People with genetic variants for red hair may have special cells that can convert an excess amino acid into pigment, researchers in Spain have found. Read more from @ScienceAlert:
health
Former Veterans Affairs workers: In August, we reported that the VA lost more than 600 doctors and nearly 2,000 nurses this year.
We know that for many of you, the decision to leave the VA could not have been easy. Here’s how you can share your story with us ⤵️
https://www.propublica.org/getinvolved/help-propublica-report-on-leaving-veterans-affairs
#Health #Medicine #Government #Healthcare #PublicHealth #Journalism
The Trump Nominee Whose Company Is Suing the Trump Administration
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A month after Benjamin Landa’s nomination as Ambassador to Hungary, the Health and Human Services inspector general said a nursing home Landa co-owns received at least $31.2 million in Medicare overpayments. Now, the facility is suing to stop collection.
https://www.propublica.org/article/benjamin-landa-ambassador-company-lawsuit?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
In 2020 as Kentucky faced a spike of deadly overdoses, Gov. Andy Beshear set out to help more people access drug treatment by loosening Medicaid spending controls.
But as the costs piled up, so did the warnings that the system was being abused.
https://www.propublica.org/article/andy-beshear-kentucky-opioid-drug-crisis-medicaid-spending-fraud?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Kentucky #AndyBeshear #Medicaid #Fraud #Healthcare #Health #Drugs
“In my two decades as a reporter, I’ve sat at many kitchen tables with grieving mothers,” ProPublica reporter Megan Rose writes.
“Talking with Holly, though, was the first time I’d done so as a mother myself. Her sorrow hit me differently.”
#Journalism #Media #Mother #Children #Family #Health #FDA #Medicine
After Sowing Distrust in Fluoridated Water, Kennedy and Skeptics Turn to Obstructing Other Fluoride Sources
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Florida and Utah have banned fluoridation, with multiple other states looking to do the same. Critics of fluoride in drinking water point to other fluoride sources as an alternative, but many are creating barriers to these very products.
https://www.propublica.org/article/fluoride-supplements-fda-rfk-jr-ken-paxton-restrictions?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #RFKJr #Health #Children #Family #Utah #Florida #Texas
Senators Propose Sweeping Changes to Generic Drug Oversight
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Citing a ProPublica investigation, lawmakers are calling on the FDA to conduct more drug testing and to alert hospitals and other purchasers when foreign manufacturers with safety failures are given a special pass to send their products to the U.S.
https://www.propublica.org/article/lawmakers-propose-changes-drug-oversight-fda?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Congress #Senate #Law #FDA #Drugs #Safety #Health #PublicHealth
A mere week into 2026, OpenAI launched “ChatGPT Health” in the United States, asking users to upload their personal medical data and link up their health apps in exchange for the chatbot’s advice about diet, sleep, work-outs, and even personal insurance decisions.
This is the probably inevitable endgame of FitBit and other "measured life" technologies. It isn't about health; it's about mass managing bodies. It's a short hop from there to mass managing minds, which this "psychologized" technology is already being deployed to do (AI therapists and whatnot). Fully corporatized human resource management for the leisure class (you and I are not the intended beneficiaries, to be clear; we're the mass).
Neural implants would finish the job, I guess. It's interesting how the tech sector pushes its tech closer and closer to the physical head and face. Eventually the push to penetrate the head (e.g. Neuralink) should intensify. Always with some attached promise of convenience, privilege, wealth, freedom of course.
#AI #GenAI #GenerativeAI #LLM #OpenAI #ChatGPT #health #HealthTech
Edited 245d ago
My State Banned Vaccine Mandates. Here’s How I Covered It as an Idaho Journalist.
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The Idaho Medical Freedom Act, which makes it illegal to require almost anyone to take a vaccine, test or other “medical intervention,” comes amid a national measles outbreak larger than the U.S. has seen in decades.
https://www.propublica.org/article/idaho-vaccine-mandate-ban-reporter-story?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#Journalism #Idaho #Vaccines #Health #Medicine #PublicHealth #Measles
A Department of Veterans Affairs memo obtained by ProPublica erects new roadblocks to care for veterans with the rare but deadly cancer.
The agency cites no new science but relies on an executive order about “restoring biological truth” in government.
https://www.propublica.org/article/veterans-affairs-male-breast-cancer-coverage-trump-executive-order?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
Tear gas — currently being deployed in Minneapolis — can cause long-term health consequences by making people more susceptible to contracting respiratory illnesses.
The chemical agent can also hurt people inside their homes if it seeps into residential neighborhoods.
From our 2020 investigation:
https://www.propublica.org/article/tear-gas-is-way-more-dangerous-than-police-let-on-especially-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#Minneapolis #Minnesota #Protest #Police #Health #Trump #ICE
A Pregnant Woman at Risk of Heart Failure Couldn’t Get Urgent Treatment. She Died Waiting for an Abortion.
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In North Carolina, a state that had legislated its commitment to life, Ciji Graham spent her final days struggling to find anyone to save hers.
https://www.propublica.org/article/north-carolina-abortion-laws-ciji-graham?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Women #Health #Law #NorthCarolina #Abortion #Medicine
Foreign food safety inspections have hit a historic low after Trump staffing cuts. The dramatic shift in oversight comes as the U.S. has never been more reliant on foreign food.
“It’s only a matter of time before people die,” one expert said.
https://www.propublica.org/article/foreign-food-safety-inspections-historic-low-fda?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #FDA #Food #Safety #Health #PublicHealth #Trump #Data #Research
We’re taking a closer look at how Kentucky’s Addiction Recovery Care treated the people who came to the organization seeking help with their sobriety.
If you’re a current or former client or employee, we want to hear from you.
https://www.propublica.org/getinvolved/arc-addiction-treatment-kentucky-callout
Next time you catch yourself saying: 'Fuck. That was stupid. Why did I do that?'
--- rewrite it: ---
'Fuck. That was thoughtless. Why did I do that?'
Then it becomes a problem you can work on vs. a reprimand from a shitty boss.
Be kind to yourself.
#kindness #selfcare #health #mentalhealth #psychology #science #alttext #art #photography
Women With High-Risk Pregnancies Have Limited Options Under Abortion Bans
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Our reporting has found that abortion bans generally don’t include exceptions that cover health concerns pregnant women with chronic conditions can face — or if they do, doctors aren’t using them.
https://www.propublica.org/article/high-risk-pregnancies-chronic-conditions-abortion-bans?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Women #Health #Abortion #Pregnancy #Healthcare #Law #Medicine
Celebrating Public Health Week
Why Public Health? Water Quality Monitoring
Last month, we released Rx Inspector, a groundbreaking tool that lets you find the factories where your generic drugs were manufactured.
See the never-before-released data that ties everything together.
https://www.propublica.org/article/rx-inspector-generic-drugs-data?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#Health #Medicine #Data #Research #FDA #Drugs #Science #Journalism
At least 11 people died and more than 1,400 residents sought emergency care for carbon monoxide poisonings during the 2021 winter storm in Texas.
Here’s what you should know about keeping your family and home safe, especially during power outages.
https://www.propublica.org/article/how-to-prevent-carbon-monoxide-poisoning-in-your-home?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#WinterStorm #Texas #Safety #Health #Family #Weather #Winter #Storm
Who has enjoyed healthy fruit for breakfast today?
Green pear with leaves - hand-painted watercolor and pencil
--> https://karenkasparartprints.com/featured/green-pear-with-leaves-karen-kaspar.html
#pear #art #painting #artist #arte #TraditionalArt #kunst #contemporaryArt #watercolor #watercolour #fruit #fresh #health #vegan #veganfood #smile #happy #vegetarian #food #foodie #happiness #goodvibes #handmade #veganuary #MastoArt #FediArt #FediGiftShop #InteriorDesign #MastodonArt #ArtistsOnMastodon #creativeToots #BuyIntoArt #breakfast #cafe
New training from a Texas regulator about when doctors can legally terminate a pregnancy comes nearly five years after the state passed its abortion ban in 2021.
Experts contend the guidance can’t capture all complications that arise in pregnancy.
https://www.propublica.org/article/texas-medical-board-abortion-training-doctors?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Texas #Abortion #Women #Health #Healthcare #Medicine #Law
The FDA won’t tell Americans where their generic drugs are made, so ProPublica built the Rx Inspector tool to show you.
Now a proposed bill would also require manufacturing location information on packaging for both generic and brand-name drugs.
https://www.propublica.org/article/drug-manufacturer-labels-us-senate-bill?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #FDA #Health #Government #Senate #Law #Drugs #Medicine
Colorado Marijuana Regulators Consider Major Changes to How Labs Test for Contaminants
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Critics say the current method of allowing manufacturers to choose the samples they send to labs is vulnerable to abuse and allows contaminated products to reach dispensaries.
https://www.propublica.org/article/colorado-regulators-marijuana-lab-testing-system?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Colorado #Marijuana #Testing #Safety #Health #Regulation
The Boarman family’s water was undrinkable: It corroded taps. It withered plants. Their ice maker expelled clumps of salt.
But why was this happening? For two years, Oklahoma delayed basic tests that could help them find out.
https://www.propublica.org/article/oklahoma-oil-polluted-drinking-water-boarman-family?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Oklahoma #Pollution #Water #Environment #Health #Safety #Oil
Edited 218d ago
Emily Waldorf faced a life-threatening miscarriage.
Even after she met the hospital’s CEO, called the governor and hired a lawyer, she couldn’t get care in the country’s “most pro-life state.”
https://www.propublica.org/article/arkansas-abortion-ban-miscarriage-care?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post
#News #Arkansas #Women #Health #Law #Abortion #Medicine #USPolitics