of the company formerly known as Facebook around A.I.

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NASA Streams Cat Video From Deep, Deep Space

Every year, our critics review numerous movies, television shows, musicals, plays, operas, dance performances, music and more. And come December, they whittle down their favorites to a list of 10. But what are best-of lists if not an invitation to critique? An unscientific collection of reader comments suggests that people most wanted to see “Barbie” in the top 10 list for best movies, while “Ted Lasso” and “For All Mankind” were mentioned the most as favorite TV shows of the year. Here’s a look at readers’ comments across several popular categories.

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A Fireball Whacked Into Jupiter, and Astronomers Got It on Video

Ko Arimatsu, an astronomer at Kyoto University in Japan, received an intriguing email a couple of weeks ago: An amateur astronomer in his country had spotted a bright flash in Jupiter’s atmosphere. Dr. Arimatsu, who runs an observation program to study the outer solar system using backyard astronomy equipment, put out a call for more information. Six more reports of the Aug. 28 flash — which, according to Dr. Arimatsu, is one of the brightest ever recorded on the giant gas planet — came in from Japanese skywatchers. Flashes like these are caused by asteroids or comets from the edges of our solar system that impact Jupiter’s atmosphere. “Direct observation of these bodies is virtually impossible, even with advanced telescopes,” Dr. Arimatsu wrote in an email. But Jupiter’s gravity lures in these objects, which eventually slam into the planet, “making it a unique and invaluable tool for studying them directly,” he said. Characterizing these flashes is a crucial way to understand our solar system’s history. They offer “a glimpse of the violent processes that were happening in the early days of our solar system,” said Leigh Fletcher, a planetary scientist at the University of Leicester in England. It’s like “seeing planetary evolution in action,” he added.

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Psychologist shares advice for answering 9

Boston psychologist shares advice for answering 9/11 questions from children Share Copy Link Copy HAVE BEEN SO BUSY OVER THERE. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH, KELLY ANN. SO FIVE ON YOUR MENTAL HEALTH TODAY MARKS 22 YEARS SINCE NEARLY 3000 PEOPLE WERE KILLED IN TERRORIST ATTACKS IN NEW YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, VIRGINIA. A LOT OF SCHOOLS HELD MOMENTS OF SILENCE. BUT THE MAJORITY OF TODAY’S STUDENTS WEREN’T EVEN ALIVE IN 2001. JOINING US NOW IS DR. ERIKA LEE, A PSYCHOLOGIST AT BOSTON CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL. THANKS FOR JOINING US, DOCTOR. GOOD TO SEE YOU. DR. LEE, I KNOW SOME SCHOOLS SENT A NOTE TO PARENTS, OF COURSE, TODAY TELLING THEM TO BE PREPARED IF THEIR KID COMES HOME WITH QUESTIONS. SO AS FAMILIES GET READY TO TALK ABOUT THIS, HAVE DINNER AND THIS COMES UP, WHERE DO YOU START IT? IT’S A GREAT QUESTION. AND THE FIRST THING I’LL SAY IS, OF COURSE, THE CONVERSATION DEPENDS ON WHAT YOUR KIDS AGES ARE. BUT YOU CAN ALWAYS START BY ASKING, HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT NINE OVER 11 BEFORE? WHAT DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT IT WAS OR IS? AND ARE THERE ANY SPECIFIC THINGS THAT YOU WANT TO KNOW OR THAT YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT TOGETHER? I THINK A LOT OF PARENTS, VERY UNDERSTANDABLY, ARE CONFLICTED OF LIKE HOW DO I SHARE THIS KIND OF INFORMATION WITH MY KIDS? SHOULD I TALK TO THEM ABOUT TERRORISM OR VIOLENCE? SO IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT, ACTUALLY, THAT YOU COME FROM A PLACE WHERE YOU ARE OPEN TO THEIR THOUGHTS, THEIR FEELINGS, THEIR WORRIES, THEIR QUESTIONS, AND THAT YOU SHOW THEM AS YOUR PARENTS, AS THEIR PARENTS, THAT YOU’RE OPEN TO TALKING ABOUT THESE THINGS AND PROCESSING IT TOGETHER. SO I JUST HAVE TO INTERJECT AND ASK YOU THIS, DOCTOR. SO IF THEY’RE OPEN TO TALKING ABOUT IT, WHAT IF THE KID COMES HOME AND SAYS NOTHING AND SAY THEY ARE TEN YEARS OLD AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU WANT TO SHARE? DO YOU SHARE IT WITH A TEN YEAR OLD? DO YOU SHARE IT WITH A 15 YEAR OLD? DO YOU SHARE THIS INFORMATION OR DO YOU JUST MOVE FORWARD WITH THE DAY? BECAUSE TO ME, AND I AM NOT A DOCTOR, BUT I AM SOMEONE WHO REMEMBERS THAT DAY VERY, VERY, VERY DEEPLY. I THINK THAT THIS MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT THAT I WOULD SAY. I DID TALK TO MY CHILDREN ABOUT IT. I DID IT ABSOLUTELY. SO I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, INFORMATION ABOUT TERRORISM, HISTORICAL EVENTS, WE REALLY ACTUALLY JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE’RE MATCHING IT TO THE CHILD’S AGE AND THEIR DEVELOPMENTAL LEVEL, BECAUSE WHATEVER YOU ARE GOING TO SAY TO THEM, SAY SOMETHING TO THEM. IF IT’S IMPORTANT TO YOU, JUST AS YOU DESCRIBED, YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND AND PROCESS WHAT IT IS THAT YOU SHARE. SO, YOU KNOW, THE NATIONAL 9/11 MUSEUM ACTUALLY RECOMMENDS THAT NOT REALLY TALKING TO THESE KIDS ABOUT THINGS UNTIL THEY’RE AT LEAST, SAY, AGE EIGHT. SO REALLY THINKING ABOUT GRADE THREE AND UP BECAUSE THEY’RE JUST COGNITIVELY MAYBE NOT ABLE TO RECOGNIZE AND THEY ACTUALLY HAVE SOME REALLY NICE INTERACTIVE LESSON PLANS ON THEIR WEBSITE WITH EXAMPLE LANGUAGE AND ACTIVITIES THAT YOU CAN USE TO DESCRIBE WHAT HAPPENED IN A DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE WAY. AND IT KIND OF CREATES A LITTLE BIT OF SCAFFOLDING FOR PARENTS. THEY DON’T FEEL LIKE IT’S JUST ON THEM. BUT I’VE ALSO SEEN SOME NICE CHILDREN’S BOOKS. I MEAN, WE’VE HAD A FAIR AMOUNT OF TIME NOW FOR PEOPLE TO WRITE DIFFERENT BOOKS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, BALANCING OUR KIDS UNDERSTANDABLE FEARS ABOUT ACTS OF TERRORISM. ALSO WITH SORT OF HOPE AND REASSURANCE ABOUT THE WAYS THAT OUR COUNTRY CAME TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, LEAVING OUT SOME OF THE SCARY DETAILS. AND I’VE SEEN BOOKS FOR KIDS WHO ARE IN FIRST GRADE AND UP. SO I REALLY ENCOURAGE PARENTS, IF YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT, GET A LITTLE BIT OF ASSISTANCE SO YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE YOU’RE FIGURING IT OUT ON YOUR OWN. HOW DO I TALK ABOUT THIS? WHAT’S THE RIGHT LANGUAGE? WHAT WOULD BE DEVELOPMENTALLY GREAT ANSWER GREAT ANSWER. THANK YOU. GET LOCAL BREAKING NEWS ALERTS The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. Your Email Address Submit Privacy Notice

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Huge Turbines Will Soon Bring First Offshore Wind Power to New Yorkers

The pier on the Connecticut coast is filled with so many massive oddities that it could be mistaken for the set of a sci-fi movie. Sword-shaped blades as long as a football field lie stacked along one edge, while towering yellow and green cranes hoist giant steel cylinders to stand like rockets on a launchpad. It is a launching point, not for spacecraft, but for the first wind turbines being built to turn ocean wind into electricity for New Yorkers. Crews of union workers in New London, Conn., are preparing parts of 12 of the gargantuan fans before shipping them out for final assembly 15 miles offshore. “They’re sort of space-stationesque,” said Christine Cohen, a Democratic state senator who toured the assembly site last week. “Seeing the components up close, it’s just breathtaking how immense they are.” The turbines will make up South Fork Wind, a wind farm in the Atlantic Ocean whose completion is pivotal to Northeastern states’ hopes of switching to renewable sources of energy. Recent setbacks to several other offshore projects in the region have raised concerns about whether and when they all will be built.

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Researcher calls for investigation into the relationship between Harvard and Facebook

Joan Donovan, a prominent disinformation scholar who left Harvard University last summer told NBC10 Boston's @Issue that she was terminated from her position at the university as she launched a deep dive in late 2021 into a trove of Facebook files she considers the most important documents in internet history. The actions impacting Donovan's work coincided with a $500 million donation to Harvard by a foundation run by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan. "I am calling for an investigation into understanding how Facebook and Harvard in particular interact," Donovan told Cory Smith and Sue O'Connell. In a whistleblower disclosure, Donovan accuses Harvard of betraying academic freedom and the public interest to protect Meta, Facebook's parent company. Donovan is asking Harvard President Dr. Claudine Gay, Harvard's general counsel, the Massachusetts attorney general's office and the U.S. Department of Education to look in what she calls "inappropriate influence." Get New England news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NECN newsletters. "As researchers and as academics, we have to be above the fray," Donovan told @Issue." We have to be in a position where we can't be bought. And that requires the university to say you as an academic are telling the truth and we support you. And if a lawsuit comes, we will protect you. It's cowardice to tell a researcher they're not protected by academic freedom." The CEO of Whisteblower Aid, a legal nonprofit supporting Donovan, called the alleged behavior by Harvard's Kennedy School and its dean a “shocking betrayal” of academic integrity at the elite school. "Whether Harvard acted at the company’s direction or took the initiative on their own to protect (Facebook's) interests, the outcome is the same: corporate interests are undermining research and academic freedom to the detriment of the public,” CEO Libby Liu said in a press statement. In response to NBC10 Boston, the Kennedy School rejected the disclosure’s allegations of unfair treatment and donor interference. “The narrative is full of inaccuracies and baseless insinuations, particularly the suggestion that Harvard Kennedy School allowed Facebook to dictate its approach to research,” spokesman James F. Smith said in a statement. "By longstanding policy to uphold academic standards, all research projects at Harvard Kennedy School need to be led by faculty members. Joan Donovan was hired as a staff member (not a faculty member) to manage a media manipulation project. When the original faculty leader of the project left Harvard, the School tried for some time to identify another faculty member who had time and interest to lead the project. After that effort did not succeed, the project was given more than a year to wind down. Joan Donovan was not fired, and most members of the research team chose to remain at the School in new roles. Harvard University and Harvard Kennedy School continue to carry out pathbreaking research on misinformation and the role of social media in society. For example, a Kennedy School faculty member has constructed and posted online the Facebook Archive, the only academic archive that makes available to researchers thousands of leaked Facebook documents. As another example, a Kennedy School faculty member publishes and edits the only peer-reviewed academic journal on misinformation, the Harvard Kennedy School Misinformation Review. By policy and in practice, donors have no influence over this or other work.” During her interview on @Issue, Donovan pushed back against that statement. "The... thing that's confounding about their statement is... that research staff don't have academic freedom. Now, if anything in my disclosure kept me up late at night was the description of the one on one meeting I had with (former) Dean Douglas Elmendorf, where I make the claim that he intimidated me by saying I don't have academic freedom, which meant to me if I proceeded with the Facebook project, I could be personally liable. He's since doubled down on that in the Harvard Crimson and in (Washington Post) suggesting that that is the rule at Harvard. This raises huge concerns for the over 6000 academic research staff that publish at Harvard that aren't faculty. I believe that that is one of the crucial things that come out of this whistleblower complaint, especially. Before Donovan spoke with NBC10 Boston, Latanya Sweeney, a professor who leads Harvard's Public Interest Tech Lab, responded to Donovan's whistleblower complaint in a statement provided to NBC10 Boston by the Harvard Kennedy School. “The number and nature of inaccuracies and falsehoods in the document are so abundant and self-serving as to be horribly disappointing. FBarchive was under my charge from the beginning. Meta exerted no influence over FBarchive or any of our/my work. Just a few weeks ahead of the public launch, we offered Meta the chance to review the archive for security and privacy concerns and suggest redactions, which we independently elected to accept or reject.” Meta spokesman Andy Stone told NBC News the company had no comment on the dispute between Donovan and Harvard. In its statement, The Kennedy School said it “did not receive any portion of the Chan-Zuckerberg gift,” which went to Harvard University for an unrelated artificial intelligence initiative. Both Chan and Zuckerberg went to Harvard, where Facebook was first launched. .A representative for their philanthropic organization told CNBC that the group “had no involvement" in Donovan’s "departure from Harvard and was unaware of that development before public reporting on it.”

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The F.D.A. Warned an Asthma Drug Could Induce Despair. Many Were Never Told.

The agency’s label, which was primarily aimed at doctors, was supposed to sound an alert about the 25-year-old medication, Singulair, also known by its generic name, montelukast. But it barely dented use: The drug was still prescribed to 12 million people in the United States in 2022. Children face the greatest risks of the drug’s ill effects, and while usage by minors did decline, it was still taken by 1.6 million of them — including Nicole Sims’s son. Ms. Sims had no idea why, at 6, her son started having nightmares and hallucinations of a woman in the window. When he told her that he wanted to die, Ms. Sims went online, desperate for answers.

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Possible Ways to Ease Drug Shortages

At several congressional hearings this year, ideas to fix drug shortages were as numerous as the number of scarce drugs. The rationing of key chemotherapies added urgency to the crisis. Two of these drugs, carboplatin and cisplatin, are inexpensive and are used to treat up to 20 percent of cancer patients, according to the National Institutes of Health. Momentum to shore up supplies of such crucial generic drugs grew this year after lawmakers returned from town hall meetings in their districts and reported on somber visits to their local hospitals. “People are dying because of this,” Representative Debbie Dingell, a Democrat of Michigan, said at one hearing. President Biden announced a plan in November to use his executive authority to expand federal authorities’ ability to invest in domestic manufacturing to ease some drug shortages, including those of morphine, insulin and flu vaccines. He also created a cabinet-level council focused on shortages and set aside $35 million to help prevent shortages of sterile injectable drugs like propofol or fentanyl, which are used in surgery.

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Disinformation Researchers Fret About Fallout From Judges Order

A federal judge’s decision this week to restrict the government’s communication with social media platforms could have broad side effects, according to researchers and groups that combat hate speech, online abuse and disinformation: It could further hamper efforts to curb harmful content. Alice E. Marwick, a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was one of several disinformation experts who said on Wednesday that the ruling could impede work meant to keep false claims about vaccines and voter fraud from spreading. The order, she said, followed other efforts, largely from Republicans, that are “part of an organized campaign pushing back on the idea of disinformation as a whole.” Judge Terry A. Doughty granted a preliminary injunction on Tuesday, saying the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, along with other parts of the government, must stop corresponding with social media companies for “the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression or reduction of content containing protected free speech.”

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Biomanufacturing apprenticeships offer new way into biotech

A decade later, Pacheco, a 42-year-old Brazilian immigrant who’d yearned for a piece of that prosperity, is getting his shot. He’s signed on as a biomanufacturing apprentice, joining dozens of low-wage workers in the Boston area training for opportunities in a growing field. “I had no idea what they did,” Pacheco said. “All I knew was they were always having drinks and big parties. And they didn’t have money problems.” Dennis Pacheco found himself working in the shadow of the biotech industry shortly after coming to the United States in 2012. He tended bar at a tapas restaurant in Cambridge’s Kendall Square, pouring beer and mixing drinks for employees from nearby drug discovery labs. Apprentice Dennis Pacheco prepared to enter a clean room at the Thermo Fisher Scientific biomanufacturing plant in Lexington on Oct. 5. He and his team would be preparing nutrients to feed cells growing in a bioreactor. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff Among them are Alicia Raymond, 26, a longtime coffee barista, Connor Zhong, 21, who waited tables at a Vietnamese restaurant, and 31-year-old Josh Wilkerson, who gave Breathalyzer tests at a halfway house. All are from families of modest means. And all hope to punch their tickets to the middle class in an industry where the rewards of mastering the work are great, but the stakes of failing to do so are daunting. “It’s time to move on to a career, not just a job,” said Wilkerson. Their chance comes as the Massachusetts biotech boom enters a new phase that will require not only scientists and entrepreneurs but also more production technicians. Drug makers are boosting manufacturing capacity in the state. At least 10 plants have recently opened, expanded, or are under construction, and several more are planned, creating thousands of well-paying production and support jobs. Biotechs that long outsourced drug-making, or built plants in lower-cost locales down South or overseas, are reassessing that strategy. As new gene therapies and targeted cancer drugs make biomanufacturing more complex, many local companies want their production lines to be close enough to Boston for their scientists to keep watch. Alicia Raymond listened to Lab Manager Luis Viskatis at Northeastern University’s Biopharmaceutical Analysis and Training Laboratory in Burlington. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff) Viskatis taught a MassBioEd class at Northeastern University’s lab. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff) Even as many labs have shed workers, the manufacturing of prescription medicines in the state is growing. The number of employees at drug plants climbed 6.3 percent last year, to 10,500, the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, a trade group, reported in September. And most of those workers aren’t scientists. Industry and state officials are struggling to keep up with demand for hiring at those plants. They’re offering programs to train technicians, who on average earn nearly $60,000 annually in Massachusetts, well above the national average and far more than the wages in retail or food service. Gowning up for biotech training About a dozen workers, many without four-year college degrees, gathered at Northeastern University’s campus in Burlington for a four-month training program sponsored by the nonprofit Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation, or MassBioEd. In a field better known for brainy PhDs peering into microscopes, they were a class of eager novices. Most had bounced from one dead-end job to another. Their common dilemma was how to save money, buy a house, or raise a family in a state where the promise of a stable life — the life an older generation of blue-collar employees took for granted — seems out of reach for many low-wage workers. The biotech industry offers a 21st-century version of the ladder manufacturing provided previous generations. After completing 16 weeks of training in the spring and summer, each worker would be placed as an apprentice for 12 months in a biomanufacturing plant. Students learned the gowning procedure for entering a clean room during a MassBioEd class at Northeastern University’s lab in Burlington on July 11. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff So they donned white gowns, split into teams, and huddled over instruments — weighing scales, pH meters, stirrers — arrayed on the counters of a model laboratory. It was the closest thing to what they would see on the job when they entered a plant. Lab manager Luis Viskatis, their meticulous instructor, introduced them to the processes they’d need to master. He stressed the most important principle in any production environment and especially biomanufacturing: the need to get it right every time. Wilkerson held a vial of salt-like granules at shoulder height. “Here comes the sodium nitrate,” he proclaimed with fanfare. The task was preparing buffer solution, the kind used in manufacturing plants to purify the cell-based drugs that brewed for hours in giant stainless steel tanks called bioreactors. Raymond took the vial from Wilkerson and poured the preservative into a beaker. “That’s 1.4 grams,” she said, as Wilkerson jotted the weight on a notepad. Lab manager Luis Viskatis demonstrated a procedure for Joshua Wilkerson (left,) Dennis Pacheco, and Alicia Raymond (right) during a MassBioEd class at Northeastern University’s lab. During the class, students learned how to follow a buffer solution preparation procedure as well as how to record their work. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff A single mistake could slow production, a cardinal sin in manufacturing. In the worst case, it could contaminate a lifesaving therapy. “This is a small part of the process,” Viskatis said, his voice rising, “but you must remember there’s a patient at the end of this.” Training programs are sprouting up across the state to prepare workers for jobs with such titles as cell engineer and formulation technician. The biotech council, known as MassBIO, next month will open Bioversity in Dorchester, an eight-week training program for residents with a high-school degree. Other programs are run by groups such as LabCentral and Year Up and even regional organizations. Greg Verdine, a biologist and serial entrepreneur, cofounded one of those programs, Gloucester Biotechnology Academy, to help provide the workers and technical skills that biomanufacturing needs to grow. “We’re democratizing science,” said Verdine, who has started 10 companies. “If you’re trying to hire just people with advanced degrees, we have a limited supply of them.” The outsiders looking in It seemed natural that Pacheco, an upbeat trainee who often wears a baseball cap backwards, would eventually wind up in biotech. His bartending job in Kendall Square gave him his first glimpse. More recently, his wife, Jessica, landed a job at a Bristol Myers biomanufacturing plant at the old Army base in Devens. And at his last work gig, as a temporary laborer grinding metal and hauling building materials, Pacheco was part of a crew building a plant for the biotech Ultragenex at an industrial park in Bedford. He enrolled in MassBioEd’s program, to be followed by a year of on-the-job training with a company making drugs in Massachusetts. Apprentices who proved to be adept would be offered full-time positions. After years as an outsider looking in, he stood ready to be welcomed into the fold. Biomanufacturing apprentice Dennis Pacheco entertained his daughter, Gianna, after picking her up at day care in Stoughton in September. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff “If it pays good, I’ll learn,” Pacheco said. “I have a feeling I can grow. And my whole family can live on biomanufacturing for a while.” Other trainees in his class had their own stories, and quests. Raymond, the former barista, sported a tattoo of Rosie the Riveter and another of an arrow poised to launch. She went to an agricultural high school in Walpole, hoping to be a veterinarian, but never made it to college. She has a young son and daughter and is pregnant with her third child. With a job in biomanufacturing, she said, “I know I’ll be able to support myself and my kids. And there’s room for growth.” Zhong, who grew up in public housing in Brighton, graduated from the O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science, but dropped out of the University of Massachusetts Boston after two years when he ran out of money. Apprentice Connor Zhong worked in “The Ballroom,” the largest clean room at the Thermo Fisher Scientific biomanufacturing plant in Lexington on Oct. 5. He and his team were preparing nutrients to feed cells growing in a bioreactor. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff He was living with his parents, both Chinese immigrants, and working at a Vietnamese restaurant when a friend took a job in biomanufacturing. Zhong began watching YouTube videos to learn about it. “Boston is the biggest hub in the world for biotechnology,” he said. “It’s a career I believe I could really thrive in.” A new work-and-sleep schedule Like several of his colleagues from the MassBioEd training program, Pacheco was assigned to a 12-hour overnight shift at a cavernous Thermo Fisher plant in Lexington. In early fall, weeks after starting his apprenticeship, he was still adjusting to his new schedule. Waking up in midafternoon, after sleeping four or five hours, Pacheco had a few hours to run errands and pack his dinner. Then it would be time to pick up his 16-month-old daughter, Gianna, at her day care, down the street from the family’s modest starter home in Stoughton. “I had to adapt my internal time zone,” said Pacheco, who drank at least four cups of coffee a day to help with his work-and-sleep transition. “The first week and a half I felt like I could be falling asleep at work.” Biomanufacturing apprentice Dennis Pacheco said goodbye to his wife, Jessica, and their daughter, Gianna, at their home in Stoughton in September. Pacheco was preparing to depart for his overnight shift at Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff A few hours later, after Pacheco flipped through picture books with Gianna, his wife returned home from her dayside job. Then came what they jokingly called the “changing of the guard.” Pacheco grabbed his laptop and his dinner, kissed his wife and daughter, and headed for the door for Lexington and a shift that ran from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. “Tomorrow I’m off,” he told them. “Tomorrow we’ll have dinner.” Reporting to the Thermo Fisher plant, Pacheco crowded into a small room for a team huddle with fellow apprentice Zhong and other night-shift workers. Supervisors reviewed their progress in producing the plant’s specialty, “viral vectors,” the secret sauce used to deliver genetic materials into human cells during gene therapy procedures. On the way to the locker room, where they would gown up for their first task of the night, Pacheco and Zhong compared notes. “There’s not too many people out there who can handle the challenge of a 12-hour night shift,” said a well-caffeinated Pacheco. “It’s manageable,” said Zhong, who kept late hours before he started working overnight. “For me, it’s an easy adjustment.” Soon they were in a clean room, outfitted in their gowns, preparing the nutrients they called “media” used to feed cells growing in doughnut-shaped iCELLis machines stationed in a nearby production suite. Under the watchful eye of night manager John Makumbi, who helps apprentices get qualified on the machines they use, the apprentices stored plastic jugs of red liquid — the all-important nutrients — in refrigerator-like boxes called incubators before their use. Zhong wielded a scanner to record the bar codes. Pacheco tapped a flat-panel gauge to check the temperature and humidity of the incubators. “The first few times, we had to learn,” Pacheco said. “We had to understand everything. Now it’s kind of automatic.” At a vaccine plant, ‘connecting the dots’ Thirty miles north, at a sprawling Pfizer plant in Andover, another MassBioEd apprentice, Crystal Langone, was clamping hoses together to install transfer lines between bioreactors, a kind of high-tech plumbing drill. “A lot of gaskets in there,” said Langone, 38, who worked the day shift. “My fingers are worn.” The tanks in her production suite were growing bacteria to make the active ingredient for a Pfizer vaccine to fend off the pneumococcal virus. At another site on the company’s campus off Interstate 93, workers were manufacturing key ingredients for the COVID vaccine. Chanalo Hunde, Hem KC, Crystal Langone and Terrence Serres calibrated the PH Meter while working on a buffer solution preparation exercise during a MassBioEd class at Northeastern’s lab. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff) (Left to right) Joshua Wilkerson, Dennis Pacheco, Connor Zhong and Crystal Langone departed class in Burlington. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff) Langone had worked for years in hospitals. Most recently, at Beth Israel Lahey, she administered vaccine shots, giving little thought to how they were made. Now she was playing a role in it. “You just never think about being on this side of the fence,” she said. “I love figuring out how everything works, connecting the dots.” ‘You come and prove yourself’ Kelvin Manu, an immigrant from Ghana, completed the MassBioEd training program in 2022. Before that, Manu, 45, had toiled at odd jobs — on an oil rig, in a warehouse, behind a Dunkin’ cash register — always looking for something better. He found it on a winter evening while driving for Lyft. Manu picked up a passenger, Germaine Palmer, in Allston. By the time he crossed the Charles River to drop her off at her home about 20 minutes later, his sights were set on biomanufacturing. Kelvin Manu, a formulation technician II, demonstrated the cleaning process of a biosafety cabinet for apprentices in a clean room at the Thermo Fisher biomanufacturing plant in Cambridge in October. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff As they made conversation, Palmer told Manu that she worked as a recruiter for the life sciences apprenticeship program and asked if he knew anyone who might be interested. “Yes,” he said. “Me.” Manu, who earned a two-year associate degree at Bunker Hill Community College, knew little about the cutting-edge therapies emerging from Massachusetts biotechs. But he remembered feeling helpless when his grandmother, who raised him, died of cancer. “I couldn’t help her,” he said. “I wanted to give other people the help I wasn’t able to give her. This sounded like a place I wanted to be.” Nineteen months later, after graduating from the MassBioEd training program and completing his apprenticeship, Manu in September accepted a full-time job as a formulation technician at the Thermo Fisher biomanufacturing plant in Cambridge. “You come in and prove yourself and there’s opportunities,” he said, during a potluck dinner with colleagues in the plant’s break room. “I’m looking out two years now. I might be able to buy a house.” Lab manager Luis Viskatis took a group photo of a class after teaching the gowning procedure for entering a clean room during a MassBioEd class at Northeastern University’s lab in Burlington. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff Robert Weisman can be reached at robert.weisman@globe.com.

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Heres when you can see the devil comet hurtling toward Earth

2024 is off with an astronomical bang. A gigantic comet is currently hurtling its way toward Earth. But before you start to think we’re going the way of the dinosaur, rest assured it’s going to be totally okay. According to Astronomy.com, this Devil comet — so called for the horn-looking points it developed after it underwent an outburst back in July — is “bigger than Mount Everest” and has been recognized by scientists since the 1800s (it’s real name is the Comet Pons-Brooks, as well as Comet 12P, in honor the man who discovered it). Earth.com further explains how this Devil comet is cryovolcanic, meaning it’s made of ice that spews water, ammonia, or even methane rather than lava. The New York Post reports how the comet actually most likely exploded again over the weekend, letting lose a large amount of gas and ice in space. “The last few outbursts have been a 15-day cadence,” tells Nick James of the British Astronomical Association to Spaceweather.com. “And we might be coming up on another one.” “It’s like Old Faithful,” adds Richard Miles, also of the BAA. “Comet 12P has a super cryogeyeser, [an] eruption of which is triggered after local sunrise at its location.” But while the idea of an enormous celestial body heading toward our planet may be unnerving, Astronomy.com wants you to know that everything’s going to be fine: The comet will be making its way between Earth and Venus as it passes through our inner solar system, coming its closest in June. It’ll also be visible during this year’s solar eclipse, so keep your eyes peeled come April 8.

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Robots Learn, Chatbots Visualize: How 2024 Will Be A.I.s Leap Forward

“This would be like the same capability that you’d want to have if you’re sending an astronaut to the surface of Mars or something like that,” said Dr. Abhijit Biswas, the project technologist. “You want to have constant contact with them.” The demonstration was done with the help of NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, which was launched on Oct. 13 with the aim of exploring an asteroid with the same name. The D.S.O.C. experiment is using laser communications, as opposed to traditional radio frequencies, in an attempt to transfer large gobs of data at faster rates over greater distances. (The video is of Taters chasing a laser pointer. In 1928, a statue of the cartoon character Felix the Cat was used to test television transmissions.) The transmitted data rates of 267 megabits per second are comparable to rates on Earth, which are often between 100 and 300 megabits per second. But Dr. Biswas urged caution about the results of the demonstration. “This is the first step,” he said. “There’s still significant requirements for ground infrastructure and things like that to take something that’s kind of a proof of concept to transform it into something that’s operational and reliable.” The video was transmitted using a flight laser transceiver, one of several pieces of new hardware being deployed for the first time. The D.S.O.C. system is made up of three parts: the transceiver, which was installed on board the Psyche spacecraft, and two components on Earth: a ground laser transmitter (roughly a 90-minute drive from the laboratory) and a ground laser receiver at the Palomar Observatory in Southern California.

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Massachusetts keeping pace with climate goals, Healey administration says

On the route to decarbonization, the state is so far on target with its goals, the Healey administration says, but there is more work to be done with the most intense period of rapid decarbonization quickly approaching. Gov. Maura Healey's administration released its first Climate Report Card on Friday, which includes data and assessments on the state's progress on its climate resilience and environmental justice goals. The administration plans to release the report card every year, which they call "a candid look at the Commonwealth’s progress to date" to "provide accountability to the public, advocates, lawmakers, and the state itself and inform the adoption of new strategies to reduce emissions." Massachusetts has committed to achieving reductions in greenhouse gas emissions of 33 percent by 2025, 50 percent by 2030, 75 percent by 2040 and at least 85 percent by 2050, all compared to the baseline of 1990 emissions. Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters. The state was required to reduce carbon emissions by at least 25 percent from the 1990 baseline by 2020 and Gov. Charlie Baker's administration determined that 2020 emissions were actually 31.4 percent below the 1990 level. On the track to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, the steepest emissions reductions are set to occur between 2025 and 2030, said Katherine Antos, undersecretary of decarbonization and resilience at the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. "That's when the most action needs to be happening, so that we can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions across each of our sectors," Antos told reporters on Thursday. She added, "At the same time, in terms of resilience and adapting to climate change, as we saw this summer through extreme heat and through extreme precipitation events, those impacts are happening now. They're affecting our residents, our businesses, our communities now. So we need to be taking the actions now to adapt to a changing climate and build resilience." Greenhouse gas emissions are used most often to measure progress, but with a two-to-three year lag in this data, the climate report card turns to other quantitative measures. Data show that the transportation sector was the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Massachusetts, at 37 percent, the report says, and shifting to increase the availability of electric vehicles will be important to meeting the state's target that 100 percent of 2035 light-duty vehicles sales be electric. "The [Clean Energy and Climate Plan] anticipated that progress electrifying medium and heavy-duty vehicles would be slow before implementation of the Advanced Clean Truck rule begins in 2024, and this prediction has proven true," it says. "Finally, total Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT), a key indicator of mode shift, is still significantly below pre-COVID levels, but has increased since 2020 as the economy rebounds. Continued progress building housing near public transportation, improving the performance of the MBTA and regional transit agencies, and investments in multimodal infrastructure and technologies such as e-bikes will be critical to limiting VMT growth." The report says there were 70,689 electric light-duty vehicles on the road in 2022. This exceeds the estimate in the state's climate plan, that there would be about 60,000 in 2022. The plan sets a target of 200,000 electric vehicles on the road by 2025 and 900,000 by 2030. The climate targets also estimate the need for 15,000 public charging station ports by 2025 and 75,000 by 2030 -- as of Thursday, there were 6,436. "We are seeing more and more electric vehicles on the road each year, we're seeing a tripling of our EV rebates to support residents in purchasing those electric vehicles. So we are seeing those indicators move in the direction that we want them to move, as we know that acceleration will need to continue to occur through 2025 to 2030," Antos said. EVs cost more up front than gas-powered vehicles, and the report identifies this as the greatest barrier for low-income drivers. Additionally, one-third of Massachusetts residents do not have off-street parking, making it more difficult to charge vehicles. The Department of Energy Resources recently rolled out an upgraded MOR-EV rebate program, and additional rebates for low-income households. As of Nov. 1, 2023, light-duty vehicle rebates had almost tripled compared to 2022, the report says. "DOER will be determining whether additional rebate adjustments may make EVs more accessible, particularly to income-restricted drivers," it says. The building sector is the second largest source of emissions, at 35 percent. The state has recently begun rolling out policies to try to contain emissions related to the building sector, such as reforming building codes and encouraging heat pump installations. "The sector is currently on track or leading in all categories as compared to expectations and modeled analytics, but significant, new interventions are needed to meet upcoming 2025 and 2030 targets," the report says. Nationwide, heat pump sales exceeded gas-powered furnace sales by over 10 percent for the first time in 2022. Heat pumps reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 percent compared with a gas boiler, and can be as large as an 80 percent reduction, according to the International Energy Agency. "Residential heat pump installations through Mass Save rebate offerings in 2022 and in the first half of 2023 have been above expectations, particularly for former natural gas customers, and we are now at about 30% of our 2025 target even before accounting for installations outside of Mass Save such as those done within municipal light plant territories," the report says. "Heat pump installations through Mass Save have also been accelerating, nearly tripling from 2021 to 2022 and on track to be over 3.5 times greater in 2023." The report card also includes a section on Massachusetts' "natural and working lands," which they say absorb more carbon than they emit -- though the state loses several thousands acres of this natural land, particularly forests, each year. As of 2022, 27 percent of the state was permanently protected. The state's climate goals seek to increase permanent conservation to at least 28 percent by 2025, at least 30 percent by 2030 and at least 40 percent by 2050. "EEA and its agencies have been permanently conserving an average of about 10,000 acres annually over the past five years, but the Commonwealth needs to double the pace of conservation to achieve the conservation goals in the CECPs. Doubling the pace of conservation will require consistent long-term funding for land acquisition, incentives for more privately-owned forests and farms to be protected with conservation easements, and full and equitable compensation to hosts of conserved land," the report says. EEA has an annual budget of about $25 million for land conservation, and plans to use more than $50 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding for land conservation. The department is also exploring ways to limit natural land loss to development through incentives and regulations. "There has been a lot of work done there to understand how different types of forests and how different types of land use -- what they can store and what they can sequester -- and also looking at restoration, where are there areas where there's the greatest per acre benefit in terms of increasing sequestration? So it's an area where we have done quite a bit of research," Antos said. The state climate chief -- a position that Healey created at the beginning of her term -- called for the annual climate report card in recommendations she made to the governor in October. Chief Melissa Hoffer wrote that the report card would "enhance transparency" as "there is enormous public concern about climate change and interest in executive branch actions to reduce emissions and make our communities more resilient to the impacts of climate change."

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Winter is coming, so try these adult indoor activities to have fun, stay warm

Looking for something fun to do indoors, now that it’s getting colder outside? Wicked Local found some indoor experiences that will not only keep you warm, but exercise your mind and body. One such place is Boda Borg Malden, owned by Brookline resident Chad Ellis and offering a variety of challenging escape room quests. “I’m a huge nerd and just really love games, and I love smart entertainment that brings people together and that people get something out of,” he said. To participate in a quest, you need three or more people. Reservations should be made in advance, either online or by phone. Sign up for a two-hour quest for $28 per person or a four-hour quest for $40 per person. Upon arrival, you’ll get a tutorial on how to quest. Much like attending a theme park, you choose the quests you want, just as you would for rides. “You know very little at the start of each quest — just the name, the theme and how physically intense it’s going to be,” said Ellis. Staff members are available to help and provide nudges toward a solution if you become stuck, he said. “It’s all about failure," Ellis said. "Most challenge activities are designed around success and you either succeed or you don’t. With questing you are guaranteed to fail, but then you learn something and then you can try again and then you get closer and closer." Ellis first heard about Boda Borg in 2012, then tried it out at its headquarters in Sweden. He told his wife about it and after a long search for the right location, in 2015 they opened Boda Borg at site of the former longtime department store, Sparks, on Pleasant Street in Malden. Despite being closed for a year due to COVID-19, business has otherwise been very good since its opening. “People keep coming back, a lot of the same companies and schools keep coming back," Ellis said. "During the holidays, people bring their out-of-town families. They come back over and over.” Snacks and beverages are available, although no alcohol. Axe throwing Looking for a social sport that incorporates physical skill and mental fortitude? Axe throwing at Revolution Axe Throwing in Everett is worth a try. "Axe throwing is a perfect activity for the winter and fall — it's active without requiring a bunch of specialized equipment or clothing (no need to fully change out of your cold-weather gear to throw axes), you've got the perfect excuse to wear your heavy duty flannel, and we always have a great variety of seasonal drink options to keep your winter thematic!" wrote General Manager Chester Domoracki in an email. "It can be hard to find casual spaces in the wintertime that allow you to hang out in a relaxed setting without freezing, and axe throwing fills that niche perfectly." Advance reservations are recommended. It’s $30 per person per hour. For larger groups, two-hour sessions go for $50 per person. Revolution also runs leagues, including those for women only and for beginners. They each run two months at a time for $150, less than $20 per session. Revolution Axe Throwing offers a full bar. Outside food can also be brought in. 'Amazing community':Competitive rock climbers from Brookline, Cambridge and Newton find success Rock climbing Central Rock Gym has several Greater Boston locations, including Watertown,Stoneham, Waltham, Framingham, Cambridge and Boston. No experience is necessary. Central Rock offers four levels of roped climbing with belays and ropes, and bouldering on walls 14 feet tall with nothing but a mat below you. A day pass is $30 which does not include the rental harness, shoes, and belay device. It also offers fitness and yoga classes for $15 per person. Bowling and virtual golf Howl Splitsville Top Golf in Foxborough offers two indoor sports under one roof — bowling and golf. It also provides food, beverages and live music. If you like bowling, you can reserve a lane. Weekday rates are $7 per game, $5 for shoe rental. Weekend rates are $9 per game or $5 for shoe rental until 6 p.m. and $11 per game, $5 for shoe rental after 6 p.m. Suites can be reserved for a maximum of eight people to play virtual golf, baseball, hockey, dodgeball or carnival games. Suites can be reserved in advance for $100 per hour per bay on weekdays and to $120 per hour per bay on weekends. Eight people or fewer can play for $30 per person per bay on weekdays, $50 per person per bay on weekends. Curling According to the World Curling Federation, curling is played on ice where two teams take it turns sliding stones made of granite toward a target — known as a house. Traditional curling teams are comprised of four players, while the mixed doubles version of the sport consists of teams of two — one female and one male. In women’s, men’s and wheelchair curling, teams are allowed a fifth player known as the alternate — a substitute. Each team designates a skip (team captain) and vice skip. Bog Ice Arena in Kingston offers curling classes, three per session for $150. Darts The Flight Club in Boston's Seaport District takes darts into the 21st century. It's a one-of-a-kind technology creates a fast-paced, multi-player gaming experience. The Flight Club offers six easy-to-learn games for up to 12 guests to play simultaneously. If you're more advanced, there are more challenging levels. Reservations are recommended in advance. It’s $15 per person for 90 minutes. Guests must be 21 or older after 6 p.m. Sunday through Friday, and open to close on Saturday. The Flight Club offers food and beverages, including wine, beer and cocktails.

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Western New England University, WPI get $1.1M for advanced robotic welding

SPRINGFIELD — The state has granted $1.1 million to Western New England University for a research and training cluster in advanced robotic welding. The award will support a collaborative project between the university’s Center for Advanced Manufacturing Systems, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and local industry partners to grow the advanced welding cluster and deliver new highly skilled workers to employers in the region. Cutting-edge welding technologies have applications in offshore wind, vehicles, aerospace and defense, such as submarines.

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New Mass. health standards promise equity in local health

“We’re not necessarily always able to meet those requirements in the ways we would like to,” she said. Almost four years later, the pandemic’s extraordinary demands have faded, yet Newton’s health department still struggles to keep up with some basic functions. Those include conducting inspections for pools, housing, and restaurants, said Lao, now the city’s director of public health services. During the worst of the pandemic, Shin-Yi Lao, then Newton’s only public health nurse, at times fell into despair as she juggled testing, contact tracing, and data analysis amid a daily flood of new COVID-19 cases. Lao is among the health officials eager to see Massachusetts push forward the State Action for Public Health Excellence, a multi-year plan to fund local public health and boost its quality. Two years ago, the Massachusetts Legislature took an important step when it dedicated $200 million in pandemic relief money for training, data management, and shared service agreements. Last month, the state Department of Public Health released Massachusetts’ first detailed performance standards for local health departments. Now it’s up to the legislature to make those standards mandatory, and ensure local departments, regardless of their budgets, have access to the training and assistance they need to meet expectations. “We should not have our public health dependent on the wealth of our community, or the willingness of our community to invest,” said state Senator Joanne Comerford, a Democrat from Hampshire, and one of the bill’s sponsors. Advertisement While many other states have county public health departments, Massachusetts’ system is uniquely fractured. Most public health responsibilities fall on 351 local departments that are often underfunded, understaffed, and lack experienced workers. Some have just one full-time employee. “Some more rural areas might not be getting their restaurants or food inspected at all, might not have any qualified staff,” said Bill Murphy, president of the Massachusetts Public Health Association, and Framingham’s public health director. “There are significant inequities all over the place because there’s no standardization.” Advertisement The bill would task the state health department with providing expanded training, professional development, and technical assistance for local departments. Local departments would be required to send the state health department annual reports showing they are meeting standards. The state health department has already begun offering new training and technical support, a department spokesperson said, but it would need more funding to meet the bill’s mandate. The bill has both Democrat and Republican sponsors, and is currently under consideration in the House Ways and Means Committee. Easy access to training is desperately needed, officials said. Less than a year ago, when Murphy became Framingham’s public health director, half the department’s jobs were vacant. “We really had to be creative in how we got out there to advertise and recruit and retain a workforce,” he said. “A lot of people entering with no experience in the field.” Regionalizing some public health functions is a key way for small departments to meet the state standards, Comerford said. About 320 municipalities now participate in shared service agreements, the state health department reported. Oxford is among six municipalities that share an inspector and a public health coordinator, said Rike Sterrett, the public health director in Oxford, and one of just two full-time public health personnel there. A second inspector is scheduled to start work at the end of November. Advertisement “I just don’t think we could do everything we need to do without them,” said Sterrett. The coordinator, she said, has become indispensable as Auburn, one of the towns participating in the regional health coalition, has faced a huge increase of emergency shelters for immigrants this year. Newton’s health department shares a coordinator and epidemiologist with Belmont, Brookline, and Arlington, Lao said. The four communities are in the process of hiring another person to handle programming and inspections. Shared service agreements also help offset a national decline in public health workers, one exacerbated by the pandemic. Almost 30 percent of workers in eight states, including the New England states, as well as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, intended to leave their jobs within a year, compared to less than 13 percent in 2017, a 2021 national survey found. Workers who planned to stay in their jobs dropped from almost 83 percent to 66 percent. Workers listed poor pay, few opportunities for promotion, and burnout as significant factors in their desire to leave their jobs. “We have asked our public health work force to do so much with so little, including working around the clock during the pandemic,” said Oami Amarasingham, deputy director of the Massachusetts Public Health Association. “People are burnt out.” The push to reform Massachusetts’ public health system predates the pandemic. A 2019 report from a special commission created by the legislature noted 31 percent of the state’s local health departments had budgets of $50,000 or less. The report noted that a lack of training or personnel in a small department can have repercussions beyond one town if there’s a failure to identify a contagious disease, or a threat of food poisoning. Advertisement “Local public health does so much that people don’t realize,” Sterrett said. “When a complaint comes in or something comes in and people are like, ‘I don’t know what this falls under,’ it’s usually local public health.” Jason Laughlin can be reached at jason.laughlin@globe.com. Follow him @jasmlaughlin.

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COVID-19: Coronavirus levels surge in Boston waste water

Levels of coronavirus in Boston-area waste water have surged in recent weeks, reaching their highest level since the ferocious Omicron surge in the winter of 2021-2022, data from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority show. On New Year’s Day, the seven-day average of coronavirus RNA copies per milliliter of waste water reached 2,743 copies/mL in samples taken from the northern system — which includes parts of Boston and communities north of the city — and 2,583 copies/mL in samples from the southern system, which includes southern portions of the city and communities to the south. Those levels are about 10 times higher than early November, and higher than any point since January 2022. Still, it’s important to note that in terms of waste water levels, the current surge is a small fraction of the Omicron surge two years ago. At that time, levels soared past 11,000 copies/mL in samples before quickly dropping back down.

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Vial to Sponsor the 4th Annual Gene Therapy for Ophthalmic Disorders Conference 2023 in Boston, MA

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Vial , a global full-service CRO providing tech-forward clinical trial management services, announced its participation as a sponsor and speaker at the 4th Annual Gene Therapy for Ophthalmic Disorders Conference in Boston, MA, October 3-5, 2023, at the Hilton Boston Back Bay. The 4th Annual Gene Therapy for Ophthalmic Disorders Conference is a preeminent event that unites thought leaders from leading biopharma, biotech, and academic institutes working to transform eye disease treatment. Attendees can anticipate engaging discussions on the latest trends, breakthroughs, and opportunities shaping the industry. The conference offers a unique platform for industry stakeholders to network, share insights, and collaborate toward driving advancements in the field of ophthalmology. Vial's Vice President of Business Development, Dan Gallagher, and Associate Business Development Director, John Sheperdson, will be representing the organization. Gallagher will share insights into Vial's technological advancements and discuss the transformative potential of their solutions in the context of clinical trials. "I am genuinely grateful for the invitation and excited about the prospect of meaningful conversations that could shape the trajectory of gene therapy for ophthalmic disorders. I'm looking forward to sharing Vial's technology advancements and discussing the transformative potential of our solutions for the future of ophthalmic clinical trials," said Dan Gallagher, VP of Business Development at Vial. How to connect with Vial at the 4th Annual Gene Therapy for Ophthalmic Disorders Conference? Book a meeting by emailing John Sheperdson at [email protected] For more information about Vial and its innovative solutions, please visit Vial's official website . About Vial: Vial is a next-generation CRO powered by technology that promises faster and more efficient trial execution for less cost. The Vial Contract Research Organization (CRO) delivers on the promise of more efficient trials through its innovative technology platform that powers trials end-to-end from site startup to database lock. Vial's technology platform combines modern, intuitive eSource , EDC , and ePRO into one connected system, streamlining site processes and enabling considerable efficiencies. Vial operates across multiple Therapeutic Areas ( Dermatology CRO , Ophthalmology CRO , Oncology CRO , Gastroenterology CRO , Neurology CRO , Cardiology CRO , Medical Device CRO , Rare Disease CRO , and Digital Therapeutics CRO ). Vial is a San Francisco, California-based company with over 100+ employees. SOURCE Vial

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Health experts from Boston will make the climate connection in Dubai

And what a place to make their inaugural appearance: The annual conference is being held in Dubai, the glitzy pulse of the global oil patch. Host United Arab Emirates is among the world’s leading oil exporters, and it’s already being accused of putting its thumb on the scales in favor of fossil fuels. For the first time in the nearly 30-year history of the United Nations’ global climate talks, the annual conference will have a Health Day, an official venue that elevates the public health concerns from a warming planet. There, public health experts, including some from Boston, are expected to warn of an increasingly dire future, in which the human toll from extreme weather, infectious diseases, and air pollution worsens as emissions from fossil fuels continue. Advertisement Starting Thursday, global leaders from 197 nations will gather for the two-week international climate summit known as COP28 to discuss the growing toll of climate change — and what can be done about it. Public health experts will also make the case that the burning of fossil fuels is not just a driver of climate change, but also a massive medical threat that can no longer be overlooked. “Rule number one for health professionals is to bring the stories of our patients — to bring the human face of these numbers — into the conversation and create an accountability for that,” said Gaurab Basu, a Boston-area physician and director of education and policy at Harvard Chan C-CHANGE, who will present at the conference. Basu is hoping that by being in Dubai and telling the stories of his patients, he can help show the stakes for keeping the worst of warming at bay. He’s one of several Boston-area health and climate experts attending the talks. With its globally leading institutions, Boston has long been a hotbed of research at the intersection of health and climate change. Now, as the UN conference holds its first official Health Day on Saturday, some of those experts will help drive the agenda. Advertisement Francesca Dominici, a professor of biostatistics, population, and data science at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, will be making the case that air pollution — which is sometimes not considered to be directly related to climate change — and its deadly impacts must be taken into account. “The climate conversation is all about burning fossil fuels, and burning fossil fuels is the main and most toxic source of air pollution,” she said. On panels and in conversations with the gathered officials, she’ll be driving that point home. Elizabeth Willetts, director of planetary health policy at Harvard’s school of public health, said she’s hoping to raise awareness about how little health has previously been taken into account at the climate talks, and find ways to address health issues through the process there. Willetts and other experts said they hope their involvement will lead to increased reporting on health outcomes, and a new consideration of how climate change impacts health. But even before the talks begin, many climate advocates and experts were skeptical that public health would be properly addressed. “For as long as I can remember, health has never been treated as a serious factor in the consideration of climate action or as a significant driver of climate investments,” Gina McCarthy, former national climate adviser to the White House, wrote in the Financial Times in early November. Advertisement She is among the climate leaders calling for negotiators to agree to phase down all fossil fuels. But that may be a long shot. In October, Health and Policy Watch reported that a draft of the “health and climate ministerial declaration” set to be released during the climate talks omits any reference to fossil fuels and their harms. Instead, the declaration focuses largely on the need to adapt health systems to climate change. This year’s talks are also being led by Sultan al-Jaber, who is the head of the United Arab Emirates’ state-owned oil and gas company. Earlier this week, the Centre for Climate Reporting and the BBC reported on leaked documents that show the UAE plans to use its position as host to lobby for oil and gas deals around the world. The COP28 Health Day will be held just weeks after the release of the latest Lancet Countdown, an annual report on climate change and health conditions produced by a group of leading scientists, detailing how the continued dependence on fossil fuels is impacting our health. According to the report, air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels results in 1.9 million premature deaths across the globe annually. “Despite 27 years of annual climate-change negotiations, world leaders still refuse to acknowledge the urgent need to phase out fossil fuels,” wrote Lancet Countdown executive director Maria Romanello, who is also a climate change and health researcher at University College London. Advertisement At the conference, Dominici, of Harvard, will also be sharing the results of her latest study, published earlier this month in the journal Science, which showed how many deaths are caused by air pollution at individual coal-fired power plants in the United States. By analyzing emissions data and Medicare records, Dominici and her coauthors found that between 1999 and 2020, 460,000 excess deaths among Medicare enrollees were attributable to coal-fired power plants. The tiny particulates emitted from coal power plants, known as PM2.5, raise the risk of many life-threatening conditions, including asthma, heart disease, low birth weights, and some cancers. The researchers found that PM2.5 emitted from coal plants is twice as deadly as the same particulates from other sources, such as vehicles or factories. The coal plants associated with the most deaths were in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, and Alabama. Dominici said she hopes this paper will “put to rest” the idea that coal-fired power plants are safe to keep running. Beyond coal-fired power plants, pollution from gas and diesel cars and trucks is not only warming the planet, but also continuing to dirty the air and endanger health. Climate-related health impacts also extend far beyond air pollution. Extreme weather driven by climate change has led to food insecurity and water scarcity. According to the Lancet report, 127 million more people were exposed to moderate or severe food insecurity in 2021, compared to 1981-2010, due to more heat waves and droughts. Advertisement As the global climate warms and disease-carrying pests shift, more people have also become increasingly at risk from potentially life-threatening illnesses like dengue, malaria, vibriosis, and West Nile virus. In past years, Dominici said, “it’s been very frustrating that there was no health consideration” in the climate talks, especially given how hard it has been to get firm commitments to fossil fuel reductions into the final agreement. Having an official health day is definitely progress, she said. Sabrina Shankman can be reached at sabrina.shankman@globe.com. Follow her @shankman.

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Surprise! Mass. is a terrible place to drive, according to new study

Transportation Surprise! Mass. is a terrible place to drive, according to new study The study ranks Mass. as No. 45 among U.S. states, making it the worst in New England. Traffic in Weymouth, Mass. during a storm. A new study ranks Mass. as one of the worst states to drive in. The good news? We’re not the worst. Mass. ranked right above California, a state notorious for its traffic, but below every other New England state when it comes to driveability. The study, conducted by WalletHub, used 31 different indicators to determine the driveability of every U.S. state. Factors included average gas prices, share of adults who wear a seatbelt, and average commute time by car. Based on these indicators, Mass. landed itself at 45 out of all 50 states. Trailing below are California, West Virginia, Delaware, Washington, and Hawaii (in that order). The top ten slots are dominated by rural states with low rush hour congestion rates and lower gas prices. WalletHub also identifies safety as an important component, including factors like the rate of vehicle theft and larceny. Advertisement: On the podium for top three best states to drive in are Iowa, then Georgia, followed by Kansas. Not only are these states less congested, but they have lower gas and car prices, fewer traffic fatality rates, and a shorter average commute. WalletHub even points out that Georgia has cracked down on Driving Under the Influence (DUI), with the second-strictest laws in the nation. But what is dragging Mass. down? The state ranks relatively high in safety (No. 4) and access to vehicles and maintenance (No. 8). Most detrimental to Mass.’s driveability are traffic and cost of ownership. Mass. barely escapes last place in the traffic category, only beating out Maryland. But according to a report by INRIX, Boston alone has the fourth worst traffic in the world. Bostonians, on average, lost 134 hours of valuable time stuck in traffic in 2022, according to that report. All of this data has significant implications in regards to safety and sustainability. According to the city of Boston, the percentage of people driving alone to work in the city has hovered around 38% for more than a decade. Slightly below, at around 33%, are people who take public transportation for their commute. Advertisement: While increasing public transportation use could alleviate some of Boston’s traffic congestion, the MBTA has undergone many changes over the years. Recent and ongoing construction to the Red, Green, and Orange lines have been a part of an ongoing $9.6 billion plan to transform the T. Mayor Michelle Wu’s office has a current goal of reducing the percentage of commuters driving alone by 50% by 2030. According to the Go Boston 2030 plan, shifting the main mode of transportation away from driving can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and costs.

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Whats With All the Different Salts? Heres How to Use Them.

What defines kosher salt is its large, coarse grains. The term is a shortening of koshering or kashering salt, because its traditional use is to remove the blood from meat, as required by Jewish dietary laws. The large salt crystals draw out blood without dissolving much, which keeps the meat from becoming oversalted. And the coarse grain is perfect for making a salt crust, a traditional method for cooking whole fish that results in especially tender, juicy flesh. Like table salt, most kosher salt is industrially produced. It isn’t iodized, but might contain anticaking agents, which will be listed on the label. The two dominant brands on the market, Morton’s and Diamond Crystal, are manufactured using different processes, which makes them extremely dissimilar. Morton’s has dense, heavy cubes that pack together tightly in a measuring spoon. Diamond Crystal, the darling of professional chefs, is shaped into light flakes that remain somewhat separate. When measured by volume (teaspoons, tablespoons, pinches), Morton’s is twice as salty as Diamond Crystal (see this chart for more salt comparisons). Substituting one for the other can wreak havoc on your recipe, rendering a dish too salty or not salty enough. Weighing solves this problem, because all salts can be used interchangeably by weight. Common Sea Salt Most inexpensive sea salt is industrially produced from seawater. It can be processed into fine granules like table salt, or coarser cubes to be either used in a salt grinder or added directly to pasta water, soups and stews. Sea salt is sometimes coated with anticaking agents, but, since it doesn’t usually contain iodine, it can have a cleaner flavor than table salt. Fine sea salt is often used in baking because of its ability to dissolve quickly, and can be used in place of table salt in cooking. Traditional Sea Salts Built on age-old traditions, sea salts like fleur de sel, sel gris and flaky salt are all made by evaporating seawater, either in the sun in warm climates, or by boiling. They can have a variety of trace minerals that add character, color and texture. But because they’re usually expensive and don’t have a uniform crystal size or salinity, they’re not often called for in recipe ingredient lists. Used as finishing salt, traditional sea salts can bring plenty of textures and flavors to the table.

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ChatGPT launched one year ago. AI will never be the same.

Though artificial intelligence programs have been around for years, ChatGPT is something else — a “generative” AI system that seems capable of original thought (emphasis on “seems”). With a few typed commands, anybody can use it to crank out essays, poems, images, and even computer software with humanlike sophistication. The message from OpenAI founder Sam Altman appeared on Twitter on Nov. 30, 2022: “Today we launched ChatGPT. try talking with it here: chat.openai.com .” ChatGPT became one of the fastest-growing online applications ever. And one year later, it attracts about 100 million users each week. Advertisement Even the recent palace coup at OpenAI, in which Altman was fired as chief executive but rehired days later, will probably have little impact on the popularity of ChatGPT. There’s speculation that the move was inspired by fears that he was too quick to release generative AI services into a world not yet prepared to use them safely. But the dam has already burst. Similar AI programs like Bard, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion have also signed up millions of users. And billionaire Elon Musk is about to launch another generative AI system called Grok. In all, the generative AI boom is the biggest in digital tech since Apple’s iPhone ignited the smartphone market in 2007. “It’s only been a year, and I feel like it’s changed the public conversation about science and technology,” said Tim Ritchie, president of the Museum of Science in Boston. “I’m not sure I’ve seen anything unleashed that has made such a big difference so quickly.” And yet, one year isn’t nearly long enough to answer the big questions about AI. It’ll take much longer to understand its real impact, its astounding risks, its vast capacity for error, and the downsides of relying on machines to do our thinking and communicating for us. What’s more, the new AI applications haven’t even had that much impact yet. But the same was true of the iPhone’s early days: It took a few years for smartphones to become indispensable. Advertisement So where do things stand? The OpenAI logo is seen on a mobile phone in front of a computer screen displaying output from ChatGPT. Michael Dwyer/Associated Press People are finding practical applications for AI systems, with new ones arriving every day. There are the obvious ones, like corporate memos and legal briefs generated automatically from a handful of notes, suggested travel itineraries for specific destinations, or elegant illustrations created in seconds by people without a scrap of artistic talent. There’s also the prospect that AI will enable anybody to write powerful software apps, just by asking. “What you’re going to see is the ability of more and more nontechnical people to become software developers without even knowing it,” said Bret Swanson, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. “I can essentially tell a computer what I want it to do in my normal voice.” There are other uses as well. Next time you need to step away from a teleconference, AI might bail you out. Jeetu Patel, a senior vice president at telecom giant Cisco, said his company’s WebEx video conferencing system knows when you go off-camera. The system tracks what’s said while you’re away and displays an on-screen summary to help you catch up. Patel said the same AI technology can generate summaries of messages in a user’s voice mailbox, or edit a seven-minute corporate marketing video down to a 30-second highlight reel. Advertisement AI is even learning to play instruments. Google’s DeepMind lab earlier this month demonstrated a tool that lets users compose music merely by humming. The software can replay the tune using realistic audio synthesis that can feature a single instrument or an entire orchestra. Amid all the hype, business leaders are trying to figure out how best to use AI technology and account for its myriad effects. “Everyone is recognizing that AI can have an impact on their business, and they’re just wondering exactly how,” said Daniela Rus, director of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab. She compared it to the “digital transformation” that occurred as businesses embraced the internet. But the backlash against generative AI has been remarkable. Six months after ChatGPT’s launch — amid other alarm bells — prominent scientists warned that AI could soon prove too powerful for humans to control, and become as dangerous as “other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.” Many ridiculed this claim, but there’s good reason to worry about less catastrophic threats. Educators worry that students are using AI to complete assignments and avoid the hard work of learning. Data security experts say that cybercriminals can use AI to launch online fraud campaigns on a massive scale, and hostile nations could serve up vast quantities of disinformation through social media networks. And of course, machines that can emulate humans could be career-killers for many workers. Movie and television actors and screenwriters went on strike against AI earlier this year. They forced Hollywood production companies to accept strict limits on using AI to write screenplays or replacing actors with digital simulations. Advertisement Members of the Writers Guild of America picketed outside Fox Studios on May 2 in Los Angeles. Ashley Landis/Associated Press But commercial artists and illustrators haven’t been as lucky, said Scott Nash, executive director and founder of the Illustration Institute. Because of competition from AI-generated art, “the young artists I know are not getting paid what they’re worth,” Nash said. “They’re getting paid what we were getting paid in the 1980s.” University of Chicago computer scientist Ben Zhao said that many artists can’t find work at all. “All the best people who do this are losing their jobs,” he said. To make matters worse, generative AI programs are trained on human artworks with no compensation to the original artists. In response to such concerns, the nonprofit Responsible Innovation Labs is drafting voluntary guidelines for AI startup companies. These companies will commit to understanding the risks of the AI systems they develop. They’ll promise to secure permission to use the intellectual property of others for training purposes. They’ll also pledge to test their systems to ferret out security flaws and identify biases that could cause AIs to produce results that discriminate on the basis of race or gender. The goal, said executive director Gaurab Bansal, is an AI ecosystem where concern for the technology’s social impact is built in at the beginning. “It’s very hard to retrofit a company for responsibility,” Bansal said. Advertisement Governments worldwide have more aggressive policies in mind. The European Union is putting the finishing touches on AI regulations it’s been considering since 2021. The EU plan would require companies to reveal the kind of data used to train AI systems, and all AI-generated materials would have to be identified as such. The Biden administration last month issued an executive order calling for stricter regulation of AI systems. The order would force developers of AI “that poses a serious risk to national security, national economic security, or national public health and safety” to report their activities to federal regulators. It’s an open question whether Biden can enforce his plan without action from Congress. But the sheer speed of the administration’s response is revealing. For now, AI experts and observers remain optimistic but vigilant. MIT’s Rus said she foresees “a future where generative AI is not just a technological marvel, but a force for hope and a force for good.” Ritchie, from the Museum of Science, puts the onus on all of us. “The thing that hasn’t changed is human nature,” he said. “AI will only be as good as what humans put into it.” Hiawatha Bray can be reached at hiawatha.bray@globe.com. Follow him @GlobeTechLab.

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Ozempic and Wegovy Users Had Less Risk of Suicidal Thoughts in Large Study

People taking the wildly popular drugs Ozempic, to treat diabetes, and Wegovy, to combat obesity, are slightly less likely to have suicidal thoughts than people who are not taking them, researchers reported on Friday. Millions of people take Ozempic and Wegovy, which are considered to be among the biggest blockbusters in medical history. But last year a European drug safety agency said it was investigating whether the drugs cause suicidal thoughts. The new study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, was funded by the National Institutes of Health and used a huge population. The findings provide data that may potentially reassure people who take the drugs. Novo Nordisk, maker of the drugs, had no role in the study, and the study’s investigators had no conflicts of interest. The investigators used anonymized electronic health records from a database of 100.8 million people. That allowed them to look at two groups: 240,618 who were prescribed Wegovy or other weight loss drugs, and 1,589,855 who were prescribed Ozempic or other medicines to lower their blood sugar. Suicidal thoughts were included in patients’ records as part of routine monitoring of their health.

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For Trustees head Katie Theoharides, open space is key to solving climate change

A scientist by training, she spent five years orchestrating the state’s ambitious climate goals as part of the Baker administration, where she served as secretary for Energy and Environmental Affairs. But this year, she stepped into a new role , one that in many ways she said she’s been working toward her entire career: She became President and CEO of the Trustees of Reservations, the country’s oldest land trust, which maintains over 120 properties in the state. If you care about climate change in Massachusetts, you’ve likely come across the work of Katie Theoharides. “My heart and my passion has always been land conservation,” Theoharides said. Advertisement Theoharidies sat down with Boston Globe business reporter Janelle Nanos for the latest interview in the Globe’s Bold Types video series. The Trustees has seen significant growth in the wake of the pandemic — membership has spiked by 66 percent since 2019 — and today Theoharides sees each property as an engine of hope. She says her goal is “accelerating the pace of land conservation, addressing climate change and really connecting more people to this mission and to the work of saving our special places everywhere.” Right now, Theoharides is overseeing the acquisition of new properties into the Trustees portfolio, including the Millborn Farm in Sherborn, which would provide a vital link in the Charles River Valley to several other Trustees properties and create a nine-mile navigational “blue trail” for paddlers. The Trustees is also pushing into urban landscapes, and has raised over $30 million to develop a salt marsh, sandy beach, and kayak launch at Piers Park III in East Boston. But Theoharides is looking to Western Massachusetts, where she grew up, in the hopes of expanding the organization’s reach even further, and is currently leading a coalition of land conservancies to preserve some large tracts of open farmland in the southern Berkshires and northwest Connecticut. Advertisement “We have significant rural area remaining in Western Mass that’s unprotected that will see generational turnover as people sell off and move on,” she said. “And that land is really important from a climate perspective.” For Theoharides, keeping special places special isn’t just an aesthetic goal (though she does believe a walk in the woods can do everyone a bit of good). There’s a bigger mission too. “There is work to do to provide hope on climate change and solve climate problems and I really do believe our properties can be the center of those solutions,” she said. Preserving green spaces helps with carbon sequestration and land management to mitigate the effects of climate change. So she’s looking at every property from that perspective: hoping to ensure the 350 buildings, 120 miles of coastline, and roughly 47,000 acres the Trustees manages across the Commonwealth are doing their part. “We are net negative as an organization in terms of our emissions because of all of the land that we hold and the sequestration that we have, but we want to do much more,” she said. “We have historic buildings, we have art museums, and we have working animals on our farms and we want to decrease those emissions significantly.” She’s also working to ensure more Massachusetts residents have access to green spaces, and putting an emphasis on trying to be more inclusive in the organization’s outreach. Last year, the Trustees had 230,000 people attend its varied events, like hikes, cooking classes, and mushroom foraging sessions. She wants to do more to bring those opportunities to everyone. Advertisement “We have to increase the number of parks and green space in urban communities that don’t have access to that type of landscape,” she said. “We need to do more to connect the next generation to nature and provide access to everyone to our green spaces, particularly underrepresented communities.” Janelle Nanos can be reached at janelle.nanos@globe.com. Follow her @janellenanos.

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Gas-powered tools cause more pollution than cars in Mass., report finds

When you think of what causes pollution, you usually think of cars, planes, or power plants. However, a new report finds they might not be the worst offenders and that the culprits are closer to our own back yard. According to a report by MassPIRG, on any given year, those gas-powered lawn tools — just in Massachusetts — are emitting tons of nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide particles and volatile organic compounds particles. In fact, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, gas-powered lawnmowers can emit as much pollution in one hour as a car driven for 100 miles. The American Lung Association said these tools could be the unintended consequences for you, your neighbor, or really anyone breathing those particles in. That's not even mentioning the noise pollution. These machines can produce noise levels of up to 100 decibels —that's equivalent to a chainsaw or a jackhammer. While that may not be too bad for you, the noise can be disruptive and can contribute to hearing loss over time. Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters. But of course, we all need to care of the lawn. So, leaders with the Environmental Protection Agency are urging you use electric powered tools. They are a lot healthier, quieter, more cost effective and just as good, if not, better in terms of overall quality. The MassPIRG will be releasing the full report at 11 a.m. Monday.

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Study says seniors sleep better in warmer temperatures

BOSTON - Many of us like to sleep in cooler temperatures, but seniors may want to crank up the thermostat a bit. Researchers at Harvard and Marcus Institute for Aging Research studied 50 people in the Boston area aged 65 and older. The participants wore a ring linked to their smartphone to monitor their sleep and vital signs, and sensors were put in their bedrooms to track overnight room temperatures. They found that sleep was "most efficient and restful" when bedroom temperatures were between 68 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit though the ideal range was between 70 and 74 degrees.

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New Sickle Cell Therapies Will Be Out of Reach Where They Are Needed Most

Many African patients have been closely following news online of the treatments’ success in clinical trials. In Tanzania, information about Casgevy spread a few months ago through a WhatsApp group that Shani Mgaraganza set up for mothers of children with sickle cell. Her son, Ramadhani, 12, and daughter Nasra, 10, have the inherited disorder, which causes episodes of searing pain and damages their organs. She said the therapy sounded like a miracle. “Everyone said, ‘Thanks God, our kids will be well,’” she said. Then the mothers learned what it was likely to cost. “It would be billions of Tanzanian shillings,” Ms. Mgaraganza said. “No one can afford this. It was demoralizing.” The access question is front of mind for Jennifer Doudna, the University of California, Berkeley, scientist who shared a Nobel Prize in Chemistry for pioneering the gene-editing method, CRISPR, underpinning Casgevy. “Today it’s not going to be widely available,” she said. “Now that we have this approval, we need to really figure out how we’re going to open it up to more people.” Two key factors put it out of the reach of patients in Africa. First, price: The treatments are far too expensive for governments that struggle to pay for basic health services. In some cases, there may be substantial additional costs, such as for a patient’s extended hospital stay to receive gene therapy. The second barrier is medical infrastructure: Administering the treatment is a monthslong process at medical centers that can perform stem cell transplants. Patients must have their cells harvested and flown to a lab for manufacturing, undergo grueling chemotherapy and endure a long hospitalization.

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The Early Universe Was Bananas

What does a newborn galaxy look like? For the longest time, many astrophysicists and cosmologists have assumed that newborn galaxies would look like the orbs and spidery discs familiar in the modern universe. But according to an analysis of new images from the James Webb Space Telescope, baby galaxies were neither eggs nor discs. They were bananas. Or pickles, or cigars, or surfboards — choose your own metaphor. That is the tentative conclusion of a team of astronomers who re-examined images of some 4,000 newborn galaxies observed by Webb at the dawn of time. “This is both a surprising and unexpected result, though there were already hints of it with Hubble,” said Viraj Pandya, a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University, referring to the Hubble Space Telescope. He is the lead author of a paper soon to be published in the Astrophysical Journal under the provocative title “Galaxies Going Bananas.” Dr. Pandya is scheduled to give a talk about his work on Wednesday at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in New Orleans. If the result holds, astronomers say that it could profoundly alter their understanding of how galaxies emerge and grow. It could also offer insight into the mysterious nature of dark matter, an unknown and invisible form of matter that astronomers say makes up a major part of the universe and outweighs atomic matter 5 to 1. Dark matter engulfs galaxies and provides the gravitational nurseries in which new galaxies arise.

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Boston police officer provides life-saving CPR to 2-year-old boy in Dorchester, union says

When Oliveira reached the apartment, he found a person performing CPR on an unresponsive boy lying in a bed, the report said. Shortly before 2:30 a.m., Boston police Officer Daniel Oliveira responded to a call reporting an unresponsive child in an apartment on Ellington Street, according to a redacted copy of the police report that was obtained by the Globe. A Boston police officer provided “life-saving CPR” to a 2-year-old boy while responding to an early morning call in Dorchester on Saturday, according to the patrolmen’s union and a police report. Oliveira began performing chest compressions on the victim, “who started to be conscious and breathing,” the report said. Oliveira and another officer then turned the boy on his side to release fluid, the report said. Advertisement The child’s grandmother said she was sleeping when she heard him cry out and found him shaking and turning purple, the report said. Boston EMS and the Boston Fire Department also responded to the apartment, and the child was taken to Boston Medical Center for evaluation. No further information on the boy’s condition was released. The Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association praised Oliveira in a social media post on Monday. “Thanks to the hardworking men and women of District B-3, an unresponsive 2-year-old baby who wasn’t breathing when officers arrived on scene early Saturday morning is alive today after officers applied life-saving CPR,” the union said. “Job well done, PO Oliveira.” Nick Stoico can be reached at nick.stoico@globe.com. Follow him @NickStoico.

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Mucus-Covered Jellyfish Hint at Dangers of Deep-Sea Mining

A treasure trove of metal is hiding at the bottom of the ocean. Potato-size nodules of iron and manganese litter the seafloor, and metal-rich crusts cover underwater mountains and chimneys along hydrothermal vents. Deep-sea mining companies have set their sights on these minerals, aiming to use them in batteries and electronics. Environmentalists warn that the mining process and the plumes of sediment it would dump back into the sea could affect marine life. A series of shipboard experiments on jellyfish in the Norwegian fjords, published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, offer insights into those warnings. The scientists approximated the effects of mining by pumping sediment into the jellies’ tanks, essentially asking how the animals would cope with the muddy water. The answer? Not well. The researchers selected helmet jellyfish as their research subjects because of the ubiquity and hardiness of the dinner-plate-size creatures. The idea was to choose an organism that the team could easily get hold of “and then expose it to conditions that we expect in the mid-water in the open ocean,” said Helena Hauss, a marine ecologist at the Norwegian Research Center who conducted the study while working at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research Kiel in Germany. The jellies, which are found around the world in waters 1,500 to 2,000 feet deep, serve as representatives of the countless soft-bodied animals living in the open ocean that could be affected by mining.

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New Hope and an Old Hurdle for a Terrible Disease With Terrible Treatments

But there is no money to be made on a drug for a condition that overwhelmingly affects the poor, and academic or public health institutes rarely have the resources to push a drug through to the end of the process, said Marcela Vieira, a Brazilian intellectual property lawyer with an expertise in drug development and access. The global drug development system has long favored private sector firms that can bankroll experiments and diseases that afflict people with money to pay for treatments. Increasingly, new research on diseases such as leishmaniasis is coming from public sector and academic institutions in middle-income countries, particularly Brazil, South Africa, India, Cuba and China, Ms. Vieira said. The Covid-19 pandemic, during which low- and middle-income countries were shunted to the back of the line for vaccines and therapeutics, helped spur new investment into building drug development and production capacity. “We need to do it, because no one will do it for us,” said Dr. Juliana Quintero, an expert in leishmaniasis and researcher at PECET. The program’s research labs sit six floors up in a bulky brick building at the University of Antioquia in Medellín. On the ground floor, Dr. Quintero sees patients who arrive on buses from rural towns. She knows that few can afford to stay in the city for a month of injections; she wants a treatment she can send home with them, ideally one they can take by mouth. Because funds for drug development for leishmaniasis are so scarce, she hopes for something that will work for every one of the 22 parasites in the family that cause variations of the disease in tropical countries around the world.

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Small earthquake detected off Rockport felt in several North Shore towns

A small earthquake that was detected in Massachusetts waters Tuesday was felt in several towns on the North Shore, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The 2.3 magnitude earthquake was detected roughly 34 miles east of Rockport around 6:24 p.m. on Dec. 26, the USGS reported. The agency received five reports of the earthquake being felt in Georgetown, Gloucester, Peabody, Rockport, and Rochester, N.H. Four of the five reports rated the incident as a “II” on the intensity scale, which means the shaking was weak. The fifth report, which was from Georgetown, rated the incident as “I” on the scale, meaning there was not any shaking. No damage was reported. Earthquakes in Massachusetts are rare, but not impossible. The USGS said damaging earthquakes hit New England every few decades while smaller ones are felt roughly twice a year. “The most recent New England earthquake to cause moderate damage occurred in 1940 (magnitude 5.6) in central New Hampshire,” the USGS said. Additionally, there was a 2.7 magnitude earthquake felt in Concord, N.H. last Friday, Dec. 22, according to the USGS. The agency got more than 960 reports rating incident “I” to “III” on the intensity scale. There have been no injuries reported from that incident.

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Here are WBURs top local health stories of 2023

Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's weekly health newsletter, CommonHealth. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here. 2023 is nearly over, and for many of us, this is a time to reflect on all that’s happened in our lives and in the world over the past year. There were plenty of big health stories: We witnessed the advent of revolutionary new obesity drugs, the burgeoning use of AI in medicine, the approval of the first treatment using CRISPR gene-editing technology, the complicated aftermath of the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, the devastating humanitarian crisis still unfolding in Gaza and more. Here are some of WBUR’s top local health stories of 2023. They drew lots of readers and listeners like you, and their implications are sure to last into the new year, and likely beyond. PFAS are everywhere Scientists are still learning a lot about PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals.” But we know they can be in everything from dental floss to food containers to drinking water. They can be absorbed into the body and are linked to some serious medical concerns. My colleague, Gabrielle Emanuel, told us the story of a woman whose well water was contaminated with PFAS and helped us understand how to mitigate our own PFAS risk. Wendy Thomas' house in the woods, near Wildcat Falls in Merrimack, New Hampshire. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR) Boston Marathon bombings, 10 years later This year marked a decade since the shocking attack near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon. At that time, medical workers and hospitals responded rapidly to save lives. And they developed special bonds doing so. But as I reported, the medical system would be more challenged in responding to a disaster today, because hospitals are already so crowded and short-staffed. A volunteer offers a high-five to a runner during the 126th Boston Marathon. (Mary Schwalm/AP) COVID entered a new phase The state and federal COVID public health emergency declarations expired in May — and along with them, several major government policies designed to protect people from the virus came to an end, too. That includes universal masking inside hospitals. COVID is far from gone, as most of us know from personal experience, but experts say it is not hitting most people as hard as it used to, mainly because of built-up immunity and treatments that help prevent severe illness. A UMass surgical medical student prepares doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in 2021. (Jesse Costa/WBUR) Boston's life expectancy gap Here are a couple numbers to help us think about health inequities: two and 23. In Boston, there’s a 23-year difference in life expectancy between Back Bay and Roxbury, neighborhoods that sit just two miles apart. My colleague Martha Bebinger reported this disparity stems from several interconnected problems, including racism, chronic stress and substandard housing conditions. It was one of WBUR's most-read online stories of the year. The corners of Dudley, Mt. Pleasant and Dearborn Streets in Roxbury. (Jesse Costa/WBUR) Crime scene at the Harvard morgue This has to be the creepiest health-related story of the year, and devastating for the families affected. A manager of Harvard Medical School’s morgue was accused of stealing and selling body parts that had been donated for medical research, as my colleague Ally Jarmanning reported. A review found there was little oversight of the morgue's day-to-day workings. Harvard Medical School, Boston. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR) An influx of migrants land at Logan Airport Thousands of migrants have entered the state's family shelter system, according to official estimates. The situation became so dire over the summer that workers at Logan Airport started setting up cots for the new arrivals. For the first time in the family shelter program's history, there is a waitlist. More than 300 families are on it, and many of them have medical needs.

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Opinion | A Green Glacier Is Dismantling the Great Plains

One hundred and fifty years ago on Thursday, the novelist Willa Cather was born in her grandmother’s house in Virginia. Though she drew from her Southern childhood throughout her career, plucking memories like grapes from the vine, it was the swelling prairies of Nebraska — surreal in their expanse, in their commune with the sky, in the almost tidal energy underfoot — that conjured her most enduring works, the bluestem eternal that proved her muse. “The homesteads were few and far apart; here and there a windmill gaunt against the sky, a sod house crouching in a hollow,” she wrote in “O Pioneers!,” the first in her prairie trilogy. “But the great fact was the land itself, which seemed to overwhelm the little beginnings of human society that struggled in its somber wastes.” Like so many other certainties of the 20th century, however — American hegemony, ground water, Social Security, fossil fuels — Cather’s “great fact” is now in question. North America has already destroyed more than 60 percent of its native prairie. We’ve plowed the sod, left the topsoil to blow away, traded wildflowers for row crops, switch grass for suburbs, hay meadows for Home Depots. We’ve cleaved it apart with freeways, transmission lines, irrigation canals and oil pipelines. And now the Eastern redcedar tree is hungry for what’s left.

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Opinion | A Green Glacier Is Dismantling the Great Plains

One hundred and fifty years ago on Thursday, the novelist Willa Cather was born in her grandmother’s house in Virginia. Though she drew from her Southern childhood throughout her career, plucking memories like grapes from the vine, it was the swelling prairies of Nebraska — surreal in their expanse, in their commune with the sky, in the almost tidal energy underfoot — that conjured her most enduring works, the bluestem eternal that proved her muse. “The homesteads were few and far apart; here and there a windmill gaunt against the sky, a sod house crouching in a hollow,” she wrote in “O Pioneers!,” the first in her prairie trilogy. “But the great fact was the land itself, which seemed to overwhelm the little beginnings of human society that struggled in its somber wastes.” Like so many other certainties of the 20th century, however — American hegemony, ground water, Social Security, fossil fuels — Cather’s “great fact” is now in question. North America has already destroyed more than 60 percent of its native prairie. We’ve plowed the sod, left the topsoil to blow away, traded wildflowers for row crops, switch grass for suburbs, hay meadows for Home Depots. We’ve cleaved it apart with freeways, transmission lines, irrigation canals and oil pipelines. And now the Eastern redcedar tree is hungry for what’s left.

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With new variant on the rise, here's how to avoid COVID during your holiday travels

It's the holiday weekend and another wave of passengers flooded Boston Logan International Airport Friday morning. While passengers rushed to beat out the morning rush to the Transportation Security Administration lines, those behind them will soon all be in one terminal or in a full flight — the breeding ground for respiratory illnesses, specifically COVID. "It's a familiar story at this point. Every couple months, we hear that a new variant is here to replace the previous variant," said Dr. Shira Doron of Tufts Medical Center. Doron said the new variant is called JN-. It derives from omicron and it's highly contagious. In fact, she said as of late, she has seen an uptick in positive COVID cases locally. Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters. Some states in the New England that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said has "high" or "very high" levels of COVID are Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. Doron said vaccines or masking up is not mandatory but if you're traveling, it's recommended. "I'm going to wear the mask," said a passenger at Boston Logan. "Just to be safe, I'm going to visit my 94-year-old mother and don't want to bring anything to her," said Ann Griggs, who was headed to Texas. After all, the holidays are all about having fun, being healthy and of course, the good eats.

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Same-Sex Behavior Evolved in Many Mammals to Reduce Conflict, Study Suggests

In more than 1,500 animal species, from crickets and sea urchins to bottlenose dolphins and bonobos, scientists have observed sexual encounters between members of the same sex. Some researchers have proposed that this behavior has existed since the dawn of the animal kingdom. But the authors of a new study of thousands of mammalian species paint a different picture, arguing that same-sex sexual behavior evolved when mammals started living in social groups. Although the behavior does not produce offspring to carry on the animals’ genes, it could offer other evolutionary advantages, such as smoothing over conflicts, the researchers proposed. “It may contribute to establishing and maintaining positive social relationships,” said José Gómez, an evolutionary biologist at the Experimental Station of Arid Zones in Almería, Spain, and an author of the new study. But Dr. Gómez cautioned that the study, published on Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications, could not shed much light on sexual orientation in humans. “The type of same-sex sexual behavior we have used in our analysis is so different from that observed in humans that our study is unable to provide an explanation for its expression today,” he said.

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Autopsy results released after missing man found dead in well

Partial results were released Monday from an autopsy on the body of a Massachusetts man who was missing for months before being found dead in a well over the weekend. Keith McKechnie, 45, had not been seen since he left his home at 34 East High St. on Sept. 7. Police said he was known to walk the neighborhood.His body was found by a relative Saturday inside a well on the property where he lived.Avon police officers and firefighters called upon mutual aid resources, including members of the Massachusetts State Police, to recover McKechnie's body from the depths of the well.The autopsy, which was completed on Sunday, did not suggest foul play contributed to his death, the Norfolk District Attorney's Office said. Toxicology and other testing results may remain outstanding and the DA's office described the investigation as ongoing. Authorities said state police homicide investigators and other officials at the scene did not observe any obvious signs of trauma on McKechnie's body.“Our thoughts are very much with the McKechnie family tonight,” District Attorney Michael Morrissey said in a statement issued over the weekend. “This is a very sad result.” Partial results were released Monday from an autopsy on the body of a Massachusetts man who was missing for months before being found dead in a well over the weekend. Keith McKechnie, 45, had not been seen since he left his home at 34 East High St. on Sept. 7. Police said he was known to walk the neighborhood. Advertisement His body was found by a relative Saturday inside a well on the property where he lived. Avon police officers and firefighters called upon mutual aid resources, including members of the Massachusetts State Police, to recover McKechnie's body from the depths of the well. The autopsy, which was completed on Sunday, did not suggest foul play contributed to his death, the Norfolk District Attorney's Office said. Toxicology and other testing results may remain outstanding and the DA's office described the investigation as ongoing. Authorities said state police homicide investigators and other officials at the scene did not observe any obvious signs of trauma on McKechnie's body. “Our thoughts are very much with the McKechnie family tonight,” District Attorney Michael Morrissey said in a statement issued over the weekend. “This is a very sad result.”

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Hearing aids and dementia: New study may get people to wear aids

A few quick finger snaps next to each of my ears, and he was recommending an audiologist. I slunk out of his office, deflated. True, 65 percent of people my age — that is, over 60 — have age-related hearing loss, the kind that often could benefit from a hearing aid. And yet 80 percent of older adults who need hearing aids don’t actually get or use them. Then came one I’d imagined was still years away: How’s your hearing? It was my first appointment with a new doctor, and out came the typical getting-to-know-you questions. How often do you exercise? Do you smoke? How well do you sleep? Advertisement I get it. To me, an age-related hearing aid has always screamed You are old, even though I know that’s not always true. We live in an ageist society, where advanced age gets conflated with disability and irrelevance. But the more I read and spoke to people, the more I realized the serious costs of not using them when they could help. Get Globe Magazine An engaging blend of award-winning narrative journalism, opinion, lifestyle, travel, recipes, and advice. Enter Email Sign Up For people with hearing loss, it’s exhausting trying to piece together meaning when you can’t hear all the words, explained popular blogger Shari Eberts in a recent post, “My Least Favorite Things About Living With Hearing Loss.” “It’s like playing a game of Wheel of Fortune. Some of the letters are filled in while others are blank.” It’s somehow still OK for friends and family to make fun of you, or people assume you’re rude if you don’t respond to them. They assume a lot of other things are wrong with you, too. (Eberts, whose eyesight is fine, was once offered braille information cards on a plane so she could “follow the announcements.”) Sometimes, people treat you dismissively or just give up on trying to communicate with you. “The two words I hate the most are: ‘Never mind,’” says Sue Schy of Waltham, who has hearing loss and leads the Boston chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America. Advertisement What’s more, hearing loss is more than just a sensory disorder. It’s associated with a torrent of health problems including depression, injuries from falls, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. And here’s something to keep you up at night: If left untreated, hearing loss can be linked to a higher risk of cognitive decline and dementia in older adults. Put even more starkly, as Dr. Frank Lin of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has explained, studies suggest “hearing loss may be the largest contributor to dementia out of all known risk factors.” But some encouraging news arrived this summer out of an ambitious research study co-led by Lin, which found that hearing aids can significantly reduce this risk. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, Lin’s research team studied nearly 1,000 adults, ages 70 to 84, to see if hearing aids could reduce the risk of cognitive decline, and eventually delay or prevent dementia. It concluded that those at higher risk of dementia who used hearing aids for three years cut cognitive decline — loss of thinking and memory abilities — by an incredible 48 percent, compared with those who didn’t use hearing aids. The findings were published in The Lancet, which underscored the point in a commentary: “Hearing aids could really make a difference for populations at risk of dementia.” Advertisement I called Frank Lin to learn more, especially: What does hearing loss have to do with dementia anyway? He suggested three possible explanations. With hearing loss, speech and sounds are garbled by the time they reach the brain, he says, so the brain “has less resources to devote to thinking and memory.” Second, the parts of the brain that are stimulated by speech and sound are under-stimulated in people with hearing loss, which exacerbates brain atrophy. “You can imagine,” Lin says, “that a shrinking brain is not a good thing.” And third, hearing loss can make communicating with others more difficult, which can lead to social isolation — and that’s another risk factor of dementia. “It’s really a landmark study,” says Dr. Maura Cosetti, director of the Ear Institute of New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai. “Nothing like this has been done before. There has never been a randomized controlled study of that magnitude which allowed understanding of the specific impact of hearing amplification [or] treatment of hearing loss on cognitive decline.” But has it triggered a stampede to audiologists’ offices (if only to fend off visits to neurologists’ offices)? Predictably, no, say those in the hearing loss community. Resistance to hearing aid use is high. A national 2022 survey of 1,250 older adults found they were more than twice as likely to take their pet to a veterinarian than have their own hearing checked. Advertisement “I see [hearing loss] as the 800-pound gorilla in the room everyone is so desperately trying to ignore, even though they are all worried about it,” says Geoff Plant, executive director of the Hearing Rehabilitation Foundation in Woburn, a nonprofit organization that promotes speech communication skills for people with hearing loss. There have been plenty of reasons for this, starting with cost. A pair of prescription hearing aids can cost more than $5,000. High-end hearing aids go for upward of $8,000, Plant says. And Medicare, inexplicably, still doesn’t pick up the tab. Cosetti adds that hearing loss is an invisible problem and it’s misunderstood, so that people who have it might not even know it. “Most people wait an average of 10 years before getting treatment,” she says. “They wait until it becomes un-ignorable.” And even then, many people hesitate to use the aids, says Schy, whose 91-year-old father-in-law owns six pairs of hearing aids — all of them tucked away in a drawer, mingling with his socks. I asked her why that is. “Stubbornness, denial, he doesn’t want to be bothered.” Plus, he finds that everything gets uncomfortably amplified. Unlike with glasses, “You don’t just put on a hearing aid and hear,” she says. They take time and patience to adjust, and often the assistance of an expert. It also takes a medical professional to take the issue of hearing loss seriously. “A kid can have the same test as an 80-year-old, with the same hearing loss,” Lin says. “But with the kid, it’s seen as critically important to manage it. With the 80-year-old it’s, ‘OK, you don’t need to worry about your mild hearing loss.’” Advertisement With the stakes so high — reminder: dementia — Lin thinks a lot about how to get more people to use hearing aids. “How do we rejigger all the market assumptions to actually make hearing-aid use work for the public and drive adoption?” he asks. “Why are these devices so bloody expensive and the technologies not appealing to use?” But the situation is improving. After years of delay — thanks in part to objections by hearing aid manufacturers and other stakeholders — the Food and Drug Administration recently finalized guidelines that make over-the-counter hearing aids available to those with mild to moderate hearing loss, as an alternative to prescription-only versions. This move is already promoting competition and lower prices. The National Council on Aging reports the average cost of over-the-counter hearing aids is now at $1,600. One manufacturer on the organization’s September 2023 list of recommended hearing aids is Audien Hearing, which was offering models ranging from $99 to $249. Other models — like those made in a partnership between Sony and a hearing-aid manufacturer — reduce the stigma of wearing hearing aids, since the work they do is seamlessly integrated into wireless earbuds. “Is that an [earbud], or is it a hearing aid? You might not be able to tell the difference,” Lin says. Eventually, I dragged myself to an audiologist. He told me I do have mild hearing loss, but I don’t have to worry about it just yet. Still, those earbud versions do sound, if not exactly cool, then something I can live with. And as grim as I once found the prospect of hearing aids, I find the prospect of dementia even worse. Linda Matchan is a frequent contributor to the Globe Magazine. Send comments to magazine@globe.com. Linda Matchan can be reached at linda.matchan@globe.com

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A nearly 3,000-pound 'giant' shark was tagged by a Cape Cod researcher: 'We hit the lottery'

Yeah, you’re definitely going to need a bigger boat. East Coast shark researchers fortunately had a better time than those in “Jaws” when they recently came across a nearly 3,000-pound monstrous great white shark. Atlantic White Shark Conservancy staff scientist Megan Winton was off South Carolina with Outcast Sport Fishing’s Chip Michalove last week for Michalove’s first charter of the season, and they truly “hit the lottery.” They caught and tagged an estimated 2,800-pound, 14-foot great white female shark off Hilton Head, which swam away with the first ever camera tag put on a shark in that southeastern region. They named the massive apex predator, “LeeBeth.” “We’ve seen a few (that size) off the Cape, but we don’t see them that often,” Winton told the Herald on Monday. “It’s so humbling to be in the presence of an animal that big.” The female shark is likely between 25 and 30 years old. “She has definitely seen some things. The ocean is a really tough place to make it that long,” Winton said. “She had seal scratch marks all over her, so it looks like she spent some time off the Cape in the northern coastal waters sometime this past summer, and she’s now going down south for the winter.” Typically, the first few white sharks of the season off South Carolina are small, but Michalove started the season off with the largest shark they have landed in years. “Seeing that shadow swim up behind the boat, there’s just nothing that can compare to that adrenaline rush,” Michalove told the Herald. “I could feel my heart beating on my fingertips.” Michalove called the nearly 3,000 pounder a “giant” that was quite gentle, never showing any signs of aggression. “We hit the lottery,” he said. “It was one of the best days of my life. Just an absolutely amazing day, and it’s really hard to settle down after a trip like that.” LeeBeth is named after Michalove’s friend’s daughter, who died two years ago when she was 34. “She absolutely loved shark fishing and was definitely watching her dad, brother, and family friend catch and satellite tag a true lifetime fish,” Michalove posted. They were able to attach four tags to the shark, including a satellite spot tag that people can follow on the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Sharktivity app, a pop-up satellite archival tag that will detach in 8 months, and the first camera tag ever put on a shark off South Carolina. Winton and Michalove were already able to retrieve that camera tag a day after tagging LeeBeth. Camera tags in the past have shown intimate glimpses into the lives of white sharks, including the apex predators going after seals and other fish or getting shocked by a torpedo ray. “That has a treasure trove of data,” Winton said as she anxiously waited for the tag to finish downloading. “I’m just over the moon about this right now, feeling like a kid on Christmas.”

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science

Health experts from Boston will make the climate connection in Dubai

And what a place to make their inaugural appearance: The annual conference is being held in Dubai, the glitzy pulse of the global oil patch. Host United Arab Emirates is among the world’s leading oil exporters, and it’s already being accused of putting its thumb on the scales in favor of fossil fuels. For the first time in the nearly 30-year history of the United Nations’ global climate talks, the annual conference will have a Health Day, an official venue that elevates the public health concerns from a warming planet. There, public health experts, including some from Boston, are expected to warn of an increasingly dire future, in which the human toll from extreme weather, infectious diseases, and air pollution worsens as emissions from fossil fuels continue. Advertisement Starting Thursday, global leaders from 197 nations will gather for the two-week international climate summit known as COP28 to discuss the growing toll of climate change — and what can be done about it. Public health experts will also make the case that the burning of fossil fuels is not just a driver of climate change, but also a massive medical threat that can no longer be overlooked. “Rule number one for health professionals is to bring the stories of our patients — to bring the human face of these numbers — into the conversation and create an accountability for that,” said Gaurab Basu, a Boston-area physician and director of education and policy at Harvard Chan C-CHANGE, who will present at the conference. Basu is hoping that by being in Dubai and telling the stories of his patients, he can help show the stakes for keeping the worst of warming at bay. He’s one of several Boston-area health and climate experts attending the talks. With its globally leading institutions, Boston has long been a hotbed of research at the intersection of health and climate change. Now, as the UN conference holds its first official Health Day on Saturday, some of those experts will help drive the agenda. Advertisement Francesca Dominici, a professor of biostatistics, population, and data science at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, will be making the case that air pollution — which is sometimes not considered to be directly related to climate change — and its deadly impacts must be taken into account. “The climate conversation is all about burning fossil fuels, and burning fossil fuels is the main and most toxic source of air pollution,” she said. On panels and in conversations with the gathered officials, she’ll be driving that point home. Elizabeth Willetts, director of planetary health policy at Harvard’s school of public health, said she’s hoping to raise awareness about how little health has previously been taken into account at the climate talks, and find ways to address health issues through the process there. Willetts and other experts said they hope their involvement will lead to increased reporting on health outcomes, and a new consideration of how climate change impacts health. But even before the talks begin, many climate advocates and experts were skeptical that public health would be properly addressed. “For as long as I can remember, health has never been treated as a serious factor in the consideration of climate action or as a significant driver of climate investments,” Gina McCarthy, former national climate adviser to the White House, wrote in the Financial Times in early November. Advertisement She is among the climate leaders calling for negotiators to agree to phase down all fossil fuels. But that may be a long shot. In October, Health and Policy Watch reported that a draft of the “health and climate ministerial declaration” set to be released during the climate talks omits any reference to fossil fuels and their harms. Instead, the declaration focuses largely on the need to adapt health systems to climate change. This year’s talks are also being led by Sultan al-Jaber, who is the head of the United Arab Emirates’ state-owned oil and gas company. Earlier this week, the Centre for Climate Reporting and the BBC reported on leaked documents that show the UAE plans to use its position as host to lobby for oil and gas deals around the world. The COP28 Health Day will be held just weeks after the release of the latest Lancet Countdown, an annual report on climate change and health conditions produced by a group of leading scientists, detailing how the continued dependence on fossil fuels is impacting our health. According to the report, air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels results in 1.9 million premature deaths across the globe annually. “Despite 27 years of annual climate-change negotiations, world leaders still refuse to acknowledge the urgent need to phase out fossil fuels,” wrote Lancet Countdown executive director Maria Romanello, who is also a climate change and health researcher at University College London. Advertisement At the conference, Dominici, of Harvard, will also be sharing the results of her latest study, published earlier this month in the journal Science, which showed how many deaths are caused by air pollution at individual coal-fired power plants in the United States. By analyzing emissions data and Medicare records, Dominici and her coauthors found that between 1999 and 2020, 460,000 excess deaths among Medicare enrollees were attributable to coal-fired power plants. The tiny particulates emitted from coal power plants, known as PM2.5, raise the risk of many life-threatening conditions, including asthma, heart disease, low birth weights, and some cancers. The researchers found that PM2.5 emitted from coal plants is twice as deadly as the same particulates from other sources, such as vehicles or factories. The coal plants associated with the most deaths were in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, and Alabama. Dominici said she hopes this paper will “put to rest” the idea that coal-fired power plants are safe to keep running. Beyond coal-fired power plants, pollution from gas and diesel cars and trucks is not only warming the planet, but also continuing to dirty the air and endanger health. Climate-related health impacts also extend far beyond air pollution. Extreme weather driven by climate change has led to food insecurity and water scarcity. According to the Lancet report, 127 million more people were exposed to moderate or severe food insecurity in 2021, compared to 1981-2010, due to more heat waves and droughts. Advertisement As the global climate warms and disease-carrying pests shift, more people have also become increasingly at risk from potentially life-threatening illnesses like dengue, malaria, vibriosis, and West Nile virus. In past years, Dominici said, “it’s been very frustrating that there was no health consideration” in the climate talks, especially given how hard it has been to get firm commitments to fossil fuel reductions into the final agreement. Having an official health day is definitely progress, she said. Sabrina Shankman can be reached at sabrina.shankman@globe.com. Follow her @shankman.

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science

U.S. Troops Still Train on Weapons With Known Risk of Brain Injury

A blast shattered the stillness of a meadow in the Ozark Mountains on an autumn afternoon. Then another, and another, and another, until the whole meadow was in flames. Special Operations troops were training with rocket launchers again. Each operator held a launch tube on his shoulder, a few inches from his head, then took aim and sent a rocket flying at 500 miles an hour. And each launch sent a shock wave whipping through every cell in the operator’s brain. For generations, the military assumed that this kind of blast exposure was safe, even as evidence mounted that repetitive blasts may do serious and lasting harm. In recent years, Congress, pressed by veterans who were exposed to these shock waves, has ordered the military to set safety limits and start tracking troops’ exposure. In response, the Pentagon created a sprawling Warfighter Brain Health Initiative to study the issue, gather data and propose corrective strategies. And last year, for the first time, it set a threshold above which a weapon blast is considered hazardous.

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Austin Was Hospitalized for Complications From Prostate Cancer Surgery

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has been hospitalized for the past week because of complications after he had prostate cancer surgery, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center said in a statement on Tuesday. A hospital official said Mr. Austin was admitted on Jan. 1 with severe abdominal, hip and leg pain after he underwent what the hospital characterized as a “minimally invasive surgical procedure” known as a prostatectomy the week before. The defense secretary, who had developed an infection, was put in intensive care, where excess abdominal fluid was drained. Since then, “his infection has cleared,” according to the statement, from Dr. John Maddox and Dr. Gregory Chesnut at Walter Reed. In finally releasing the details of the ailment that had taken Mr. Austin — second only to the president in the military chain of command — out of action during crises in the Middle East and Ukraine, the Pentagon sought to fix its own unforced error. Mr. Austin had tried to protect his medical privacy; instead, his secrecy inflated the hospitalization into a full-blown national security crisis.

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Four Takeaways From the COP28 Climate Summit

It took 28 years of climate negotiations for world leaders to agree to wean the global economy from the principal source of climate change: the burning of fossil fuels. “We’re finally naming the elephant in the room,” said Mohamed Adow, a climate campaigner from Kenya. It happened at the tail end of the hottest year on record. The talks were led by an oil company executive, in a desert kingdom built on oil. Why does it matter? And what does it say about a world in war, hunger and turmoil? Here are some takeaways: Geopolitics Didn’t Derail the Whole Thing That is notable considering the bitter divisions among countries over wars in Gaza and Ukraine, lingering resentment over unequal access to coronavirus vaccines and tensions between the United States and China.

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Why Are Frogs and Other Amphibian Species Disappearing Worldwide? - The New York Times

We met the ecologist Karen Lips in Washington, D.C. One morning, she picked us up from a Metro station and took us to Shenandoah National Park, keen to show us a species of salamander. Dr. Lips describes herself as an amphibian forensic scientist. For decades, she has been researching the disappearance of amphibian species, and what she told us that day was shocking. As filmmakers, we’ve covered the extinction of species and other ecological issues in our work for years. Mammals, reptiles, insects, fish — much of the planet’s wild fauna is threatened with extinction. But no other vertebrate class is as threatened as amphibians. Herpetologists like Dr. Lips don’t just fear for individual species; they fear for the class Amphibia as a whole. No one else we had met and interviewed on this subject seemed to be as affected by it as Dr. Lips. To put it simply: Frogs, salamanders and all amphibians are her life. For her, their increasing disappearance from our planet is a personal drama.

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Plan to add teaching of Holocaust, genocide to science education draws questions from Maine teachers

Local News Plan to add teaching of Holocaust, genocide to science education draws questions from Maine teachers The Maine Science Teachers Association testified before the state that adding the proposed content to education standards without providing professional training for teachers could jeopardize science education. The Maine State House is seen at sunrise in Augusta, Maine. AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Teachers and science advocates are voicing skepticism about a Maine proposal to update standards to incorporate teaching about genocide, eugenics and the Holocaust into middle school science education. They argue that teachers need more training before introducing such subjects that are both sensitive and nuanced. While critics of the proposed updates said they are borne of good intentions — the proposal states that science has “sometimes been used by those in power to oppress and abuse others” — they also said that injecting the materials into a middle school science curriculum could distract from conventional scientific principles and could jeopardize science education. Advertisement: The proposal states that science education in the state should reflect that “misinterpretation of fossil observations has led to the false idea of human hierarchies and racial inequality.” The proposal also states that “historically, some people have misused and/or applied the ideas of natural selection and artificial selection to justify genocide of various groups, such as Albinos in Africa or Jews in Europe.” The proposed updates have drawn the attention of teachers’ groups in the state as well as national organizations that advocate for a better understanding of science. The concern in Democrat-controlled Maine contrasts conflicts over education in some more conservative states, where criticism has focused on the teaching of climate change, U.S. history and evolution in recent years. The Maine Science Teachers Association testified before the state that adding the proposed content to education standards without providing professional training for teachers could jeopardize science education. The updates, which are geared toward middle schoolers, could also make it harder for young minds to absorb the more basic science concepts they are encountering for the first time, said Tonya Prentice, president of the Maine Science Teachers Association. “As far as critical thinking skills, middle school students are still developing those, and that’s just putting it at a level that is fundamentally higher than we should expect them to handle,” Prentice said. “That’s a lot for adults to take in.” Advertisement: Others said they felt the state is well-intentioned to try to incorporate social history into science education, but agreed Maine needs to first ensure that its teachers are equipped to do it. The contributions scientists have made to theories like eugenics belong in science class, but it needs to be done right, said Joseph Graves Jr., a professor of biology who is on the board of directors of the National Center for Science Education, which includes hundreds of teachers. “The question is, should those things be incorporated into science class? My answer is absolutely yes,” Graves Jr. said. “But it comes down to when to do that and whether the people doing it are doing it in a way that is knowledgeable and pedagogically sound.” The Maine Department of Education is performing the update, which is part of a review of standards that is required every five years. The proposed updates would have to ultimately be approved by a committee of the Maine Legislature. The Maine Department of Education took public comments about the proposal until the middle of November and the next step is for the Legislature’s Education and Cultural Affairs Committee to make a determination about the standards, said Marcus Mrowka, a spokesperson for the education department. Advertisement: The updates are the result of new requirements from the Legislature to include certain kinds of education into the curriculum, Mrowka said. Schools are now required to include content about Native American and African American histories as well as the history of genocide, including the Holocaust, Mrowka said. Mrowka said the update doesn’t constitute a change to the standards but rather represents the inclusion of a further explanation section to provide educators with additional contexts and opportunities to encourage critical thinking. The recommended updates that are up for adoption were made by teachers, and the education department opened up the revision process to any science teachers who wanted to be involved, Mrowka said. A group of two dozen Maine science educators met several times over the summer to lead the review of the science standards, Mrowka said. The teachers also worked with scholars and experts to include the additional content areas that the Legislature required, Mrowka said. “The teachers included a further explanation section to provide educators with additional contexts and opportunities to encourage critical thinking that incorporate the additional content required by the Legislature,” Mrowka said. The state sought public comments about the current science standards earlier in the year and received numerous comments from educators about the importance of challenging students. Middle schoolers can grapple with “rigorous and relevant learning for the world that we live in,” testified Robert Ripley, a sixth grade teacher in the Oxford Hills School District. “We want our students to be the builders of tomorrow, and they need the skills to create that unknown future world,” Ripley testified. Advertisement: Alison Miller, an associate professor at Bowdoin College who served on the state steering committee for science standards, called the revisions “misguided.” Miller said the heavy subjects of genocide and scientific racism seemed to be shoehorned into the standards. “This is not a shoehorn-able subject,” Miller said. “This is about context and nuance, and asking teachers to do it without the context and nuance that it takes to take on a subject so large and so important is asking them to do it superficially or not at all.”

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Los cuidadores de Baystate Health brindan consejos para una mejor salud en 2024

¿Incluiste una mejor salud en tus propósitos de Año Nuevo? Los expertos en la salud de Baystate Health sugieren establecer objetivos realistas y priorizar lo que es más importante para usted, dar pequeños pasos y recordar no castigarse si encuentra un revés en sus objetivos de salud para el 2024. Algunos objetivos que usted debe considerar para su salud y su alma a medida que continúa su trayectoria incluyen: Mejorar sus niveles de azúcar en la sangre: Hay tres enfoques importantes para mejorar sus niveles de azúcar en sangre al comenzar el nuevo año. Primero, modere su consumo de carbohidratos. No se necesita ningún enfoque dramático. Si antes tomabas dos cucharadas de patatas, ahora toma una y llena el espacio vacío con verduras sin almidón. En segundo lugar, aumente su actividad física. El uso de nuestros músculos empujará el azúcar hacia nuestras células y lo sacará de nuestro torrente sanguíneo. Cuanto más nos movamos y seamos físicamente activos, mejores serán nuestros números. En tercer lugar, una modesta pérdida de peso. Perder entre el 5 y el 10 % de nuestro peso corporal tendrá un impacto dramático en la forma en que metabolizamos el azúcar. Hable con su proveedor de atención médica para personalizar este enfoque para usted. Nosotros en Baystate contamos con especialistas en enfoques de estilo de vida para mejorar la salud metabólica, llamados educadores en diabetes, que pueden brindarle información personalizada adicional. - Dra. Cecilia A. Lozier, jefa de la División de Endocrinología y Diabetes, Baystate Health No permita que los problemas de sueño afecten su salud: Los niveles de estrés son más altos hoy en día en el mundo en el que vivimos. Si bien el estrés puede hacer que dormir bien sea más difícil, es importante priorizar el sueño, que es necesario para la salud y el bienestar. La mayoría de los adultos funcionan mejor durmiendo entre 7 y 8 horas y los adolescentes necesitan alrededor de 9 horas. Un sueño de buena calidad es importante para prevenir infecciones y mantener el sistema inmunológico funcionando bien. Los estudios han demostrado que las personas privadas de sueño no desarrollan la misma respuesta inmune después de las vacunas que las personas que duermen bien, por lo que es importante asegurarse de dormir bien por la noche antes de vacunarse contra la gripe o el COVID, por ejemplo. Mantener un horario de sueño regular permitirá que el reloj interno de su cuerpo le ayude a dormir lo mejor posible por la noche. Si usted tiene dificultades para dormir o signos de mala calidad del sueño con ronquidos fuertes, dificultad para permanecer dormido, orinar con frecuencia durante la noche o somnolencia o cansancio durante el día, puede beneficiarse de una evaluación de medicamentos para el sueño en Baystate. Los estudios del sueño están disponibles mediante remisión de su médico o, para obtener más información, llame al 413-794-5600. - Dra. Karin Johnson, directora médica, Programa Regional del Sueño de Baystate Health y Laboratorio del Sueño del Centro Médico de Baystate, Baystate Health Mantenerse a salvo del COVID-19 y de las infecciones respiratorias estacionales: mantenerse al día con las vacunas contra el COVID-19, la gripe y el RSV es importante si desea mantenerse saludable en 2024. No es demasiado tarde para recibir estas vacunas, en particular si tiene 60 años o más, tiene un sistema inmunológico débil o tiene condiciones médicas que lo ponen en riesgo de sufrir una infección respiratoria grave. Hable con su proveedor de atención médica si tiene preguntas. Es prudente usar su mascarilla si se encuentra en un lugar público interior o en cualquier área concurrida con poca ventilación. - Dr. Armando Paez, jefe de la División de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Baystate Health Mantener a los niños sanos: a medida que nos adaptamos a la “nueva normalidad” de un mundo pospandémico, nuestros niños han enfrentado muchos desafíos que han impactado su bienestar. Los problemas de salud mental, incluido el aumento de las tasas de depresión, ansiedad y autolesiones, resaltan la importancia de asegurarse de que los niños tengan relaciones sólidas con adultos y compañeros afectuosos. Centrémonos en guiar a nuestros hijos hacia una curación y un crecimiento continuo. Además de las expresiones diarias de amor y seguridad, anime a sus hijos a explorar salidas creativas que traigan alegría y fomenten la resiliencia. Las conexiones con el mundo real y el tiempo de pantalla consciente son clave para equilibrar el panorama digital. Como familias, podemos priorizar enfoques de bienestar apropiados para la edad, ya sea mediante el movimiento regular o el fomento de hábitos alimentarios saludables. Adaptar nuestro enfoque garantiza que los niños no sólo estén equipados para enfrentar los desafíos que enfrentan, sino que también estén capacitados para prosperar en un mundo en constante evolución. - Dra. Amy J. Starmer, MPH, jefa de la División de Pediatría General y Salud Familiar Controlar su peso: ¿Su propósito de Año Nuevo es comer más saludablemente, hacer más ejercicio o lograr otra meta relacionada con la salud? El nuevo año trae consigo la oportunidad de iniciar un camino hacia el bienestar o, si ya lo has hecho, de mantener hábitos saludables. Sin embargo, puede resultar difícil lograr que estos objetivos se mantengan a pesar de todos los desafíos que nos presenta el año. ¿Cuál es la mejor manera de tener éxito en el logro de sus propósitos de salud? Considere lo siguiente: 1. Sé específico con tus objetivos. En lugar de “Comeré más sano,” considere algo como “Reemplazaré 4 refrescos por semana con agua.” Establecer una meta más específica puede ayudarte a “marcar” si has completado la meta cada día y, por lo tanto, tener éxito a largo plazo. 2. Asegúrate de que tus objetivos sean mensurables. Si su objetivo es perder peso, por ejemplo, establezca una cantidad mensurable con un período de tiempo para alcanzar su objetivo. Por ejemplo, “Quiero perder 10 libras para abril de 2024″ y “hacer ejercicio durante 30 minutos, 3 veces por semana” son objetivos más mensurables que “perder peso este año.” 3. Haga que sus objetivos sean realistas para usted. Por ejemplo, si viaja a diario para el trabajo, “dejar de comer mientras viaja” como resolución puede no ser realista para su estilo de vida. Es posible que se dé por vencido en febrero si ha comprado alguna comida fuera. Esto obstaculiza cualquier progreso que podría haber logrado en un período más largo. En su lugar, pruebe con un objetivo más realista y flexible, como “preparar un almuerzo saludable para conservarlo en un lugar fresco 4 veces por semana.” Prepárese para el éxito este año haciendo resoluciones que funcionen para usted, que sean específicas y mensurables. De lo contrario, es posible que se sienta rápidamente frustrado por su incapacidad para cumplir y alcanzar sus objetivos. - Eliana Terry, MS RD CSG LDN, dietista registrada, Baystate Noble Hospital Dónde buscar atención: si no se siente bien y no puede esperar a una cita regular de atención primaria con su proveedor de atención primaria de Baystate, Convenient Care ofrece atención sin cita previa el mismo día con horarios extendidos que se adaptan a su horario. Baystate Convenient Care brinda atención de alta calidad, conveniente y asequible para lesiones y enfermedades que no ponen en peligro la vida y que requieren atención médica oportuna. Por el contrario, los departamentos de emergencias (DE) ofrecen atención las 24 horas del día, los 7 días de la semana para afecciones agudas o emergencias médicas graves con atención experta. Al decidir si acudir o no a Convenient Care, considere si la enfermedad o lesión pone en peligro la vida y requiere tratamiento médico integral. Si es así, el servicio de urgencias debería ser su primer destino. Sin embargo, algunos síntomas y afecciones comunes no requieren una visita al Departamento de Emergencias. Las ubicaciones incluyen Convenient Care en Baystate Wing Hospital, Baystate Convenient Care Longmeadow, Baystate Convenient Care Northampton, Baystate Convenient Care Springfield y Baystate Convenient Care Westfield. Para obtener más información, visite Baystate Convenient Care. - Dra. Agnieszka Nicora, directora médica, Baystate Convenient Care Traducido por Damaris Pérez Pizarro

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Los cuidadores de Baystate Health brindan consejos para una mejor salud en 2024

¿Incluiste una mejor salud en tus propósitos de Año Nuevo? Los expertos en la salud de Baystate Health sugieren establecer objetivos realistas y priorizar lo que es más importante para usted, dar pequeños pasos y recordar no castigarse si encuentra un revés en sus objetivos de salud para el 2024. Algunos objetivos que usted debe considerar para su salud y su alma a medida que continúa su trayectoria incluyen: Mejorar sus niveles de azúcar en la sangre: Hay tres enfoques importantes para mejorar sus niveles de azúcar en sangre al comenzar el nuevo año. Primero, modere su consumo de carbohidratos. No se necesita ningún enfoque dramático. Si antes tomabas dos cucharadas de patatas, ahora toma una y llena el espacio vacío con verduras sin almidón. En segundo lugar, aumente su actividad física. El uso de nuestros músculos empujará el azúcar hacia nuestras células y lo sacará de nuestro torrente sanguíneo. Cuanto más nos movamos y seamos físicamente activos, mejores serán nuestros números. En tercer lugar, una modesta pérdida de peso. Perder entre el 5 y el 10 % de nuestro peso corporal tendrá un impacto dramático en la forma en que metabolizamos el azúcar. Hable con su proveedor de atención médica para personalizar este enfoque para usted. Nosotros en Baystate contamos con especialistas en enfoques de estilo de vida para mejorar la salud metabólica, llamados educadores en diabetes, que pueden brindarle información personalizada adicional. - Dra. Cecilia A. Lozier, jefa de la División de Endocrinología y Diabetes, Baystate Health No permita que los problemas de sueño afecten su salud: Los niveles de estrés son más altos hoy en día en el mundo en el que vivimos. Si bien el estrés puede hacer que dormir bien sea más difícil, es importante priorizar el sueño, que es necesario para la salud y el bienestar. La mayoría de los adultos funcionan mejor durmiendo entre 7 y 8 horas y los adolescentes necesitan alrededor de 9 horas. Un sueño de buena calidad es importante para prevenir infecciones y mantener el sistema inmunológico funcionando bien. Los estudios han demostrado que las personas privadas de sueño no desarrollan la misma respuesta inmune después de las vacunas que las personas que duermen bien, por lo que es importante asegurarse de dormir bien por la noche antes de vacunarse contra la gripe o el COVID, por ejemplo. Mantener un horario de sueño regular permitirá que el reloj interno de su cuerpo le ayude a dormir lo mejor posible por la noche. Si usted tiene dificultades para dormir o signos de mala calidad del sueño con ronquidos fuertes, dificultad para permanecer dormido, orinar con frecuencia durante la noche o somnolencia o cansancio durante el día, puede beneficiarse de una evaluación de medicamentos para el sueño en Baystate. Los estudios del sueño están disponibles mediante remisión de su médico o, para obtener más información, llame al 413-794-5600. - Dra. Karin Johnson, directora médica, Programa Regional del Sueño de Baystate Health y Laboratorio del Sueño del Centro Médico de Baystate, Baystate Health Mantenerse a salvo del COVID-19 y de las infecciones respiratorias estacionales: mantenerse al día con las vacunas contra el COVID-19, la gripe y el RSV es importante si desea mantenerse saludable en 2024. No es demasiado tarde para recibir estas vacunas, en particular si tiene 60 años o más, tiene un sistema inmunológico débil o tiene condiciones médicas que lo ponen en riesgo de sufrir una infección respiratoria grave. Hable con su proveedor de atención médica si tiene preguntas. Es prudente usar su mascarilla si se encuentra en un lugar público interior o en cualquier área concurrida con poca ventilación. - Dr. Armando Paez, jefe de la División de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Baystate Health Mantener a los niños sanos: a medida que nos adaptamos a la “nueva normalidad” de un mundo pospandémico, nuestros niños han enfrentado muchos desafíos que han impactado su bienestar. Los problemas de salud mental, incluido el aumento de las tasas de depresión, ansiedad y autolesiones, resaltan la importancia de asegurarse de que los niños tengan relaciones sólidas con adultos y compañeros afectuosos. Centrémonos en guiar a nuestros hijos hacia una curación y un crecimiento continuo. Además de las expresiones diarias de amor y seguridad, anime a sus hijos a explorar salidas creativas que traigan alegría y fomenten la resiliencia. Las conexiones con el mundo real y el tiempo de pantalla consciente son clave para equilibrar el panorama digital. Como familias, podemos priorizar enfoques de bienestar apropiados para la edad, ya sea mediante el movimiento regular o el fomento de hábitos alimentarios saludables. Adaptar nuestro enfoque garantiza que los niños no sólo estén equipados para enfrentar los desafíos que enfrentan, sino que también estén capacitados para prosperar en un mundo en constante evolución. - Dra. Amy J. Starmer, MPH, jefa de la División de Pediatría General y Salud Familiar Controlar su peso: ¿Su propósito de Año Nuevo es comer más saludablemente, hacer más ejercicio o lograr otra meta relacionada con la salud? El nuevo año trae consigo la oportunidad de iniciar un camino hacia el bienestar o, si ya lo has hecho, de mantener hábitos saludables. Sin embargo, puede resultar difícil lograr que estos objetivos se mantengan a pesar de todos los desafíos que nos presenta el año. ¿Cuál es la mejor manera de tener éxito en el logro de sus propósitos de salud? Considere lo siguiente: 1. Sé específico con tus objetivos. En lugar de “Comeré más sano,” considere algo como “Reemplazaré 4 refrescos por semana con agua.” Establecer una meta más específica puede ayudarte a “marcar” si has completado la meta cada día y, por lo tanto, tener éxito a largo plazo. 2. Asegúrate de que tus objetivos sean mensurables. Si su objetivo es perder peso, por ejemplo, establezca una cantidad mensurable con un período de tiempo para alcanzar su objetivo. Por ejemplo, “Quiero perder 10 libras para abril de 2024″ y “hacer ejercicio durante 30 minutos, 3 veces por semana” son objetivos más mensurables que “perder peso este año.” 3. Haga que sus objetivos sean realistas para usted. Por ejemplo, si viaja a diario para el trabajo, “dejar de comer mientras viaja” como resolución puede no ser realista para su estilo de vida. Es posible que se dé por vencido en febrero si ha comprado alguna comida fuera. Esto obstaculiza cualquier progreso que podría haber logrado en un período más largo. En su lugar, pruebe con un objetivo más realista y flexible, como “preparar un almuerzo saludable para conservarlo en un lugar fresco 4 veces por semana.” Prepárese para el éxito este año haciendo resoluciones que funcionen para usted, que sean específicas y mensurables. De lo contrario, es posible que se sienta rápidamente frustrado por su incapacidad para cumplir y alcanzar sus objetivos. - Eliana Terry, MS RD CSG LDN, dietista registrada, Baystate Noble Hospital Dónde buscar atención: si no se siente bien y no puede esperar a una cita regular de atención primaria con su proveedor de atención primaria de Baystate, Convenient Care ofrece atención sin cita previa el mismo día con horarios extendidos que se adaptan a su horario. Baystate Convenient Care brinda atención de alta calidad, conveniente y asequible para lesiones y enfermedades que no ponen en peligro la vida y que requieren atención médica oportuna. Por el contrario, los departamentos de emergencias (DE) ofrecen atención las 24 horas del día, los 7 días de la semana para afecciones agudas o emergencias médicas graves con atención experta. Al decidir si acudir o no a Convenient Care, considere si la enfermedad o lesión pone en peligro la vida y requiere tratamiento médico integral. Si es así, el servicio de urgencias debería ser su primer destino. Sin embargo, algunos síntomas y afecciones comunes no requieren una visita al Departamento de Emergencias. Las ubicaciones incluyen Convenient Care en Baystate Wing Hospital, Baystate Convenient Care Longmeadow, Baystate Convenient Care Northampton, Baystate Convenient Care Springfield y Baystate Convenient Care Westfield. Para obtener más información, visite Baystate Convenient Care. - Dra. Agnieszka Nicora, directora médica, Baystate Convenient Care Traducido por Damaris Pérez Pizarro

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E.U. Agrees on Landmark Artificial Intelligence Rules

European Union policymakers agreed on Friday to a sweeping new law to regulate artificial intelligence, one of the world’s first comprehensive attempts to limit the use of a rapidly evolving technology that has wide-ranging societal and economic implications. The law, called the A.I. Act, sets a new global benchmark for countries seeking to harness the potential benefits of the technology, while trying to protect against its possible risks, like automating jobs, spreading misinformation online and endangering national security. The law still needs to go through a few final steps for approval, but the political agreement means its key outlines have been set. European policymakers focused on A.I.’s riskiest uses by companies and governments, including those for law enforcement and the operation of crucial services like water and energy. Makers of the largest general-purpose A.I. systems, like those powering the ChatGPT chatbot, would face new transparency requirements. Chatbots and software that creates manipulated images such as “deepfakes” would have to make clear that what people were seeing was generated by A.I., according to E.U. officials and earlier drafts of the law. Use of facial recognition software by police and governments would be restricted outside of certain safety and national security exemptions. Companies that violated the regulations could face fines of up to 7 percent of global sales.

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Westfield Public Health Bulletin: Avoiding, managing stress is important during holidays

The holidays are a time of joy and stress. There is a happiness in seeing a child’s delight in decorations, lights, snow, Santa, opening gifts and the magic of the season. There is satisfaction in giving and helping the less fortunate. There is peace and pleasure when snuggled under a blanket by the Christmas tree, sipping hot chocolate, while the children play with their new toys. Conversely, there are many demands on everyone. Anxiety, depression, loneliness prevail while dealing with financial strain, unrealistic expectations, family issues, time constraints, wanted and unwanted house guests, trying to maintain family traditions and having to work on the holiday. Eighty-eight percent of Americans say the holidays are the most stressful time of the year. Thirty-one percent say their physical and mental health worsens in November, December and January. Nearly half, 48%, report financial strain is the main cause of holiday stress. Sixty-one percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. You are not alone with your feelings. Women report greater stress and less sleep.

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Even a Little Alcohol Can Harm Your Health

Sorry to be a buzz-kill, but that nightly glass or two of wine is not improving your health. After decades of confusing and sometimes contradictory research (too much alcohol is bad for you but a little bit is good; some types of alcohol are better for you than others; just kidding, it’s all bad), the picture is becoming clearer: Even small amounts of alcohol can have health consequences. Research published in November revealed that between 2015 and 2019, excessive alcohol use resulted in roughly 140,000 deaths per year in the United States. About 40 percent of those deaths had acute causes, like car crashes, poisonings and homicides. But the majority were caused by chronic conditions attributed to alcohol, such as liver disease, cancer and heart disease. When experts talk about the dire health consequences linked to excessive alcohol use, people often assume that it’s directed at individuals who have an alcohol use disorder. But the health risks from drinking can come from moderate consumption as well. “Risk starts to go up well below levels where people would think, ‘Oh, that person has an alcohol problem,’” said Dr. Tim Naimi, director of the University of Victoria’s Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research. “Alcohol is harmful to the health starting at very low levels.”

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NASA Streams Cat Video From Deep, Deep Space

“This would be like the same capability that you’d want to have if you’re sending an astronaut to the surface of Mars or something like that,” said Dr. Abhijit Biswas, the project technologist. “You want to have constant contact with them.” The demonstration was done with the help of NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, which was launched on Oct. 13 with the aim of exploring an asteroid with the same name. The D.S.O.C. experiment is using laser communications, as opposed to traditional radio frequencies, in an attempt to transfer large gobs of data at faster rates over greater distances. (The video is of Taters chasing a laser pointer. In 1928, a statue of the cartoon character Felix the Cat was used to test television transmissions.) The transmitted data rates of 267 megabits per second are comparable to rates on Earth, which are often between 100 and 300 megabits per second. But Dr. Biswas urged caution about the results of the demonstration. “This is the first step,” he said. “There’s still significant requirements for ground infrastructure and things like that to take something that’s kind of a proof of concept to transform it into something that’s operational and reliable.” The video was transmitted using a flight laser transceiver, one of several pieces of new hardware being deployed for the first time. The D.S.O.C. system is made up of three parts: the transceiver, which was installed on board the Psyche spacecraft, and two components on Earth: a ground laser transmitter (roughly a 90-minute drive from the laboratory) and a ground laser receiver at the Palomar Observatory in Southern California.

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science

NASA Streams Cat Video From Deep, Deep Space

“This would be like the same capability that you’d want to have if you’re sending an astronaut to the surface of Mars or something like that,” said Dr. Abhijit Biswas, the project technologist. “You want to have constant contact with them.” The demonstration was done with the help of NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, which was launched on Oct. 13 with the aim of exploring an asteroid with the same name. The D.S.O.C. experiment is using laser communications, as opposed to traditional radio frequencies, in an attempt to transfer large gobs of data at faster rates over greater distances. (The video is of Taters chasing a laser pointer. In 1928, a statue of the cartoon character Felix the Cat was used to test television transmissions.) The transmitted data rates of 267 megabits per second are comparable to rates on Earth, which are often between 100 and 300 megabits per second. But Dr. Biswas urged caution about the results of the demonstration. “This is the first step,” he said. “There’s still significant requirements for ground infrastructure and things like that to take something that’s kind of a proof of concept to transform it into something that’s operational and reliable.” The video was transmitted using a flight laser transceiver, one of several pieces of new hardware being deployed for the first time. The D.S.O.C. system is made up of three parts: the transceiver, which was installed on board the Psyche spacecraft, and two components on Earth: a ground laser transmitter (roughly a 90-minute drive from the laboratory) and a ground laser receiver at the Palomar Observatory in Southern California.

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Japan Becomes the Latest Country to Land on the Moon

A Japanese robotic spacecraft successfully set down on the moon on Friday — but its solar panels were not generating power, which will cut the length of time it will be able to operate to a few hours. With this achievement, Japan is now the fifth country to send a spacecraft that made a soft landing on the moon. For JAXA, Japan’s space agency which currently operates a variety of robotic science missions in space, this was the first time it had tried to set down on a planetary body elsewhere in the solar system. The spacecraft, the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon, or SLIM, was intended to demonstrate precision landing, within a football field of a targeted destination rather than an uncertainty of miles that most landers are capable of. The technology could also be useful for future missions like those in NASA’s Artemis program. Japan is a partner in that program, which will send astronauts back to the moon in the coming years.

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Too Many Products Can Stress Out Your Skin. Heres How to Scale Back.

Laura Read, a former beauty influencer from London, didn’t understand why her skin was breaking out. She regularly collaborated with cosmetics companies for her YouTube tutorials and had her pick of lotions, potions and creams to address the issues. But none of them seemed to help. Ms. Read said she struggled with “a bumpy forehead, milia around my eyes and eczema on my cheeks” for years. Eventually, she turned her attention to “the amount of products I was testing and trying.” She limited herself to cleanser and moisturizer — “no serums, no toners, no face masks, nothing” — and her skin issues resolved within weeks. Mary Schook, a celebrity aesthetician based in New York City, has seen the same. She said her clients often come to her inflamed and confused: They have access to the “best” products money can buy — but have the “worst” skin of their lives. “Every appointment is a recon mission,” Ms. Schook said. “People are stressing out their skin by overusing skin care products.”

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How to Prevent Memory Loss

As we age, our memory declines. This is an ingrained assumption for many of us; however, according to neuroscientist Dr. Richard Restak, a neurologist and clinical professor at George Washington Hospital University School of Medicine and Health, decline is not inevitable. The author of more than 20 books on the mind, Dr. Restak has decades’ worth of experience in guiding patients with memory problems. “The Complete Guide to Memory: The Science of Strengthening Your Mind,” Dr. Restak’s latest book, includes tools such as mental exercises, sleep habits and diet that can help boost memory. Yet Dr. Restak ventures beyond this familiar territory, considering every facet of memory — how memory is connected to creative thinking, technology’s impact on memory, how memory shapes identity. “The point of the book is to overcome the everyday problems of memory,” Dr. Restak said. Especially working memory, which falls between immediate recall and long-term memory, and is tied to intelligence, concentration and achievement. According to Dr. Restak, this is the most critical type of memory, and exercises to strengthen it should be practiced daily. But bolstering all memory skills, he added, is key to warding off later memory issues.

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EPA proposes requirement to remove lead pipes from US water systems within 10 years

CNN — The US Environmental Protection Agency is proposing a rule that would require water systems across the country to replace millions of lead service lines within 10 years. The rule would accelerate progress toward the Biden administration goal of removing 100% of lead pipes; lead exposure is linked to significant health and developmental problems, especially for children. The EPA proposal said lines must be replaced within 10 years, regardless of the lead levels in tap or other drinking water samples. Additional time could be allowed “in limited circumstances” for some systems that need complete system-wide line replacements, the proposal said. The Safe Drinking Water Act authorizes EPA to establish regulations for public water systems, and the Lead and Copper Rule was established in 1991 to reduce exposure to lead in drinking water. It was revised in 2021, generally with more detailed and stringent requirements. The new proposed rule would further strengthen the ways the rule targets lead in drinking water by improving how water systems are tested for lead levels and lowering lead action level, or the threshold that requires additional compliance activities. Water systems would also have to show consistent progress toward replacing lead pipes, with a minimum of 10% of lead pipes replaced each year and minimal exceptions. The EPA can enforce regulations under the Safe Drinking Water Act with civil penalties or fines. “We cannot survive without water. Yet for millions of homes, for millions of children, their water has been delivered by a poisonous straw,” Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, a pediatrician and clean water advocate, said during a briefing hosted by the EPA. Experts agree that no amount of lead exposure is safe. Excessive exposure can put adults at higher risk for cancer, stroke, kidney disease and other poor health outcomes. It’s particularly harmful for children; even low levels of lead can negatively affect a child’s growth and development, and childhood exposure can lead to long-term harm, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Experts agree that no amount of lead exposure is safe. Excessive exposure can put adults at higher risk for cancer, stroke, kidney disease and other poor health outcomes. It’s particularly harmful for children; even low levels of lead can negatively affect a child’s growth and development, and childhood exposure can lead to long-term harm, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We can’t see lead in water; we can’t taste it; we can’t smell it. But it has silently and innocuously diminished the promise of generations of our children,” said Hanna-Attisha, who worked in Flint, Michigan, during the city’s water crisis. “This proposed rule, these improvements, ensure that in a not-too-distant future, there will never be another city and another child poisoned by their pipes.” New lead pipes have been banned in the US since the 1980s, but there are still 9.2 million lead service lines in the US, according to estimates from the EPA. The two states with the highest proportions of service lines requiring replacement are Illinois and Rhode Island, where a quarter or more of service lines need to be replaced. In New Jersey, an estimated 14% of lines need to be replaced and in Michigan, 11%. The national average is about 8%, according to the EPA. A 2021 analysis by an environmental nonprofit found that more than half of the population drank from water systems that had detected lead levels exceeding those recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. “This a public health concern that has, unfortunately, spanned generations and an issue that has disproportionately impacted low-income and minority communities,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said at the briefing. “Everyone in this country should be able to turn on their tap for a glass of water and know that it’s safe to drink.” Get CNN Health's weekly newsletter Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team. Compliance with the proposed rule is estimated to cost billions of dollars, but a cost-benefit analysis presented with the proposal suggests that the benefits would be four to 10 times greater. And the benefits are largely centered around public health prevention, Regan said: protecting against IQ loss among children, preventable death and disease and more. “Those benefits are truly priceless,” he said. The Biden administration has dedicated $15 billion to removing lead service lines through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and there is an additional $11.7 billion in general funding available through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund that can be utilized for these types of projects. “The bottom line is, lead poisoning is preventable,” Brenda Mallory, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said at the briefing. “This is a problem we can and will solve to save more children and families from facing it.” The EPA will collect public comments on the proposed rule for 60 days and hold a public hearing in mid-January.

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Find viruses before they find us

The recent outbreak of an emergent strain of H5N1 — often called bird flu — spans multiple continents and has had an enormous ecological impact posing a threat to numerous wild bird species . Spillover into poultry around the world has necessitated the destruction of millions of domestic birds, severely challenging the poultry industry and threatening food security. What makes this strain of H5N1 virus of greater concern is the infection of more than 30 mammalian species that has probably killed thousands of marine mammals . Such spillover from birds to mammals creates the opportunity for viral adaptation to mammalian hosts, which can open the door to infection of humans. Climate change , expanding human populations, and other global changes are increasing opportunities for humans and animals to interact, accelerating the spread of viruses to humans. While the virus that causes COVID-19 was devastating, it continues along with new threats such as the present global outbreak of the H5N1 influenza virus. Advertisement The scope and character of the present H5N1 outbreak are alarming, but this is only one virus. There are many more known and as-yet undiscovered viruses in wildlife that pose threats to domestic animals and humans. The COVID-19 pandemic showed us that viruses can rapidly change and adapt. However, advanced knowledge of viruses that pose a danger can avert outbreaks in humans. This knowledge is gained by worldwide surveillance and field research, which are critically needed to define where and how a suspect virus is circulating geographically, how it’s evolving, and where and how new species — including humans — may become exposed. Without such insights, options to prepare for or prevent a pandemic are challenging if not improbable. Despite the importance of surveillance and field research, some feel that their risks outweigh benefits and want this work to be stopped. Their reasoning is that interactions with wildlife as part of scientific study provide an opportunity for spillover to humans. Others advocate for changes such as federal department-level review of much pathogen research in the United States, including surveillance and field studies. Through increased bureaucratic burden, these changes could hamstring research that is essential to pandemic preparedness and outbreak response. Advertisement Indisputably, research safety is important and needs to be applied consistently, as well as reviewed and updated regularly as science and technology progress. But given the value of pathogen research to public health, safety measures should be designed to minimize risk while allowing beneficial science to proceed. Those focused on eliminating risk entirely would ban scientists from sampling wildlife and characterizing animal pathogens. But extensive interaction with wildlife through hunting, mining, tourism, and many other fundamental human activities will continue. Banning the science would win a battle on perceived lab safety but lose the war against the threats of nature. The ongoing H5N1 outbreak offers an example of the critical need for surveillance and field research. Based on rapid investigations in the field, decisions are being made in real time about restricting public access to wildlife areas, how animals are housed and handled in businesses, and how animal carcasses are disposed of. At the same time, biologists’ field efforts characterize the breadth and effects of variant viruses in wildlife and furnish samples, which are directly applied to selection of vaccines for pandemic preparedness and assessment of antiviral therapeutics. Without the information gained from research in the field, such precautions and preparation are not possible — instead of finding a virus and containing its threat, we would be waiting for the virus to find us and relying on luck and fortune to respond in time. As COVID-19 proved, detection after emergence can be too late to prevent a pandemic. Advertisement “Virus hunting” is often portrayed in the media as risky. Yet, pathogen research in the field — as in the lab — is subject to thorough oversight. In the United States, proposed field studies undergo review by institutional biosafety committees that are mandated and guided by federal agencies. Interactions with wildlife are included in this review. Research teams are trained and advised on prevention of potential zoonotic infections, including vaccination where appropriate and the use of personal protective equipment. Often, field studies require involvement, permission, and oversight by local, state, and/or federal government bodies. All field sites are unique, but awareness, training, and preparation can ensure that samples, wildlife, and personnel are protected and secure. The health of humans and animals is deeply interconnected across global shared environments. Turning a blind eye to viruses in animals will not stop them from spilling over into humans. On the contrary, the accelerating rate of viral zoonoses — the spread of viruses from animals to humans — calls for a reinvigoration of research designed to identify and understand nature’s biological threats. Only by knowing our enemy can we prepare our defenses and prevail. Advertisement Jonathan Runstadler is a virologist at Tufts University. Anice Lowen is a virologist at Emory University.

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Dr. Jus Crea Giammarino works to connect health care to the environment

In recognition of Native American Heritage Month in November, MassLive asked readers to identify people who are leaders from the Indigenous community throughout the state, working to make a difference in their own area of interest, be it politics, education, business or the arts. MassLive will publish profiles of these leaders through November. These are people our readers have identified as inspirational, who may be doing good acts for their communities. They are being recognized for their accomplishments, leadership and commitment to inspire change. Dr. Jus Crea Giammarino is a Penobscot naturopathic physician in Springfield. (Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican)Leon Nguyen Jus Crea Giammarino Age: 43 Community: Springfield Her story: Raised in Penobscot culture and spiritual practices, Dr. Jus Crea Giammarino understood at a young age the healing powers of nature. Her Penobscot mother and grandmothers taught her about food as medicine, traditional plant medicines and all that the land provides for us. She come from strong traditional healers and birth workers. Crea Giammarino began studying herbal medicine in high school with a local herbalist. She attended UMass Amherst as an undergraduate and received a bachelors of science in ethnobotany along with pre-med and Native American Studies. She then attended a four year naturopathic medical school. In 2005, she created a naturopathic medical practice in Springfield where she works with people of all ages and walks of life through holistic health care utilizing herbal and nutritional medicine. “Carrying on the tradition of my ancestors I work to connect our health care to our environment,” Crea Giammarino said. While working at the private practice, she also gives lectures and presentations on traditional Wabanaki healing modalities and naturopathic care including plant medicines, food as medicine and environmental medicine. She teaches plant medicine workshops including medicine making and ethnobotanical plant walks and is working towards reclaiming traditional birthing practices in prenatal, labor and postpartum care. She is a founding board member of Bomazeen Land Trust which is working for land justice and healing for Wabanaki peoples and their lands. She has also worked as a naturopathic primary care in Brattleboro, Vermont, for five years and has taught as an adjunct professor at Springfield Technical Community College and Springfield College. She does a lot of community organizing around reclaiming birth work and ceremonies. Raising her children with her culture, spiritual practices and healing modalities have been important and valuable to her. In her words: “Follow your passion but let your ancestors guide you. Our teachings and values are instilled in our culture. Our ancestors ways of knowing are just as powerful and valuable as any institution.” We’re always open to hear about more inspiring people. If you’d like to suggest someone else who should be recognized, please fill out this form.

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Dr. Jus Crea Giammarino works to connect health care to the environment

In recognition of Native American Heritage Month in November, MassLive asked readers to identify people who are leaders from the Indigenous community throughout the state, working to make a difference in their own area of interest, be it politics, education, business or the arts. MassLive will publish profiles of these leaders through November. These are people our readers have identified as inspirational, who may be doing good acts for their communities. They are being recognized for their accomplishments, leadership and commitment to inspire change. Dr. Jus Crea Giammarino is a Penobscot naturopathic physician in Springfield. (Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican)Leon Nguyen Jus Crea Giammarino Age: 43 Community: Springfield Her story: Raised in Penobscot culture and spiritual practices, Dr. Jus Crea Giammarino understood at a young age the healing powers of nature. Her Penobscot mother and grandmothers taught her about food as medicine, traditional plant medicines and all that the land provides for us. She come from strong traditional healers and birth workers. Crea Giammarino began studying herbal medicine in high school with a local herbalist. She attended UMass Amherst as an undergraduate and received a bachelors of science in ethnobotany along with pre-med and Native American Studies. She then attended a four year naturopathic medical school. In 2005, she created a naturopathic medical practice in Springfield where she works with people of all ages and walks of life through holistic health care utilizing herbal and nutritional medicine. “Carrying on the tradition of my ancestors I work to connect our health care to our environment,” Crea Giammarino said. While working at the private practice, she also gives lectures and presentations on traditional Wabanaki healing modalities and naturopathic care including plant medicines, food as medicine and environmental medicine. She teaches plant medicine workshops including medicine making and ethnobotanical plant walks and is working towards reclaiming traditional birthing practices in prenatal, labor and postpartum care. She is a founding board member of Bomazeen Land Trust which is working for land justice and healing for Wabanaki peoples and their lands. She has also worked as a naturopathic primary care in Brattleboro, Vermont, for five years and has taught as an adjunct professor at Springfield Technical Community College and Springfield College. She does a lot of community organizing around reclaiming birth work and ceremonies. Raising her children with her culture, spiritual practices and healing modalities have been important and valuable to her. In her words: “Follow your passion but let your ancestors guide you. Our teachings and values are instilled in our culture. Our ancestors ways of knowing are just as powerful and valuable as any institution.” We’re always open to hear about more inspiring people. If you’d like to suggest someone else who should be recognized, please fill out this form.

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Whats Your Biological Age?

If you’ve ever been to a high school reunion, you know that some people seem to age faster than others. Twenty-five years after graduation, one classmate can appear a decade younger than the rest, another a decade older. “People know that intuitively,” said Dr. Nir Barzilai, director of the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, “but they don’t understand that it’s a biology that we’re trying to discover.” Scientists are working to quantify this phenomenon and put a number to a person’s “biological age” by looking at their cellular health instead of how many years they’ve been alive. Some of these measurements are now marketed as direct-to-consumer blood tests. But before you shell out hundreds of dollars to find out how old you really are, make sure you know what you’re paying for. Experts caution that while these tests are interesting in theory, and could be valuable research tools, they aren’t ready for prime-time. How do you measure biological age? Researchers define biological age as “the accumulation of damage we can measure in our body,” said Dr. Andrea Britta Maier, co-director of the Centre for Healthy Longevity at the National University of Singapore. That damage comes from natural aging, as well as from our environment and behaviors.

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A Psychologists Tips for Having Tense Thanksgiving Conversations - The New York Times

The hum of conversation, the aroma of roasted turkey, the clinking of silverware on porcelain: This is how I remember last year’s Thanksgiving, spent at a dear friend’s home. I relished the inviting ambience until a conversation about the day’s cooking unexpectedly shifted to the topic of gender roles. It was then that my friend’s father, a revered patriarch in his mid-70s, wistfully mentioned how he missed the “good old days” when things were simpler and “people knew their place.” The room, filled with faces both familiar and new, grew silent. As a guest caught in this sudden shift, I faced a dilemma: Should I challenge his statement or opt for harmony over discord? For many of us, especially in our current political climate, speaking up in such settings feels risky. Yet the act of choosing silence might be affecting us more deeply than we think — to the detriment of our emotional and even physical well-being. Far from preserving peace, holding back our thoughts can leave us more unsettled and unhappy. Over time, this leads to increased stress and strain, not just within ourselves but in the very relationships we are trying to preserve. I’m an organizational psychologist, and a recurring theme has emerged in my research: People are reluctant to challenge or contradict others because of their fear of insinuating distrust or disapproval of the other person.

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Coronavirus Probably Spread Widely in Deer and Perhaps Back to People, U.S.D.A. Says

Why It Matters: Deer could be a source of new variants. There is no evidence that deer play a major role in spreading the virus to humans, but the transmission of the virus from people to animals raises several public health concerns. First, animal reservoir could allow viral variants that have disappeared from human populations to persist. Indeed, the new study confirms prior reports that some coronavirus variants, including Alpha and Gamma, continued to circulate in deer even after they became rare in people. New animal hosts also give the virus new opportunities to mutate and evolve, potentially giving rise to new variants that could infect people. If these variants are different enough from those that have previously circulated in humans, they could evade some of the immune system’s defenses. Background: Scientists have found signs of widespread infection in deer. Researchers at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, in collaboration with other government and academic scientists, began looking for the coronavirus in free-ranging white-tailed deer in 2021, after studies suggested that the animals were susceptible to the virus. In that first year of surveillance work, the scientists ultimately collected more than 11,000 samples from deer in 26 states and Washington, D.C. Nearly a third of the animals had antibodies to the coronavirus, suggesting that they had previously been exposed, and 12 percent were actively infected, APHIS said on Tuesday. For the new Nature Communications paper, scientists from APHIS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the University of Missouri sequenced nearly 400 of the samples collected between November 2021 and April 2022. They found multiple versions of the virus in deer, including the Alpha, Gamma, Delta and Omicron variants. Then, the scientists compared the viral samples isolated from deer with those from human patients and mapped the evolutionary relationships between them. They concluded that the virus moved from humans to deer at least 109 times and that deer-to-deer transmission often followed. The virus also showed signs of adapting to deer, and the researchers identified several cases in North Carolina and Massachusetts in which humans were infected with these “deer-adapted” versions of the virus. What’s Next: Surveillance will continue. APHIS has expanded its surveillance to additional states and species. Many questions remain, including precisely how people are passing the virus to deer, and the role that the animals might play in sustaining the virus in the wild.

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Boston's newly re-opened archaeology lab connects the past with the present

The city of Boston has collected more than 1 million artifacts through its Archaeology Program over the past 40 years. Those artifacts — and the process of preserving them — is being done at Boston's newly re-opened Archaeology Lab. Radio Boston visited the lab to see some of the collection. City archaeologist Joe Bagley and Rev. Mariama White Hammond, Boston's chief of environment, energy and open space, joined us for the conversation. As part of the tour, Bagley and Hammond showed Radio Boston three artifacts pulled from the archives. They included a cowrie shell, a necklace, and the oldest artifact ever found to date in Boston. This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity. Interview Highlights On centering people and purpose in archeology: Cow bell from Boston Common, recovered by the city of Boston Archeologists in 1986. (Courtesy City of Boston Archeology Program) Joe Bagley: "We have a saying here that 'It's not about the stuff, it's about the story.' And archaeologists know a lot about what these things are and some of the story, but the story is really only completed when other people have a chance to actually look at it and interpret what we're finding. Because, to me, a ceramic shard can tell me about dates and locations of where trade was happening. But to a ceramicist, they could tell me about what kind of techniques are being used or what kind of technology went into actually firing those pot shirts. And even today, an artist could look at those same things and then turn them into new art. And so I think that what we're trying to do here is get everything to the point where we have completed what we can say about the story and it can now go out and so more people can add to that story." "These things come from places and the places are part of that story. It's not just a toothbrush. A toothbrush that was found at the factory where they're made has a totally different story than a toothbrush found in an outhouse at a brothel." On reckoning with the city's past with slavery: Mid-18th century chamber pot made at the Parker pottery in Charleston. Jack and Acton were potters enslaved by Grace Parker, owner of the pottery, and likely contributed to making this vessel. It was found during archeology ahead of Boston's Big Dig project in 1985 at the Three Cranes Tavern site next to the pottery. (Courtesy City of Boston Archeology Program) Rev. Mariama White Hammond: "We have an image of ourselves in Boston as abolitionists, but we have not had accurate understandings of how many enslaved people did live here and contributed to the building of this city ... The team spent lots of time ... to pull out the names of over 2,000 [enslaved residents.] Many of them who are named and some of whom are not ... I knew that there were enslaved people in the city, but I didn't know the extent of how many, nor did I really understand their contributions nor their names." "One of the things that they discovered is that there were two enslaved potters who were contributing to ceramics in Charlestown. And the question is, 'What was their story? And where did they come from?'" "One of the reasons we have you out here and wanted to do this is that more people need to know there is power in these artifacts. There is healing in these artifacts. There are tough conversations in these artifacts, but we need to have them. And I believe our city will be richer and better if more of us are leaning in and interacting with this material, even if sometimes it's hard." On the oldest artifact in the city's collection: A broken blade of a spear or knife that's believed to be between 5,500 and 7,500 years old. This is the oldest artifact found, to date, in the city. It was discovered in 1986 in Boston Common. (Courtesy City of Boston Archaeology Program) Joe Bagley: "If you looked at Boston's history as a hundred foot long timeline, 1630 happens in the last three feet. So the vast majority of the story that we know of the place we now call Boston happened before 1630. And so one of the things that we've been really trying to make sure is talked about and heard is, is the story of the native community in Boston. In working with the community, we've been asked to use the term 'creation' instead of artifact to keep the humanity of the person that made these things in the storytelling of it." "This is the base of a spear point or a knife of some kind. It broke probably around the time that it was made ... it became part of the ground and was found during the 1980s during a dig to build some lighting projects in the [Boston] Common ... this is between 5,500 and 7,500 years old. So that means that when this was being made, there were no pyramids in Egypt. There was no Stonehenge. But there were people in Boston living here. And on that 100-foot timeline of the human history of Boston, this is only halfway down. So we still have 5,000 years of history in Boston where we know people are here." On working with indigenous groups and the changing role of archeology: An 18th century cowrie shell found at 42-44 Shirley St. in Roxbury, across the street from the Shirley-Eustis Estate. (Courtesy City of Boston Archaeology Program) Joe Bagley: "Archaeology is an inherently colonial act. Archaeologists, especially back in the day, were like, 'I have every right to go wherever I want and to dig up whatever I'm interested in learning about, regardless of whether people think it should or shouldn't be dug up.' And we're really trying to go back to square one and fundamentally question archaeology: What is archaeology? What should archaeology be? "Now we have policies where we only dig if there's something going to happen to the site [and] we're working with the tribe to come up with a plan together ... my goal is to more or less make a new archaeology that says when you're doing archaeology of Native things, Native time periods, you're doing that with the Native community. Answering their questions and doing what they ultimately want done with those things if it means putting them right back. Okay. If that means turning them over to the tribe afterwards for curation. Great. But archaeology is now needing to become more of a technical service that can answer questions that communities who's stuff we're digging up actually have, and not just, I'm digging it up because I want to know the story."

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After recalls and infections, experts say safer eyedrops will require new FDA powers

Health After recalls and infections, experts say safer eyedrops will require new FDA powers The Food and Drug Administration is asking Congress for new powers, including the ability to mandate drug recalls and require eyedrop makers to undergo inspections before shipping products to the U.S. A selection of eye drops line a shelf at a pharmacy in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. AP Photo/Richard Vogel WASHINGTON (AP) — When you buy eyedrops at a U.S. store, you might assume you’re getting a product made in a clean, well-maintained factory that’s passed muster with health regulators. But repeated recalls involving over-the-counter drops are drawing new attention to just how little U.S. officials know about the conditions at some manufacturing plants on the other side of the world — and the limited tools they have to intervene when there’s a problem. The Food and Drug Administration is asking Congress for new powers, including the ability to mandate drug recalls and require eyedrop makers to undergo inspections before shipping products to the U.S. But experts say those capabilities will do little without more staff and resources for foreign inspections, which were a challenge even before the COVID-19 pandemic forced regulators to skip thousands of visits. Advertisement: “The FDA is not getting its job done in terms of drug quality assurance inspections abroad,” said David Ridley of Duke University and co-author of a recent paper tracking the downturn in inspections. “Very few foreign drugmakers have been inspected in the past four years.” In 2022, FDA foreign inspections were down 79% from 2019, according to agency records collected by Ridley’s group. Inspections increased this year but are still far below pre-pandemic levels. FDA spokesman Jeremy Kahn said: “The FDA works to inspect as many facilities possible, but ultimately industry is responsible for the quality of their products.” An October recall of two dozen eyedrop brands came after FDA staff found cracked floors, barefoot workers and other unsanitary conditions at a Mumbai plant that supplied products to CVS, Walmart and other major retailers. It was the first time FDA staff had visited the site. That inspection was prompted by an earlier recall of tainted eyedrops from a different Indian plant that’s been linked to four deaths and more than a dozen cases of vision loss. That plant had also never been previously inspected. “These are very rare instances, but what we’ve seen is that these products can cause real harm,” said Dr. Timothy Janetos, an ophthalmologist at Northwestern University. “Something needs to change.” Advertisement: Experts point to three possible changes: Earlier inspections Prescription medicines are highly regulated. Before a drugmaker can sell one in the U.S., it must undergo FDA review to establish its safety and effectiveness. As part of the process, the FDA typically inspects the factory where the drug will be made. But eyedrops and other over-the-counter products don’t undergo preliminary review or inspections. Instead, they are governed by a different system called a monograph, essentially a generic recipe for all medicines in a particular class. So long as drugmakers attest that they are using the standard recipe, they can launch a product within days of filing with the FDA. “It’s nothing more than electronic paperwork,” said Dr. Sandra Brown of the Dry Eye Foundation, a nonprofit advocating for increased regulation. “There’s no requirement for the facility to be inspected prior to shipping for sale.” The FDA says it has flexibility to adjust its review process “to ensure safety.” But the agency is asking Congress for the power to require manufacturers of eyedrops and other sterile products to give at least six months notice before shipping products from a new factory. That would give inspectors time to visit facilities that aren’t on their radar. Advertisement: The proposal could face pushback from some over-the-counter drugmakers, who aren’t accustomed to preapproval inspections. But Brown says the unique risks of tainted eyedrops require a different approach from pills and tablets. “Anything you swallow is going to meet up with your stomach acid, which is going to kill most bacteria,” Brown said. “It’s much more dangerous to put a product in your eye.” Requiring recalls The FDA warned consumers in late October not to use the eyedrops sold at CVS, Rite-Aid and other stores. But the products weren’t officially recalled until Nov. 15, almost three weeks later. That’s because Indian manufacturer, Kilitch Healthcare, initially declined to cooperate. The FDA can force recalls of food, medical devices and many other products, but it lacks the same authority for drugs and instead must ask companies to voluntarily take action. The FDA recently asked Congress for mandatory recall authority over drugs. Funding foreign inspectors Since the 1990s, drug manufacturing has increasingly moved to India, China and other lower-cost countries. The Government Accountability Office has raised concerns for years about the FDA’s oversight of the global supply chain, flagging it as a “high-risk” issue for more than a decade. The FDA said in a statement it uses “all available tools” to ensure Americans get “high quality, safe and effective” medications. The agency generally prioritizes factories that have never been inspected or haven’t been inspected in the last five years. It halted most routine, in-person foreign inspections in March 2020 and did not resume them until 2022. The agency didn’t conduct any inspections in India during the first year of COVID-19. Advertisement: FDA leaders have long said it’s challenging to recruit and keep overseas inspectors. Experts say Congress can and should address that. “Federal hiring is inherently slow and pay is often not competitive,” said Ridley, the Duke researcher. ”Congress needs to try and help FDA solve that problem and then hold them responsible for staffing inspections.”

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With Climate Change, Smaller Storms Are Growing More Fearsome, More Often

At first, it looked as if New York would simply be grazed by light rain on Friday. David Stark, a meteorologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said that earlier this week he was tracking what looked to be typical offshore weather. But on Wednesday night, a storm, which was supposed to stay south of the city and over the ocean, started to edge north, he said. And that changed everything. The storm ended up joining forces with another low-pressure weather system coming in from the west. “Where they converged is where the heavy rain occurred,” he said. That just happened to be right over New York City. And “that is the nature of science sometimes,” he added.

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Stefanik, whose aggressive questioning of Gay went viral, claimed credit for her exit.

Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, whose questions during a congressional hearing last month put Dr. Claudine Gay and two other prominent university administrators on the spot about antisemitism on their campuses, took a victory lap Tuesday afternoon after Dr. Gay announced her resignation as president of Harvard University. “TWO DOWN,” Ms. Stefanik crowed on social media, accented by three red siren emojis. Last month, the president of the University of Pennsylvania, M. Elizabeth Magill, resigned just four days after she testified before Congress and evaded Ms. Stefanik’s aggressive line of questioning about whether students who called for the genocide of Jews should be punished. The contentious exchanges between Ms. Stefanik and all three university presidents came at the tail end of a five-hour congressional hearing called by House Republicans on the rise of antisemitism on college campuses. The moment went viral, forcing the trio of presidents, including Sally Kornbluth of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to clarify their responses and leading to a period of intense scrutiny on all three. In Ms. Gay’s case, that prompted an examination of her past work that fueled plagiarism charges, ultimately causing her to step down on Tuesday.

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Jets release 4-time Pro Bowler after dud season

The Dalvin Cook experiment is over with the New York Jets -- and it was a heck of a dud. A four-time Pro Bowler, the 28-year-old Cook established himself as one of the NFL’s best running backs during his six-year run with the Minnesota Vikings. However, things went south this summer when he was cut by the Vikings before signing with the Jets on a one-year deal. BET ANYTHING GET $250 BONUS ESPN BET CLAIM OFFER MASS 21+ and present in MA, NJ, PA, VA, MD, WV, TN, LA, KS, KY, CO, AZ, IL, IA, IN, OH, MI. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-Gambler. Cook appeared in 15 games this season, starting one, and posted career worsts in rushing yards (214), yards per attempt (3.2), and touchdowns (zero). After the Jets announced the move Wednesday, coach Robert Saleh said the decisions was “just good business for everybody, I guess.” Saleh went on to praise Cook as a teammate, but admitted that the results weren’t there on the field. “Dalvin’s been an unbelievable teammate since the day he walked in here,” Saleh said. “Obviously, it hasn’t gone the way any of us have wanted. ... Whatever opportunity he gets, I know he’s gonna be great.” Cook served as the No. 2 running back in the Jets offense this season, working behind Breece Hall in the team’s rotation. Hall finished the year with 186 carries for 816 yards (4.4 per attempt) along with 4 rushing touchdowns. Hall was also second on the team in receptions (74), going for 579 yards through the air. Cook heads into the 2024 season with an uncertain future. He was cut by Minnesota amid a contract dispute last year and now heads into the offseason with his value at an all-time low. With the shelf life for running backs in the NFL being famously short, it projects to be an uphill battle for him to regain his peak form from his Pro Bowl days in Minnesota.