window.__IS_SSR__=true
window.__INITIAL_STATE__={
"attachmentsReducer": {
"audio_0": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_0",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background0.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_1": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_1",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background1.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_2": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_2",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background2.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_3": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_3",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background3.jpg"
}
}
},
"audio_4": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "audio_4",
"imgSizes": {
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/themes/KQED-unified/img/audio_bgs/background4.jpg"
}
}
},
"placeholder": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "placeholder",
"imgSizes": {
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"height": 533,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-768x512.jpg",
"width": 768,
"height": 512,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"large": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"1536x1536": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1536x1024.jpg",
"width": 1536,
"height": 1024,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"height": 533,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"height": 576,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 107,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"small": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"height": 372,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1020x680.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"height": 680,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1-1920x1280.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1280,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 32,
"height": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 50,
"height": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 64,
"height": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 96,
"height": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 128,
"height": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-1333x1333-1-160x160.jpg",
"width": 160,
"height": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg"
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/KQED-Default-Image-816638274-2000x1333-1.jpg",
"width": 2000,
"height": 1333
}
}
},
"futureofyou_443237": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "futureofyou_443237",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "443237",
"found": true
},
"parent": 443236,
"imgSizes": {
"small": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-585093559_wide-40c88245bd0d09ed4a97902d68c7309f3b9f6066-520x292.jpg",
"width": 520,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 292
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-585093559_wide-40c88245bd0d09ed4a97902d68c7309f3b9f6066-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-585093559_wide-40c88245bd0d09ed4a97902d68c7309f3b9f6066-160x90.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 90
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-585093559_wide-40c88245bd0d09ed4a97902d68c7309f3b9f6066-960x540.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 540
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-585093559_wide-40c88245bd0d09ed4a97902d68c7309f3b9f6066-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-585093559_wide-40c88245bd0d09ed4a97902d68c7309f3b9f6066-375x211.jpg",
"width": 375,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 211
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-585093559_wide-40c88245bd0d09ed4a97902d68c7309f3b9f6066.jpg",
"width": 3302,
"height": 1857
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-585093559_wide-40c88245bd0d09ed4a97902d68c7309f3b9f6066-1020x574.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 574
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-585093559_wide-40c88245bd0d09ed4a97902d68c7309f3b9f6066-1180x664.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 664
},
"complete_open_graph": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-585093559_wide-40c88245bd0d09ed4a97902d68c7309f3b9f6066-1200x675.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 675
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-585093559_wide-40c88245bd0d09ed4a97902d68c7309f3b9f6066-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-585093559_wide-40c88245bd0d09ed4a97902d68c7309f3b9f6066-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-585093559_wide-40c88245bd0d09ed4a97902d68c7309f3b9f6066-800x450.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 450
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-585093559_wide-40c88245bd0d09ed4a97902d68c7309f3b9f6066-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-585093559_wide-40c88245bd0d09ed4a97902d68c7309f3b9f6066-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-585093559_wide-40c88245bd0d09ed4a97902d68c7309f3b9f6066-1920x1080.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1080
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-585093559_wide-40c88245bd0d09ed4a97902d68c7309f3b9f6066-1180x664.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 664
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-585093559_wide-40c88245bd0d09ed4a97902d68c7309f3b9f6066-1920x1080.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1080
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-585093559_wide-40c88245bd0d09ed4a97902d68c7309f3b9f6066-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-585093559_wide-40c88245bd0d09ed4a97902d68c7309f3b9f6066-768x432.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 432
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-585093559_wide-40c88245bd0d09ed4a97902d68c7309f3b9f6066-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-585093559_wide-40c88245bd0d09ed4a97902d68c7309f3b9f6066-240x135.jpg",
"width": 240,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 135
}
},
"publishDate": 1531123316,
"modified": 1531123316,
"caption": null,
"description": "Family members caring for loved ones with Alzheimer's say they gain practical help, strength and courage from sharing stories with others who face the same struggles.",
"title": "Family members caring for loved ones with Alzheimer's say they gain practical help, strength and courage from sharing stories with others who face the same struggles.",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"futureofyou_443214": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "futureofyou_443214",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "443214",
"found": true
},
"parent": 443213,
"imgSizes": {
"small": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-697569099-5450a2e0a1fe9131fedef5e7e4d625dd49455c81-520x390.jpg",
"width": 520,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 390
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-697569099-5450a2e0a1fe9131fedef5e7e4d625dd49455c81-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-697569099-5450a2e0a1fe9131fedef5e7e4d625dd49455c81-160x120.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 120
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-697569099-5450a2e0a1fe9131fedef5e7e4d625dd49455c81-960x720.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 720
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-697569099-5450a2e0a1fe9131fedef5e7e4d625dd49455c81-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-697569099-5450a2e0a1fe9131fedef5e7e4d625dd49455c81-375x281.jpg",
"width": 375,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 281
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-697569099-5450a2e0a1fe9131fedef5e7e4d625dd49455c81.jpg",
"width": 4987,
"height": 3740
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-697569099-5450a2e0a1fe9131fedef5e7e4d625dd49455c81-1020x765.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 765
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-697569099-5450a2e0a1fe9131fedef5e7e4d625dd49455c81-1180x885.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 885
},
"complete_open_graph": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-697569099-5450a2e0a1fe9131fedef5e7e4d625dd49455c81-1200x900.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 900
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-697569099-5450a2e0a1fe9131fedef5e7e4d625dd49455c81-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-697569099-5450a2e0a1fe9131fedef5e7e4d625dd49455c81-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-697569099-5450a2e0a1fe9131fedef5e7e4d625dd49455c81-800x600.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 600
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-697569099-5450a2e0a1fe9131fedef5e7e4d625dd49455c81-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-697569099-5450a2e0a1fe9131fedef5e7e4d625dd49455c81-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-697569099-5450a2e0a1fe9131fedef5e7e4d625dd49455c81-1920x1440.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1440
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-697569099-5450a2e0a1fe9131fedef5e7e4d625dd49455c81-1180x885.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 885
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-697569099-5450a2e0a1fe9131fedef5e7e4d625dd49455c81-1920x1440.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1440
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-697569099-5450a2e0a1fe9131fedef5e7e4d625dd49455c81-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-697569099-5450a2e0a1fe9131fedef5e7e4d625dd49455c81-768x576.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-697569099-5450a2e0a1fe9131fedef5e7e4d625dd49455c81-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/gettyimages-697569099-5450a2e0a1fe9131fedef5e7e4d625dd49455c81-240x180.jpg",
"width": 240,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 180
}
},
"publishDate": 1530853860,
"modified": 1530853860,
"caption": null,
"description": "Vaginal smear test at the gynecologist's office.",
"title": "Vaginal smear test at the gynecologist's office.",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"futureofyou_443168": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "futureofyou_443168",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "443168",
"found": true
},
"parent": 443165,
"imgSizes": {
"small": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/AdobeStock_116508157-2048x1152-520x293.jpeg",
"width": 520,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 293
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/AdobeStock_116508157-2048x1152-1038x576.jpeg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/AdobeStock_116508157-2048x1152-160x90.jpeg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 90
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/AdobeStock_116508157-2048x1152-960x540.jpeg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 540
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/AdobeStock_116508157-2048x1152-672x372.jpeg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/AdobeStock_116508157-2048x1152-375x211.jpeg",
"width": 375,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 211
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/AdobeStock_116508157-2048x1152.jpeg",
"width": 2048,
"height": 1152
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/AdobeStock_116508157-2048x1152-1020x574.jpeg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 574
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/AdobeStock_116508157-2048x1152-1180x664.jpeg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 664
},
"complete_open_graph": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/AdobeStock_116508157-2048x1152-1200x675.jpeg",
"width": 1200,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 675
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/AdobeStock_116508157-2048x1152-50x50.jpeg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/AdobeStock_116508157-2048x1152-96x96.jpeg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/AdobeStock_116508157-2048x1152-800x450.jpeg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 450
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/AdobeStock_116508157-2048x1152-64x64.jpeg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/AdobeStock_116508157-2048x1152-32x32.jpeg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/AdobeStock_116508157-2048x1152-1920x1080.jpeg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1080
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/AdobeStock_116508157-2048x1152-1180x664.jpeg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 664
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/AdobeStock_116508157-2048x1152-1920x1080.jpeg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1080
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/AdobeStock_116508157-2048x1152-150x150.jpeg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/AdobeStock_116508157-2048x1152-768x432.jpeg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 432
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/AdobeStock_116508157-2048x1152-128x128.jpeg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/07/AdobeStock_116508157-2048x1152-240x135.jpeg",
"width": 240,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 135
}
},
"publishDate": 1530606800,
"modified": 1530606819,
"caption": null,
"description": null,
"title": null,
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"futureofyou_443051": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "futureofyou_443051",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "443051",
"found": true
},
"parent": 443048,
"imgSizes": {
"small": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/GettyImages-982191288-520x346.jpg",
"width": 520,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 346
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/GettyImages-982191288-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/GettyImages-982191288-160x107.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 107
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/GettyImages-982191288-960x639.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 639
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/GettyImages-982191288-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/GettyImages-982191288-375x250.jpg",
"width": 375,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 250
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/GettyImages-982191288.jpg",
"width": 4887,
"height": 3253
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/GettyImages-982191288-1020x679.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 679
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/GettyImages-982191288-1180x785.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 785
},
"complete_open_graph": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/GettyImages-982191288-1200x799.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 799
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/GettyImages-982191288-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/GettyImages-982191288-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/GettyImages-982191288-800x533.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 533
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/GettyImages-982191288-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/GettyImages-982191288-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/GettyImages-982191288-1920x1278.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1278
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/GettyImages-982191288-1180x785.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 785
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/GettyImages-982191288-1920x1278.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1278
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/GettyImages-982191288-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/GettyImages-982191288-768x511.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 511
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/GettyImages-982191288-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/GettyImages-982191288-240x160.jpg",
"width": 240,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 160
}
},
"publishDate": 1530130508,
"modified": 1530546292,
"caption": null,
"description": null,
"title": "US-CANNABIS-SENIORS-DRUGS",
"credit": "Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"futureofyou_443041": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "futureofyou_443041",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "443041",
"found": true
},
"parent": 443040,
"imgSizes": {
"small": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-529793228_custom-15ca0c2d04d53dd0994b19146390814e2cd5dab6-520x346.jpg",
"width": 520,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 346
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-529793228_custom-15ca0c2d04d53dd0994b19146390814e2cd5dab6-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-529793228_custom-15ca0c2d04d53dd0994b19146390814e2cd5dab6-160x106.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 106
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-529793228_custom-15ca0c2d04d53dd0994b19146390814e2cd5dab6-960x639.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 639
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-529793228_custom-15ca0c2d04d53dd0994b19146390814e2cd5dab6-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-529793228_custom-15ca0c2d04d53dd0994b19146390814e2cd5dab6-375x250.jpg",
"width": 375,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 250
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-529793228_custom-15ca0c2d04d53dd0994b19146390814e2cd5dab6.jpg",
"width": 5200,
"height": 3460
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-529793228_custom-15ca0c2d04d53dd0994b19146390814e2cd5dab6-1020x679.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 679
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-529793228_custom-15ca0c2d04d53dd0994b19146390814e2cd5dab6-1180x785.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 785
},
"complete_open_graph": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-529793228_custom-15ca0c2d04d53dd0994b19146390814e2cd5dab6-1200x798.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 798
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-529793228_custom-15ca0c2d04d53dd0994b19146390814e2cd5dab6-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-529793228_custom-15ca0c2d04d53dd0994b19146390814e2cd5dab6-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-529793228_custom-15ca0c2d04d53dd0994b19146390814e2cd5dab6-800x532.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 532
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-529793228_custom-15ca0c2d04d53dd0994b19146390814e2cd5dab6-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-529793228_custom-15ca0c2d04d53dd0994b19146390814e2cd5dab6-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-529793228_custom-15ca0c2d04d53dd0994b19146390814e2cd5dab6-1920x1278.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1278
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-529793228_custom-15ca0c2d04d53dd0994b19146390814e2cd5dab6-1180x785.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 785
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-529793228_custom-15ca0c2d04d53dd0994b19146390814e2cd5dab6-1920x1278.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1278
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-529793228_custom-15ca0c2d04d53dd0994b19146390814e2cd5dab6-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-529793228_custom-15ca0c2d04d53dd0994b19146390814e2cd5dab6-768x511.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 511
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-529793228_custom-15ca0c2d04d53dd0994b19146390814e2cd5dab6-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-529793228_custom-15ca0c2d04d53dd0994b19146390814e2cd5dab6-240x160.jpg",
"width": 240,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 160
}
},
"publishDate": 1530044269,
"modified": 1530044269,
"caption": null,
"description": "A drug made from a derivative of marijuana has been approved for patients with certain forms of epilepsy.",
"title": "A drug made from a derivative of marijuana has been approved for patients with certain forms of epilepsy.",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"futureofyou_443016": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "futureofyou_443016",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "443016",
"found": true
},
"parent": 443015,
"imgSizes": {
"small": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-628879332-e8ecac1025764044bec09a206aad846b129c6aa9-520x390.jpg",
"width": 520,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 390
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-628879332-e8ecac1025764044bec09a206aad846b129c6aa9-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-628879332-e8ecac1025764044bec09a206aad846b129c6aa9-160x120.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 120
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-628879332-e8ecac1025764044bec09a206aad846b129c6aa9-960x720.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 720
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-628879332-e8ecac1025764044bec09a206aad846b129c6aa9-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-628879332-e8ecac1025764044bec09a206aad846b129c6aa9-375x281.jpg",
"width": 375,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 281
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-628879332-e8ecac1025764044bec09a206aad846b129c6aa9.jpg",
"width": 4970,
"height": 3725
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-628879332-e8ecac1025764044bec09a206aad846b129c6aa9-1020x764.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 764
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-628879332-e8ecac1025764044bec09a206aad846b129c6aa9-1180x884.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 884
},
"complete_open_graph": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-628879332-e8ecac1025764044bec09a206aad846b129c6aa9-1200x899.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 899
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-628879332-e8ecac1025764044bec09a206aad846b129c6aa9-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-628879332-e8ecac1025764044bec09a206aad846b129c6aa9-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-628879332-e8ecac1025764044bec09a206aad846b129c6aa9-800x600.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 600
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-628879332-e8ecac1025764044bec09a206aad846b129c6aa9-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-628879332-e8ecac1025764044bec09a206aad846b129c6aa9-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-628879332-e8ecac1025764044bec09a206aad846b129c6aa9-1920x1439.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1439
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-628879332-e8ecac1025764044bec09a206aad846b129c6aa9-1180x884.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 884
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-628879332-e8ecac1025764044bec09a206aad846b129c6aa9-1920x1439.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1439
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-628879332-e8ecac1025764044bec09a206aad846b129c6aa9-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-628879332-e8ecac1025764044bec09a206aad846b129c6aa9-768x576.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-628879332-e8ecac1025764044bec09a206aad846b129c6aa9-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/gettyimages-628879332-e8ecac1025764044bec09a206aad846b129c6aa9-240x180.jpg",
"width": 240,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 180
}
},
"publishDate": 1529894243,
"modified": 1529894243,
"caption": null,
"description": "Dr. Vinay Prasad is 35 and an assistant professor of medicine at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, where he researches health policy, the high cost of drugs and evidence-based medicine. He has more than 21,000 followers on Twitter.",
"title": "Dr. Vinay Prasad is 35 and an assistant professor of medicine at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, where he researches health policy, the high cost of drugs and evidence-based medicine. He has more than 21,000 followers on Twitter.",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"futureofyou_442970": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "futureofyou_442970",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "442970",
"found": true
},
"parent": 442968,
"imgSizes": {
"small": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/phage-1600x900-520x293.jpg",
"width": 520,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 293
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/phage-1600x900-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/phage-1600x900-160x90.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 90
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/phage-1600x900-960x540.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 540
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/phage-1600x900-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/phage-1600x900-375x211.jpg",
"width": 375,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 211
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/phage-1600x900.jpg",
"width": 1600,
"height": 900
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/phage-1600x900-1020x574.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 574
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/phage-1600x900-1180x664.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 664
},
"complete_open_graph": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/phage-1600x900-1200x675.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 675
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/phage-1600x900-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/phage-1600x900-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/phage-1600x900-800x450.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 450
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/phage-1600x900-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/phage-1600x900-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/phage-1600x900-1180x664.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 664
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/phage-1600x900-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/phage-1600x900-768x432.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 432
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/phage-1600x900-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/phage-1600x900-240x135.jpg",
"width": 240,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 135
}
},
"publishDate": 1529616852,
"modified": 1529616911,
"caption": "Bacteriophage are viruses that infect bacteria.\nDavid Gregory & Debbie Marshall/ Wellcome Collection ",
"description": null,
"title": "phage-1600x900",
"credit": "David Gregory & Debbie Marshall/ Wellcome Collection ",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"futureofyou_442941": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "futureofyou_442941",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "442941",
"found": true
},
"parent": 442939,
"imgSizes": {
"small": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/iStock-629994988-520x372.jpg",
"width": 520,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/iStock-629994988-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/iStock-629994988-160x114.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 114
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/iStock-629994988-960x687.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 687
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/iStock-629994988-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/iStock-629994988-375x268.jpg",
"width": 375,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 268
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/iStock-629994988.jpg",
"width": 3824,
"height": 2736
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/iStock-629994988-1020x730.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 730
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/iStock-629994988-1180x844.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 844
},
"complete_open_graph": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/iStock-629994988-1200x859.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 859
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/iStock-629994988-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/iStock-629994988-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/iStock-629994988-800x572.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 572
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/iStock-629994988-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/iStock-629994988-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/iStock-629994988-1920x1374.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1374
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/iStock-629994988-1180x844.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 844
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/iStock-629994988-1920x1374.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1374
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/iStock-629994988-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/iStock-629994988-768x549.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 549
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/iStock-629994988-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/iStock-629994988-240x172.jpg",
"width": 240,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 172
}
},
"publishDate": 1529539823,
"modified": 1529539851,
"caption": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Close-up hands,nurses are vaccinations to patients using the syr",
"credit": "iStock",
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"futureofyou_442883": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "futureofyou_442883",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "442883",
"found": true
},
"parent": 442882,
"imgSizes": {
"small": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/small-pox-1-241c64a6c02bef6968ccfa7983f4b21d78d3d99a-520x391.jpg",
"width": 520,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 391
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/small-pox-1-241c64a6c02bef6968ccfa7983f4b21d78d3d99a-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/small-pox-1-241c64a6c02bef6968ccfa7983f4b21d78d3d99a-160x120.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 120
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/small-pox-1-241c64a6c02bef6968ccfa7983f4b21d78d3d99a-960x721.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 721
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/small-pox-1-241c64a6c02bef6968ccfa7983f4b21d78d3d99a-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/small-pox-1-241c64a6c02bef6968ccfa7983f4b21d78d3d99a-375x282.jpg",
"width": 375,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 282
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/small-pox-1-241c64a6c02bef6968ccfa7983f4b21d78d3d99a.jpg",
"width": 1909,
"height": 1434
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/small-pox-1-241c64a6c02bef6968ccfa7983f4b21d78d3d99a-1020x766.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 766
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/small-pox-1-241c64a6c02bef6968ccfa7983f4b21d78d3d99a-1180x886.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 886
},
"complete_open_graph": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/small-pox-1-241c64a6c02bef6968ccfa7983f4b21d78d3d99a-1200x901.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 901
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/small-pox-1-241c64a6c02bef6968ccfa7983f4b21d78d3d99a-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/small-pox-1-241c64a6c02bef6968ccfa7983f4b21d78d3d99a-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/small-pox-1-241c64a6c02bef6968ccfa7983f4b21d78d3d99a-800x601.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 601
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/small-pox-1-241c64a6c02bef6968ccfa7983f4b21d78d3d99a-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/small-pox-1-241c64a6c02bef6968ccfa7983f4b21d78d3d99a-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/small-pox-1-241c64a6c02bef6968ccfa7983f4b21d78d3d99a-1180x886.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 886
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/small-pox-1-241c64a6c02bef6968ccfa7983f4b21d78d3d99a-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/small-pox-1-241c64a6c02bef6968ccfa7983f4b21d78d3d99a-768x577.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 577
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/small-pox-1-241c64a6c02bef6968ccfa7983f4b21d78d3d99a-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/small-pox-1-241c64a6c02bef6968ccfa7983f4b21d78d3d99a-240x180.jpg",
"width": 240,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 180
}
},
"publishDate": 1529515745,
"modified": 1529515745,
"caption": null,
"description": "Modern tools of biology could allow someone to recreate a dangerous virus, such as smallpox, from scratch.",
"title": "Modern tools of biology could allow someone to recreate a dangerous virus, such as smallpox, from scratch.",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"futureofyou_442899": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "futureofyou_442899",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "442899",
"found": true
},
"parent": 442896,
"imgSizes": {
"small": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/brain-balance-1_wide-405387c9e19a6f892c4d1e6ab83e985ea6d6ba95-520x293.jpg",
"width": 520,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 293
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/brain-balance-1_wide-405387c9e19a6f892c4d1e6ab83e985ea6d6ba95-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/brain-balance-1_wide-405387c9e19a6f892c4d1e6ab83e985ea6d6ba95-160x90.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 90
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/brain-balance-1_wide-405387c9e19a6f892c4d1e6ab83e985ea6d6ba95-960x540.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 540
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/brain-balance-1_wide-405387c9e19a6f892c4d1e6ab83e985ea6d6ba95-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/brain-balance-1_wide-405387c9e19a6f892c4d1e6ab83e985ea6d6ba95-375x211.jpg",
"width": 375,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 211
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/brain-balance-1_wide-405387c9e19a6f892c4d1e6ab83e985ea6d6ba95.jpg",
"width": 2995,
"height": 1685
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/brain-balance-1_wide-405387c9e19a6f892c4d1e6ab83e985ea6d6ba95-1020x574.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 574
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/brain-balance-1_wide-405387c9e19a6f892c4d1e6ab83e985ea6d6ba95-1180x664.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 664
},
"complete_open_graph": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/brain-balance-1_wide-405387c9e19a6f892c4d1e6ab83e985ea6d6ba95-1200x675.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 675
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/brain-balance-1_wide-405387c9e19a6f892c4d1e6ab83e985ea6d6ba95-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/brain-balance-1_wide-405387c9e19a6f892c4d1e6ab83e985ea6d6ba95-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/brain-balance-1_wide-405387c9e19a6f892c4d1e6ab83e985ea6d6ba95-800x450.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 450
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/brain-balance-1_wide-405387c9e19a6f892c4d1e6ab83e985ea6d6ba95-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/brain-balance-1_wide-405387c9e19a6f892c4d1e6ab83e985ea6d6ba95-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-lrg": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/brain-balance-1_wide-405387c9e19a6f892c4d1e6ab83e985ea6d6ba95-1920x1080.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1080
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/brain-balance-1_wide-405387c9e19a6f892c4d1e6ab83e985ea6d6ba95-1180x664.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 664
},
"full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/brain-balance-1_wide-405387c9e19a6f892c4d1e6ab83e985ea6d6ba95-1920x1080.jpg",
"width": 1920,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 1080
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/brain-balance-1_wide-405387c9e19a6f892c4d1e6ab83e985ea6d6ba95-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/brain-balance-1_wide-405387c9e19a6f892c4d1e6ab83e985ea6d6ba95-768x432.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 432
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/brain-balance-1_wide-405387c9e19a6f892c4d1e6ab83e985ea6d6ba95-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/brain-balance-1_wide-405387c9e19a6f892c4d1e6ab83e985ea6d6ba95-240x135.jpg",
"width": 240,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 135
}
},
"publishDate": 1529518223,
"modified": 1529518223,
"caption": null,
"description": "Stephanie and Natalie enrolled their older son in sessions at a Brain Balance Achievement Center in the hope that it would help him make friends.",
"title": "Stephanie and Natalie enrolled their older son in sessions at a Brain Balance Achievement Center in the hope that it would help him make friends.",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
},
"futureofyou_442809": {
"type": "attachments",
"id": "futureofyou_442809",
"meta": {
"index": "attachments_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "442809",
"found": true
},
"parent": 442808,
"imgSizes": {
"small": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/rita-1_enl-5f707633f64bdb6700d2b8c8817e6bd6dde5e149-520x310.jpg",
"width": 520,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 310
},
"twentyfourteen-full-width": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/rita-1_enl-5f707633f64bdb6700d2b8c8817e6bd6dde5e149-1038x576.jpg",
"width": 1038,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 576
},
"thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/rita-1_enl-5f707633f64bdb6700d2b8c8817e6bd6dde5e149-160x95.jpg",
"width": 160,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 95
},
"fd-sm": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/rita-1_enl-5f707633f64bdb6700d2b8c8817e6bd6dde5e149-960x573.jpg",
"width": 960,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 573
},
"post-thumbnail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/rita-1_enl-5f707633f64bdb6700d2b8c8817e6bd6dde5e149-672x372.jpg",
"width": 672,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 372
},
"xsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/rita-1_enl-5f707633f64bdb6700d2b8c8817e6bd6dde5e149-375x224.jpg",
"width": 375,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 224
},
"kqedFullSize": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/rita-1_enl-5f707633f64bdb6700d2b8c8817e6bd6dde5e149.jpg",
"width": 1561,
"height": 931
},
"large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/rita-1_enl-5f707633f64bdb6700d2b8c8817e6bd6dde5e149-1020x608.jpg",
"width": 1020,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 608
},
"xlarge": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/rita-1_enl-5f707633f64bdb6700d2b8c8817e6bd6dde5e149-1180x704.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 704
},
"complete_open_graph": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/rita-1_enl-5f707633f64bdb6700d2b8c8817e6bd6dde5e149-1200x716.jpg",
"width": 1200,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 716
},
"guest-author-50": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/rita-1_enl-5f707633f64bdb6700d2b8c8817e6bd6dde5e149-50x50.jpg",
"width": 50,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 50
},
"guest-author-96": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/rita-1_enl-5f707633f64bdb6700d2b8c8817e6bd6dde5e149-96x96.jpg",
"width": 96,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 96
},
"medium": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/rita-1_enl-5f707633f64bdb6700d2b8c8817e6bd6dde5e149-800x477.jpg",
"width": 800,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 477
},
"guest-author-64": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/rita-1_enl-5f707633f64bdb6700d2b8c8817e6bd6dde5e149-64x64.jpg",
"width": 64,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 64
},
"guest-author-32": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/rita-1_enl-5f707633f64bdb6700d2b8c8817e6bd6dde5e149-32x32.jpg",
"width": 32,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 32
},
"fd-med": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/rita-1_enl-5f707633f64bdb6700d2b8c8817e6bd6dde5e149-1180x704.jpg",
"width": 1180,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 704
},
"detail": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/rita-1_enl-5f707633f64bdb6700d2b8c8817e6bd6dde5e149-150x150.jpg",
"width": 150,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 150
},
"medium_large": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/rita-1_enl-5f707633f64bdb6700d2b8c8817e6bd6dde5e149-768x458.jpg",
"width": 768,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 458
},
"guest-author-128": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/rita-1_enl-5f707633f64bdb6700d2b8c8817e6bd6dde5e149-128x128.jpg",
"width": 128,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 128
},
"xxsmall": {
"file": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/13/2018/06/rita-1_enl-5f707633f64bdb6700d2b8c8817e6bd6dde5e149-240x143.jpg",
"width": 240,
"mimeType": "image/jpeg",
"height": 143
}
},
"publishDate": 1529335356,
"modified": 1529335356,
"caption": null,
"description": "Rita Steyn has a family history of cancer so she ordered a home genetic testing kit to see if she carried certain genetic mutations that increase the risk for the disease.",
"title": "Rita Steyn has a family history of cancer so she ordered a home genetic testing kit to see if she carried certain genetic mutations that increase the risk for the disease.",
"credit": null,
"status": "inherit",
"isLoading": false,
"fetchFailed": false
}
},
"audioPlayerReducer": {
"postId": "stream_live",
"isPaused": true,
"isPlaying": false,
"pfsActive": false,
"pledgeModalIsOpen": true,
"playerDrawerIsOpen": false,
"liveAudioPlayStartedAt": 0,
"liveAudioPlayContext": ""
},
"authorsReducer": {
"byline_futureofyou_443236": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_futureofyou_443236",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_futureofyou_443236",
"name": "Blake Farmer, NPR",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_futureofyou_443213": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_futureofyou_443213",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_futureofyou_443213",
"name": "Sara Kiley Watson, NPR",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_futureofyou_443165": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_futureofyou_443165",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_futureofyou_443165",
"name": "Sharon Begley\u003cbr />STAT",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_futureofyou_443119": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_futureofyou_443119",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_futureofyou_443119",
"name": "Michael R. Blood\u003cbr />The Associated Press",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_futureofyou_443048": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_futureofyou_443048",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_futureofyou_443048",
"name": "Brian Melley\u003cbr />The Associated Press",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_futureofyou_443040": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_futureofyou_443040",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_futureofyou_443040",
"name": "Allison Aubrey, NPR",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_futureofyou_443015": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_futureofyou_443015",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_futureofyou_443015",
"name": "Richard Harris, NPR",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_futureofyou_442968": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_futureofyou_442968",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_futureofyou_442968",
"name": "Eric Boodman\u003cbr />STAT",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_futureofyou_442939": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_futureofyou_442939",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_futureofyou_442939",
"name": "Mike Stobbe\u003cbr />Associated Press",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_futureofyou_442882": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_futureofyou_442882",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_futureofyou_442882",
"name": "Nell Greenfieldboyce\u003cbr />NPR",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_futureofyou_442896": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_futureofyou_442896",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_futureofyou_442896",
"name": "Chris Benderev, NPR",
"isLoading": false
},
"byline_futureofyou_442808": {
"type": "authors",
"id": "byline_futureofyou_442808",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"slug": "byline_futureofyou_442808",
"name": "Rob Stein, NPR",
"isLoading": false
}
},
"pagesReducer": {
"futureofyou_category_diy-health": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1060",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1060",
"score": 13.892206
},
"featImg": null,
"name": "DIY Health",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "DIY Health Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1060,
"slug": "diy-health",
"isLoading": false,
"title": "DIY Health",
"pageMeta": {
"site": "futureofyou",
"WpPageTemplate": "page-topic-editorial",
"currentPage": 6
},
"blocks": [
{
"blockName": "kqed/post-list",
"attrs": {
"layout": "cardArticle2",
"query": "posts/futureofyou?category=diy-health",
"seeMore": false,
"paginated": true,
"page": 6
}
},
{
"blockName": "kqed/ad"
}
]
}
},
"pfsSessionReducer": {},
"postsReducer": {
"stream_live": {
"type": "live",
"id": "stream_live",
"audioUrl": "https://streams.kqed.org/kqedradio",
"title": "Live Stream",
"excerpt": "Live Stream information currently unavailable.",
"link": "/radio",
"featImg": "",
"label": {
"name": "KQED Live",
"link": "/"
}
},
"stream_kqedNewscast": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "stream_kqedNewscast",
"audioUrl": "https://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/RDnews/newscast.mp3?_=1",
"title": "KQED Newscast",
"featImg": "",
"label": {
"name": "88.5 FM",
"link": "/"
}
},
"futureofyou_443236": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "futureofyou_443236",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "443236",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1531162927000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1531162927,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "Family Caregivers Exchange Tips, Share Stories To Ease Alzheimer's Losses",
"title": "Family Caregivers Exchange Tips, Share Stories To Ease Alzheimer's Losses",
"headTitle": "KQED Future of You | KQED Science",
"content": "\u003cp>Vicki Bartholomew started a support group for wives who are caring for a husband with Alzheimer's disease because she needed that sort of group herself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They meet every month in a conference room at a new memory care facility in Nashville, Tenn., called \u003ca href=\"http://nashvillepublicradio.org/post/nashville-dementia-ward-aims-become-hub-memory-care-research#stream/0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Abe's Garden\u003c/a>, where Bartholomew's husband was one of the first residents — a Vietnam veteran and prominent attorney in Nashville.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"My husband's still living, and now I'm in an even more difficult situation — I'm married, but I'm a widow,\" she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These women draw the shades and open up to each other in ways they can't with their lifelong friends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"They're still wonderful friends, but they didn't know how to handle this. It was hard for them, and as you all know, your friends don't come around as much as they used to,\" Bartholomew says. \"I was in bad shape. I didn't think I was — I did have health problems, and [now] I know I was depressed.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the numbers of Americans afflicted with Alzheimer's disease continue to swell to an estimated 5.7 million, so do the legions of loved ones caring for friends and family members. The toll on Bartholomew's own mental health is one of the reasons the Alzheimer's Foundation of America focuses on the nation's estimated \u003ca href=\"https://www.alz.org/facts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">16 million unpaid caregivers\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With no cure on the horizon, the foundation has been highlighting the necessity of better support for those caregivers through a \u003ca href=\"https://alzfdn.org/afa-educating-america-tour/\">national tour\u003c/a>. It stopped in Nashville earlier this spring, was in Tempe, Ariz., in June and heads to Fairfax, Va., in September; the tour includes at least six more cities in the fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the live events, Alzheimer's researchers and clinicians offer guidance on a number of topics, including how to ensure safety for patients at home, care planning and even how to \u003ca href=\"https://alzfdn.org/event/afa-educating-america-tour-tempe/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">entertain someone\u003c/a> with memory loss.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The organization promotes in-person and \u003ca href=\"https://alzfdn.org/alzheimers-foundation-americas-national-toll-free-helpline-expanding-seven-days-week/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">telephone support groups\u003c/a>, since being a caregiver is often a barrier to getting out of the house alone. But even virtual support systems have shown some effectiveness at reducing loneliness, stress and depression \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4668714/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">in a small 2014 study.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We have to do everything we can to educate a caregiver, to provide them with the best practices on caring for somebody,\" says \u003ca href=\"https://alzfdn.org/team_member/charles-j-fuschillo-jr/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Charles J. Fuschillo Jr.,\u003c/a> the Alzheimer's Foundation of America's CEO.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, the AFA \u003ca href=\"https://alzfdn.org/caregiving-resources/fact-sheets-information/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">recommends\u003c/a> that family members:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Feed Alzheimer's patients one food at a time. \"A busy plate can be confusing,\" the group says.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Mark rooms in the house with signs to avoid unnecessary confusion.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Remind a person with Alzheimer's to use the toilet; don't wait for them to ask.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>When traveling, stick with familiar destinations.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Watch for a cough while eating; it can signal a swallowing disorder in people with dementia.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Schedule overnight stays at a memory-care facility so the caregiver gets some respite.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Just as important, Fuschillo says, \"We want to do everything we can to avoid caregiver burnout.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The breaking point sneaks up on even the most committed caregiver, say Alzheimer's advocates, especially as the nights grow more sleepless. Alzheimer's patients can tend to pace, or wake up their partner every few minutes. They can even become violent. Or, perhaps worse, they can leave the house.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"And I've had some issues at night that I had to take care of alone,\" says Pam Hawkins, whose husband has Alzheimer's. \"But I'm not ready to have anyone there at night.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, she says, her husband usually sleeps all night. And if there's a problem, her son-in-law is 15 minutes away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She's had to hire caregivers during the day. Knowing how to find and hire the right person is a shared concern by Alzheimer's family members that has inspired an entire\u003ca href=\"https://www.alz.org/national/documents/topicsheet_homehealth.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> checklist\u003c/a> for navigating the process. The tips include these: Interview the aide in the home. Over-share information about the patient. Ask what kind of quality control a supervisor will provide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hawkins is adamant about keeping her husband at home, whatever the cost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"He's not going anywhere,\" she says. \"He's staying at our home until he moves to heaven. We made that decision a long time ago.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But many caregivers have no choice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>April Simpkins says tending to her husband became all consuming, and she's young enough that she still needs to keep her job; she works at a local university.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It was not possible for us to keep Joe at home,\" she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Simpkins found she'd often have to call her husband's siblings to settle him down over the phone. One night, she had to dial 911 when he kept yelling in the hallways of their condo building.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And yet she felt some societal pressure that she wasn't doing enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There's a lot of ... glory given to the whole idea of someone being long-suffering and staying at home and giving up their life, basically, to care for their loved one,\" Simpkins says. \"It makes it harder for people who can't do that.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Everyone around the table nods in agreement. Whatever stage of illness their loved one is experiencing, these caregivers understand the complicated existence that many have dubbed \"the long goodbye.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with sharing the sorrow, they find a way to share in the humor of it all — one woman says her husband wears a laundry-basket's-worth of shirts and pants because he forgets he's already gotten dressed. Even tips on how to reduce the odor from incontinence are offered with a loving laugh.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The support group ends with hugs. Some women head for the parking lot. Others buzz through the locked doors to see their husbands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Simpkins sits down for lunch with Joe, who is a former state employee and a youthful-looking 66 years old. She drapes an arm around his slumping shoulders and assists him as he spears a cold strawberry with his fork.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"You know, there are some days,\" she says, interrupted by a random reflection from Joe. \"Yeah, some days are clearer than others.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Simpkins tries to stop by to see her husband every day. But it's a wicked kind of blessing, she says, that when she misses a visit, Joe no longer notices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of NPR's reporting partnership with Nashville Public Radio and Kaiser Health News.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2018 Nashville Public Radio. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"http://www.wpln.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nashville Public Radio\u003c/a>.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Family+Caregivers+Exchange+Tips%2C+Share+Stories+To+Ease+Alzheimer%27s+Losses&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "443236 https://ww2.kqed.org/futureofyou/?p=443236",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/futureofyou/2018/07/09/family-caregivers-exchange-tips-share-stories-to-ease-alzheimers-losses/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1098,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 33
},
"modified": 1531169663,
"excerpt": "As the number of people with Alzheimer's climbs, so does the number of loved ones caring for them. The health of 16 million unpaid U.S. caregivers has become a focus for Alzheimer's advocacy groups.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "As the number of people with Alzheimer's climbs, so does the number of loved ones caring for them. The health of 16 million unpaid U.S. caregivers has become a focus for Alzheimer's advocacy groups.",
"title": "Family Caregivers Exchange Tips, Share Stories To Ease Alzheimer's Losses | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Family Caregivers Exchange Tips, Share Stories To Ease Alzheimer's Losses",
"datePublished": "2018-07-09T12:02:07-07:00",
"dateModified": "2018-07-09T13:54:23-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "family-caregivers-exchange-tips-share-stories-to-ease-alzheimers-losses",
"status": "publish",
"nprApiLink": "http://api.npr.org/query?id=621110042&apiKey=MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004",
"nprStoryDate": "Fri, 06 Jul 2018 04:59:00 -0400",
"nprLastModifiedDate": "Fri, 06 Jul 2018 13:18:48 -0400",
"nprHtmlLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/07/06/621110042/shared-tips-support-help-prevent-burnout-among-alzheimers-family-caregivers?ft=nprml&f=621110042",
"nprAudio": "https://ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/me/2018/07/20180706_me_family_caregivers_exchange_tips_share_stories_to_ease_alzheimers_losses.mp3?orgId=577&topicId=1128&d=229&p=3&story=621110042&ft=nprml&f=621110042",
"nprImageAgency": "Ikon Images/Getty Images",
"source": "Health",
"nprAudioM3u": "http://api.npr.org/m3u/1626442145-cdcb9f.m3u?orgId=577&topicId=1128&d=229&p=3&story=621110042&ft=nprml&f=621110042",
"nprStoryId": "621110042",
"nprByline": "Blake Farmer, NPR",
"nprImageCredit": "Tang Yau Hoong",
"nprRetrievedStory": "1",
"nprPubDate": "Fri, 06 Jul 2018 13:18:00 -0400",
"path": "/futureofyou/443236/family-caregivers-exchange-tips-share-stories-to-ease-alzheimers-losses",
"audioUrl": "https://ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/me/2018/07/20180706_me_family_caregivers_exchange_tips_share_stories_to_ease_alzheimers_losses.mp3?orgId=577&topicId=1128&d=229&p=3&story=621110042&ft=nprml&f=621110042",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Vicki Bartholomew started a support group for wives who are caring for a husband with Alzheimer's disease because she needed that sort of group herself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They meet every month in a conference room at a new memory care facility in Nashville, Tenn., called \u003ca href=\"http://nashvillepublicradio.org/post/nashville-dementia-ward-aims-become-hub-memory-care-research#stream/0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Abe's Garden\u003c/a>, where Bartholomew's husband was one of the first residents — a Vietnam veteran and prominent attorney in Nashville.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"My husband's still living, and now I'm in an even more difficult situation — I'm married, but I'm a widow,\" she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These women draw the shades and open up to each other in ways they can't with their lifelong friends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"They're still wonderful friends, but they didn't know how to handle this. It was hard for them, and as you all know, your friends don't come around as much as they used to,\" Bartholomew says. \"I was in bad shape. I didn't think I was — I did have health problems, and [now] I know I was depressed.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the numbers of Americans afflicted with Alzheimer's disease continue to swell to an estimated 5.7 million, so do the legions of loved ones caring for friends and family members. The toll on Bartholomew's own mental health is one of the reasons the Alzheimer's Foundation of America focuses on the nation's estimated \u003ca href=\"https://www.alz.org/facts/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">16 million unpaid caregivers\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With no cure on the horizon, the foundation has been highlighting the necessity of better support for those caregivers through a \u003ca href=\"https://alzfdn.org/afa-educating-america-tour/\">national tour\u003c/a>. It stopped in Nashville earlier this spring, was in Tempe, Ariz., in June and heads to Fairfax, Va., in September; the tour includes at least six more cities in the fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the live events, Alzheimer's researchers and clinicians offer guidance on a number of topics, including how to ensure safety for patients at home, care planning and even how to \u003ca href=\"https://alzfdn.org/event/afa-educating-america-tour-tempe/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">entertain someone\u003c/a> with memory loss.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The organization promotes in-person and \u003ca href=\"https://alzfdn.org/alzheimers-foundation-americas-national-toll-free-helpline-expanding-seven-days-week/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">telephone support groups\u003c/a>, since being a caregiver is often a barrier to getting out of the house alone. But even virtual support systems have shown some effectiveness at reducing loneliness, stress and depression \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4668714/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">in a small 2014 study.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We have to do everything we can to educate a caregiver, to provide them with the best practices on caring for somebody,\" says \u003ca href=\"https://alzfdn.org/team_member/charles-j-fuschillo-jr/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Charles J. Fuschillo Jr.,\u003c/a> the Alzheimer's Foundation of America's CEO.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, the AFA \u003ca href=\"https://alzfdn.org/caregiving-resources/fact-sheets-information/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">recommends\u003c/a> that family members:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>Feed Alzheimer's patients one food at a time. \"A busy plate can be confusing,\" the group says.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Mark rooms in the house with signs to avoid unnecessary confusion.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Remind a person with Alzheimer's to use the toilet; don't wait for them to ask.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>When traveling, stick with familiar destinations.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Watch for a cough while eating; it can signal a swallowing disorder in people with dementia.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Schedule overnight stays at a memory-care facility so the caregiver gets some respite.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Just as important, Fuschillo says, \"We want to do everything we can to avoid caregiver burnout.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The breaking point sneaks up on even the most committed caregiver, say Alzheimer's advocates, especially as the nights grow more sleepless. Alzheimer's patients can tend to pace, or wake up their partner every few minutes. They can even become violent. Or, perhaps worse, they can leave the house.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"And I've had some issues at night that I had to take care of alone,\" says Pam Hawkins, whose husband has Alzheimer's. \"But I'm not ready to have anyone there at night.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For now, she says, her husband usually sleeps all night. And if there's a problem, her son-in-law is 15 minutes away.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She's had to hire caregivers during the day. Knowing how to find and hire the right person is a shared concern by Alzheimer's family members that has inspired an entire\u003ca href=\"https://www.alz.org/national/documents/topicsheet_homehealth.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> checklist\u003c/a> for navigating the process. The tips include these: Interview the aide in the home. Over-share information about the patient. Ask what kind of quality control a supervisor will provide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hawkins is adamant about keeping her husband at home, whatever the cost.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"He's not going anywhere,\" she says. \"He's staying at our home until he moves to heaven. We made that decision a long time ago.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But many caregivers have no choice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>April Simpkins says tending to her husband became all consuming, and she's young enough that she still needs to keep her job; she works at a local university.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It was not possible for us to keep Joe at home,\" she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Simpkins found she'd often have to call her husband's siblings to settle him down over the phone. One night, she had to dial 911 when he kept yelling in the hallways of their condo building.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And yet she felt some societal pressure that she wasn't doing enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There's a lot of ... glory given to the whole idea of someone being long-suffering and staying at home and giving up their life, basically, to care for their loved one,\" Simpkins says. \"It makes it harder for people who can't do that.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Everyone around the table nods in agreement. Whatever stage of illness their loved one is experiencing, these caregivers understand the complicated existence that many have dubbed \"the long goodbye.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with sharing the sorrow, they find a way to share in the humor of it all — one woman says her husband wears a laundry-basket's-worth of shirts and pants because he forgets he's already gotten dressed. Even tips on how to reduce the odor from incontinence are offered with a loving laugh.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The support group ends with hugs. Some women head for the parking lot. Others buzz through the locked doors to see their husbands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Simpkins sits down for lunch with Joe, who is a former state employee and a youthful-looking 66 years old. She drapes an arm around his slumping shoulders and assists him as he spears a cold strawberry with his fork.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"You know, there are some days,\" she says, interrupted by a random reflection from Joe. \"Yeah, some days are clearer than others.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Simpkins tries to stop by to see her husband every day. But it's a wicked kind of blessing, she says, that when she misses a visit, Joe no longer notices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story is part of NPR's reporting partnership with Nashville Public Radio and Kaiser Health News.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2018 Nashville Public Radio. To see more, visit \u003ca href=\"http://www.wpln.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nashville Public Radio\u003c/a>.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Family+Caregivers+Exchange+Tips%2C+Share+Stories+To+Ease+Alzheimer%27s+Losses&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/futureofyou/443236/family-caregivers-exchange-tips-share-stories-to-ease-alzheimers-losses",
"authors": [
"byline_futureofyou_443236"
],
"categories": [
"futureofyou_1060",
"futureofyou_1",
"futureofyou_73"
],
"tags": [
"futureofyou_999",
"futureofyou_56",
"futureofyou_1023",
"futureofyou_1008",
"futureofyou_61"
],
"collections": [
"futureofyou_1093"
],
"featImg": "futureofyou_443237",
"label": "source_futureofyou_443236"
},
"futureofyou_443213": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "futureofyou_443213",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "443213",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1530903608000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1530903608,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "For Women Over 30, There May Be A Better Choice Than The Pap Smear",
"title": "For Women Over 30, There May Be A Better Choice Than The Pap Smear",
"headTitle": "Women’s Health | KQED Future of You | KQED Science",
"content": "\u003cp>For most women under 65, a visit to the gynecologist often includes an unpleasant necessity: a Pap smear to check for cervical cancer risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The test involves letting a doctor or nurse scrape cells from the back of the cervix, which are visually inspected for signs of abnormality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There's another way to screen for cervical cancer risk, by directly testing for the human papillomavirus, or HPV, which causes 99 percent of cervical cancer. \u003ca href=\"http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/10.1001/jama.2018.7464\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> A study published in JAMA\u003c/a> Tuesday suggests that method might be preferable for women age 30 and over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The FDA in 2014 approved the first HPV test, which tests cervical cells for the presence of HPV.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>HPV testing also can be done on samples of vaginal and cervical secretions that clinicians or women themselves gather with a swab — a less invasive process than the Pap. That process was shown to be accurate in multiple studies but is not yet used in clinical practice in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new study, called the HPV FOCAL trial, compared the HPV test with traditional Pap smear screening among 19,000 Canadian women over four years. It adds to a body of research suggesting that HPV testing might be more accurate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"In our world this study is going to be a pretty big deal, in a good way,\" says \u003ca href=\"https://faculty.mdanderson.org/profiles/kathleen_schmeler.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dr. Kathleen Schmeler\u003c/a>, a gynecologic oncologist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schmeler says that in the U.S., it has been hard to justify replacing the Pap smear with the HPV test because there has not been a head-to-head comparison until now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The issue is not resolved. Some are still skeptical of relying on HPV testing alone, and co-testing, or using both the HPV test and a Pap smear, is still the standard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cervical cancer screening is essential because nearly \u003ca href=\"https://gis.cdc.gov/Cancer/USCS/DataViz.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">13,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with cervical cancer\u003c/a> annually. More than 4,000 women die from it, even with screening and treatment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Current screening guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommend women ages 30 to 65 have a Pap smear every three years, or every five years if an HPV test is done at the same time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But \u003ca href=\"https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/Page/Document/draft-recommendation-statement/cervical-cancer-screening2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">draft recommendations issued last fall by USPSTF\u003c/a> recommended just one or the other — a Pap smear or an HPV test — instead of co-testing for women 30 and up. The organization has yet to issue final guidelines. This new study could prove important in deciding practice guidelines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the start of the HPV FOCAL trial, some women received HPV testing and some had a Pap smear; those in the Pap smear group who tested negative had a second Pap after two years. Both groups were tested again using both methods after four years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neither method was foolproof. The final round of co-testing found additional abnormal cells in some women who originally tested negative in both groups. Women who originally had the Pap smear were more than twice as likely to have abnormal cells. Of the women who tested negative on the HPV test only 22 women showed abnormal cells (grade 3 or worse), while from the Pap smear group, 52 women ended up with abnormal cells.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"What our study shows is that by using HPV testing, we detect precancerous lesions earlier,\" says \u003ca href=\"http://www.spph.ubc.ca/person/gina-ogilvie/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lead author Dr. Gina Ogilvie\u003c/a>. \"If women have a negative HPV test, they are significantly less likely to have a precancerous lesion four years later, meaning we can extend screening time.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ogilvie, a professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia, says this study shows that the real value of co-testing actually comes from the HPV test, not the Pap smear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Studies like this one could lead to a change in guidelines, according to Dr. Chris Zahn, the vice president of practice for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This study adds evidence to those that evaluated use of HPV as a primary screening modality, and the findings support the use of HPV only as a primary screen,\" he wrote in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if guidelines do change for women over 30, the Pap smear is still important for women ages 21-29. They can't rely on HPV testing, Schmeler says, because almost everyone in that age group will contract HPV, and in many cases it goes away on its own. If the virus persists until their 30s, that's where problems come in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"If you tested everyone for HPV in their 20s, they are almost all going to be positive, but there's going to be all of this intervention that's not needed,\" she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moving away from co-testing may not be a good idea, says \u003ca href=\"http://www.colposcopycenter.com/MeetDrMarkSpitzer.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mark Spitzer\u003c/a>, an OB-GYN and past president of American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology. He wrote in an email that this new study actually shows the small but significant benefit of co-testing. He cites the small group of women who had abnormal cells discovered through a Pap smear at the end of the study period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"In the U.S., co-testing is currently the recommended gold standard, and neither doctors nor their patients should be willing to give up the added benefit you get from screening with a Pap test and HPV test together,\" he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://medicine.umich.edu/dept/family-medicine/diane-m-harper-md-mph-ms\">Dr. Diane Harper,\u003c/a> a professor of medicine who researches HPV at the University of Michigan, argues that the study was \"extraordinarily well done\" and moving away from co-testing could result in a decrease of false positives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The whole reason for [co-testing] is that you get a slight improvement in sensitivity,\" Harper says. \"But your false positive rate blows up. It's up to 30 percent of people [who] are falsely positive.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Women who have a positive Pap smear generally get a colposcopy, which is an even closer \u003ca href=\"https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/colposcopy/about/pac-20385036\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">examination of the cervix, vagina and vulva \u003c/a>for signs of disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A false positive could mean going through a biopsy during a colposcopy. Biopsies come with risks like bleeding, infection and pelvic pain, according to the Mayo Clinic. Harper says false positives bring unnecessary costs and fears to patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"That's a lot of women that are unnecessarily worried,\" she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Women can get a clear result from a simple HPV test and those who receive a negative result will be able to trust those results for several years, she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's really amazing — there's no other test that gives us this level of reassurance for that period of time for a cancer,\" Harper says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pap smears rely on the human eye to get results, she says, and it's far preferable to detect problems on a molecular level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One caution about the study findings, says \u003ca href=\"https://www.uclahealth.org/carol-mangione\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dr. Carol Mangione\u003c/a>, a USPSTF task force member and UCLA professor of medicine, is that screening — either kind — is what saves lives. She says the method of testing comes second to being sure that all women, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/10/11/556895389/could-making-cancer-screening-simpler-increase-womens-risk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">especially high-prevalence groups like black and Hispanic women\u003c/a>, are able to get the testing they need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Most cases of cervical cancer happen in women who have not been regularly screened, or who have been screened, but don't have access to appropriate treatment,\" she says. \"When we think about cervical cancer screening, we want to think about it in the framework of how do we get this test in the hands of all women?\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=For+Women+Over+30%2C+There+May+Be+A+Better+Choice+Than+The+Pap+Smear&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "443213 https://ww2.kqed.org/futureofyou/?p=443213",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/futureofyou/2018/07/06/for-women-over-30-there-may-be-a-better-choice-than-the-pap-smear/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1255,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 34
},
"modified": 1530854262,
"excerpt": "A new study adds weight to the evidence that an HPV test can more accurately test for cervical cancer risk than a Pap smear.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "A new study adds weight to the evidence that an HPV test can more accurately test for cervical cancer risk than a Pap smear.",
"title": "For Women Over 30, There May Be A Better Choice Than The Pap Smear | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "For Women Over 30, There May Be A Better Choice Than The Pap Smear",
"datePublished": "2018-07-06T12:00:08-07:00",
"dateModified": "2018-07-05T22:17:42-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "for-women-over-30-there-may-be-a-better-choice-than-the-pap-smear",
"status": "publish",
"nprApiLink": "http://api.npr.org/query?id=625696664&apiKey=MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004",
"nprByline": "Sara Kiley Watson, NPR",
"nprStoryDate": "Tue, 03 Jul 2018 14:48:00 -0400",
"nprLastModifiedDate": "Thu, 05 Jul 2018 16:51:30 -0400",
"nprHtmlLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/07/03/625696664/for-women-over-30-there-may-be-a-better-choice-than-the-pap-smear?ft=nprml&f=625696664",
"nprImageAgency": "BSIP/UIG via Getty Images ",
"source": "Health",
"nprStoryId": "625696664",
"nprRetrievedStory": "1",
"nprPubDate": "Thu, 05 Jul 2018 16:51:00 -0400",
"path": "/futureofyou/443213/for-women-over-30-there-may-be-a-better-choice-than-the-pap-smear",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>For most women under 65, a visit to the gynecologist often includes an unpleasant necessity: a Pap smear to check for cervical cancer risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The test involves letting a doctor or nurse scrape cells from the back of the cervix, which are visually inspected for signs of abnormality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There's another way to screen for cervical cancer risk, by directly testing for the human papillomavirus, or HPV, which causes 99 percent of cervical cancer. \u003ca href=\"http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/10.1001/jama.2018.7464\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> A study published in JAMA\u003c/a> Tuesday suggests that method might be preferable for women age 30 and over.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The FDA in 2014 approved the first HPV test, which tests cervical cells for the presence of HPV.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>HPV testing also can be done on samples of vaginal and cervical secretions that clinicians or women themselves gather with a swab — a less invasive process than the Pap. That process was shown to be accurate in multiple studies but is not yet used in clinical practice in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new study, called the HPV FOCAL trial, compared the HPV test with traditional Pap smear screening among 19,000 Canadian women over four years. It adds to a body of research suggesting that HPV testing might be more accurate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"In our world this study is going to be a pretty big deal, in a good way,\" says \u003ca href=\"https://faculty.mdanderson.org/profiles/kathleen_schmeler.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dr. Kathleen Schmeler\u003c/a>, a gynecologic oncologist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Schmeler says that in the U.S., it has been hard to justify replacing the Pap smear with the HPV test because there has not been a head-to-head comparison until now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The issue is not resolved. Some are still skeptical of relying on HPV testing alone, and co-testing, or using both the HPV test and a Pap smear, is still the standard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cervical cancer screening is essential because nearly \u003ca href=\"https://gis.cdc.gov/Cancer/USCS/DataViz.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">13,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with cervical cancer\u003c/a> annually. More than 4,000 women die from it, even with screening and treatment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Current screening guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommend women ages 30 to 65 have a Pap smear every three years, or every five years if an HPV test is done at the same time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But \u003ca href=\"https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/Page/Document/draft-recommendation-statement/cervical-cancer-screening2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">draft recommendations issued last fall by USPSTF\u003c/a> recommended just one or the other — a Pap smear or an HPV test — instead of co-testing for women 30 and up. The organization has yet to issue final guidelines. This new study could prove important in deciding practice guidelines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the start of the HPV FOCAL trial, some women received HPV testing and some had a Pap smear; those in the Pap smear group who tested negative had a second Pap after two years. Both groups were tested again using both methods after four years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Neither method was foolproof. The final round of co-testing found additional abnormal cells in some women who originally tested negative in both groups. Women who originally had the Pap smear were more than twice as likely to have abnormal cells. Of the women who tested negative on the HPV test only 22 women showed abnormal cells (grade 3 or worse), while from the Pap smear group, 52 women ended up with abnormal cells.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"What our study shows is that by using HPV testing, we detect precancerous lesions earlier,\" says \u003ca href=\"http://www.spph.ubc.ca/person/gina-ogilvie/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lead author Dr. Gina Ogilvie\u003c/a>. \"If women have a negative HPV test, they are significantly less likely to have a precancerous lesion four years later, meaning we can extend screening time.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ogilvie, a professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia, says this study shows that the real value of co-testing actually comes from the HPV test, not the Pap smear.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Studies like this one could lead to a change in guidelines, according to Dr. Chris Zahn, the vice president of practice for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This study adds evidence to those that evaluated use of HPV as a primary screening modality, and the findings support the use of HPV only as a primary screen,\" he wrote in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if guidelines do change for women over 30, the Pap smear is still important for women ages 21-29. They can't rely on HPV testing, Schmeler says, because almost everyone in that age group will contract HPV, and in many cases it goes away on its own. If the virus persists until their 30s, that's where problems come in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"If you tested everyone for HPV in their 20s, they are almost all going to be positive, but there's going to be all of this intervention that's not needed,\" she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moving away from co-testing may not be a good idea, says \u003ca href=\"http://www.colposcopycenter.com/MeetDrMarkSpitzer.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mark Spitzer\u003c/a>, an OB-GYN and past president of American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology. He wrote in an email that this new study actually shows the small but significant benefit of co-testing. He cites the small group of women who had abnormal cells discovered through a Pap smear at the end of the study period.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"In the U.S., co-testing is currently the recommended gold standard, and neither doctors nor their patients should be willing to give up the added benefit you get from screening with a Pap test and HPV test together,\" he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://medicine.umich.edu/dept/family-medicine/diane-m-harper-md-mph-ms\">Dr. Diane Harper,\u003c/a> a professor of medicine who researches HPV at the University of Michigan, argues that the study was \"extraordinarily well done\" and moving away from co-testing could result in a decrease of false positives.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The whole reason for [co-testing] is that you get a slight improvement in sensitivity,\" Harper says. \"But your false positive rate blows up. It's up to 30 percent of people [who] are falsely positive.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Women who have a positive Pap smear generally get a colposcopy, which is an even closer \u003ca href=\"https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/colposcopy/about/pac-20385036\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">examination of the cervix, vagina and vulva \u003c/a>for signs of disease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A false positive could mean going through a biopsy during a colposcopy. Biopsies come with risks like bleeding, infection and pelvic pain, according to the Mayo Clinic. Harper says false positives bring unnecessary costs and fears to patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"That's a lot of women that are unnecessarily worried,\" she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Women can get a clear result from a simple HPV test and those who receive a negative result will be able to trust those results for several years, she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's really amazing — there's no other test that gives us this level of reassurance for that period of time for a cancer,\" Harper says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pap smears rely on the human eye to get results, she says, and it's far preferable to detect problems on a molecular level.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One caution about the study findings, says \u003ca href=\"https://www.uclahealth.org/carol-mangione\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dr. Carol Mangione\u003c/a>, a USPSTF task force member and UCLA professor of medicine, is that screening — either kind — is what saves lives. She says the method of testing comes second to being sure that all women, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/10/11/556895389/could-making-cancer-screening-simpler-increase-womens-risk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">especially high-prevalence groups like black and Hispanic women\u003c/a>, are able to get the testing they need.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Most cases of cervical cancer happen in women who have not been regularly screened, or who have been screened, but don't have access to appropriate treatment,\" she says. \"When we think about cervical cancer screening, we want to think about it in the framework of how do we get this test in the hands of all women?\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=For+Women+Over+30%2C+There+May+Be+A+Better+Choice+Than+The+Pap+Smear&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/futureofyou/443213/for-women-over-30-there-may-be-a-better-choice-than-the-pap-smear",
"authors": [
"byline_futureofyou_443213"
],
"series": [
"futureofyou_219"
],
"categories": [
"futureofyou_1060",
"futureofyou_1",
"futureofyou_73"
],
"tags": [
"futureofyou_190",
"futureofyou_1056",
"futureofyou_214",
"futureofyou_275"
],
"collections": [
"futureofyou_1093"
],
"featImg": "futureofyou_443214",
"label": "source_futureofyou_443213"
},
"futureofyou_443165": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "futureofyou_443165",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "443165",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1530644426000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1530644426,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "Can Zapping People’s Brains Reduce Violence? Controversial Study Sees Potential",
"title": "Can Zapping People’s Brains Reduce Violence? Controversial Study Sees Potential",
"headTitle": "KQED Future of You | KQED Science",
"content": "\u003cp>The study participants read short accounts of violent behavior: In one, a man smashed a beer bottle over someone’s head; in another, an assailant raped an acquaintance.[contextly_sidebar id=\"gKdycmp0KoVJxcxC1F1K6WdKxrJ9rXZI\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They were then asked: \u003cem>Would you do that?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The day before, half of them had had the frontmost region of their brains, responsible for such high-level functions as impulse control and moral judgments, electrically stimulated; the other half had not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The people whose prefrontal cortex was stimulated reported roughly half the likelihood of committing a violent act like the ones they watched, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania reported on Monday; they said they found such physical and sexual violence more morally wrong, compared with the control group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The researchers hailed their results as evidence that “increasing activity in the prefrontal cortex can reduce intentions to commit aggression and enhance perceptions of moral judgment,” as they wrote in the Journal of Neuroscience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other experts said the results were far less than advertised.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re a long way from ‘Clockwork Orange,’” said Dr. Paul Appelbaum, director of the Division of Law, Ethics, and Psychiatry at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the study, the Penn researchers randomly assigned 81 healthy adults (the average ago was 20) to receive “transcranial direct-current stimulation” of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, behind the top of the forehead, for 20 minutes via two scalp electrodes, or to get a low current for 30 seconds and then nothing, also via electrodes. Participants couldn’t tell if they were receiving the stimulation or not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The researchers aimed at the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex because dozens of small neuro-imaging studies have \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2784035/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported\u003c/a> that in people deemed antisocial or aggressive or both, this region is typically smaller and less active than in other people. Such studies can’t tell whether an impaired prefrontal cortex causes aggression or vice versa, so the Penn study, a registered \u003ca href=\"https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02427672\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">clinical trial\u003c/a>, tried to figure that out.[contextly_sidebar id=\"dnHIsBbKjxIupKuLmg7VYu4mKCZSmb4l\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next day, participants read one vignette about the beer-bottle assault and one about the rape, and rated how likely they were (from “no chance” to “definitely”) to act as the assaulter did. The brain-stimulated group reported a 47 percent lower likelihood that they would commit the non-sexual physical assault (1.15 vs. 2.19 on a scale of 0 to 10) and a 70 percent lower likelihood of committing the sexual assault (0.26 vs. 0.86) compared with the control group. The brain-stimulated group also rated the assaults as more morally wrong than the control group did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But while the brain stimulation decreased people’s self-reported likelihood of committing assault, their actions indicated otherwise. In the only assessment of actual behavior, the participants got to stick pins into a computer image of a doll representing a close friend, a common lab test of violent tendencies. Those whose prefrontal cortex was stimulated stuck in slightly more pins than the control group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What people say they will do with regard to violence and what they actually do may be two different things,” said Appelbaum. “Whether actual violence would be reduced [by brain stimulation] is unknown,” but “the data suggest no impact” on actual aggressive behavior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Olivia Choy, the paper’s lead author and now a psychologist at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, emphasized that the participants got only one 20-minute stimulation session. “It might be that repeated sessions over a longer time period could produce changes in behavior, but changes in behavior start with changing intent,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re trying to find benign biological interventions [for criminal violence] that society will accept,” Penn psychologist Adrian Raine, who has studied the brain basis of violence and psychopathy for decades, said in a statement. “Transcranial direct-current stimulation is minimal risk. This isn’t a frontal lobotomy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robin Mackenzie, a scholar of medical law and ethics at England’s University of Kent, called the study “promising and suggestive,” saying it “advances the field of biological interventions on antisocial and aggressive behavior.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she, too, noted several concerns. One is that the brain-stimulated group had 24 women and 15 men, compared with 21 and 21 in the control group. That raises the question of whether the zapped group’s lower likelihood of endorsing rape and beer-bottle attacks might be driven by gender differences, especially on what constitutes rape, Mackenzie said: “Asking female participants to identify with a rapist to assess how likely they would be to rape a woman is inherently different from asking male participants to do so….It is at the very least possible that the gender distribution could have skewed the results.”[contextly_sidebar id=\"APQk5r3dfTy6mLZEMSYpZsZfNmt4Z4Oq\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, the study participants had no history of psychiatric or neurologic disease or injury, all of which are associated with violent tendencies. But the brain mechanisms causing that violence in these groups may differ from the mechanisms in normal people. Results on healthy, non-violent college students therefore might not apply to people with such brain abnormalities. “How far tDCS could affect [such people] is an open question,” Mackenzie said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And even if stimulation of the prefrontal cortex makes people express a heightened sense that violence is wrong, when they are asked their views the next day, it remains to be seen whether any such effect would last, or if people would have to be zapped frequently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regardless of its shortcomings, the study worries some experts. If governments adopt brain zapping for violent offenders, would it be voluntary or, just as some states and countries mandate chemical castration for some male sex offenders, mandatory? And would governments be tempted to extend its use beyond violence, such as “to induce passivity in politically unruly groups?,” Appelbaum asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Neurotechnologies which affect identity, ways of being, and thought processes are particularly tempting for authorities seeking to secure control and cut costs,” Mackenzie said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This\u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2018/07/02/brain-electric-stimulation-violence/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> story\u003c/a> was originally published by STAT, an online publication of Boston Globe Media that covers health, medicine, and scientific discovery.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "443165 https://ww2.kqed.org/futureofyou/?p=443165",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/futureofyou/2018/07/03/can-zapping-peoples-brains-reduce-violence-controversial-study-sees-potential/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1057,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 23
},
"modified": 1530609082,
"excerpt": "Study subjects whose prefrontal cortex were stimulated reported roughly half the likelihood of committing a violent act like the ones scientists made them watch.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "Study subjects whose prefrontal cortex were stimulated reported roughly half the likelihood of committing a violent act like the ones scientists made them watch.",
"title": "Can Zapping People’s Brains Reduce Violence? Controversial Study Sees Potential | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Can Zapping People’s Brains Reduce Violence? Controversial Study Sees Potential",
"datePublished": "2018-07-03T12:00:26-07:00",
"dateModified": "2018-07-03T02:11:22-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "can-zapping-peoples-brains-reduce-violence-controversial-study-sees-potential",
"status": "publish",
"nprByline": "Sharon Begley\u003cbr />STAT",
"source": "Health",
"path": "/futureofyou/443165/can-zapping-peoples-brains-reduce-violence-controversial-study-sees-potential",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The study participants read short accounts of violent behavior: In one, a man smashed a beer bottle over someone’s head; in another, an assailant raped an acquaintance.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They were then asked: \u003cem>Would you do that?\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The day before, half of them had had the frontmost region of their brains, responsible for such high-level functions as impulse control and moral judgments, electrically stimulated; the other half had not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The people whose prefrontal cortex was stimulated reported roughly half the likelihood of committing a violent act like the ones they watched, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania reported on Monday; they said they found such physical and sexual violence more morally wrong, compared with the control group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The researchers hailed their results as evidence that “increasing activity in the prefrontal cortex can reduce intentions to commit aggression and enhance perceptions of moral judgment,” as they wrote in the Journal of Neuroscience.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other experts said the results were far less than advertised.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re a long way from ‘Clockwork Orange,’” said Dr. Paul Appelbaum, director of the Division of Law, Ethics, and Psychiatry at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the study, the Penn researchers randomly assigned 81 healthy adults (the average ago was 20) to receive “transcranial direct-current stimulation” of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, behind the top of the forehead, for 20 minutes via two scalp electrodes, or to get a low current for 30 seconds and then nothing, also via electrodes. Participants couldn’t tell if they were receiving the stimulation or not.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The researchers aimed at the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex because dozens of small neuro-imaging studies have \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2784035/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported\u003c/a> that in people deemed antisocial or aggressive or both, this region is typically smaller and less active than in other people. Such studies can’t tell whether an impaired prefrontal cortex causes aggression or vice versa, so the Penn study, a registered \u003ca href=\"https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02427672\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">clinical trial\u003c/a>, tried to figure that out.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next day, participants read one vignette about the beer-bottle assault and one about the rape, and rated how likely they were (from “no chance” to “definitely”) to act as the assaulter did. The brain-stimulated group reported a 47 percent lower likelihood that they would commit the non-sexual physical assault (1.15 vs. 2.19 on a scale of 0 to 10) and a 70 percent lower likelihood of committing the sexual assault (0.26 vs. 0.86) compared with the control group. The brain-stimulated group also rated the assaults as more morally wrong than the control group did.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But while the brain stimulation decreased people’s self-reported likelihood of committing assault, their actions indicated otherwise. In the only assessment of actual behavior, the participants got to stick pins into a computer image of a doll representing a close friend, a common lab test of violent tendencies. Those whose prefrontal cortex was stimulated stuck in slightly more pins than the control group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What people say they will do with regard to violence and what they actually do may be two different things,” said Appelbaum. “Whether actual violence would be reduced [by brain stimulation] is unknown,” but “the data suggest no impact” on actual aggressive behavior.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Olivia Choy, the paper’s lead author and now a psychologist at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, emphasized that the participants got only one 20-minute stimulation session. “It might be that repeated sessions over a longer time period could produce changes in behavior, but changes in behavior start with changing intent,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re trying to find benign biological interventions [for criminal violence] that society will accept,” Penn psychologist Adrian Raine, who has studied the brain basis of violence and psychopathy for decades, said in a statement. “Transcranial direct-current stimulation is minimal risk. This isn’t a frontal lobotomy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robin Mackenzie, a scholar of medical law and ethics at England’s University of Kent, called the study “promising and suggestive,” saying it “advances the field of biological interventions on antisocial and aggressive behavior.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she, too, noted several concerns. One is that the brain-stimulated group had 24 women and 15 men, compared with 21 and 21 in the control group. That raises the question of whether the zapped group’s lower likelihood of endorsing rape and beer-bottle attacks might be driven by gender differences, especially on what constitutes rape, Mackenzie said: “Asking female participants to identify with a rapist to assess how likely they would be to rape a woman is inherently different from asking male participants to do so….It is at the very least possible that the gender distribution could have skewed the results.”\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, the study participants had no history of psychiatric or neurologic disease or injury, all of which are associated with violent tendencies. But the brain mechanisms causing that violence in these groups may differ from the mechanisms in normal people. Results on healthy, non-violent college students therefore might not apply to people with such brain abnormalities. “How far tDCS could affect [such people] is an open question,” Mackenzie said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And even if stimulation of the prefrontal cortex makes people express a heightened sense that violence is wrong, when they are asked their views the next day, it remains to be seen whether any such effect would last, or if people would have to be zapped frequently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regardless of its shortcomings, the study worries some experts. If governments adopt brain zapping for violent offenders, would it be voluntary or, just as some states and countries mandate chemical castration for some male sex offenders, mandatory? And would governments be tempted to extend its use beyond violence, such as “to induce passivity in politically unruly groups?,” Appelbaum asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Neurotechnologies which affect identity, ways of being, and thought processes are particularly tempting for authorities seeking to secure control and cut costs,” Mackenzie said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This\u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2018/07/02/brain-electric-stimulation-violence/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> story\u003c/a> was originally published by STAT, an online publication of Boston Globe Media that covers health, medicine, and scientific discovery.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/futureofyou/443165/can-zapping-peoples-brains-reduce-violence-controversial-study-sees-potential",
"authors": [
"byline_futureofyou_443165"
],
"categories": [
"futureofyou_1060",
"futureofyou_1",
"futureofyou_73",
"futureofyou_1061"
],
"tags": [
"futureofyou_56",
"futureofyou_1056",
"futureofyou_204",
"futureofyou_1224",
"futureofyou_35",
"futureofyou_1571"
],
"collections": [
"futureofyou_1093",
"futureofyou_1096"
],
"featImg": "futureofyou_443168",
"label": "source_futureofyou_443165"
},
"futureofyou_443119": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "futureofyou_443119",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "443119",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1530546314000
]
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "pot-businesses-urge-california-to-delay-strict-testing-rules",
"title": "Pot Businesses Urge California to Delay Strict Testing Rules",
"publishDate": 1530546314,
"format": "standard",
"headTitle": "Pot Businesses Urge California to Delay Strict Testing Rules | KQED",
"labelTerm": {},
"content": "\u003cp>Nearly 150 marijuana businesses in California warned Friday that they could face crippling financial losses unless the state extends a July 1 deadline imposing strict standards for pot testing and packaging.[contextly_sidebar id=”0fHd0AejefxNkJsARNFShg1Layhsilve”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown, the United Cannabis Business Association said the changes would further unsettle the struggling legal marketplace that launched Jan. 1, potentially forcing businesses to close their doors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The trade group that represents cannabis companies said there are too few labs to handle the testing, and retailers would have to destroy vast amounts of unsold cannabis that does not meet the new standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Association president Jerred Kiloh estimated that businesses could face nearly $400 million in losses if those unsold supplies are destroyed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Forcing the industry into compliance … will further cripple the already struggling regulated market,” the letter said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, the state Bureau of Cannabis Control gave no indication it would consider rolling back the deadline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We issued our emergency regulations back in November, and at that time we were pretty clear about the fact that there would be a six-month transition period for retailers to use up their existing supply. We felt that was a sufficient amount of time to deplete stock on hand and adapt to California’s new rules,” agency spokesman Alex Traverso said in an email.[contextly_sidebar id=”024mYCqF9Xv8Y0Ohhnf1BPJQ8spoTbMY”]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The regulations are being phased in six months after the state broadly legalized marijuana and required that pot sold after Saturday meets strict quality standards. With the deadline approaching, retailers have been unloading untested inventory at bargain-basement prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rollout of the nation’s largest legal pot market has been bumpy at best. The black market is still flourishing, and the industry complains about taxes that can approach 50 percent in some areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others fear a shortage of retailers for both adult-use and medicinal marijuana could shut down the supply chain, stranding growers with mountains of unsold pot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is operating under temporary regulations, while the largest city, Los Angeles, has been slow to issue licenses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The change in rules was part of the state’s decision to allow the industry to get a running start at the beginning of the year. Shops were given six months to burn through supplies of cannabis and edibles produced without strict testing requirements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Any marijuana harvested this year, or for sale July 1, must meet quality and safety standards or be destroyed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The letter depicted an emerging industry that is struggling to find its footing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group said the 30 licensed labs that would test pot would be unable to handle demand, resulting in a shortage of products on shelves. A system intended to track plants from seed to sale has been delayed. And packaging companies are not ready to meet the new rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Customers and patients will turn to illicit market retailers and delivery services who will still have an abundance of products for sale. Licensed retailers will be forced to shut down,” the letter said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The businesses and advocacy groups that signed the letter represent a fraction of the state’s legal marketplace. For example, over 3,300 cultivation licenses have been issued, and there are more than 400 licensed retailers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>___\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Associated Press writer Brian Melley contributed to this report.\u003c/p>\n\n",
"blocks": [],
"excerpt": "The trade group that represents cannabis companies said there are too few labs to handle the testing, and retailers would have to destroy vast amounts of unsold cannabis.",
"status": "publish",
"parent": 0,
"modified": 1721113536,
"stats": {
"hasAudio": false,
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"paragraphCount": 21,
"wordCount": 564
},
"headData": {
"title": "Pot Businesses Urge California to Delay Strict Testing Rules",
"description": "The trade group that represents cannabis companies said there are too few labs to handle the testing, and retailers would have to destroy vast amounts of unsold cannabis.",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogDescription": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"twDescription": "",
"twImgId": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Pot Businesses Urge California to Delay Strict Testing Rules",
"datePublished": "2018-07-02T08:45:14-07:00",
"dateModified": "2024-07-16T00:05:36-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"source": "Health",
"sticky": false,
"nprByline": "Michael R. Blood\u003cbr />The Associated Press",
"path": "/futureofyou/443119/pot-businesses-urge-california-to-delay-strict-testing-rules",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Nearly 150 marijuana businesses in California warned Friday that they could face crippling financial losses unless the state extends a July 1 deadline imposing strict standards for pot testing and packaging.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown, the United Cannabis Business Association said the changes would further unsettle the struggling legal marketplace that launched Jan. 1, potentially forcing businesses to close their doors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The trade group that represents cannabis companies said there are too few labs to handle the testing, and retailers would have to destroy vast amounts of unsold cannabis that does not meet the new standards.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Association president Jerred Kiloh estimated that businesses could face nearly $400 million in losses if those unsold supplies are destroyed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Forcing the industry into compliance … will further cripple the already struggling regulated market,” the letter said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, the state Bureau of Cannabis Control gave no indication it would consider rolling back the deadline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We issued our emergency regulations back in November, and at that time we were pretty clear about the fact that there would be a six-month transition period for retailers to use up their existing supply. We felt that was a sufficient amount of time to deplete stock on hand and adapt to California’s new rules,” agency spokesman Alex Traverso said in an email.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The regulations are being phased in six months after the state broadly legalized marijuana and required that pot sold after Saturday meets strict quality standards. With the deadline approaching, retailers have been unloading untested inventory at bargain-basement prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rollout of the nation’s largest legal pot market has been bumpy at best. The black market is still flourishing, and the industry complains about taxes that can approach 50 percent in some areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others fear a shortage of retailers for both adult-use and medicinal marijuana could shut down the supply chain, stranding growers with mountains of unsold pot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is operating under temporary regulations, while the largest city, Los Angeles, has been slow to issue licenses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The change in rules was part of the state’s decision to allow the industry to get a running start at the beginning of the year. Shops were given six months to burn through supplies of cannabis and edibles produced without strict testing requirements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Any marijuana harvested this year, or for sale July 1, must meet quality and safety standards or be destroyed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The letter depicted an emerging industry that is struggling to find its footing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group said the 30 licensed labs that would test pot would be unable to handle demand, resulting in a shortage of products on shelves. A system intended to track plants from seed to sale has been delayed. And packaging companies are not ready to meet the new rules.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Customers and patients will turn to illicit market retailers and delivery services who will still have an abundance of products for sale. Licensed retailers will be forced to shut down,” the letter said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The businesses and advocacy groups that signed the letter represent a fraction of the state’s legal marketplace. For example, over 3,300 cultivation licenses have been issued, and there are more than 400 licensed retailers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>___\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Associated Press writer Brian Melley contributed to this report.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/futureofyou/443119/pot-businesses-urge-california-to-delay-strict-testing-rules",
"authors": [
"byline_futureofyou_443119"
],
"categories": [
"futureofyou_1060",
"futureofyou_73"
],
"tags": [
"futureofyou_972",
"futureofyou_1562",
"futureofyou_952",
"futureofyou_61",
"futureofyou_1041",
"futureofyou_1568"
],
"collections": [
"futureofyou_1093"
],
"featImg": "futureofyou_443051",
"label": "source_futureofyou_443119"
},
"futureofyou_443048": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "futureofyou_443048",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "443048",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1530130578000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1530130578,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "California Pot Shops Offer Discounts As New Standards Near",
"title": "California Pot Shops Offer Discounts As New Standards Near",
"headTitle": "KQED Future of You | KQED Science",
"content": "\u003cp>Bargain basement bud is on the menu in California, but you need to act fast to cash in on the cheap weed.[contextly_sidebar id=\"klE8bvGIu5iQdFjCjnLgbvKiZvSMLEOF\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regulations being phased in six months after the state broadly legalized marijuana require that pot sold after Saturday meet strict quality standards, so retailers unloading untested inventory are offering blowout prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deep discounts on everything from edibles to joints reflect the last days of the heady first phase of legal recreational pot. They could be followed by empty shelves as many stores scramble to restock with properly tested and packaged products.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"You can smell it. There’s a certain desperation from stores that bought too much and they have to dump it,” said John Atari, CEO of Source Cannabis Farms, a licensed cultivator in Los Angeles. “There’s going to be a big shortage of clean product come July 1.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Firehaus, a shop along an LA freeway, a fire sale of sorts unfolded this month with a 50 percent off “summer blowout” sale advertised on a popular marijuana app and texted and emailed to regular customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patrons leaving the brick storefront on a recent day were happy to double their value, but were unaware of the reason behind the bargains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A half-dozen of those interviewed said they welcomed testing designed to weed out pesticides and contaminants such as solvents and mold, though they were largely unconcerned about the safety of the cannabis they’ve used for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I smoked pot for 40 years that wasn’t tested, from dealers on the street, and it smelled like anything from gasoline to perfume,” said Catherine Lanzarotta, who stocked up on “Blue Dream.” ″So I’ve never had that concern.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Testing will also examine concentrations and potency of the ingredient that gives users a buzz.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The change in rules was part of the state’s decision to allow the industry in its legal infancy to get a running start at the beginning of the year. Shops were given six months to burn through supplies of grass grown and cookies and other products made without strict testing requirements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Any marijuana harvested this year or for sale July 1 must meet quality and safety standards or be destroyed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the legalization of recreational marijuana, testing of pot sold for medical purposes was largely done for marketing. Growers could promote the potency of their product or the fact that it was free of contaminants.[contextly_sidebar id=\"qFwHtuTaonMJke2ut1S76W4JUvNMUiGD\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robert Martin, co-founder and CEO of CW Analytical Laboratories in Oakland, said the voluminous new rules are draconian, with a mandate to test for heavy metals, which he said is unnecessary, and one to keep tested samples 45 days. There are also requirements about what technicians must wear, and lab employees have to pick up test samples directly from suppliers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The new regulations have us twisting,” Martin said. “We feel like we’re trying to do yoga on two mats.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are concerns that the 28 testing facilities licensed by the state will not be enough, though labs said even with a spike in recent months, they have been able to handle capacity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A larger concern is a lag in testing as business owners banked on delayed implementation of the new rules. That could put them in a precarious position as they try to push product through a limited pipeline to restock shops with clean weed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fear is there will be a repeat of what Oregon experienced two years ago as distributors held out for a rules reprieve that never materialized and held up the supply chain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The resulting bottleneck at labs meant testing that should have taken days dragged on for weeks, said Lori Glauser, chief operating officer of EVIO Labs, which has locations in California, Oregon, Colorado, Florida and Massachusetts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Glauser said the recent surge in business she’s seen indicates a similar scenario in California that will lead to a temporary shortage of marijuana in dispensaries once they can no longer sell untested product.[contextly_sidebar id=\"xuZZxhZSqmD9988cGK6v3jmvXA963u1P\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some shops prepared for the new regulations by gradually replacing pot they sold with products that pass the tests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jamie Garzot said she reopened her Shasta Lake medical marijuana shop to recreational customers Jan. 1 with the same untested inventory as the day before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But by February, she estimated, about 15 percent of inventory at 530 Cannabis had been approved by testing labs. In April, that jumped to about 50 percent, and earlier this month Garzot said she figured about 95 percent of her goods passed muster.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everyone in the game knew this was coming,” she said. “My hope is that everybody has been doing their job getting systems dialed in for an uninterrupted supply chain.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She was waiting until the final days of the month to see what remained in her stockpiles that could go in a limited blowout sale.\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "443048 https://ww2.kqed.org/futureofyou/?p=443048",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/futureofyou/2018/06/27/california-pot-shops-offer-discounts-as-new-standards-near/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 840,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 26
},
"modified": 1530130683,
"excerpt": "California’s new rules require testing of marijuana for pesticides and contaminants such as heavy metals, solvents and mold. Edibles must also be tested to determine concentrations of the mind-altering ingredient THC.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "California’s new rules require testing of marijuana for pesticides and contaminants such as heavy metals, solvents and mold. Edibles must also be tested to determine concentrations of the mind-altering ingredient THC.",
"title": "California Pot Shops Offer Discounts As New Standards Near | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "California Pot Shops Offer Discounts As New Standards Near",
"datePublished": "2018-06-27T13:16:18-07:00",
"dateModified": "2018-06-27T13:18:03-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "california-pot-shops-offer-discounts-as-new-standards-near",
"status": "publish",
"nprByline": "Brian Melley\u003cbr />The Associated Press",
"source": "Health",
"path": "/futureofyou/443048/california-pot-shops-offer-discounts-as-new-standards-near",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Bargain basement bud is on the menu in California, but you need to act fast to cash in on the cheap weed.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Regulations being phased in six months after the state broadly legalized marijuana require that pot sold after Saturday meet strict quality standards, so retailers unloading untested inventory are offering blowout prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Deep discounts on everything from edibles to joints reflect the last days of the heady first phase of legal recreational pot. They could be followed by empty shelves as many stores scramble to restock with properly tested and packaged products.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"You can smell it. There’s a certain desperation from stores that bought too much and they have to dump it,” said John Atari, CEO of Source Cannabis Farms, a licensed cultivator in Los Angeles. “There’s going to be a big shortage of clean product come July 1.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Firehaus, a shop along an LA freeway, a fire sale of sorts unfolded this month with a 50 percent off “summer blowout” sale advertised on a popular marijuana app and texted and emailed to regular customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Patrons leaving the brick storefront on a recent day were happy to double their value, but were unaware of the reason behind the bargains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A half-dozen of those interviewed said they welcomed testing designed to weed out pesticides and contaminants such as solvents and mold, though they were largely unconcerned about the safety of the cannabis they’ve used for years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I smoked pot for 40 years that wasn’t tested, from dealers on the street, and it smelled like anything from gasoline to perfume,” said Catherine Lanzarotta, who stocked up on “Blue Dream.” ″So I’ve never had that concern.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Testing will also examine concentrations and potency of the ingredient that gives users a buzz.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The change in rules was part of the state’s decision to allow the industry in its legal infancy to get a running start at the beginning of the year. Shops were given six months to burn through supplies of grass grown and cookies and other products made without strict testing requirements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Any marijuana harvested this year or for sale July 1 must meet quality and safety standards or be destroyed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Before the legalization of recreational marijuana, testing of pot sold for medical purposes was largely done for marketing. Growers could promote the potency of their product or the fact that it was free of contaminants.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robert Martin, co-founder and CEO of CW Analytical Laboratories in Oakland, said the voluminous new rules are draconian, with a mandate to test for heavy metals, which he said is unnecessary, and one to keep tested samples 45 days. There are also requirements about what technicians must wear, and lab employees have to pick up test samples directly from suppliers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The new regulations have us twisting,” Martin said. “We feel like we’re trying to do yoga on two mats.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are concerns that the 28 testing facilities licensed by the state will not be enough, though labs said even with a spike in recent months, they have been able to handle capacity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A larger concern is a lag in testing as business owners banked on delayed implementation of the new rules. That could put them in a precarious position as they try to push product through a limited pipeline to restock shops with clean weed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fear is there will be a repeat of what Oregon experienced two years ago as distributors held out for a rules reprieve that never materialized and held up the supply chain.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The resulting bottleneck at labs meant testing that should have taken days dragged on for weeks, said Lori Glauser, chief operating officer of EVIO Labs, which has locations in California, Oregon, Colorado, Florida and Massachusetts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Glauser said the recent surge in business she’s seen indicates a similar scenario in California that will lead to a temporary shortage of marijuana in dispensaries once they can no longer sell untested product.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some shops prepared for the new regulations by gradually replacing pot they sold with products that pass the tests.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jamie Garzot said she reopened her Shasta Lake medical marijuana shop to recreational customers Jan. 1 with the same untested inventory as the day before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But by February, she estimated, about 15 percent of inventory at 530 Cannabis had been approved by testing labs. In April, that jumped to about 50 percent, and earlier this month Garzot said she figured about 95 percent of her goods passed muster.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everyone in the game knew this was coming,” she said. “My hope is that everybody has been doing their job getting systems dialed in for an uninterrupted supply chain.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She was waiting until the final days of the month to see what remained in her stockpiles that could go in a limited blowout sale.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/futureofyou/443048/california-pot-shops-offer-discounts-as-new-standards-near",
"authors": [
"byline_futureofyou_443048"
],
"categories": [
"futureofyou_1060",
"futureofyou_1",
"futureofyou_73"
],
"tags": [
"futureofyou_1520",
"futureofyou_1562",
"futureofyou_61",
"futureofyou_807"
],
"collections": [
"futureofyou_1093"
],
"featImg": "futureofyou_443051",
"label": "source_futureofyou_443048"
},
"futureofyou_443040": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "futureofyou_443040",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "443040",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1530045641000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1530045641,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "FDA Green Lights Marijuana-Based Pharmaceutical Drug",
"title": "FDA Green Lights Marijuana-Based Pharmaceutical Drug",
"headTitle": "KQED Future of You | KQED Science",
"content": "\u003cp>The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a marijuana-derived drug for the treatment of two rare and serious forms of epilepsy, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome, that begin in childhood but can persist in adulthood.[contextly_sidebar id=\"RsxfUCgh8UsJJJ0ikrZvWqEfpFs55Jwz\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The drug is made from purified cannabidiol, or CBD, a compound found in the cannabis plant. The drug will be marketed under the brand name Epidiolex.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CBD has medicinal effects, but it does not cause the mind-altering high that comes from THC, the primary psychoactive component of marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2016, researchers at \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2016/01/401246/cannabis-based-drug-reduces-seizures-children-treatment-resistant-epilepsy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco \u003c/a>introduced the first study looking at the effects of Epidiolex on children and young adults who suffer from severe forms of epilepsy. They found that patients had fewer seizures when treated with the purified cannabinoid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The FDA says this is the first drug approved in the U.S. that contains a purified substance derived from marijuana. The agency has previously approved drugs made from synthetic versions of THC and other marijuana constituents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This approval serves as a reminder that advancing sound development programs that properly evaluate active ingredients contained in marijuana can lead to important medical therapies,\" said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb during a call with reporters about the approval.[contextly_sidebar id=\"RBUAK4wZ7KHOssmYfHT8dDioQ0U69y4E\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several states \u003ca href=\"http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/state-medical-marijuana-laws.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">have legalized CBD oil \u003c/a>specifically for the treatment of intractable epilepsy or seizure disorders. And, as NPR has \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/04/23/604307015/anxiety-relief-without-the-high-new-studies-on-cbd-a-cannabis-extract\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported\u003c/a>, CBD supplements are available widely online and in dispensaries in the form of oils or tinctures. CBD oil has gained popularity with consumers as a remedy for a variety of other ailments. However, the legal status of these products is uncertain, as is their quality. They're not regulated the way pharmaceutical drugs are, so the consistency and dose can vary widely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Having an FDA-approved, pharmaceutical-grade CBD drug will open up a new treatment option for epilepsy patients by delivering a high-quality, consistent dose of CBD, says \u003ca href=\"https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/brain-institute/person/robert-carson-md-phd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Robert Carson\u003c/a> a pediatric neurologist at Vanderbilt University who treats patients with epilepsy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Our biggest concerns with the artisanal [or supplement] versions of CBD were related to the consistency,\" Carson says. \"We can't guarantee the consistency.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carson says he will likely prescribe Epidiolex going forward. \"I'm always excited about the potential for a new therapy that has been well-studied and has a great potential for benefit,\" he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several researchers are studying the potential of CBD to treat psychiatric conditions. For instance, a \u003ca href=\"https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03248167\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">clinical trial is underway\u003c/a> to test whether CBD can be an effective treatment for people with post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorder. Another clinical trial will determine whether CBD could help \u003ca href=\"https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01311778\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">prevent relapse\u003c/a> in opioid abusers.[contextly_sidebar id=\"TzTIWOn6t1b75631sBYWcr2CwFcxdgut\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The approval of Epidiolex may help open the door to more CBD research, as it helps to lift one regulatory hurdle. Until now, the Drug Enforcement Administration has classified CBD as a Schedule 1 substance. Like other drugs in this category, which include heroin and LSD, these drugs are considered to have no medical use and a high potential for abuse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But now, with the approval of a CBD drug, the DEA will change this, according to Dr. Douglas Throckmorton, deputy director of regulatory programs at the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research,\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The DEA will need to make a different scheduling decision for CBD...because it now has an accepted medical use,\" he said during a conference call with reporters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the reclassification is underway now.\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=FDA+Green+Lights+Marijuana-Based+Pharmaceutical+Drug+&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "443040 https://ww2.kqed.org/futureofyou/?p=443040",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/futureofyou/2018/06/26/fda-green-lights-marijuana-based-pharmaceutical-drug/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 597,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 17
},
"modified": 1530045809,
"excerpt": "For the first time, the FDA has approved a drug containing CBD, an extract of marijuana. This move could pave the way for more research into medical uses for the marijuana extract.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "For the first time, the FDA has approved a drug containing CBD, an extract of marijuana. This move could pave the way for more research into medical uses for the marijuana extract.",
"title": "FDA Green Lights Marijuana-Based Pharmaceutical Drug | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "FDA Green Lights Marijuana-Based Pharmaceutical Drug",
"datePublished": "2018-06-26T13:40:41-07:00",
"dateModified": "2018-06-26T13:43:29-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "fda-green-lights-marijuana-based-pharmaceutical-drug",
"status": "publish",
"nprApiLink": "http://api.npr.org/query?id=623236189&apiKey=MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004",
"nprByline": "Allison Aubrey, NPR",
"nprStoryDate": "Mon, 25 Jun 2018 17:33:01 -0400",
"nprLastModifiedDate": "Mon, 25 Jun 2018 23:07:07 -0400",
"nprHtmlLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/06/25/623236189/fda-green-lights-marijuana-based-pharmaceutical-drug?ft=nprml&f=623236189",
"nprImageAgency": "Getty Images",
"nprImageCredit": "Blaine Harrington III",
"source": "Health",
"nprStoryId": "623236189",
"nprRetrievedStory": "1",
"nprPubDate": "Mon, 25 Jun 2018 23:07:00 -0400",
"path": "/futureofyou/443040/fda-green-lights-marijuana-based-pharmaceutical-drug",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a marijuana-derived drug for the treatment of two rare and serious forms of epilepsy, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome, that begin in childhood but can persist in adulthood.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The drug is made from purified cannabidiol, or CBD, a compound found in the cannabis plant. The drug will be marketed under the brand name Epidiolex.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CBD has medicinal effects, but it does not cause the mind-altering high that comes from THC, the primary psychoactive component of marijuana.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2016, researchers at \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2016/01/401246/cannabis-based-drug-reduces-seizures-children-treatment-resistant-epilepsy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco \u003c/a>introduced the first study looking at the effects of Epidiolex on children and young adults who suffer from severe forms of epilepsy. They found that patients had fewer seizures when treated with the purified cannabinoid.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The FDA says this is the first drug approved in the U.S. that contains a purified substance derived from marijuana. The agency has previously approved drugs made from synthetic versions of THC and other marijuana constituents.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This approval serves as a reminder that advancing sound development programs that properly evaluate active ingredients contained in marijuana can lead to important medical therapies,\" said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb during a call with reporters about the approval.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several states \u003ca href=\"http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/state-medical-marijuana-laws.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">have legalized CBD oil \u003c/a>specifically for the treatment of intractable epilepsy or seizure disorders. And, as NPR has \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/04/23/604307015/anxiety-relief-without-the-high-new-studies-on-cbd-a-cannabis-extract\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported\u003c/a>, CBD supplements are available widely online and in dispensaries in the form of oils or tinctures. CBD oil has gained popularity with consumers as a remedy for a variety of other ailments. However, the legal status of these products is uncertain, as is their quality. They're not regulated the way pharmaceutical drugs are, so the consistency and dose can vary widely.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Having an FDA-approved, pharmaceutical-grade CBD drug will open up a new treatment option for epilepsy patients by delivering a high-quality, consistent dose of CBD, says \u003ca href=\"https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/brain-institute/person/robert-carson-md-phd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Robert Carson\u003c/a> a pediatric neurologist at Vanderbilt University who treats patients with epilepsy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Our biggest concerns with the artisanal [or supplement] versions of CBD were related to the consistency,\" Carson says. \"We can't guarantee the consistency.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Carson says he will likely prescribe Epidiolex going forward. \"I'm always excited about the potential for a new therapy that has been well-studied and has a great potential for benefit,\" he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several researchers are studying the potential of CBD to treat psychiatric conditions. For instance, a \u003ca href=\"https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03248167\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">clinical trial is underway\u003c/a> to test whether CBD can be an effective treatment for people with post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol use disorder. Another clinical trial will determine whether CBD could help \u003ca href=\"https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01311778\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">prevent relapse\u003c/a> in opioid abusers.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The approval of Epidiolex may help open the door to more CBD research, as it helps to lift one regulatory hurdle. Until now, the Drug Enforcement Administration has classified CBD as a Schedule 1 substance. Like other drugs in this category, which include heroin and LSD, these drugs are considered to have no medical use and a high potential for abuse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But now, with the approval of a CBD drug, the DEA will change this, according to Dr. Douglas Throckmorton, deputy director of regulatory programs at the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research,\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The DEA will need to make a different scheduling decision for CBD...because it now has an accepted medical use,\" he said during a conference call with reporters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the reclassification is underway now.\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\n\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=FDA+Green+Lights+Marijuana-Based+Pharmaceutical+Drug+&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/futureofyou/443040/fda-green-lights-marijuana-based-pharmaceutical-drug",
"authors": [
"byline_futureofyou_443040"
],
"categories": [
"futureofyou_1060",
"futureofyou_1"
],
"tags": [
"futureofyou_1562",
"futureofyou_952",
"futureofyou_1563",
"futureofyou_38",
"futureofyou_1041",
"futureofyou_1056"
],
"collections": [
"futureofyou_1093"
],
"featImg": "futureofyou_443041",
"label": "source_futureofyou_443040"
},
"futureofyou_443015": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "futureofyou_443015",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "443015",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1529953233000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "futureofyou",
"term": 1097
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1529953233,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "Tweeting Oncologist Draws Ire And Admiration For Calling Out Hype",
"title": "Tweeting Oncologist Draws Ire And Admiration For Calling Out Hype",
"headTitle": "KQED Future of You | KQED Science",
"content": "\u003cp>New advances in medicine also tend to come with a hefty dose of hype. Yes, some new cancer drugs in the hot field of \u003ca href=\"https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/precisionmedicine/definition\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">precision medicine\u003c/a>, which takes into account variables for individual patients, have worked remarkably well for some patients. But while many patients clamor for them, they aren't currently effective for the vast majority of cancers.[contextly_sidebar id=\"qJjTcMLEVnnz6nmsz9HyyAbHaAtlwa0j\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This stubborn fact has become a sticking point for an equally stubborn cancer doctor. At just 35 years old, \u003ca href=\"http://www.vinayakkprasad.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dr. Vinay Prasad\u003c/a> has made a name for himself by calling out the hype surrounding precision medicine and confronting other examples of hype in his field.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prasad is a hematologist-oncologist and an assistant professor of medicine at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. Some have called him a professional troublemaker, a gadfly or a provocateur as he tweets to his 20,000-plus followers. He has sent nearly 30,000 tweets out to the Twitterverse, putting him within hailing distance of President Trump, at least in terms of output.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He is also a prolific author of scientific papers, \u003ca href=\"https://www.amazon.com/Ending-Medical-Reversal-Improving-Outcomes/dp/1421417723\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">as well as a book\u003c/a>, that call out uncomfortable facts about the science of cancer and the business and regulation of medical treatments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Giant cancer conventions are ripe targets for Prasad's sometimes prickly observations. We caught up with him in early June at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/06/05/617104810/doctors-scrutinize-overtreatment-as-cancer-death-rates-decline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting\u003c/a>, which drew about 40,000 attendees to Chicago's sprawling McCormick Place convention center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prasad's main event at the conference was to be a debate/discussion about whether precision cancer treatment is \"ready for prime time.\" But that debate really started as soon as Prasad stepped into the convention center.[contextly_sidebar id=\"eXHk9LJ63jzmXFh4iRHsnqgQFsERUauR\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another young cancer researcher — who feared having a public spat with Prasad and asked not to be identified — ran into Prasad while he was walking over to view the scientific posters. After thanking Prasad for raising some important issues, she chided him for his tone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I think both sides are too emotional,\" she told him, \"and I think the truth is something in the middle.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He aggressively defended his position, often not letting her finish her sentences. Genetic tests now commonly given to cancer patients only identify clear treatments about 8 percent of the time, he argued, citing \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/fullarticle/2678901\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">one of his research papers\u003c/a> — and only 5 percent show even a temporary response to the treatment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cancer drugs that modify the immune system, such as checkpoint inhibitors, aren't, strictly speaking, precision medicine, since they don't depend on the results of the genome tests. But they also only work well in a minority of patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, Prasad points out, most successful cancer treatment still involves much less expensive conventional chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He is not arguing that precision medications are all useless, as his critics sometimes seem to imply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I use those drugs,\" he says. \"There are some good drugs. No one said there are no good drugs.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The problem, in his eyes, is that the field has gotten so enthusiastic about these drugs that doctors aren't waiting for actual science to distinguish between the conditions for which they are useful and for which they are, instead, a very expensive, wasted effort.[contextly_sidebar id=\"kaAhMLBgUooXKJyU79C6nwxwlorkR0R3\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"A lot of people want to push it to the treatment side,\" he says. \"They want to get Medicare to pay for it,\" even before the drug is approved for that specific purpose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prasad says drug companies are happy not to shoulder the costs of research when doctors will prescribe their medicine anyway. \"And that's the root of what bothers me about this.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Indeed, the high costs of these unproven — and often failed — treatments fall to people who buy health insurance and who pay taxes. It is, in essence, a massive uncontrolled experiment, and nobody is collecting the data most of the time to find out what might be useful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Often, doctors run genetic tests on tumors to see if they carry a mutation that will respond to a targeted drug. More than 90 percent of the time, there is no match.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But doctors are increasingly giving these targeted drugs anyway to patients who have the mutation in a type of tumor that has not been shown to respond to the drug. While that sounds rational, it often doesn't work in patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One study to explore these nonapproved uses is the National Cancer Institute's Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice trial. At the ASCO meeting, scientists reported on early results from about 150 patients who were matched to drugs based on their tumor's genetic fingerprint, rather than the type of tumor. \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/ShaalanBeg/status/1002891737063481344/photo/1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The results were disappointing\u003c/a>. The tumors responded poorly or not at all to the targeted drugs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prasad says that when he was in medical school, he assumed he would just learn how to treat cancer and spend his career doing that. But then he discovered how much of medical practice was based on traditions rather than on actual science.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those traditions, sometimes called \"eminence-based medicine,\" have slowly been giving way to \"evidence-based medicine.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Even the most respected, charismatic and thoughtful experts often are incorrect,\" he says. That realization drew Prasad to consider a career beyond just treating patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I found it harder just to observe things that troubled me and not study them,\" he says. \"And at some point, I made the conscious decision that if it troubles me enough, I want to look at it and study it. Maybe somebody else will carry the torch and actually fix that problem someday.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prasad got on this path after he graduated from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. (He also has a master's degree in public health from the Johns Hopkins University.) He really launched his research career while a fellow at the National Institutes of Health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His prolific research output is supported in part by funding from Texas billionaires \u003ca href=\"https://www.wired.com/2017/01/john-arnold-waging-war-on-bad-science/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Laura and John Arnold\u003c/a>. Their foundation has a soft spot for supporting scientists who are calling out shortcomings in scientific research and suggesting ways to improve it.[contextly_sidebar id=\"rjuDJW5XLRAljfFEw7wLAbdChQrd8eYS\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prasad's skeptical approach was on display at the ASCO meeting. As the crowd was gathering, he fired off a tweet encouraging the attendees to play \"ASCO Bingo.\" He had filled a five-by-five grid with words such as \"unprecedented,\" \"breakthrough,\" \"game changer\" and \"transformative\" and invited his colleagues to listen for these words during the scientific presentations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As thousands of doctors filed into a massive meeting room to hear the plenary talk, random tweets about the meeting flashed up on the screens, including Prasad's ASCO Bingo card. \"I guess it has almost 100 retweets now,\" he said as the tweet flashed by.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He actually \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/fullarticle/2464965\">published a scientific paper\u003c/a> in 2016 about the overuse of superlatives in presentations and news coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"What really got me,\" he says, \"was [that for] 14 percent of the drugs, the superlative was used based only on mouse or laboratory results, and they'd never given it to a human being!\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, it was time for Prasad's presentation at the meeting — an informal debate of the value of precision medicine in cancer treatment. His opponent, Jeremy Warner, had suggested the discussion, which was limited to an audience of 55 to allow a more intimate conversation than is typical at the vast conference.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"So the first thing I have to say is, I'm the underdog,\" said Warner, a cancer doctor and researcher at Vanderbilt University. For starters, he admitted that Prasad has 40 times more Twitter followers, many of them avid supporters.[contextly_sidebar id=\"GqxqGRIpmfzYIwm7c6DOwB7bmKuXaKY0\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The back-and-forth turned out to be surprisingly friendly, with many points of agreement. Warner agreed that in an ideal world there would be a lot more scientific studies to figure out which drugs work in which circumstances. \"But just saying that somebody should be on a clinical trial — I mean it sounds easy, but it's actually not easy at all.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Richard Schilsky, \u003ca href=\"https://www.asco.org/people/richard-l-schilsky-md-fasco-facp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ASCO's chief medical officer\u003c/a>, moderated the conversation and came away in considerable agreement with Prasad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I enjoy his remarks very much,\" he says afterward. \"I mean, he's a bit of a gadfly. He's a bit of a provocateur. But frankly, he's taking a very hard and objective look at a very complex area and ... he's saying what's behind the curtain. 'Let's celebrate what really works, let's look hard at what doesn't, and let's try to develop the evidence that we need to make important decisions for patients.' \"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I think it's unfortunate that I'm thought of as a professional troublemaker,\" Prasad says. \"We really try to find those instances where the evidence and the narrative are divergent and try to ask what we can do to bring those two closer together.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prasad says he can't tell at this point whether he is building a strong reputation for himself or potentially damaging his career.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I don't want to be the person to be doing all this work,\" he says. \"I wish there were senior people doing this work.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But by and large, they aren't.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It bothers him, he says, when his colleagues think he is simply being cynical or contrary. The ultimate point is to call out the problems in this critical field so everyone does science better, he says. And, in the end, the rewards of that will flow to the patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>You can contact Richard Harris at \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"mailto:rharris@npr.org\">\u003cem>rharris@npr.org\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Tweeting+Oncologist+Draws+Ire+And+Admiration+For+Calling+Out+Hype&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "443015 https://ww2.kqed.org/futureofyou/?p=443015",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/futureofyou/2018/06/25/tweeting-oncologist-draws-ire-and-admiration-for-calling-out-hype/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1617,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 43
},
"modified": 1529894750,
"excerpt": "A young cancer doctor uses social media to skewer what he sees as overblown claims for \"precision medicine.\" That doesn't make him hugely popular at cancer research meetings.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "A young cancer doctor uses social media to skewer what he sees as overblown claims for "precision medicine." That doesn't make him hugely popular at cancer research meetings.",
"title": "Tweeting Oncologist Draws Ire And Admiration For Calling Out Hype | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Tweeting Oncologist Draws Ire And Admiration For Calling Out Hype",
"datePublished": "2018-06-25T12:00:33-07:00",
"dateModified": "2018-06-24T19:45:50-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "tweeting-oncologist-draws-ire-and-admiration-for-calling-out-hype",
"status": "publish",
"nprApiLink": "http://api.npr.org/query?id=621068147&apiKey=MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004",
"nprByline": "Richard Harris, NPR",
"nprStoryDate": "Sun, 24 Jun 2018 06:00:21 -0400",
"nprLastModifiedDate": "Sun, 24 Jun 2018 19:05:59 -0400",
"nprHtmlLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/06/24/621068147/tweeting-oncologist-draws-ire-and-admiration-for-calling-out-hype?ft=nprml&f=621068147",
"nprAudio": "https://ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/wesun/2018/06/20180624_wesun_tweeting_oncologist_draws_ire_and_admiration_for_calling_out_hype.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1128&d=422&p=10&story=621068147&ft=nprml&f=621068147",
"nprImageAgency": "The Washington Post via Getty Images",
"nprImageCredit": "Marvin Joseph",
"nprAudioM3u": "http://api.npr.org/m3u/1622959144-d508de.m3u?orgId=1&topicId=1128&d=422&p=10&story=621068147&ft=nprml&f=621068147",
"nprStoryId": "621068147",
"nprRetrievedStory": "1",
"nprPubDate": "Sun, 24 Jun 2018 19:05:00 -0400",
"path": "/futureofyou/443015/tweeting-oncologist-draws-ire-and-admiration-for-calling-out-hype",
"audioUrl": "https://ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/wesun/2018/06/20180624_wesun_tweeting_oncologist_draws_ire_and_admiration_for_calling_out_hype.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1128&d=422&p=10&story=621068147&ft=nprml&f=621068147",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>New advances in medicine also tend to come with a hefty dose of hype. Yes, some new cancer drugs in the hot field of \u003ca href=\"https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/precisionmedicine/definition\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">precision medicine\u003c/a>, which takes into account variables for individual patients, have worked remarkably well for some patients. But while many patients clamor for them, they aren't currently effective for the vast majority of cancers.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This stubborn fact has become a sticking point for an equally stubborn cancer doctor. At just 35 years old, \u003ca href=\"http://www.vinayakkprasad.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dr. Vinay Prasad\u003c/a> has made a name for himself by calling out the hype surrounding precision medicine and confronting other examples of hype in his field.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prasad is a hematologist-oncologist and an assistant professor of medicine at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. Some have called him a professional troublemaker, a gadfly or a provocateur as he tweets to his 20,000-plus followers. He has sent nearly 30,000 tweets out to the Twitterverse, putting him within hailing distance of President Trump, at least in terms of output.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He is also a prolific author of scientific papers, \u003ca href=\"https://www.amazon.com/Ending-Medical-Reversal-Improving-Outcomes/dp/1421417723\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">as well as a book\u003c/a>, that call out uncomfortable facts about the science of cancer and the business and regulation of medical treatments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Giant cancer conventions are ripe targets for Prasad's sometimes prickly observations. We caught up with him in early June at the \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/06/05/617104810/doctors-scrutinize-overtreatment-as-cancer-death-rates-decline\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting\u003c/a>, which drew about 40,000 attendees to Chicago's sprawling McCormick Place convention center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prasad's main event at the conference was to be a debate/discussion about whether precision cancer treatment is \"ready for prime time.\" But that debate really started as soon as Prasad stepped into the convention center.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another young cancer researcher — who feared having a public spat with Prasad and asked not to be identified — ran into Prasad while he was walking over to view the scientific posters. After thanking Prasad for raising some important issues, she chided him for his tone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I think both sides are too emotional,\" she told him, \"and I think the truth is something in the middle.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He aggressively defended his position, often not letting her finish her sentences. Genetic tests now commonly given to cancer patients only identify clear treatments about 8 percent of the time, he argued, citing \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/fullarticle/2678901\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">one of his research papers\u003c/a> — and only 5 percent show even a temporary response to the treatment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cancer drugs that modify the immune system, such as checkpoint inhibitors, aren't, strictly speaking, precision medicine, since they don't depend on the results of the genome tests. But they also only work well in a minority of patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, Prasad points out, most successful cancer treatment still involves much less expensive conventional chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He is not arguing that precision medications are all useless, as his critics sometimes seem to imply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I use those drugs,\" he says. \"There are some good drugs. No one said there are no good drugs.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The problem, in his eyes, is that the field has gotten so enthusiastic about these drugs that doctors aren't waiting for actual science to distinguish between the conditions for which they are useful and for which they are, instead, a very expensive, wasted effort.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"A lot of people want to push it to the treatment side,\" he says. \"They want to get Medicare to pay for it,\" even before the drug is approved for that specific purpose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prasad says drug companies are happy not to shoulder the costs of research when doctors will prescribe their medicine anyway. \"And that's the root of what bothers me about this.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Indeed, the high costs of these unproven — and often failed — treatments fall to people who buy health insurance and who pay taxes. It is, in essence, a massive uncontrolled experiment, and nobody is collecting the data most of the time to find out what might be useful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Often, doctors run genetic tests on tumors to see if they carry a mutation that will respond to a targeted drug. More than 90 percent of the time, there is no match.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But doctors are increasingly giving these targeted drugs anyway to patients who have the mutation in a type of tumor that has not been shown to respond to the drug. While that sounds rational, it often doesn't work in patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One study to explore these nonapproved uses is the National Cancer Institute's Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice trial. At the ASCO meeting, scientists reported on early results from about 150 patients who were matched to drugs based on their tumor's genetic fingerprint, rather than the type of tumor. \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/ShaalanBeg/status/1002891737063481344/photo/1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The results were disappointing\u003c/a>. The tumors responded poorly or not at all to the targeted drugs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prasad says that when he was in medical school, he assumed he would just learn how to treat cancer and spend his career doing that. But then he discovered how much of medical practice was based on traditions rather than on actual science.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those traditions, sometimes called \"eminence-based medicine,\" have slowly been giving way to \"evidence-based medicine.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Even the most respected, charismatic and thoughtful experts often are incorrect,\" he says. That realization drew Prasad to consider a career beyond just treating patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I found it harder just to observe things that troubled me and not study them,\" he says. \"And at some point, I made the conscious decision that if it troubles me enough, I want to look at it and study it. Maybe somebody else will carry the torch and actually fix that problem someday.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prasad got on this path after he graduated from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. (He also has a master's degree in public health from the Johns Hopkins University.) He really launched his research career while a fellow at the National Institutes of Health.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His prolific research output is supported in part by funding from Texas billionaires \u003ca href=\"https://www.wired.com/2017/01/john-arnold-waging-war-on-bad-science/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Laura and John Arnold\u003c/a>. Their foundation has a soft spot for supporting scientists who are calling out shortcomings in scientific research and suggesting ways to improve it.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prasad's skeptical approach was on display at the ASCO meeting. As the crowd was gathering, he fired off a tweet encouraging the attendees to play \"ASCO Bingo.\" He had filled a five-by-five grid with words such as \"unprecedented,\" \"breakthrough,\" \"game changer\" and \"transformative\" and invited his colleagues to listen for these words during the scientific presentations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As thousands of doctors filed into a massive meeting room to hear the plenary talk, random tweets about the meeting flashed up on the screens, including Prasad's ASCO Bingo card. \"I guess it has almost 100 retweets now,\" he said as the tweet flashed by.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He actually \u003ca href=\"https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/fullarticle/2464965\">published a scientific paper\u003c/a> in 2016 about the overuse of superlatives in presentations and news coverage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"What really got me,\" he says, \"was [that for] 14 percent of the drugs, the superlative was used based only on mouse or laboratory results, and they'd never given it to a human being!\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, it was time for Prasad's presentation at the meeting — an informal debate of the value of precision medicine in cancer treatment. His opponent, Jeremy Warner, had suggested the discussion, which was limited to an audience of 55 to allow a more intimate conversation than is typical at the vast conference.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"So the first thing I have to say is, I'm the underdog,\" said Warner, a cancer doctor and researcher at Vanderbilt University. For starters, he admitted that Prasad has 40 times more Twitter followers, many of them avid supporters.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The back-and-forth turned out to be surprisingly friendly, with many points of agreement. Warner agreed that in an ideal world there would be a lot more scientific studies to figure out which drugs work in which circumstances. \"But just saying that somebody should be on a clinical trial — I mean it sounds easy, but it's actually not easy at all.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Richard Schilsky, \u003ca href=\"https://www.asco.org/people/richard-l-schilsky-md-fasco-facp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ASCO's chief medical officer\u003c/a>, moderated the conversation and came away in considerable agreement with Prasad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I enjoy his remarks very much,\" he says afterward. \"I mean, he's a bit of a gadfly. He's a bit of a provocateur. But frankly, he's taking a very hard and objective look at a very complex area and ... he's saying what's behind the curtain. 'Let's celebrate what really works, let's look hard at what doesn't, and let's try to develop the evidence that we need to make important decisions for patients.' \"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I think it's unfortunate that I'm thought of as a professional troublemaker,\" Prasad says. \"We really try to find those instances where the evidence and the narrative are divergent and try to ask what we can do to bring those two closer together.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Prasad says he can't tell at this point whether he is building a strong reputation for himself or potentially damaging his career.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I don't want to be the person to be doing all this work,\" he says. \"I wish there were senior people doing this work.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But by and large, they aren't.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It bothers him, he says, when his colleagues think he is simply being cynical or contrary. The ultimate point is to call out the problems in this critical field so everyone does science better, he says. And, in the end, the rewards of that will flow to the patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>You can contact Richard Harris at \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"mailto:rharris@npr.org\">\u003cem>rharris@npr.org\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Tweeting+Oncologist+Draws+Ire+And+Admiration+For+Calling+Out+Hype&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/futureofyou/443015/tweeting-oncologist-draws-ire-and-admiration-for-calling-out-hype",
"authors": [
"byline_futureofyou_443015"
],
"categories": [
"futureofyou_1060",
"futureofyou_1"
],
"tags": [
"futureofyou_103",
"futureofyou_190",
"futureofyou_952",
"futureofyou_931",
"futureofyou_198"
],
"collections": [
"futureofyou_1097"
],
"featImg": "futureofyou_443016",
"label": "futureofyou_1097"
},
"futureofyou_442968": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "futureofyou_442968",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "442968",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1529694049000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1529694049,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "First Phage Center In The U.S. Signals Growing Acceptance",
"title": "First Phage Center In The U.S. Signals Growing Acceptance",
"headTitle": "KQED Future of You | KQED Science",
"content": "\u003cp>When her husband was dying of a drug-resistant infection, Steffanie Strathdee had a last-ditch idea. They could try treating him with a virus that would kill the bacteria colonizing his insides. The method, called \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2017/11/28/phage-therapy-mallory-smith/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">phage therapy\u003c/a>, was popular in former Soviet republics, but had mostly been abandoned in the U.S. Researchers had to \u003ca href=\"https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2018/05/the-best-viral-news-youll-ever-read-antibiotic-resistance-phage-therapy-bacteriophage-virus/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hunt\u003c/a> for the right virus in Texas pigsties and sewage treatment plants.[contextly_sidebar id=\"arHYIuUonCY76BgMGAom8CdlRJtFsuZL\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was 2016. Phage therapy is still very much experimental — but it’s come a long way since then. New companies have popped up, hoping to get approval to sell these viruses as drugs. A \u003ca href=\"https://phage.directory/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">phage directory\u003c/a> has come together, lab by lab, helping doctors figure out who has which virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, the U.S. is getting its first \u003ca href=\"https://medschool.ucsd.edu/som/medicine/divisions/infectious-diseases/research/center-innovative-phage-applications-and-therapeutics/Pages/default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">phage therapy center\u003c/a>, at the University of California, San Diego. Its mission is to run clinical trials, but also to streamline the mad dash to secure the right phage before a patient dies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In some ways, the Center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapeutics simply gives a name — and $1.2 million — to an institute that already exists. After word got out that Strathdee and her husband’s doctors had managed to save his life with a bacteriophage — literally, a bacteria-eater — her inbox filled with pleas for a repeat performance. They came from all over: the U.S., the U.K., Australia, India, China, Albania. In almost every case, there was someone dying because of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Viruses that had specifically evolved to kill those microbes might be able to help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sometimes, Strathdee and her network couldn’t act fast enough, and the patient died. But occasionally, it worked out. “I’ve had a second job as a phage-wrangler,” said Strathdee, who is the associate dean of global health sciences at UCSD, and who has been named a co-director of the new center. “When we started to treat patients, each one was like reinventing the wheel all over again: The phone calls at the 11th hour, the paperwork.”[contextly_sidebar id=\"HWlHiwtZ3b4aS5iux0NZv3CbgJWJOIOp\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Getting phage therapy to a patient can be a bit a puzzle. These viruses are picky about the microbes they feast on, so you often need to take a swab of the patient’s bacteria, nurture it in a dish, and then test which phages are able to kill it off. You need to make sure that the phages in question will explode a bacterial cell, rather than settling comfortably in its nucleus like lice on a kindergartener’s scalp. And then you need to purify it before delivery, so there aren’t any bacterial leftovers that might poison the person instead of saving them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s also plenty of bureaucracy, because phages have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s often a crazy rush to find the right phage with emails and calls and tweets, then getting emergency experimental approval — and that was largely what happened for the five other patients who’ve been treated with phages at UCSD since Strathdee’s husband was revived.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We wanted to make it so it isn’t such a scramble,” said Dr. Robert “Chip” Schooley, an infectious disease \u003ca href=\"https://www.tuftsmedicalcenter.org/PhysicianDirectory/Helen-Boucher.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">specialist\u003c/a> at UCSD, who administered the phage to Strathdee’s husband, and who is also co-director of the new center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The announcement is also symbolic of a wider shift. With the rise of antibiotics in the 1930s and ’40s, phages went out of fashion in the U.S. But the person who had named them, a Canadian microbiologist named Felix d’Herelle, moved to Tbilisi, in the republic of Georgia, continuing his research at an institute that attracted the admiration of Joseph Stalin himself. Even after d’Herelle’s death, the \u003ca href=\"http://www.eliava-institute.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Eliava Institute\u003c/a> kept the flame of phage therapy alive.[contextly_sidebar id=\"HGcjrnDFzg80OPCbEp1ow35PtAMePTXI\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That hardly helped the viruses’ reputation in America during the Cold War. “It was commie science; there was a taint to it,” explained Dr. William Summers, a phage biologist, historian, and professor emeritus at Yale University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though phages continued to be an important part of lab science, the researchers who used them thought they were good for just that: research. The idea of using them for therapy was almost a joke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, as antibiotic resistance grew into a worldwide crisis — one that \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/threat-report-2013/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">kills\u003c/a> some 23,000 Americans a year — that joke started sounding more and more appealing. The funding of a center to administer and collect data on phage therapy is a reversal, of sorts: An admission that this long-disparaged idea is worth a million-dollar second glance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Trust me, at the Eliava, we have tried to convince people that phages are a safe and good alternative to antibiotics for many years,” said Mzia Kutateladze, the director of the Eliava Institute. “Finally the people agreed to use it, and we are very happy, of course.” She estimated that Eliava’s phage therapy center gets around 15 to 20 Americans every year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There really is, thankfully, some momentum building … around these non-traditional therapies,” said Dr. Helen Boucher, an infectious disease specialist at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, who is not involved with the UCSD project. “I would think of this more in a high-risk, high-reward category. This is largely uncharted territory. … At the end of the day, if you have a product that can work against antibiotic-resistant organisms that isn’t antibiotics, that would be huge.”[contextly_sidebar id=\"oZXWClXhDyGosKyti4BoRnGzhEfmXr3I\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The news that her brainchild had been funded took Strathdee by surprise in late May. She was at a ceremony for UCSD professors with endowed chairs, at which all of them received medals. “The chancellor’s literally putting the medal around my neck, and he said, ‘Hey, I just sent you some money today,’” she recalled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new center will collaborate with companies such as \u003ca href=\"http://www.ampliphibio.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AmpliPhi Biosciences\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://www.aphage.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Adaptive Phage Therapeutics\u003c/a> to treat future patients. Some of them will have cystic fibrosis, which causes mucus in the lungs to be overly sticky, often allowing drug-resistant microbes to proliferate. Others might have long-term infections that are preventing them from getting organ transplants. Yet others will have implanted devices, which sometimes provide the nooks and crannies where bacteria can grow into a slimy film.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The sad thing is that there is going to be no shortage of patients,” said Strathdee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This\u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2018/06/21/first-phage-therapy-center-in-us/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> story\u003c/a> was originally published by STAT, an online publication of Boston Globe Media that covers health, medicine, and scientific discovery.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"ctx-subscribe-container ctx-personalization-container ctx_default_placement ctx-clearfix\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cdiv class=\"ctx-social-container ctx_default_placement ctx-clearfix\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cdiv class=\"ctx-module-container ctx_default_placement ctx-clearfix\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"ctx-module ctx-nodefs ctx-content-block2 ctx-module-default\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"ctx-sections-container ctx-nomar\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"ctx-section ctx-clearfix ctx-section-previous\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"ctx-links-header\">\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "442968 https://ww2.kqed.org/futureofyou/?p=442968",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/futureofyou/2018/06/22/first-phage-therapy-center-in-the-u-s-signals-growing-acceptance/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1151,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 21
},
"modified": 1529618130,
"excerpt": "UC San Diego is launching the country's first phage therapy center. The controversial treatment, once abandoned in the U.S., relies on viruses to treat deadly antibiotic-resistant bacteria.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "UC San Diego is launching the country's first phage therapy center. The controversial treatment, once abandoned in the U.S., relies on viruses to treat deadly antibiotic-resistant bacteria.",
"title": "First Phage Center In The U.S. Signals Growing Acceptance | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "First Phage Center In The U.S. Signals Growing Acceptance",
"datePublished": "2018-06-22T12:00:49-07:00",
"dateModified": "2018-06-21T14:55:30-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "first-phage-therapy-center-in-the-u-s-signals-growing-acceptance",
"status": "publish",
"nprByline": "Eric Boodman\u003cbr />STAT",
"source": "Hope/Hype",
"path": "/futureofyou/442968/first-phage-therapy-center-in-the-u-s-signals-growing-acceptance",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When her husband was dying of a drug-resistant infection, Steffanie Strathdee had a last-ditch idea. They could try treating him with a virus that would kill the bacteria colonizing his insides. The method, called \u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2017/11/28/phage-therapy-mallory-smith/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">phage therapy\u003c/a>, was popular in former Soviet republics, but had mostly been abandoned in the U.S. Researchers had to \u003ca href=\"https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2018/05/the-best-viral-news-youll-ever-read-antibiotic-resistance-phage-therapy-bacteriophage-virus/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hunt\u003c/a> for the right virus in Texas pigsties and sewage treatment plants.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That was 2016. Phage therapy is still very much experimental — but it’s come a long way since then. New companies have popped up, hoping to get approval to sell these viruses as drugs. A \u003ca href=\"https://phage.directory/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">phage directory\u003c/a> has come together, lab by lab, helping doctors figure out who has which virus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, the U.S. is getting its first \u003ca href=\"https://medschool.ucsd.edu/som/medicine/divisions/infectious-diseases/research/center-innovative-phage-applications-and-therapeutics/Pages/default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">phage therapy center\u003c/a>, at the University of California, San Diego. Its mission is to run clinical trials, but also to streamline the mad dash to secure the right phage before a patient dies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In some ways, the Center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapeutics simply gives a name — and $1.2 million — to an institute that already exists. After word got out that Strathdee and her husband’s doctors had managed to save his life with a bacteriophage — literally, a bacteria-eater — her inbox filled with pleas for a repeat performance. They came from all over: the U.S., the U.K., Australia, India, China, Albania. In almost every case, there was someone dying because of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Viruses that had specifically evolved to kill those microbes might be able to help.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sometimes, Strathdee and her network couldn’t act fast enough, and the patient died. But occasionally, it worked out. “I’ve had a second job as a phage-wrangler,” said Strathdee, who is the associate dean of global health sciences at UCSD, and who has been named a co-director of the new center. “When we started to treat patients, each one was like reinventing the wheel all over again: The phone calls at the 11th hour, the paperwork.”\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Getting phage therapy to a patient can be a bit a puzzle. These viruses are picky about the microbes they feast on, so you often need to take a swab of the patient’s bacteria, nurture it in a dish, and then test which phages are able to kill it off. You need to make sure that the phages in question will explode a bacterial cell, rather than settling comfortably in its nucleus like lice on a kindergartener’s scalp. And then you need to purify it before delivery, so there aren’t any bacterial leftovers that might poison the person instead of saving them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s also plenty of bureaucracy, because phages have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s often a crazy rush to find the right phage with emails and calls and tweets, then getting emergency experimental approval — and that was largely what happened for the five other patients who’ve been treated with phages at UCSD since Strathdee’s husband was revived.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We wanted to make it so it isn’t such a scramble,” said Dr. Robert “Chip” Schooley, an infectious disease \u003ca href=\"https://www.tuftsmedicalcenter.org/PhysicianDirectory/Helen-Boucher.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">specialist\u003c/a> at UCSD, who administered the phage to Strathdee’s husband, and who is also co-director of the new center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The announcement is also symbolic of a wider shift. With the rise of antibiotics in the 1930s and ’40s, phages went out of fashion in the U.S. But the person who had named them, a Canadian microbiologist named Felix d’Herelle, moved to Tbilisi, in the republic of Georgia, continuing his research at an institute that attracted the admiration of Joseph Stalin himself. Even after d’Herelle’s death, the \u003ca href=\"http://www.eliava-institute.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Eliava Institute\u003c/a> kept the flame of phage therapy alive.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That hardly helped the viruses’ reputation in America during the Cold War. “It was commie science; there was a taint to it,” explained Dr. William Summers, a phage biologist, historian, and professor emeritus at Yale University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though phages continued to be an important part of lab science, the researchers who used them thought they were good for just that: research. The idea of using them for therapy was almost a joke.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, as antibiotic resistance grew into a worldwide crisis — one that \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/threat-report-2013/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">kills\u003c/a> some 23,000 Americans a year — that joke started sounding more and more appealing. The funding of a center to administer and collect data on phage therapy is a reversal, of sorts: An admission that this long-disparaged idea is worth a million-dollar second glance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Trust me, at the Eliava, we have tried to convince people that phages are a safe and good alternative to antibiotics for many years,” said Mzia Kutateladze, the director of the Eliava Institute. “Finally the people agreed to use it, and we are very happy, of course.” She estimated that Eliava’s phage therapy center gets around 15 to 20 Americans every year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There really is, thankfully, some momentum building … around these non-traditional therapies,” said Dr. Helen Boucher, an infectious disease specialist at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, who is not involved with the UCSD project. “I would think of this more in a high-risk, high-reward category. This is largely uncharted territory. … At the end of the day, if you have a product that can work against antibiotic-resistant organisms that isn’t antibiotics, that would be huge.”\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The news that her brainchild had been funded took Strathdee by surprise in late May. She was at a ceremony for UCSD professors with endowed chairs, at which all of them received medals. “The chancellor’s literally putting the medal around my neck, and he said, ‘Hey, I just sent you some money today,’” she recalled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new center will collaborate with companies such as \u003ca href=\"http://www.ampliphibio.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AmpliPhi Biosciences\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://www.aphage.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Adaptive Phage Therapeutics\u003c/a> to treat future patients. Some of them will have cystic fibrosis, which causes mucus in the lungs to be overly sticky, often allowing drug-resistant microbes to proliferate. Others might have long-term infections that are preventing them from getting organ transplants. Yet others will have implanted devices, which sometimes provide the nooks and crannies where bacteria can grow into a slimy film.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The sad thing is that there is going to be no shortage of patients,” said Strathdee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This\u003ca href=\"https://www.statnews.com/2018/06/21/first-phage-therapy-center-in-us/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> story\u003c/a> was originally published by STAT, an online publication of Boston Globe Media that covers health, medicine, and scientific discovery.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"ctx-subscribe-container ctx-personalization-container ctx_default_placement ctx-clearfix\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cdiv class=\"ctx-social-container ctx_default_placement ctx-clearfix\">\u003c/div>\n\u003cdiv class=\"ctx-module-container ctx_default_placement ctx-clearfix\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"ctx-module ctx-nodefs ctx-content-block2 ctx-module-default\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"ctx-sections-container ctx-nomar\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"ctx-section ctx-clearfix ctx-section-previous\">\n\u003cdiv class=\"ctx-links-header\">\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/futureofyou/442968/first-phage-therapy-center-in-the-u-s-signals-growing-acceptance",
"authors": [
"byline_futureofyou_442968"
],
"categories": [
"futureofyou_1060",
"futureofyou_1062",
"futureofyou_1",
"futureofyou_73"
],
"tags": [
"futureofyou_1231",
"futureofyou_141",
"futureofyou_952",
"futureofyou_61",
"futureofyou_1056",
"futureofyou_1557",
"futureofyou_652"
],
"collections": [
"futureofyou_1093",
"futureofyou_1097"
],
"featImg": "futureofyou_442970",
"label": "source_futureofyou_442968"
},
"futureofyou_442939": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "futureofyou_442939",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "442939",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1529596800000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1529596800,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "New Flu Vaccine Only a Little Better Than Traditional Shot",
"title": "New Flu Vaccine Only a Little Better Than Traditional Shot",
"headTitle": "KQED Future of You | KQED Science",
"content": "\u003cp>A newer kind of flu vaccine only worked a little bit better in seniors this past winter than traditional shots, the government reported Wednesday.[contextly_sidebar id=\"KXBdyTHy0L9va48xe5z0NXt2XKlPVwbS\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overall, flu vaccines barely worked at all in keeping people 65 and older out of the hospital, with roughly 24 percent effectiveness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The best performance was by a new shot called Flucelvax; it was about 26.5 percent effective in that age group. The difference wasn’t as large as some had hoped.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The big problem is still the same — we need better vaccines. But these incremental improvements are very important,” said Brendan Flannery, a flu expert at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The findings of the Food and Drug Administration study were presented in Atlanta Wednesday to a panel that advises the government on vaccine recommendations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The vast majority of flu shots in the U.S. are made in chicken eggs. Seqirus’ Flucelvax is made by growing viruses in animal cells instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. just went through one of the most severe flu seasons in more than a decade, driven by a nasty flu bug that tends to cause more hospitalizations and deaths, particularly among the elderly. Researchers are finding vaccines made in eggs don’t work well against that kind of flu bug. Growing vaccines in cells is thought to provide a better match.[contextly_sidebar id=\"SIPkA9pviyI2gEn0Y0I5LPZgobNyBGYN\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Seqirus said it was encouraged by the results and is doing additional analysis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The FDA study included more than 13 million Medicare beneficiaries. It looked at what kind of flu shots they got and whether they came down with a flu that put them in the hospital. Flu diagnoses were not based on lab confirmations, though, so the results could have underestimated the vaccines’ effectiveness if other bugs had made them sick, experts noted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study also showed that a higher-dose, egg-based vaccine intended for seniors worked slightly better than the traditional dose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Americans of all ages, the CDC estimates that flu shots were 40 percent effective against all strains this past season. They were far less effective against the kind that made most people sick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>__\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/2G0n9w6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">support\u003c/a> from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.\u003c/p>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "442939 https://ww2.kqed.org/futureofyou/?p=442939",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/futureofyou/2018/06/21/new-flu-vaccine-only-a-little-better-than-traditional-shot/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 402,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 15
},
"modified": 1529540056,
"excerpt": "Overall, flu vaccines barely worked at all in keeping people 65 and older out of the hospital, with roughly 24 percent effectiveness.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "Overall, flu vaccines barely worked at all in keeping people 65 and older out of the hospital, with roughly 24 percent effectiveness.",
"title": "New Flu Vaccine Only a Little Better Than Traditional Shot | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "New Flu Vaccine Only a Little Better Than Traditional Shot",
"datePublished": "2018-06-21T09:00:00-07:00",
"dateModified": "2018-06-20T17:14:16-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "new-flu-vaccine-only-a-little-better-than-traditional-shot",
"status": "publish",
"nprByline": "Mike Stobbe\u003cbr />Associated Press",
"source": "Health",
"path": "/futureofyou/442939/new-flu-vaccine-only-a-little-better-than-traditional-shot",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A newer kind of flu vaccine only worked a little bit better in seniors this past winter than traditional shots, the government reported Wednesday.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overall, flu vaccines barely worked at all in keeping people 65 and older out of the hospital, with roughly 24 percent effectiveness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The best performance was by a new shot called Flucelvax; it was about 26.5 percent effective in that age group. The difference wasn’t as large as some had hoped.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The big problem is still the same — we need better vaccines. But these incremental improvements are very important,” said Brendan Flannery, a flu expert at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The findings of the Food and Drug Administration study were presented in Atlanta Wednesday to a panel that advises the government on vaccine recommendations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The vast majority of flu shots in the U.S. are made in chicken eggs. Seqirus’ Flucelvax is made by growing viruses in animal cells instead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The U.S. just went through one of the most severe flu seasons in more than a decade, driven by a nasty flu bug that tends to cause more hospitalizations and deaths, particularly among the elderly. Researchers are finding vaccines made in eggs don’t work well against that kind of flu bug. Growing vaccines in cells is thought to provide a better match.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Seqirus said it was encouraged by the results and is doing additional analysis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The FDA study included more than 13 million Medicare beneficiaries. It looked at what kind of flu shots they got and whether they came down with a flu that put them in the hospital. Flu diagnoses were not based on lab confirmations, though, so the results could have underestimated the vaccines’ effectiveness if other bugs had made them sick, experts noted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The study also showed that a higher-dose, egg-based vaccine intended for seniors worked slightly better than the traditional dose.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Americans of all ages, the CDC estimates that flu shots were 40 percent effective against all strains this past season. They were far less effective against the kind that made most people sick.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>__\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Associated Press Health & Science Department receives \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/2G0n9w6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">support\u003c/a> from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/futureofyou/442939/new-flu-vaccine-only-a-little-better-than-traditional-shot",
"authors": [
"byline_futureofyou_442939"
],
"categories": [
"futureofyou_1060",
"futureofyou_73"
],
"tags": [
"futureofyou_952",
"futureofyou_662",
"futureofyou_664",
"futureofyou_61",
"futureofyou_1056"
],
"collections": [
"futureofyou_1093"
],
"featImg": "futureofyou_442941",
"label": "source_futureofyou_442939"
},
"futureofyou_442882": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "futureofyou_442882",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "442882",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1529535610000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1529535610,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "Report For Defense Department Ranks Top Threats From 'Synthetic Biology'",
"title": "Report For Defense Department Ranks Top Threats From 'Synthetic Biology'",
"headTitle": "KQED Future of You | KQED Science",
"content": "\u003cp>New genetic tools are making it easier and cheaper to engineer viruses and bacteria, and a report commissioned by the Department of Defense has now ranked the top threats posed by the rapidly advancing field of \"synthetic biology.\"[contextly_sidebar id=\"gb9g2YDw6S8Tv2v2EUI0TWtfXV5po4Qp\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the biggest concerns is the ability to recreate known viruses from scratch in the lab. That means a lab could make a deadly virus that is normally kept under lock and key, such as \u003ca href=\"http://www.who.int/csr/disease/smallpox/en/\">smallpox\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Right now, recreating pretty much any virus can be done relatively easily. It requires a certain amount of expertise and resources and knowledge,\" says \u003ca href=\"https://medicine.umich.edu/dept/microbiology-immunology/michael-j-imperiale-phd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Michael Imperiale\u003c/a>, a microbiologist at the University of Michigan who chaired the committee convened by the \u003ca href=\"http://www.nationalacademies.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine\u003c/a> to assess the state of synthetic biology and offer advice to defense officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an example of what's possible, Imperiale pointed to the recent and controversial creation of \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/02/17/585385308/did-pox-virus-research-put-potential-profits-ahead-of-public-safety\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">horsepox,\u003c/a> a cousin of smallpox, in a Canadian laboratory. \"These things can now be done,\" he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another top danger listed in the report, which was released Tuesday, is making existing bacteria or viruses more dangerous. That could happen, by, say, giving them antibiotic resistance or altering them so that they produce toxins or evade vaccines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And one scenario pondered by the experts is the creation of microbes that would produce harmful biochemicals in humans while living on the skin or in the gut. This possibility, the report notes, \"is of high concern because its novelty challenges potential mitigation options.\" Public health officials might not even recognize that they were witnessing a biological attack if the dangerous material was delivered to victims in such an unusual way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All in all, the committee examined about a dozen different synthetic biology technologies that could be potentially misused. For each, they considered how likely it was to be usable as a weapon, how much expertise or resources would be needed, and how well governments would be able to recognize and manage an attack.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There are certain capabilities that may not be possible now, but in those cases we tried to identify what the bottlenecks or barriers might be that, if overcome, would enable those to be more possible,\" Imperiale says.[contextly_sidebar id=\"hU2ywe0bo5FhMcFg3CwThXSqo89g4izl\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the least concerning possibilities, because of the knowledge and technical barriers, was inventing a brand new pathogen by taking a \"mix and match\" approach to combining genetic parts from multiple organisms, according to the report. It notes that making even simple changes to viruses can produce \"drastic deficiencies\" in key viral properties, \"making any such effort especially difficult,\" and that \"the difficulty increases as the distance from natural pathogens increases.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that was exactly the scenario that recently unfolded in a table-top exercise conducted last month by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. During the event, experts in pandemic response and national security grappled with a fictional virus called \"\u003ca href=\"http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/about-the-center/pressroom/press_releases/2018-05-15_clade-x-policy-recommendations.html\">Clade X\u003c/a>\" that was created by a terrorist group that inserted genetic elements of deadly \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/05/29/615079779/why-it-s-difficult-for-viruses-to-turn-in-to-deadly-pandemics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nipah\u003c/a> virus into a normally-mild \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/parainfluenza/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">human parainfluenza virus\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The terrorist group in this scenario wanted to depopulate the Earth, and deliberately released the contagious virus at multiple spots around the globe. The resulting pandemic killed 150 million people within a year as officials struggled to contain the social and economic chaos until a vaccine could be made.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"What people don't think about very often is the potential for an engineered organism to become an epidemic or even a pandemic. One of the goals of this exercise was to show that an engineered organism could be the cause of something that we are not really preparing for,\" says \u003ca href=\"http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/our-staff/profiles/inglesby/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dr. Tom Inglesby\u003c/a>, director of the Johns Hopkins center. \"What we wanted to show in the exercise was that there are different ways of getting to a pandemic. And we need to be prepared for all of them.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Much of the public health response to an engineered outbreak would be the same as to a natural outbreak, the exercise showed. That means a possible line of defense is beefing up public health infrastructure such as disease surveillance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, as the new report notes, the same synthetic biology tools that could be used to harm could also be used to fight this threat, by allowing the rapid creation of better medicines, vaccines, and diagnostics.[contextly_sidebar id=\"9JS7pw28z71O9Hau5X1qfcsxIFZNY5TF\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://silver.med.harvard.edu/\">Pamela Silver\u003c/a>, a synthetic biologist at Harvard who was not on the committee but reviewed its report, said that the assessment is \"timely, given that there's a lot of attention being paid to genetic engineering because of \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/12/28/460705645/gene-editing-tool-hailed-as-a-breakthrough-and-it-really-is-one\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CRISPR\u003c/a>,\" the new tool that has made it much easier to edit genes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She does worry, though, that because this report ranked potential threats, \"somebody might say 'oh, here are the three things we have to worry about the most,' and then ignore the others.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And this assessment was made based on today's technology, she says, but it's clear that biology changes rapidly and is full of surprises. \"So what's the next CRISPR? What's the next big thing?\" Silver asks. \"We need to anticipate, as well. Biology is a rapidly moving field and we need to stay on top of that.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She says she just recently was looking at a preprint of a scientific paper about engineering bacteria, \"and I noticed that it was from high school students. That's just amazing to me.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Report+For+Defense+Department+Ranks+Top+Threats+From+%27Synthetic+Biology%27+&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "442882 https://ww2.kqed.org/futureofyou/?p=442882",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/futureofyou/2018/06/20/report-for-defense-department-ranks-top-threats-from-synthetic-biology/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 916,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 20
},
"modified": 1529517676,
"excerpt": "A committee of experts examined about a dozen different synthetic biology technologies that could be potentially misused. For each, they considered how likely it was to be usable as a weapon.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "A committee of experts examined about a dozen different synthetic biology technologies that could be potentially misused. For each, they considered how likely it was to be usable as a weapon.",
"title": "Report For Defense Department Ranks Top Threats From 'Synthetic Biology' | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Report For Defense Department Ranks Top Threats From 'Synthetic Biology'",
"datePublished": "2018-06-20T16:00:10-07:00",
"dateModified": "2018-06-20T11:01:16-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "report-for-defense-department-ranks-top-threats-from-synthetic-biology",
"status": "publish",
"nprApiLink": "http://api.npr.org/query?id=621350272&apiKey=MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004",
"nprStoryDate": "Tue, 19 Jun 2018 11:05:00 -0400",
"nprLastModifiedDate": "Tue, 19 Jun 2018 16:53:41 -0400",
"nprHtmlLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/06/19/621350272/report-for-defense-department-ranks-top-threats-from-synthetic-biology?ft=nprml&f=621350272",
"nprAudio": "https://ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2018/06/20180619_atc_report_for_defense_department_ranks_top_threats_from_synthetic_biology_.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1128&d=235&p=2&story=621350272&ft=nprml&f=621350272",
"nprImageAgency": "Visuals Unlimited/Getty Images",
"source": "Technology",
"nprAudioM3u": "http://api.npr.org/m3u/1621579108-a7215c.m3u?orgId=1&topicId=1128&d=235&p=2&story=621350272&ft=nprml&f=621350272",
"nprStoryId": "621350272",
"nprByline": "Nell Greenfieldboyce\u003cbr />NPR",
"nprImageCredit": "Dr. Hans Gelderblom",
"nprRetrievedStory": "1",
"nprPubDate": "Tue, 19 Jun 2018 21:37:00 -0400",
"path": "/futureofyou/442882/report-for-defense-department-ranks-top-threats-from-synthetic-biology",
"audioUrl": "https://ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2018/06/20180619_atc_report_for_defense_department_ranks_top_threats_from_synthetic_biology_.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1128&d=235&p=2&story=621350272&ft=nprml&f=621350272",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>New genetic tools are making it easier and cheaper to engineer viruses and bacteria, and a report commissioned by the Department of Defense has now ranked the top threats posed by the rapidly advancing field of \"synthetic biology.\"\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the biggest concerns is the ability to recreate known viruses from scratch in the lab. That means a lab could make a deadly virus that is normally kept under lock and key, such as \u003ca href=\"http://www.who.int/csr/disease/smallpox/en/\">smallpox\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Right now, recreating pretty much any virus can be done relatively easily. It requires a certain amount of expertise and resources and knowledge,\" says \u003ca href=\"https://medicine.umich.edu/dept/microbiology-immunology/michael-j-imperiale-phd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Michael Imperiale\u003c/a>, a microbiologist at the University of Michigan who chaired the committee convened by the \u003ca href=\"http://www.nationalacademies.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine\u003c/a> to assess the state of synthetic biology and offer advice to defense officials.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As an example of what's possible, Imperiale pointed to the recent and controversial creation of \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/02/17/585385308/did-pox-virus-research-put-potential-profits-ahead-of-public-safety\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">horsepox,\u003c/a> a cousin of smallpox, in a Canadian laboratory. \"These things can now be done,\" he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another top danger listed in the report, which was released Tuesday, is making existing bacteria or viruses more dangerous. That could happen, by, say, giving them antibiotic resistance or altering them so that they produce toxins or evade vaccines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And one scenario pondered by the experts is the creation of microbes that would produce harmful biochemicals in humans while living on the skin or in the gut. This possibility, the report notes, \"is of high concern because its novelty challenges potential mitigation options.\" Public health officials might not even recognize that they were witnessing a biological attack if the dangerous material was delivered to victims in such an unusual way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All in all, the committee examined about a dozen different synthetic biology technologies that could be potentially misused. For each, they considered how likely it was to be usable as a weapon, how much expertise or resources would be needed, and how well governments would be able to recognize and manage an attack.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"There are certain capabilities that may not be possible now, but in those cases we tried to identify what the bottlenecks or barriers might be that, if overcome, would enable those to be more possible,\" Imperiale says.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the least concerning possibilities, because of the knowledge and technical barriers, was inventing a brand new pathogen by taking a \"mix and match\" approach to combining genetic parts from multiple organisms, according to the report. It notes that making even simple changes to viruses can produce \"drastic deficiencies\" in key viral properties, \"making any such effort especially difficult,\" and that \"the difficulty increases as the distance from natural pathogens increases.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that was exactly the scenario that recently unfolded in a table-top exercise conducted last month by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. During the event, experts in pandemic response and national security grappled with a fictional virus called \"\u003ca href=\"http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/about-the-center/pressroom/press_releases/2018-05-15_clade-x-policy-recommendations.html\">Clade X\u003c/a>\" that was created by a terrorist group that inserted genetic elements of deadly \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/05/29/615079779/why-it-s-difficult-for-viruses-to-turn-in-to-deadly-pandemics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nipah\u003c/a> virus into a normally-mild \u003ca href=\"https://www.cdc.gov/parainfluenza/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">human parainfluenza virus\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The terrorist group in this scenario wanted to depopulate the Earth, and deliberately released the contagious virus at multiple spots around the globe. The resulting pandemic killed 150 million people within a year as officials struggled to contain the social and economic chaos until a vaccine could be made.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"What people don't think about very often is the potential for an engineered organism to become an epidemic or even a pandemic. One of the goals of this exercise was to show that an engineered organism could be the cause of something that we are not really preparing for,\" says \u003ca href=\"http://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/our-staff/profiles/inglesby/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dr. Tom Inglesby\u003c/a>, director of the Johns Hopkins center. \"What we wanted to show in the exercise was that there are different ways of getting to a pandemic. And we need to be prepared for all of them.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Much of the public health response to an engineered outbreak would be the same as to a natural outbreak, the exercise showed. That means a possible line of defense is beefing up public health infrastructure such as disease surveillance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, as the new report notes, the same synthetic biology tools that could be used to harm could also be used to fight this threat, by allowing the rapid creation of better medicines, vaccines, and diagnostics.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://silver.med.harvard.edu/\">Pamela Silver\u003c/a>, a synthetic biologist at Harvard who was not on the committee but reviewed its report, said that the assessment is \"timely, given that there's a lot of attention being paid to genetic engineering because of \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/12/28/460705645/gene-editing-tool-hailed-as-a-breakthrough-and-it-really-is-one\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CRISPR\u003c/a>,\" the new tool that has made it much easier to edit genes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She does worry, though, that because this report ranked potential threats, \"somebody might say 'oh, here are the three things we have to worry about the most,' and then ignore the others.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And this assessment was made based on today's technology, she says, but it's clear that biology changes rapidly and is full of surprises. \"So what's the next CRISPR? What's the next big thing?\" Silver asks. \"We need to anticipate, as well. Biology is a rapidly moving field and we need to stay on top of that.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She says she just recently was looking at a preprint of a scientific paper about engineering bacteria, \"and I noticed that it was from high school students. That's just amazing to me.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Report+For+Defense+Department+Ranks+Top+Threats+From+%27Synthetic+Biology%27+&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/futureofyou/442882/report-for-defense-department-ranks-top-threats-from-synthetic-biology",
"authors": [
"byline_futureofyou_442882"
],
"categories": [
"futureofyou_1060",
"futureofyou_1",
"futureofyou_73",
"futureofyou_1064"
],
"tags": [
"futureofyou_1525",
"futureofyou_1521",
"futureofyou_94",
"futureofyou_17",
"futureofyou_155",
"futureofyou_1526",
"futureofyou_1527"
],
"collections": [
"futureofyou_1093",
"futureofyou_1094"
],
"featImg": "futureofyou_442883",
"label": "source_futureofyou_442882"
},
"futureofyou_442896": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "futureofyou_442896",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "442896",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1529519265000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1529519265,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "Little Evidence for Alternative Autism Treatment Sold by 'Brain Balance' Franchise",
"title": "Little Evidence for Alternative Autism Treatment Sold by 'Brain Balance' Franchise",
"headTitle": "KQED Future of You | KQED Science",
"content": "\u003cp>Some parents see it coming. Natalie was not that kind of parent.[contextly_sidebar id=\"uOHnnzKYOmBeTGoKuvAQzedxhPZkeU99\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even after the director and a teacher at her older son's day care sat her down one afternoon in 2011 to detail the 3-year-old's difficulty socializing and his tendency to chatter endlessly about topics his peers showed no interest in, she still didn't get the message.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her son, the two educators eventually spelled out, might be on the autism spectrum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I was in tears at the end,\" she says. \"When I got home, I was just devastated.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Natalie broke the news to her wife, Stephanie, whose mind fast-forwarded to a distressing future. Would her son — a squat, cheerful boy who, despite his affectionate nature, didn't have any playmates — ever be able to make friends?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When a doctor eventually confirmed he had an autism spectrum disorder, the diagnosis came with a suggestion: Perhaps the boy would benefit from Prozac when he turned 7.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"That was when both of us fell apart in that meeting,\" Natalie says. For both parents, medication wasn't an option.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Prozac is a very powerful drug for adults. Why would you give it to a 7-year-old?\" Stephanie wondered after the doctor's visit. \"I welled up with all of this emotion. And I said I will not let that happen.\"[contextly_sidebar id=\"4sXIngF1woiIEbdfxhHX6lYzTUKP5vdD\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(To protect their privacy, we are only using Natalie's and Stephanie's first names. We are not naming their children.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fear of psychotropic drugs led the family to pursue alternative treatments for autism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To start, they dropped gluten.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then one day, as Natalie roamed the aisles of a gluten-free expo in a Chicago suburb not far from where the family lives, she came across a booth for a Brain Balance Achievement Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Natalie says the program claimed to help with disorders ranging from dyslexia to ADHD and autism. Best of all, it didn't involve prescription drugs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We were very excited,\" Stephanie says. \"Maybe we found a solution that wasn't going to be about medicine. I was very, very hopeful.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"\u003cstrong>It will completely, absolutely, 100 percent change your life\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Natalie had stumbled upon one of 113 Brain Balance franchises across the country. Seventeen more are in the works. In the dozen years since its inception, Brain Balance says, it has helped roughly 25,000 children. The company says it is currently taking in over $50 million in annual revenue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although Brain Balance isn't the only purveyor of alternative approaches for developmental disorders in the U.S., the scale of the enterprise sets it apart. The company's approach is still relatively new and not widely known, meaning many experts in the field of childhood development have not vetted its effectiveness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brain Balance says its nonmedical and drug-free program helps children who struggle with ADHD, autism spectrum disorders and learning and processing disorders. The company says it addresses a child's challenges with a combination of physical exercises, nutritional guidance and academic training.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An NPR investigation of Brain Balance reveals a company whose promises have resonated with parents averse to medication. But Brain Balance also appears to have overstated the scientific evidence in its messaging to families, who can easily spend over $10,000 in six months, a common length of enrollment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brain Balance's metrics for consumer satisfaction are impressive. Customers rate the program, on average, an 8.5 on a 10-point scale in surveys, according to the company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ratings square with comments in online forums and in interviews NPR conducted with 18 parents who enrolled their children. Across the country, about three dozen centers are run by parents who began as happy customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.brainbalancecenters.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Brain Balance's website\u003c/a> is where caretakers encounter the company's strongest pitch: dozens upon dozens of \u003ca href=\"https://www.brainbalancecenters.com/our-stories/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">parent testimonials\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the company's \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAaow0Kk0g8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">television commercials\u003c/a> begins with a montage of formerly frustrated mothers. But, they all agree, Brain Balance put an end to their kids' challenges. One woman insists \"it will completely, absolutely, 100 percent change your life.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Autism \"can become a thing of the past\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The man who created Brain Balance, Robert Melillo, is often introduced as \"Dr. Melillo\" in media appearances. He has a doctorate and an active license in chiropractic. He is also acknowledged as an expert in the field of \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tQtAs3d05E\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">functional neurology\u003c/a>, chiropractic's \u003ca href=\"https://chiromt.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12998-017-0151-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">controversial alternative\u003c/a> to mainstream neurology.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Melillo's \u003ca href=\"http://drrobertmelillo.com/about/\">biography\u003c/a> states he has master's degrees in neuroscience and clinical rehabilitation neuropsychology, though it does not say from where. A \u003ca href=\"http://members.fclb.org/staff_online/staff/uploads/individual/0_34022299_Melillo%20CV.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">curriculum vitae for Melillo\u003c/a> that NPR found on a website for chiropractic licensing boards says the master's in neuroscience came from the Carrick Institute for Graduate Studies, a chiropractic academy in Florida that isn't accredited by any of the agencies recognized by the Department of Education. His second master's degree is from a now-defunct program at Touro College, a private educational organization based in New York.[contextly_sidebar id=\"qHKhvNx0WtImHmg2ZAaY7Wq5YHOgE9Ba\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Melillo says it was during an intense period of research in the 1990s, while his own son struggled with attention issues, that he conceived of a single disorder to explain everything from autism to ADHD to dyslexia. He called it functional disconnection syndrome.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As he writes in his book, \u003cem>Disconnected Kids,\u003c/em> the syndrome occurs when \"areas in the brain, especially the two hemispheres of the brain, are not electrically balanced, or synchronized.\" The particulars of this imbalance are not clearly defined in the book, but numerous metaphors — some involving concert orchestras with bad timing or tuning — paint a picture of a child's brain unable to communicate with itself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Melillo, a weak right hemisphere (the emotional half) can lead to autism and ADHD; a weak left hemisphere (the logical half) often causes learning disorders like dyslexia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And he argues in the book that for people who follow his program, \"ADHD, dyslexia, and even autism, among others, can become a thing of the past.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He even appears to see his program as the answer to societal problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In February, one day after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., Melillo used his public Facebook page to envision a world where Brain Balance had reached the shooter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I can't help but wonder if Brain Balance and Brain Integration could have prevented this tragedy,\" Melillo \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/DrRobertMelillo/photos/a.262064050637436.1073741828.262055963971578/902197553290746/?type=3&theater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wrote in the post\u003c/a> alongside a news report in which the shooter's relatives said the teenager had been diagnosed with autism and took medication.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We have to make the whole world more aware of Brain Imbalances and how they can be helped especially in kids,\" he added. \"This is my mission now.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What happens at Brain Balance\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stephanie and Natalie say they watched their older son from the other side of a two-way mirror as a Brain Balance staff member ran him through a series of tests during his baseline assessment. Later, they received his results: eight pages of ratings in unfamiliar categories.[contextly_sidebar id=\"AjksKQkvNBCw7ARjvhMRqANHG340k0k4\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I have two master's [degrees] and a Ph.D., and I needed them explained to me,\" Natalie says. Their son had a weak right hemisphere. Additionally, his \"frontal lobe acquisition\" was lacking. His primitive reflexes were also in bad shape, according to the assessment, portions of which were shared with NPR.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The center recommended six months of one-hour sessions three times a week, a common course of intervention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brain Balance's approach breaks down into three broad categories: academic, nutrition and sensory-motor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.brainbalancecenters.com/our-program/integrated-approach/academic/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">academic exercises\u003c/a> focus on the same areas targeted by many after-school tutoring programs. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.brainbalancecenters.com/our-program/integrated-approach/nutrition/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">nutritional component\u003c/a> recommends decreasing a child's intake of gluten, dairy and refined sugar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The third, and most complex, prong of Brain Balance's intervention is its \u003ca href=\"https://www.brainbalancecenters.com/our-program/integrated-approach/sensory-motor/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sensory-motor training\u003c/a>, a diverse set of physical exercises. Parents and former employees describe activities like walking across balance beams, syncing actions with a computerized metronome and being spun in swivel chairs.[contextly_sidebar id=\"X9IS4CBjwH4LHwMmOzWNlEgWq0OztSoK\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consistent with Melillo's theory, Brain Balance focuses much of its sensory-motor training on one-half of the child's body to send strengthening signals up and across to the supposedly weak, opposite hemisphere of the brain. (Much of the human brain indeed \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23931149\">maps to the opposite\u003c/a> half of the human body.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For instance, with a \"right brain weak\" child like Stephanie and Natalie's son, Brain Balance may have him wear a vibrating armband on his left biceps or eyeglasses that allow light only onto the left visual field. Or they may simply have him stand on his left leg.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It has not been uncommon for parents to enroll their children for at least six months, costing roughly $12,000. The company recently said its average enrollment is now about four months. Assessments and optional nutritional supplements and blood tests can add hundreds of dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program isn't covered by insurance. Brain Balance offers payment plans to parents who can't cover the cost immediately. As of publication, close to 200 families have solicited money from relatives and friends with \u003ca href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/mvc.php?route=category&term=%22brain%20balance%22\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">GoFundMe.com\u003c/a> campaigns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Natalie and Stephanie were quoted $5,000 for their first three months, with the option to re-up for more after.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"When you're talking about your child's self-esteem and knowing it's the most important thing, what are you going to do?\" Stephanie says. \"Maybe work a few more years and take a little bit out of your retirement so that maybe — if you nip this thing in the bud — he's able to have a better life going forward?\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They dipped into their retirement savings and enrolled both their sons at a total cost of more than $15,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"\u003cstrong>Cutting edge\" science\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In numerous media appearances, Melillo hasn't been shy about publicizing the strength of his program's scientific evidence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This isn't smoke and mirrors. This is real stuff. ... [Parents] are going to get real answers,\" Melillo \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/uaMbTtcFhvU?t=5m16s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told a radio host in 2010\u003c/a>. \"We've shown in our centers that we can correct these problems completely. We've proved that in research,\" he \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/7XJ8ouQgmtA?t=1m56s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said on TV in 2014\u003c/a>. \"We use really cutting-edge brain science to address the issue,\" he \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/KhmgeWUrkwo?t=49s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said in 2016\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet a dozen experts in autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, dyslexia and childhood psychiatry interviewed by NPR all identified flaws in Brain Balance's approach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They said the company's idea of imbalanced hemispheres was too simplistic and built upon the popular, discredited myth of the logical left brain and the intuitive right brain.[contextly_sidebar id=\"cWTrlOd6AlGxpGOvjVNIxgehcBIwY6uh\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It doesn't make sense,\" says \u003ca href=\"https://www.kennedykrieger.org/professional-training/training-disciplines/special-education-fellowship/leadership/mark-mahone-phd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mark Mahone\u003c/a>, a pediatric neuropsychologist at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. \"In virtually every activity that one does ... both hemispheres of the brain are very, very active. ... It's not as simple as just being a left- or a right-hemisphere problem. Nothing is that simple.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for the three-pronged Brain Balance regimen, experts NPR spoke with said there is no solid evidence suggesting gluten, dairy or sugar consumption affects ADHD, autism or dyslexia. And although physical exercise may have modest impacts on inattention and tutoring can help in school, these interventions can be found elsewhere for much less money. No expert suggested either as a front-line remedy for ADHD or autism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doctors and researchers NPR interviewed also questioned the diagnostic metrics Brain Balance uses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, the company tests children for the primitive reflexes that drive infants to instinctively suckle or grab a finger. Natalie and Stephanie were told their son's lingering primitive reflexes were connected to his behavioral issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But multiple pediatricians said it is exceptionally rare for children older than 4 to retain any primitive reflexes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Typically by 1 year of age these primitive reflexes have disappeared,\" says Dr. Andrew Adesman, a developmental pediatrician at Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York. \"The major exception is children who have cerebral palsy.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Melillo disagreed with the experts' opinions. \"I think they're completely wrong,\" he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Pediatricians rarely look at primitive reflexes after infancy, but if they did, they will find that, in many cases, they are still there,\" he wrote in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Melillo also pushed back against the medical consensus that autism, ADHD and dyslexia aren't caused by hemispheric differences and that gluten doesn't affect such disorders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I can show you a lot of papers that actually say that there is a relationship between food sensitivities, gluten sensitivity and different types of issues and conditions,\" he says. \"So again, it depends on the expert.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"\u003cstrong>Evidence based\"?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are two published studies of Brain Balance, which the company has said show that 81 percent of children with ADHD no longer displayed symptoms after three months in the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We have two studies now,\" Melillo said \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/AVp295htBVI?t=4m52s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">on local TV\u003c/a> in 2013. \"So that means that we qualify as what we call 'evidence based' at this point.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brain Balance \u003ca href=\"https://blog.brainbalancecenters.com/2013/07/control-study-shows-brain-balance-eliminates-adhd-symptoms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">touted one of the studies on its blog\u003c/a> with the headline, \"Control Study Shows Brain Balance Eliminates ADHD Symptoms.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The studies, however, have serious scientific shortcomings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Melillo, someone with a clear financial interest in the outcome, co-authored \u003ca href=\"http://www.carolinabraincenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/The_effect_of_hemisphere_specific_remediation_strategies_on_the_academic_performance_outcome_of_children_with_ADD_ADHD_.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the first one\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also had parents rate their own children's improvement in ADHD symptoms but \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4420809-2010-BB-Study.html#document/p5/a415343\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">didn't compare\u003c/a> them with other kids who weren't in Brain Balance.[contextly_sidebar id=\"40It7ERz2X1PbU5Xz4PrJhqRCedRiEbu\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without a control group, a study cannot definitively determine whether an intervention — a pill or procedure or program — is the reason for improvement or whether any change is simply the placebo effect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://www.feingold.org/Research/PDFstudies/Leisman2013.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">second study\u003c/a> did feature a control group of children with ADHD who didn't do Brain Balance. But it compared them with the same children from the first study published years earlier instead of randomly assigning children into simultaneous treatment and control groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"My issue with these data is that there's no legitimate comparison for the treatment group, so we really don't know if [Brain Balance] helps,\" says Dr. Paul Wang, deputy director for clinical research at the Simons Foundation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The experts NPR consulted took issue with other aspects of the studies as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The kids in the treatment and control groups \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4420810-2013-BB-Study.html#document/p3/a415322\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">differed in important ways\u003c/a>, the experts said, rendering comparisons between them less meaningful. The two groups weren't drawn from the same centers; all of the treatment group was medicated while only 60 percent of the controls were; and at baseline the controls scored more severe on an ADHD rating scale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Curiously, even though the \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4420810-2013-BB-Study.html#document/p5/a429871\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">second\u003c/a> study reused the treatment group data from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4420809-2010-BB-Study.html#document/p6/a415327\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">first\u003c/a> study published years earlier, it reported different improvements on those same kids' test scores. The lead author on both studies, Gerry Leisman, a professor of neuro and rehabilitation sciences at the University of Haifa in Israel, explained one of the test score differences as a \"reviewer correction\" but did not provide explanations for any of the six remaining discrepancies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. James McGough, a professor of clinical psychiatry at UCLA's David Geffen Medical School, wasn't convinced by Brain Balance's published research. \"It means absolutely nothing. ... What we have here, in my view, is a marketing piece.\"[contextly_sidebar id=\"ul2FBC3owyMkUEM8UijiLxV0mmmsmz4s\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least one state remains similarly unconvinced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2015, Wisconsin's Department of Health Services determined Brain Balance had \"\u003ca href=\"https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/tiac/brain-balance-january-2015.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">insufficient evidence\u003c/a>\" to show it was a \"proven and effective treatment for individuals with autism spectrum disorder and/or other developmental disabilities,\" as the \u003cem>Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://archive.jsonline.com/business/company-pushes-brain-balancing-program-for-learning-disabilities-evidence-lacking-b99551698z1-324854621.html\">reported\u003c/a>. The state assigned Brain Balance to the second-lowest ranking on its five-tier system. The only lower ranking is for \"potentially harmful\" treatments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brain Balance defends its approach\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asked by NPR why Brain Balance hadn't been tested more thoroughly before its nationwide expansion began a decade ago, Melillo says the company was \"faced with a dilemma.\" While he did feel an obligation to validate his approach, he says he knew Brain Balance worked and didn't want to deprive his clients of its benefits while waiting for clinical trials. \"All these 25,000 families that we've helped, are they left suffering for years on end?\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"What was done to date was commensurate to the resources that we had,\" says Aleem Choudhry, the chairman of Brain Balance and a managing member at Crane Street Capital, which invested in the franchise in 2013.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company says ADHD was the only disorder to be studied thus far because — contrary to the opinion of all the experts contacted by NPR — it is neurologically equivalent to others like autism, dyslexia and OCD. If Brain Balance improves ADHD symptoms, Melillo says, \"then we believe that we're going to get the same results in the other types of issues, because they're really the same problem.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Melillo also says the company's proprietary records from about 80,000 before-and-after client assessments qualify as corroboration. Melillo disputed the idea that his company's own data may require third-party review. \"Data is data,\" he says. \"There's no bias in the way we collect this.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new study of a \u003ca href=\"https://drteicher.wordpress.com/2015/11/20/non-pharmacological-treatment-for-adhd/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">computerized version of Brain Balance\u003c/a> is underway at a Harvard-affiliated hospital and features a concurrent control group of children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Melillo says that questions about the research behind Brain Balance ultimately miss a larger, more important point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Families are out there struggling and suffering, and they don't really give a crap about the data or the research, to be quite honest,\" he says. \"When they go through it and they see the difference in their child ... that's what matters to them.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Choudhry, the company's chairman, later clarified that \"we very much do care about the data.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>No easy answer\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With both their boys enrolled in Brain Balance, the routine for Stephanie and Natalie's family was frantic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three times a week, Stephanie would ferry their sons against traffic to and from their sessions. Family dinners became more rushed. Soccer and swimming were abandoned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lost time is often a hidden cost of any form of treatment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mothers began observing changes in their older son. They say his previously weak sense of smell suddenly blossomed, first for brownies and then other foods. And he became less obsessed with characters he had repetitively sketched in his notebooks and imbued with rich inner lives. (His parents are torn as to whether this was a positive development.) He also advanced in certain Brain Balance measures, including his primitive reflexes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's not that the needle didn't move on some of those dimensions,\" says Natalie. \"But if you step back at the 10,000- or 100,000-foot view and say, 'Is this kid different in a way that his life is going to be better or altered?' the answer is 'No.' OK, so now he can smell brownies that he couldn't smell before but is his life different?\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She says she and her wife began to feel discouraged, thinking about the \"aura around this program that says your child's going to be different and better-adjusted.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eric Rossen of the National Association of School Psychologists isn't surprised by Brain Balance's popularity as an option beyond what schools and insurance will cover.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He says many parents are frustrated by mainstream medicine's limits when it comes to complex disorders like autism. And schools are sometimes too strapped for resources to provide students with learning disorders all the help their parents may want.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Most parents will say they would die for their children,\" Rossen says. \"So to say, 'I want to provide some therapy and pay a few thousand dollars' is quite short of dying for them and it's totally reasonable.\"[contextly_sidebar id=\"trKt9lVGGL2hYvUb63mGVzd7zTqN7BTZ\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he says \"the problem is they are easy prey for certain providers that can make promises that cannot necessarily be kept or are not necessarily backed by scientific data.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For parents looking to find evidence-based third-party interventions, experts suggest the \u003ca href=\"https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What Works Clearinghouse\u003c/a>, which is backed by the Department of Education, or the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's \u003ca href=\"https://www.samhsa.gov/nrepp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">own resource\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brain Balance's protocol doesn't appear to pose any physical or developmental harms to children. Instead, the program's costs may come in other ways: siphoning away time and money, and prolonging the hope in some parents that their child may one day shed his or her disorder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Susan Hyman, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Rochester who has studied autism treatments for decades, says many alternative providers do this by offering an unrealistically simple solution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"If you were to come to a traditional provider who said, 'You know I'm going to have you work really, really, really hard. ... I might have some drugs. Drugs have side effects. And 90 percent of the time, as an adult, he is still going to have autism,' that's a far less attractive message than 'I can help you.' \"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Beyond Brain Balance\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the end of their older son's second three-month session at Brain Balance, Stephanie and Natalie had completely soured on it. They stopped believing that vibrating armbands and spinning in swivel chairs would translate to social success.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They decided to not continue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later, in second grade, their older son began to work with a social worker at school who taught him how to have socially acceptable conversation with his peers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Stephanie and Natalie did something else — the unthinkable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They put their son on a medication called Strattera. Calibrating the proper dosage with tolerable side effects was a drawn-out process, but eventually they reached an equilibrium. Their older son ended up with a new diagnosis that has some overlap with autism but is more consistent with ADHD, which the medication treats.[contextly_sidebar id=\"Mk0Q9RIDdUaNoWDya3YvMRUEK35nUdWD\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, he seems to be navigating the world more successfully than before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a Saturday last August, their older son — who once plaintively asked his parents, \"Why aren't I invited to birthday parties?\" — had just wrapped up a party to celebrate turning 10 years old.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Natalie and Stephanie had pizzas delivered and rented a truck lined with pleather sofas on one side and video game systems along the other. The children sat in pairs and used their greasy fingers to dispatch their avatars against each other in virtual battle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"They were yelling my son's name and saying 'Come play with me! Come play with me!' \" recalls Natalie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The birthday boy says he invited almost all of his friends, from school and camp, and all but one showed up, which was more than he could have ever imagined before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Because,\" he says before pausing. \"I haven't had friends for a bit. Until I got my medicine. I got some treatment. I got help. Now, I have tons of friends.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The reporter, Chris Benderev, can be contacted at cbenderev@npr.org.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=%27Cutting+Edge%27+Program+For+Children+With+Autism+And+ADHD+Rests+On+Razor-Thin+Evidence&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "442896 https://ww2.kqed.org/futureofyou/?p=442896",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/futureofyou/2018/06/20/little-evidence-for-brain-balances-alternative-autism-treatment/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 3841,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 118
},
"modified": 1529535202,
"excerpt": "With 113 locations in the U.S., Brain Balance says its drug-free approach has helped tens of thousands of children. But experts say there's insufficient proof of its effectiveness.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "With 113 locations in the U.S., Brain Balance says its drug-free approach has helped tens of thousands of children. But experts say there's insufficient proof of its effectiveness.",
"title": "Little Evidence for Alternative Autism Treatment Sold by 'Brain Balance' Franchise | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Little Evidence for Alternative Autism Treatment Sold by 'Brain Balance' Franchise",
"datePublished": "2018-06-20T11:27:45-07:00",
"dateModified": "2018-06-20T15:53:22-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "little-evidence-for-brain-balances-alternative-autism-treatment",
"status": "publish",
"nprApiLink": "http://api.npr.org/query?id=616805015&apiKey=MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004",
"nprByline": "Chris Benderev, NPR",
"nprStoryDate": "Mon, 18 Jun 2018 10:11:00 -0400",
"nprLastModifiedDate": "Tue, 19 Jun 2018 16:23:49 -0400",
"nprHtmlLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/06/18/616805015/cutting-edge-program-for-children-with-autism-and-adhd-rests-on-razor-thin-evide?ft=nprml&f=616805015",
"nprAudio": "https://ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2018/06/20180618_atc_cutting_edge_program_for_children_with_autism_and_adhd_rests_on_razor-thin_evidence.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1128&d=735&p=2&story=616805015&ft=nprml&f=616805015",
"nprImageAgency": "Hokyoung Kim for NPR",
"source": "Health",
"nprAudioM3u": "http://api.npr.org/m3u/1621127212-dbd771.m3u?orgId=1&topicId=1128&d=735&p=2&story=616805015&ft=nprml&f=616805015",
"nprStoryId": "616805015",
"nprRetrievedStory": "1",
"nprPubDate": "Tue, 19 Jun 2018 15:49:00 -0400",
"path": "/futureofyou/442896/little-evidence-for-brain-balances-alternative-autism-treatment",
"audioUrl": "https://ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/atc/2018/06/20180618_atc_cutting_edge_program_for_children_with_autism_and_adhd_rests_on_razor-thin_evidence.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1128&d=735&p=2&story=616805015&ft=nprml&f=616805015",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Some parents see it coming. Natalie was not that kind of parent.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even after the director and a teacher at her older son's day care sat her down one afternoon in 2011 to detail the 3-year-old's difficulty socializing and his tendency to chatter endlessly about topics his peers showed no interest in, she still didn't get the message.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her son, the two educators eventually spelled out, might be on the autism spectrum.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I was in tears at the end,\" she says. \"When I got home, I was just devastated.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Natalie broke the news to her wife, Stephanie, whose mind fast-forwarded to a distressing future. Would her son — a squat, cheerful boy who, despite his affectionate nature, didn't have any playmates — ever be able to make friends?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When a doctor eventually confirmed he had an autism spectrum disorder, the diagnosis came with a suggestion: Perhaps the boy would benefit from Prozac when he turned 7.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"That was when both of us fell apart in that meeting,\" Natalie says. For both parents, medication wasn't an option.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Prozac is a very powerful drug for adults. Why would you give it to a 7-year-old?\" Stephanie wondered after the doctor's visit. \"I welled up with all of this emotion. And I said I will not let that happen.\"\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(To protect their privacy, we are only using Natalie's and Stephanie's first names. We are not naming their children.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fear of psychotropic drugs led the family to pursue alternative treatments for autism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To start, they dropped gluten.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then one day, as Natalie roamed the aisles of a gluten-free expo in a Chicago suburb not far from where the family lives, she came across a booth for a Brain Balance Achievement Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Natalie says the program claimed to help with disorders ranging from dyslexia to ADHD and autism. Best of all, it didn't involve prescription drugs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We were very excited,\" Stephanie says. \"Maybe we found a solution that wasn't going to be about medicine. I was very, very hopeful.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"\u003cstrong>It will completely, absolutely, 100 percent change your life\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Natalie had stumbled upon one of 113 Brain Balance franchises across the country. Seventeen more are in the works. In the dozen years since its inception, Brain Balance says, it has helped roughly 25,000 children. The company says it is currently taking in over $50 million in annual revenue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although Brain Balance isn't the only purveyor of alternative approaches for developmental disorders in the U.S., the scale of the enterprise sets it apart. The company's approach is still relatively new and not widely known, meaning many experts in the field of childhood development have not vetted its effectiveness.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brain Balance says its nonmedical and drug-free program helps children who struggle with ADHD, autism spectrum disorders and learning and processing disorders. The company says it addresses a child's challenges with a combination of physical exercises, nutritional guidance and academic training.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An NPR investigation of Brain Balance reveals a company whose promises have resonated with parents averse to medication. But Brain Balance also appears to have overstated the scientific evidence in its messaging to families, who can easily spend over $10,000 in six months, a common length of enrollment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brain Balance's metrics for consumer satisfaction are impressive. Customers rate the program, on average, an 8.5 on a 10-point scale in surveys, according to the company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ratings square with comments in online forums and in interviews NPR conducted with 18 parents who enrolled their children. Across the country, about three dozen centers are run by parents who began as happy customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.brainbalancecenters.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Brain Balance's website\u003c/a> is where caretakers encounter the company's strongest pitch: dozens upon dozens of \u003ca href=\"https://www.brainbalancecenters.com/our-stories/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">parent testimonials\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the company's \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAaow0Kk0g8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">television commercials\u003c/a> begins with a montage of formerly frustrated mothers. But, they all agree, Brain Balance put an end to their kids' challenges. One woman insists \"it will completely, absolutely, 100 percent change your life.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Autism \"can become a thing of the past\"\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The man who created Brain Balance, Robert Melillo, is often introduced as \"Dr. Melillo\" in media appearances. He has a doctorate and an active license in chiropractic. He is also acknowledged as an expert in the field of \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tQtAs3d05E\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">functional neurology\u003c/a>, chiropractic's \u003ca href=\"https://chiromt.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12998-017-0151-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">controversial alternative\u003c/a> to mainstream neurology.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Melillo's \u003ca href=\"http://drrobertmelillo.com/about/\">biography\u003c/a> states he has master's degrees in neuroscience and clinical rehabilitation neuropsychology, though it does not say from where. A \u003ca href=\"http://members.fclb.org/staff_online/staff/uploads/individual/0_34022299_Melillo%20CV.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">curriculum vitae for Melillo\u003c/a> that NPR found on a website for chiropractic licensing boards says the master's in neuroscience came from the Carrick Institute for Graduate Studies, a chiropractic academy in Florida that isn't accredited by any of the agencies recognized by the Department of Education. His second master's degree is from a now-defunct program at Touro College, a private educational organization based in New York.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Melillo says it was during an intense period of research in the 1990s, while his own son struggled with attention issues, that he conceived of a single disorder to explain everything from autism to ADHD to dyslexia. He called it functional disconnection syndrome.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As he writes in his book, \u003cem>Disconnected Kids,\u003c/em> the syndrome occurs when \"areas in the brain, especially the two hemispheres of the brain, are not electrically balanced, or synchronized.\" The particulars of this imbalance are not clearly defined in the book, but numerous metaphors — some involving concert orchestras with bad timing or tuning — paint a picture of a child's brain unable to communicate with itself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Melillo, a weak right hemisphere (the emotional half) can lead to autism and ADHD; a weak left hemisphere (the logical half) often causes learning disorders like dyslexia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And he argues in the book that for people who follow his program, \"ADHD, dyslexia, and even autism, among others, can become a thing of the past.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He even appears to see his program as the answer to societal problems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In February, one day after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., Melillo used his public Facebook page to envision a world where Brain Balance had reached the shooter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I can't help but wonder if Brain Balance and Brain Integration could have prevented this tragedy,\" Melillo \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/DrRobertMelillo/photos/a.262064050637436.1073741828.262055963971578/902197553290746/?type=3&theater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wrote in the post\u003c/a> alongside a news report in which the shooter's relatives said the teenager had been diagnosed with autism and took medication.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We have to make the whole world more aware of Brain Imbalances and how they can be helped especially in kids,\" he added. \"This is my mission now.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>What happens at Brain Balance\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stephanie and Natalie say they watched their older son from the other side of a two-way mirror as a Brain Balance staff member ran him through a series of tests during his baseline assessment. Later, they received his results: eight pages of ratings in unfamiliar categories.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I have two master's [degrees] and a Ph.D., and I needed them explained to me,\" Natalie says. Their son had a weak right hemisphere. Additionally, his \"frontal lobe acquisition\" was lacking. His primitive reflexes were also in bad shape, according to the assessment, portions of which were shared with NPR.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The center recommended six months of one-hour sessions three times a week, a common course of intervention.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brain Balance's approach breaks down into three broad categories: academic, nutrition and sensory-motor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.brainbalancecenters.com/our-program/integrated-approach/academic/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">academic exercises\u003c/a> focus on the same areas targeted by many after-school tutoring programs. The \u003ca href=\"https://www.brainbalancecenters.com/our-program/integrated-approach/nutrition/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">nutritional component\u003c/a> recommends decreasing a child's intake of gluten, dairy and refined sugar.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The third, and most complex, prong of Brain Balance's intervention is its \u003ca href=\"https://www.brainbalancecenters.com/our-program/integrated-approach/sensory-motor/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sensory-motor training\u003c/a>, a diverse set of physical exercises. Parents and former employees describe activities like walking across balance beams, syncing actions with a computerized metronome and being spun in swivel chairs.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Consistent with Melillo's theory, Brain Balance focuses much of its sensory-motor training on one-half of the child's body to send strengthening signals up and across to the supposedly weak, opposite hemisphere of the brain. (Much of the human brain indeed \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23931149\">maps to the opposite\u003c/a> half of the human body.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For instance, with a \"right brain weak\" child like Stephanie and Natalie's son, Brain Balance may have him wear a vibrating armband on his left biceps or eyeglasses that allow light only onto the left visual field. Or they may simply have him stand on his left leg.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It has not been uncommon for parents to enroll their children for at least six months, costing roughly $12,000. The company recently said its average enrollment is now about four months. Assessments and optional nutritional supplements and blood tests can add hundreds of dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The program isn't covered by insurance. Brain Balance offers payment plans to parents who can't cover the cost immediately. As of publication, close to 200 families have solicited money from relatives and friends with \u003ca href=\"https://www.gofundme.com/mvc.php?route=category&term=%22brain%20balance%22\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">GoFundMe.com\u003c/a> campaigns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Natalie and Stephanie were quoted $5,000 for their first three months, with the option to re-up for more after.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"When you're talking about your child's self-esteem and knowing it's the most important thing, what are you going to do?\" Stephanie says. \"Maybe work a few more years and take a little bit out of your retirement so that maybe — if you nip this thing in the bud — he's able to have a better life going forward?\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They dipped into their retirement savings and enrolled both their sons at a total cost of more than $15,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"\u003cstrong>Cutting edge\" science\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In numerous media appearances, Melillo hasn't been shy about publicizing the strength of his program's scientific evidence.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This isn't smoke and mirrors. This is real stuff. ... [Parents] are going to get real answers,\" Melillo \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/uaMbTtcFhvU?t=5m16s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told a radio host in 2010\u003c/a>. \"We've shown in our centers that we can correct these problems completely. We've proved that in research,\" he \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/7XJ8ouQgmtA?t=1m56s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said on TV in 2014\u003c/a>. \"We use really cutting-edge brain science to address the issue,\" he \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/KhmgeWUrkwo?t=49s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said in 2016\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yet a dozen experts in autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, dyslexia and childhood psychiatry interviewed by NPR all identified flaws in Brain Balance's approach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They said the company's idea of imbalanced hemispheres was too simplistic and built upon the popular, discredited myth of the logical left brain and the intuitive right brain.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It doesn't make sense,\" says \u003ca href=\"https://www.kennedykrieger.org/professional-training/training-disciplines/special-education-fellowship/leadership/mark-mahone-phd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mark Mahone\u003c/a>, a pediatric neuropsychologist at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. \"In virtually every activity that one does ... both hemispheres of the brain are very, very active. ... It's not as simple as just being a left- or a right-hemisphere problem. Nothing is that simple.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As for the three-pronged Brain Balance regimen, experts NPR spoke with said there is no solid evidence suggesting gluten, dairy or sugar consumption affects ADHD, autism or dyslexia. And although physical exercise may have modest impacts on inattention and tutoring can help in school, these interventions can be found elsewhere for much less money. No expert suggested either as a front-line remedy for ADHD or autism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Doctors and researchers NPR interviewed also questioned the diagnostic metrics Brain Balance uses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, the company tests children for the primitive reflexes that drive infants to instinctively suckle or grab a finger. Natalie and Stephanie were told their son's lingering primitive reflexes were connected to his behavioral issues.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But multiple pediatricians said it is exceptionally rare for children older than 4 to retain any primitive reflexes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Typically by 1 year of age these primitive reflexes have disappeared,\" says Dr. Andrew Adesman, a developmental pediatrician at Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York. \"The major exception is children who have cerebral palsy.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Melillo disagreed with the experts' opinions. \"I think they're completely wrong,\" he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Pediatricians rarely look at primitive reflexes after infancy, but if they did, they will find that, in many cases, they are still there,\" he wrote in an email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Melillo also pushed back against the medical consensus that autism, ADHD and dyslexia aren't caused by hemispheric differences and that gluten doesn't affect such disorders.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I can show you a lot of papers that actually say that there is a relationship between food sensitivities, gluten sensitivity and different types of issues and conditions,\" he says. \"So again, it depends on the expert.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"\u003cstrong>Evidence based\"?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are two published studies of Brain Balance, which the company has said show that 81 percent of children with ADHD no longer displayed symptoms after three months in the program.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We have two studies now,\" Melillo said \u003ca href=\"https://youtu.be/AVp295htBVI?t=4m52s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">on local TV\u003c/a> in 2013. \"So that means that we qualify as what we call 'evidence based' at this point.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brain Balance \u003ca href=\"https://blog.brainbalancecenters.com/2013/07/control-study-shows-brain-balance-eliminates-adhd-symptoms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">touted one of the studies on its blog\u003c/a> with the headline, \"Control Study Shows Brain Balance Eliminates ADHD Symptoms.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The studies, however, have serious scientific shortcomings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Melillo, someone with a clear financial interest in the outcome, co-authored \u003ca href=\"http://www.carolinabraincenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/The_effect_of_hemisphere_specific_remediation_strategies_on_the_academic_performance_outcome_of_children_with_ADD_ADHD_.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the first one\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He also had parents rate their own children's improvement in ADHD symptoms but \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4420809-2010-BB-Study.html#document/p5/a415343\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">didn't compare\u003c/a> them with other kids who weren't in Brain Balance.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without a control group, a study cannot definitively determine whether an intervention — a pill or procedure or program — is the reason for improvement or whether any change is simply the placebo effect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://www.feingold.org/Research/PDFstudies/Leisman2013.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">second study\u003c/a> did feature a control group of children with ADHD who didn't do Brain Balance. But it compared them with the same children from the first study published years earlier instead of randomly assigning children into simultaneous treatment and control groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"My issue with these data is that there's no legitimate comparison for the treatment group, so we really don't know if [Brain Balance] helps,\" says Dr. Paul Wang, deputy director for clinical research at the Simons Foundation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The experts NPR consulted took issue with other aspects of the studies as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The kids in the treatment and control groups \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4420810-2013-BB-Study.html#document/p3/a415322\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">differed in important ways\u003c/a>, the experts said, rendering comparisons between them less meaningful. The two groups weren't drawn from the same centers; all of the treatment group was medicated while only 60 percent of the controls were; and at baseline the controls scored more severe on an ADHD rating scale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Curiously, even though the \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4420810-2013-BB-Study.html#document/p5/a429871\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">second\u003c/a> study reused the treatment group data from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4420809-2010-BB-Study.html#document/p6/a415327\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">first\u003c/a> study published years earlier, it reported different improvements on those same kids' test scores. The lead author on both studies, Gerry Leisman, a professor of neuro and rehabilitation sciences at the University of Haifa in Israel, explained one of the test score differences as a \"reviewer correction\" but did not provide explanations for any of the six remaining discrepancies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. James McGough, a professor of clinical psychiatry at UCLA's David Geffen Medical School, wasn't convinced by Brain Balance's published research. \"It means absolutely nothing. ... What we have here, in my view, is a marketing piece.\"\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At least one state remains similarly unconvinced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2015, Wisconsin's Department of Health Services determined Brain Balance had \"\u003ca href=\"https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/tiac/brain-balance-january-2015.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">insufficient evidence\u003c/a>\" to show it was a \"proven and effective treatment for individuals with autism spectrum disorder and/or other developmental disabilities,\" as the \u003cem>Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"http://archive.jsonline.com/business/company-pushes-brain-balancing-program-for-learning-disabilities-evidence-lacking-b99551698z1-324854621.html\">reported\u003c/a>. The state assigned Brain Balance to the second-lowest ranking on its five-tier system. The only lower ranking is for \"potentially harmful\" treatments.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Brain Balance defends its approach\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Asked by NPR why Brain Balance hadn't been tested more thoroughly before its nationwide expansion began a decade ago, Melillo says the company was \"faced with a dilemma.\" While he did feel an obligation to validate his approach, he says he knew Brain Balance worked and didn't want to deprive his clients of its benefits while waiting for clinical trials. \"All these 25,000 families that we've helped, are they left suffering for years on end?\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"What was done to date was commensurate to the resources that we had,\" says Aleem Choudhry, the chairman of Brain Balance and a managing member at Crane Street Capital, which invested in the franchise in 2013.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company says ADHD was the only disorder to be studied thus far because — contrary to the opinion of all the experts contacted by NPR — it is neurologically equivalent to others like autism, dyslexia and OCD. If Brain Balance improves ADHD symptoms, Melillo says, \"then we believe that we're going to get the same results in the other types of issues, because they're really the same problem.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Melillo also says the company's proprietary records from about 80,000 before-and-after client assessments qualify as corroboration. Melillo disputed the idea that his company's own data may require third-party review. \"Data is data,\" he says. \"There's no bias in the way we collect this.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new study of a \u003ca href=\"https://drteicher.wordpress.com/2015/11/20/non-pharmacological-treatment-for-adhd/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">computerized version of Brain Balance\u003c/a> is underway at a Harvard-affiliated hospital and features a concurrent control group of children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Melillo says that questions about the research behind Brain Balance ultimately miss a larger, more important point.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Families are out there struggling and suffering, and they don't really give a crap about the data or the research, to be quite honest,\" he says. \"When they go through it and they see the difference in their child ... that's what matters to them.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Choudhry, the company's chairman, later clarified that \"we very much do care about the data.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>No easy answer\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>With both their boys enrolled in Brain Balance, the routine for Stephanie and Natalie's family was frantic.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three times a week, Stephanie would ferry their sons against traffic to and from their sessions. Family dinners became more rushed. Soccer and swimming were abandoned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lost time is often a hidden cost of any form of treatment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mothers began observing changes in their older son. They say his previously weak sense of smell suddenly blossomed, first for brownies and then other foods. And he became less obsessed with characters he had repetitively sketched in his notebooks and imbued with rich inner lives. (His parents are torn as to whether this was a positive development.) He also advanced in certain Brain Balance measures, including his primitive reflexes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It's not that the needle didn't move on some of those dimensions,\" says Natalie. \"But if you step back at the 10,000- or 100,000-foot view and say, 'Is this kid different in a way that his life is going to be better or altered?' the answer is 'No.' OK, so now he can smell brownies that he couldn't smell before but is his life different?\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She says she and her wife began to feel discouraged, thinking about the \"aura around this program that says your child's going to be different and better-adjusted.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eric Rossen of the National Association of School Psychologists isn't surprised by Brain Balance's popularity as an option beyond what schools and insurance will cover.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He says many parents are frustrated by mainstream medicine's limits when it comes to complex disorders like autism. And schools are sometimes too strapped for resources to provide students with learning disorders all the help their parents may want.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Most parents will say they would die for their children,\" Rossen says. \"So to say, 'I want to provide some therapy and pay a few thousand dollars' is quite short of dying for them and it's totally reasonable.\"\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But he says \"the problem is they are easy prey for certain providers that can make promises that cannot necessarily be kept or are not necessarily backed by scientific data.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For parents looking to find evidence-based third-party interventions, experts suggest the \u003ca href=\"https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What Works Clearinghouse\u003c/a>, which is backed by the Department of Education, or the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's \u003ca href=\"https://www.samhsa.gov/nrepp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">own resource\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Brain Balance's protocol doesn't appear to pose any physical or developmental harms to children. Instead, the program's costs may come in other ways: siphoning away time and money, and prolonging the hope in some parents that their child may one day shed his or her disorder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. Susan Hyman, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Rochester who has studied autism treatments for decades, says many alternative providers do this by offering an unrealistically simple solution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"If you were to come to a traditional provider who said, 'You know I'm going to have you work really, really, really hard. ... I might have some drugs. Drugs have side effects. And 90 percent of the time, as an adult, he is still going to have autism,' that's a far less attractive message than 'I can help you.' \"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Beyond Brain Balance\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the end of their older son's second three-month session at Brain Balance, Stephanie and Natalie had completely soured on it. They stopped believing that vibrating armbands and spinning in swivel chairs would translate to social success.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They decided to not continue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later, in second grade, their older son began to work with a social worker at school who taught him how to have socially acceptable conversation with his peers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Stephanie and Natalie did something else — the unthinkable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They put their son on a medication called Strattera. Calibrating the proper dosage with tolerable side effects was a drawn-out process, but eventually they reached an equilibrium. Their older son ended up with a new diagnosis that has some overlap with autism but is more consistent with ADHD, which the medication treats.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, he seems to be navigating the world more successfully than before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On a Saturday last August, their older son — who once plaintively asked his parents, \"Why aren't I invited to birthday parties?\" — had just wrapped up a party to celebrate turning 10 years old.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Natalie and Stephanie had pizzas delivered and rented a truck lined with pleather sofas on one side and video game systems along the other. The children sat in pairs and used their greasy fingers to dispatch their avatars against each other in virtual battle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"They were yelling my son's name and saying 'Come play with me! Come play with me!' \" recalls Natalie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The birthday boy says he invited almost all of his friends, from school and camp, and all but one showed up, which was more than he could have ever imagined before.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Because,\" he says before pausing. \"I haven't had friends for a bit. Until I got my medicine. I got some treatment. I got help. Now, I have tons of friends.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>The reporter, Chris Benderev, can be contacted at cbenderev@npr.org.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=%27Cutting+Edge%27+Program+For+Children+With+Autism+And+ADHD+Rests+On+Razor-Thin+Evidence&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/futureofyou/442896/little-evidence-for-brain-balances-alternative-autism-treatment",
"authors": [
"byline_futureofyou_442896"
],
"categories": [
"futureofyou_1060",
"futureofyou_1062",
"futureofyou_1",
"futureofyou_73"
],
"tags": [
"futureofyou_555",
"futureofyou_673",
"futureofyou_61",
"futureofyou_1056"
],
"collections": [
"futureofyou_1093",
"futureofyou_1097"
],
"featImg": "futureofyou_442899",
"label": "source_futureofyou_442896"
},
"futureofyou_442808": {
"type": "posts",
"id": "futureofyou_442808",
"meta": {
"index": "posts_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "442808",
"score": null,
"sort": [
1529335810000
]
},
"parent": 0,
"labelTerm": {
"site": "futureofyou",
"term": 1094
},
"blocks": [],
"publishDate": 1529335810,
"format": "standard",
"disqusTitle": "Results Of At-Home Genetic Tests For Health Can Be Hard To Interpret",
"title": "Results Of At-Home Genetic Tests For Health Can Be Hard To Interpret",
"headTitle": "KQED Future of You | KQED Science",
"content": "\u003cp>Rita Adele Steyn's mother had a double mastectomy in her 40s because she had so many lumps in her breasts. Her first cousin died of breast cancer. And Steyn's sister is going through chemotherapy for the disease now. Steyn worries she might be next.[contextly_sidebar id=\"2jv7QCmynDbyHW9qUVcm6pRU4NOR220R\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Sometimes you feel like you beat the odds. And sometimes you feel like the odds are against you,\" said Steyn, 42, who lives in Tampa, Fla. \"And right now I feel like the odds are against me.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So Steyn jumped at the chance when she heard about a company offering an inexpensive and easy new way to get her DNA tested for genetic mutations that sharply increase the risk for \u003ca href=\"https://www.cancer.org/cancer/breast-cancer.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">breast cancer\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I thought it would be good to get tested,\" says Steyn. \"I thought this is something I should know.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She ordered a $200 testing kit from the company, 23andme, spit into a small plastic tube, sent it back and waited for the results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Genetic testing used to be uncommon and ordered only by doctors. They used it mainly to diagnose rare conditions, to find out whether prospective parents are carrying genetic diseases, or to determine whether patients are at risk for diseases in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, more people are getting their DNA analyzed for health reasons, in the comfort of their own homes. As genetic testing has gotten easier, faster and more affordable, it has become a multimillion-dollar industry, with many companies aggressively marketing convenient, inexpensive tests directly to consumers. About one-third of Americans say they or a family member have considered getting a genetic test, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/06/01/616126056/poll-genealogical-curiosity-is-a-top-reason-for-dna-tests-privacy-a-concern\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according to a recent NPR-IBM Watson Health Poll\u003c/a>. And millions of people have gotten them, for a variety of reasons.[contextly_sidebar id=\"5sGM4fbYVp0AOmgc16BrIla2iYM1tjtz\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This health-related testing is probably the next big step in using genomic information in our lives,\" says \u003ca href=\"https://isearch.asu.edu/profile/2783639\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Robert Cook-Deegan\u003c/a>, who studies health policy at Arizona State University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But others find the trend troubling. The tests have limitations and can be hard to interpret without a doctor or genetic counselor to weigh in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pros and Cons\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company Steyn used, \u003ca href=\"https://www.23andme.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">23andMe\u003c/a>, recently \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/03/07/591423146/test-for-breast-cancer-gene-will-be-available-in-weeks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">became the first to win approval\u003c/a> from the Food and Drug Administration to market a genetic test for cancer directly to consumers without a doctor's order. It spent $27.9 million on advertising in the first quarter of 2018, according to the tracking firm Kantar Media. (NPR receives financial support from 23andMe.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The industry is set to grow even more as restrictions on the medical uses of these tests are eased. The Food and Drug Administration recently \u003ca href=\"https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm583885.htm\">announced\u003c/a> plans to make it easier for these kinds of tests to win approval.[contextly_sidebar id=\"6BR65Pmc5xtQQjBssPMWnhSlrwXrhHIz\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many physicians welcome the trend, saying it's giving people valuable information. Consumers can find out early whether they are at increased risk for cancer, Alzheimer's and other diseases — and take steps to protect themselves. The testing can also sometimes help identify the safest and most effective medications to use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Direct-to-consumer genetics companies are leading the way toward democratizing genetics and making it available to more and more people to learn about their risks and intervene in ways to keep themselves healthy,\" says \u003ca href=\"http://personalizedmedicine.partners.org/About/Leadership-Team/Robert%20Green.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Robert Green\u003c/a>, a medical geneticist at Harvard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But other genetic specialists, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.med.unc.edu/im/patients/general-medicine-internal-medicine-clinic/james-evans-md-phd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">James Evans\u003c/a>, a professor of genetics and medicine at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, argue genetic testing is still in its infancy and that the results are often inconclusive and confusing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I think that it's an unfortunate development that will likely cause considerable mischief,\" Evans says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One problem is that patients can be easily overwhelmed when results are misleading or murky. Genetic testing is still best done through doctors, he says, working with specially trained genetic counselors who can guide patients every step of the way.[contextly_sidebar id=\"xJAmUsouQpJLM7V2Qt8t7fJx04FgVQwG\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"What people deserve is well-thought-out information,\" Evans says. \"The only people who will really benefit are the investors in these companies that market these incomplete and misleading tests.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some companies are offering newer forms of genetic testing that decipher and analyze every gene known to carry instructions for producing proteins that might reveal mutations — a process called \u003ca href=\"https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/testing/sequencing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">whole exome sequencing\u003c/a>. Still others analyze the entire genetic code, which is called \u003ca href=\"https://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodScienceResearch/WholeGenomeSequencingProgramWGS/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">whole genome sequencing\u003c/a>, which may find additional clues to disease. They will then analyze customers' genomes for any variations known to be associated with diseases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The approach 23andMe takes is a rapid, but older, process. It analyzes short pieces of DNA for genetic variations known as \u003ca href=\"https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/genomicresearch/snp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">single nucleotide variations (SNPs)\u003c/a> associated with specific diseases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Except for 23andMe, all of the companies still require a doctor's order to get this testing. But an increasing number of these companies will find a physician to sign off on that for customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We're all about empowering consumers and making it as easy as possible for people to get these insights,\" says \u003ca href=\"https://www.helix.com/blog/author/elissa-levin/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Elissa Levin\u003c/a>, director of policy and clinical services at \u003ca href=\"https://www.helix.com/\">Helix\u003c/a>, a genetic testing company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. \u003ca href=\"https://profiles.stanford.edu/louanne-hudgins\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Louanne Hudgins\u003c/a>, president of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.acmg.net/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics\u003c/a>, says she's \"very concerned\" about this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Individuals should be evaluated by medical professionals who are not conflicted, meaning they do not somehow work for a company,\" Hudgins says. \"Doctors who are contracted by companies are going to say, 'Do the test' no matter what, even if the test may not be indicated.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The companies defend the practice, saying the doctors they find for customers may be better suited than the average physician.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The majority of doctors have had maybe one class in genetics,\" says \u003ca href=\"https://www.color.com/team\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Othman Laraki\u003c/a>, CEO of Color Genomics, another genetic testing company. \"I think it's much more important to have someone who has a background in genetics than just simply have someone who you can physically meet with.\"[contextly_sidebar id=\"z5IAPc8KdOy51FSsfsI8mbgyU8TgOGr0\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Privacy is another concern. Genetic testing companies say they have strict policies and procedures to protect customers' information. But some firms provide access to the genetic information they collect on an anonymous basis to drug companies and others to use for research.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recent breaches of privacy by companies that collect information about people, such as Facebook, have underscored the risks of electronic data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I'm really hoping that the security practices associated with genetic information are quite strong,\" says Cook-Deegan. \"The companies say they're strong. Time will tell if that's true.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/gina.cfm\">federal law\u003c/a> prohibits the use of genetic information to discriminate against the people for health insurance or jobs. But that law does not protect against the use of genetic information in making decisions about other things, such as life and long-term care insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"These are the types of things you really ought to consider when thinking about doing this kind of genetic testing — not whether there's a special on the testing this week,\" says \u003ca href=\"https://louisville.edu/bioethics/directory/mark-a.-rothstein\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mark Rothstein\u003c/a>, a professor of medicine and a bioethicist at the University of Louisville School of Medicine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Results — With Limitations\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About a month after sending in her sample, Steyn got a notice that the results of her breast cancer test were ready.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I'm really nervous,\" she said as she read through the company's explanation of what her results do and do not mean.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She paused in silence after she clicked to get the results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It says zero variants detected,\" Steyn finally said, meaning the test had not found any mutations that would increase her risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I guess I do feel really relieved. It does make me feel better,\" she said, her voice cracking. \"I guess I just feel my chances are better now, you know?\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics worry the testing is misleading — and relying on it could be dangerous. It tests for only three mutations in two genes known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/genetics/brca-fact-sheet\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BRCA1 and BRCA2\u003c/a> that can increase the risk for breast and \u003ca href=\"https://www.cancer.org/cancer/ovarian-cancer.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ovarian cancer\u003c/a>. Women could still have one of the thousands of other mutations that increase the risk, or be at risk for other, nongenetic reasons.[contextly_sidebar id=\"yoPuviqWfqVzH92JGqeNFv9hvL3T9Qlf\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The concern is that if a woman's 23andMe test shows she's free of the risky mutations, she may think she's in the clear and not do things she should do, such as get regular mammograms or undergo more thorough genetic testing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"To be very blunt, I worry that women who undertake testing from 23andMe could believe that they do not carry a mutation when in fact they do, and as a consequence could die of breast or ovarian cancer,\" says \u003ca href=\"http://www.gs.washington.edu/faculty/king.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mary-Claire King\u003c/a>, a University of Washington geneticist who helped identify the breast cancer genes. \"I do not want to see that happen.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company argues that it makes the test's limitations very clear and encourages women to talk to their doctor about the results and possibly seek more extensive genetic testing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For women who discover they have one of the risky gene variants, the information could be crucial, according to \u003ca href=\"https://medical.23andme.com/medical-team/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Stacey Detweiller\u003c/a>, a medical affairs associate and genetic counselor at 23andMe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Our mission is helping people access, understand and benefit from the human genome,\" Detweiller says. \"There's steps that can be taken from knowing this information that could be life-saving.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steyn and the two other women NPR followed through the process of taking the test seemed to understand the test's limitations. They said they knew they couldn't rely on it, but they were curious to see the results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Steyn admits that she felt somewhat less urgency to get a mammogram or additional testing because of the 23andMe test results, especially since she doesn't have health insurance at the moment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I'm glad I did it, especially in light of the fact that I find myself in a position where I do have to wait to see a doctor now because of the insurance situation I find myself in,\" Steyn says. \"Now I feel a little bit better about waiting. Beforehand, I probably would have not waited and figure out a way to afford this.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Results+Of+At-Home+Genetic+Tests+For+Health+Can+Be+Hard+To+Interpret+&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
"disqusIdentifier": "442808 https://ww2.kqed.org/futureofyou/?p=442808",
"disqusUrl": "https://ww2.kqed.org/futureofyou/2018/06/18/results-of-at-home-genetic-tests-for-health-can-be-hard-to-interpret/",
"stats": {
"hasVideo": false,
"hasChartOrMap": false,
"hasAudio": false,
"hasPolis": false,
"wordCount": 1690,
"hasGoogleForm": false,
"hasGallery": false,
"hasHearkenModule": false,
"iframeSrcs": [],
"paragraphCount": 48
},
"modified": 1529343416,
"excerpt": "As home genetic testing continues to boom, more people are getting their DNA tested for health reasons. The tests may signal future disease, but there are many limitations that might falsely reassure.",
"headData": {
"twImgId": "",
"twTitle": "",
"ogTitle": "",
"ogImgId": "",
"twDescription": "",
"description": "As home genetic testing continues to boom, more people are getting their DNA tested for health reasons. The tests may signal future disease, but there are many limitations that might falsely reassure.",
"title": "Results Of At-Home Genetic Tests For Health Can Be Hard To Interpret | KQED",
"ogDescription": "",
"schema": {
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Article",
"headline": "Results Of At-Home Genetic Tests For Health Can Be Hard To Interpret",
"datePublished": "2018-06-18T08:30:10-07:00",
"dateModified": "2018-06-18T10:36:56-07:00",
"image": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png"
}
},
"guestAuthors": [],
"slug": "results-of-at-home-genetic-tests-for-health-can-be-hard-to-interpret",
"status": "publish",
"nprApiLink": "http://api.npr.org/query?id=609750963&apiKey=MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004",
"nprByline": "Rob Stein, NPR",
"nprStoryDate": "Mon, 18 Jun 2018 04:58:00 -0400",
"nprLastModifiedDate": "Mon, 18 Jun 2018 09:47:12 -0400",
"nprHtmlLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/06/18/609750963/results-of-at-home-genetic-tests-for-health-can-be-hard-to-interpret?ft=nprml&f=609750963",
"nprAudio": "https://ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/me/2018/06/20180618_me_results_of_at-home_genetic_tests_for_health_can_be_hard_to_interpret_.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1128&d=384&p=3&story=609750963&ft=nprml&f=609750963",
"nprImageAgency": "Courtesy of Rita Steyn",
"nprAudioM3u": "http://api.npr.org/m3u/1620939204-ba3905.m3u?orgId=1&topicId=1128&d=384&p=3&story=609750963&ft=nprml&f=609750963",
"nprStoryId": "609750963",
"nprRetrievedStory": "1",
"nprPubDate": "Mon, 18 Jun 2018 11:03:00 -0400",
"path": "/futureofyou/442808/results-of-at-home-genetic-tests-for-health-can-be-hard-to-interpret",
"audioUrl": "https://ondemand.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/me/2018/06/20180618_me_results_of_at-home_genetic_tests_for_health_can_be_hard_to_interpret_.mp3?orgId=1&topicId=1128&d=384&p=3&story=609750963&ft=nprml&f=609750963",
"audioTrackLength": null,
"parsedContent": [
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Rita Adele Steyn's mother had a double mastectomy in her 40s because she had so many lumps in her breasts. Her first cousin died of breast cancer. And Steyn's sister is going through chemotherapy for the disease now. Steyn worries she might be next.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Sometimes you feel like you beat the odds. And sometimes you feel like the odds are against you,\" said Steyn, 42, who lives in Tampa, Fla. \"And right now I feel like the odds are against me.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So Steyn jumped at the chance when she heard about a company offering an inexpensive and easy new way to get her DNA tested for genetic mutations that sharply increase the risk for \u003ca href=\"https://www.cancer.org/cancer/breast-cancer.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">breast cancer\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I thought it would be good to get tested,\" says Steyn. \"I thought this is something I should know.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She ordered a $200 testing kit from the company, 23andme, spit into a small plastic tube, sent it back and waited for the results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "fullwidth"
},
"numeric": [
"fullwidth"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Genetic testing used to be uncommon and ordered only by doctors. They used it mainly to diagnose rare conditions, to find out whether prospective parents are carrying genetic diseases, or to determine whether patients are at risk for diseases in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, more people are getting their DNA analyzed for health reasons, in the comfort of their own homes. As genetic testing has gotten easier, faster and more affordable, it has become a multimillion-dollar industry, with many companies aggressively marketing convenient, inexpensive tests directly to consumers. About one-third of Americans say they or a family member have considered getting a genetic test, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/06/01/616126056/poll-genealogical-curiosity-is-a-top-reason-for-dna-tests-privacy-a-concern\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according to a recent NPR-IBM Watson Health Poll\u003c/a>. And millions of people have gotten them, for a variety of reasons.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"This health-related testing is probably the next big step in using genomic information in our lives,\" says \u003ca href=\"https://isearch.asu.edu/profile/2783639\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Robert Cook-Deegan\u003c/a>, who studies health policy at Arizona State University.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But others find the trend troubling. The tests have limitations and can be hard to interpret without a doctor or genetic counselor to weigh in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Pros and Cons\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company Steyn used, \u003ca href=\"https://www.23andme.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">23andMe\u003c/a>, recently \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2018/03/07/591423146/test-for-breast-cancer-gene-will-be-available-in-weeks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">became the first to win approval\u003c/a> from the Food and Drug Administration to market a genetic test for cancer directly to consumers without a doctor's order. It spent $27.9 million on advertising in the first quarter of 2018, according to the tracking firm Kantar Media. (NPR receives financial support from 23andMe.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The industry is set to grow even more as restrictions on the medical uses of these tests are eased. The Food and Drug Administration recently \u003ca href=\"https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm583885.htm\">announced\u003c/a> plans to make it easier for these kinds of tests to win approval.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many physicians welcome the trend, saying it's giving people valuable information. Consumers can find out early whether they are at increased risk for cancer, Alzheimer's and other diseases — and take steps to protect themselves. The testing can also sometimes help identify the safest and most effective medications to use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Direct-to-consumer genetics companies are leading the way toward democratizing genetics and making it available to more and more people to learn about their risks and intervene in ways to keep themselves healthy,\" says \u003ca href=\"http://personalizedmedicine.partners.org/About/Leadership-Team/Robert%20Green.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Robert Green\u003c/a>, a medical geneticist at Harvard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But other genetic specialists, including \u003ca href=\"https://www.med.unc.edu/im/patients/general-medicine-internal-medicine-clinic/james-evans-md-phd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">James Evans\u003c/a>, a professor of genetics and medicine at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, argue genetic testing is still in its infancy and that the results are often inconclusive and confusing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I think that it's an unfortunate development that will likely cause considerable mischief,\" Evans says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One problem is that patients can be easily overwhelmed when results are misleading or murky. Genetic testing is still best done through doctors, he says, working with specially trained genetic counselors who can guide patients every step of the way.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"What people deserve is well-thought-out information,\" Evans says. \"The only people who will really benefit are the investors in these companies that market these incomplete and misleading tests.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some companies are offering newer forms of genetic testing that decipher and analyze every gene known to carry instructions for producing proteins that might reveal mutations — a process called \u003ca href=\"https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/testing/sequencing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">whole exome sequencing\u003c/a>. Still others analyze the entire genetic code, which is called \u003ca href=\"https://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodScienceResearch/WholeGenomeSequencingProgramWGS/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">whole genome sequencing\u003c/a>, which may find additional clues to disease. They will then analyze customers' genomes for any variations known to be associated with diseases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The approach 23andMe takes is a rapid, but older, process. It analyzes short pieces of DNA for genetic variations known as \u003ca href=\"https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/genomicresearch/snp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">single nucleotide variations (SNPs)\u003c/a> associated with specific diseases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Except for 23andMe, all of the companies still require a doctor's order to get this testing. But an increasing number of these companies will find a physician to sign off on that for customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We're all about empowering consumers and making it as easy as possible for people to get these insights,\" says \u003ca href=\"https://www.helix.com/blog/author/elissa-levin/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Elissa Levin\u003c/a>, director of policy and clinical services at \u003ca href=\"https://www.helix.com/\">Helix\u003c/a>, a genetic testing company.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dr. \u003ca href=\"https://profiles.stanford.edu/louanne-hudgins\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Louanne Hudgins\u003c/a>, president of the \u003ca href=\"https://www.acmg.net/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics\u003c/a>, says she's \"very concerned\" about this.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Individuals should be evaluated by medical professionals who are not conflicted, meaning they do not somehow work for a company,\" Hudgins says. \"Doctors who are contracted by companies are going to say, 'Do the test' no matter what, even if the test may not be indicated.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The companies defend the practice, saying the doctors they find for customers may be better suited than the average physician.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"The majority of doctors have had maybe one class in genetics,\" says \u003ca href=\"https://www.color.com/team\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Othman Laraki\u003c/a>, CEO of Color Genomics, another genetic testing company. \"I think it's much more important to have someone who has a background in genetics than just simply have someone who you can physically meet with.\"\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Privacy is another concern. Genetic testing companies say they have strict policies and procedures to protect customers' information. But some firms provide access to the genetic information they collect on an anonymous basis to drug companies and others to use for research.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recent breaches of privacy by companies that collect information about people, such as Facebook, have underscored the risks of electronic data.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I'm really hoping that the security practices associated with genetic information are quite strong,\" says Cook-Deegan. \"The companies say they're strong. Time will tell if that's true.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/gina.cfm\">federal law\u003c/a> prohibits the use of genetic information to discriminate against the people for health insurance or jobs. But that law does not protect against the use of genetic information in making decisions about other things, such as life and long-term care insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"These are the types of things you really ought to consider when thinking about doing this kind of genetic testing — not whether there's a special on the testing this week,\" says \u003ca href=\"https://louisville.edu/bioethics/directory/mark-a.-rothstein\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mark Rothstein\u003c/a>, a professor of medicine and a bioethicist at the University of Louisville School of Medicine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Results — With Limitations\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About a month after sending in her sample, Steyn got a notice that the results of her breast cancer test were ready.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I'm really nervous,\" she said as she read through the company's explanation of what her results do and do not mean.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She paused in silence after she clicked to get the results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"It says zero variants detected,\" Steyn finally said, meaning the test had not found any mutations that would increase her risk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I guess I do feel really relieved. It does make me feel better,\" she said, her voice cracking. \"I guess I just feel my chances are better now, you know?\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics worry the testing is misleading — and relying on it could be dangerous. It tests for only three mutations in two genes known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/genetics/brca-fact-sheet\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">BRCA1 and BRCA2\u003c/a> that can increase the risk for breast and \u003ca href=\"https://www.cancer.org/cancer/ovarian-cancer.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ovarian cancer\u003c/a>. Women could still have one of the thousands of other mutations that increase the risk, or be at risk for other, nongenetic reasons.\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The concern is that if a woman's 23andMe test shows she's free of the risky mutations, she may think she's in the clear and not do things she should do, such as get regular mammograms or undergo more thorough genetic testing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"To be very blunt, I worry that women who undertake testing from 23andMe could believe that they do not carry a mutation when in fact they do, and as a consequence could die of breast or ovarian cancer,\" says \u003ca href=\"http://www.gs.washington.edu/faculty/king.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mary-Claire King\u003c/a>, a University of Washington geneticist who helped identify the breast cancer genes. \"I do not want to see that happen.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company argues that it makes the test's limitations very clear and encourages women to talk to their doctor about the results and possibly seek more extensive genetic testing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For women who discover they have one of the risky gene variants, the information could be crucial, according to \u003ca href=\"https://medical.23andme.com/medical-team/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Stacey Detweiller\u003c/a>, a medical affairs associate and genetic counselor at 23andMe.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"Our mission is helping people access, understand and benefit from the human genome,\" Detweiller says. \"There's steps that can be taken from knowing this information that could be life-saving.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Steyn and the two other women NPR followed through the process of taking the test seemed to understand the test's limitations. They said they knew they couldn't rely on it, but they were curious to see the results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Steyn admits that she felt somewhat less urgency to get a mammogram or additional testing because of the 23andMe test results, especially since she doesn't have health insurance at the moment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
},
{
"type": "component",
"content": "",
"name": "ad",
"attributes": {
"named": {
"label": "floatright"
},
"numeric": [
"floatright"
]
}
},
{
"type": "contentString",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"I'm glad I did it, especially in light of the fact that I find myself in a position where I do have to wait to see a doctor now because of the insurance situation I find myself in,\" Steyn says. \"Now I feel a little bit better about waiting. Beforehand, I probably would have not waited and figure out a way to afford this.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg src=\"https://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Results+Of+At-Home+Genetic+Tests+For+Health+Can+Be+Hard+To+Interpret+&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
"attributes": {
"named": {},
"numeric": []
}
}
],
"link": "/futureofyou/442808/results-of-at-home-genetic-tests-for-health-can-be-hard-to-interpret",
"authors": [
"byline_futureofyou_442808"
],
"categories": [
"futureofyou_1060",
"futureofyou_1062",
"futureofyou_1",
"futureofyou_73",
"futureofyou_1064"
],
"tags": [
"futureofyou_141",
"futureofyou_17",
"futureofyou_266",
"futureofyou_61"
],
"collections": [
"futureofyou_1093",
"futureofyou_1097",
"futureofyou_1094"
],
"featImg": "futureofyou_442809",
"label": "futureofyou_1094"
}
},
"podcastsReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": false,
"podcasts": {}
},
"radioProgramsReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": false,
"radioPrograms": {}
},
"radioSearchSegmentsReducer": {},
"programsReducer": {
"all-things-considered": {
"id": "all-things-considered",
"title": "All Things Considered",
"info": "Every weekday, \u003cem>All Things Considered\u003c/em> hosts Robert Siegel, Audie Cornish, Ari Shapiro, and Kelly McEvers present the program's trademark mix of news, interviews, commentaries, reviews, and offbeat features. Michel Martin hosts on the weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 1pm-2pm, 4:30pm-6:30pm\u003cbr />SAT-SUN 5pm-6pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/All-Things-Considered-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/all-things-considered"
},
"american-suburb-podcast": {
"id": "american-suburb-podcast",
"title": "American Suburb: The Podcast",
"tagline": "The flip side of gentrification, told through one town",
"info": "Gentrification is changing cities across America, forcing people from neighborhoods they have long called home. Call them the displaced. Now those priced out of the Bay Area are looking for a better life in an unlikely place. American Suburb follows this migration to one California town along the Delta, 45 miles from San Francisco. But is this once sleepy suburb ready for them?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/American-Suburb-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/american-suburb-podcast",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 19
},
"link": "/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/RBrW",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=1287748328",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/American-Suburb-p1086805/",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/american-suburb-podcast/feed/podcast",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkMzMDExODgxNjA5"
}
},
"baycurious": {
"id": "baycurious",
"title": "Bay Curious",
"tagline": "Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time",
"info": "KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bay-Curious-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Bay Curious",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/baycurious",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 3
},
"link": "/podcasts/baycurious",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/category/bay-curious-podcast/feed/podcast",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9a90d476-aa04-455d-9a4c-0871ed6216d4/bay-curious",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/bay-curious",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/6O76IdmhixfijmhTZLIJ8k"
}
},
"bbc-world-service": {
"id": "bbc-world-service",
"title": "BBC World Service",
"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_world_service",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "BBC World Service"
},
"link": "/radio/program/bbc-world-service",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/global-news-podcast/id135067274?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/BBC-World-Service-p455581/",
"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
}
},
"californiareport": {
"id": "californiareport",
"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The California Report",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-the-california-report/id79681292",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/26099305-72af-4542-9dde-ac1807fe36d5/kqed-s-the-california-report",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432285393/the-california-report",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqedfm-kqeds-the-california-report-podcast-8838",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcram/feed/podcast"
}
},
"californiareportmagazine": {
"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Magazine-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The California Report Magazine",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 10
},
"link": "/californiareportmagazine",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-california-report-magazine/id1314750545",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/564733126/the-california-report-magazine",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-california-report-magazine",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcrmag/feed/podcast"
}
},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
"id": "closealltabs",
"title": "Close All Tabs",
"tagline": "Your irreverent guide to the trends redefining our world",
"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CAT_2_Tile-scaled.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Close All Tabs",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 1
},
"link": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/close-all-tabs/id214663465",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC6993880386",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/92d9d4ac-67a3-4eed-b10a-fb45d45b1ef2/close-all-tabs",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/6LAJFHnGK1pYXYzv6SIol6?si=deb0cae19813417c"
}
},
"code-switch-life-kit": {
"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
"airtime": "SUN 9pm-10pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Code-Switch-Life-Kit-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/code-switch-life-kit",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/1112190608?mt=2&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3bExJ9JQpkwNhoHvaIIuyV",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510312/podcast.xml"
}
},
"commonwealth-club": {
"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.commonwealthclub.org/podcasts",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Commonwealth-Club-of-California-p1060/"
}
},
"forum": {
"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/forum",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
"link": "/forum",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-forum/id73329719",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432307980/forum",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqedfm-kqeds-forum-podcast",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC9557381633"
}
},
"freakonomics-radio": {
"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
}
},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 7pm-8pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Fresh-Air-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/fresh-air/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Fresh-Air-p17/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
}
},
"here-and-now": {
"id": "here-and-now",
"title": "Here & Now",
"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
"airtime": "MON-THU 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Here-And-Now-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/here-and-now",
"subsdcribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?mt=2&id=426698661",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Here--Now-p211/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
}
},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/hiddenbrain.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hidden-brain/id1028908750?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Hidden-Brain-p787503/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510308/podcast.xml"
}
},
"how-i-built-this": {
"id": "how-i-built-this",
"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Arts--Culture-Podcasts/How-I-Built-This-p910896/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510313/podcast.xml"
}
},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
"imageAlt": "KQED Hyphenación",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hyphenaci%C3%B3n/id1191591838",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
"youtube": "https://www.youtube.com/c/kqedarts",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/6c3dd23c-93fb-4aab-97ba-1725fa6315f1/hyphenaci%C3%B3n",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC2275451163"
}
},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/790253322/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/jerrybrown/feed/podcast/",
"tuneIn": "http://tun.in/pjGcK",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/54C1dmuyFyKMFttY6X2j6r?si=K8SgRCoISNK6ZbjpXrX5-w",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/44420f75-3b0e-4301-ab3b-16da6b09e543/the-political-mind-of-jerry-brown"
}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/xtTd",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Latino-USA-p621/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=201853034&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/APM-Marketplace-p88/",
"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindshift-podcast/id1078765985",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0MxSpNYZKNprFLCl7eEtyx"
}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1567098962",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/onourwatch",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0OLWoyizopu6tY1XiuX70x",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-Our-Watch-p1436229/",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/show/on-our-watch",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510360/podcast.xml"
}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "pbs"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
}
},
"perspectives": {
"id": "perspectives",
"title": "Perspectives",
"tagline": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991",
"info": "KQED's series of daily listener commentaries since 1991.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Perspectives_Tile_Final.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Perspectives",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/perspectives/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 14
},
"link": "/perspectives",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id73801135",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/432309616/perspectives",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/perspectives/category/perspectives/feed/",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93dzIua3FlZC5vcmcvcGVyc3BlY3RpdmVzL2NhdGVnb3J5L3BlcnNwZWN0aXZlcy9mZWVkLw"
}
},
"planet-money": {
"id": "planet-money",
"title": "Planet Money",
"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/planetmoney.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/sections/money/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/planet-money",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/M4f5",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Business--Economics-Podcasts/Planet-Money-p164680/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510289/podcast.xml"
}
},
"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Political-Breakdown-2024-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Political Breakdown",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 5
},
"link": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/political-breakdown/id1327641087",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/e0c2d153-ad36-4c8d-901d-f1da6a724824/political-breakdown",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/572155894/political-breakdown",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/political-breakdown",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/07RVyIjIdk2WDuVehvBMoN",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/political-breakdown/feed/podcast"
}
},
"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.possible.fm/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Possible"
},
"link": "/radio/program/possible",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/possible/id1677184070",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k"
}
},
"pri-the-world": {
"id": "pri-the-world",
"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pri.org/programs/the-world",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "PRI"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pri-the-world",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pris-the-world-latest-edition/id278196007?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/PRIs-The-World-p24/",
"rss": "http://feeds.feedburner.com/pri/theworld"
}
},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
"airtime": "SUN 12am-1am, SAT 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/radiolab1400.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/radiolab/",
"meta": {
"site": "science",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/radiolab",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radiolab/id152249110?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/RadioLab-p68032/",
"rss": "https://feeds.wnyc.org/radiolab"
}
},
"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
"airtime": "SAT 4pm-5pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/reveal300px.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/reveal",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/reveal/id886009669",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Reveal-p679597/",
"rss": "http://feeds.revealradio.org/revealpodcast"
}
},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rightnowish-Podcast-Tile-500x500-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Rightnowish with Pendarvis Harshaw",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/rightnowish",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 16
},
"link": "/podcasts/rightnowish",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/721590300/rightnowish",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/programs/rightnowish/feed/podcast",
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rightnowish/id1482187648",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/rightnowish",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkMxMjU5MTY3NDc4",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/7kEJuafTzTVan7B78ttz1I"
}
},
"science-friday": {
"id": "science-friday",
"title": "Science Friday",
"info": "Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide. Each week, the show focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join host Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.",
"airtime": "FRI 11am-1pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Science-Friday-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/science-friday",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/science-friday",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=73329284&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Science-Friday-p394/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/science-friday"
}
},
"snap-judgment": {
"id": "snap-judgment",
"title": "Snap Judgment",
"tagline": "Real stories with killer beats",
"info": "The Snap Judgment radio show and podcast mixes real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic radio. Snap's musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see the world through the eyes of another. This is storytelling... with a BEAT!! Snap first aired on public radio stations nationwide in July 2010. Today, Snap Judgment airs on over 450 public radio stations and is brought to the airwaves by KQED & PRX.",
"airtime": "SAT 1pm-2pm, 9pm-10pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Snap-Judgment-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Snap Judgment",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://snapjudgment.org",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 4
},
"link": "https://snapjudgment.org",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/snap-judgment/id283657561",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/449018144/snap-judgment",
"stitcher": "https://www.pandora.com/podcast/snap-judgment/PC:241?source=stitcher-sunset",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3Cct7ZWmxHNAtLgBTqjC5v",
"rss": "https://snap.feed.snapjudgment.org/"
}
},
"soldout": {
"id": "soldout",
"title": "SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America",
"tagline": "A new future for housing",
"info": "Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Sold-Out-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Sold Out: Rethinking Housing in America",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/soldout",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 13
},
"link": "/podcasts/soldout",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/911586047/s-o-l-d-o-u-t-a-new-future-for-housing",
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/introducing-sold-out-rethinking-housing-in-america/id1531354937",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/soldout",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/38dTBSk2ISFoPiyYNoKn1X",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/sold-out-rethinking-housing-in-america",
"tunein": "https://tunein.com/radio/SOLD-OUT-Rethinking-Housing-in-America-p1365871/"
}
},
"spooked": {
"id": "spooked",
"title": "Spooked",
"tagline": "True-life supernatural stories",
"info": "",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Spooked-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Spooked",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://spookedpodcast.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 7
},
"link": "https://spookedpodcast.org/",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/spooked/id1279361017",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/549547848/snap-judgment-presents-spooked",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/76571Rfl3m7PLJQZKQIGCT",
"rss": "https://feeds.simplecast.com/TBotaapn"
}
},
"tech-nation": {
"id": "tech-nation",
"title": "Tech Nation Radio Podcast",
"info": "Tech Nation is a weekly public radio program, hosted by Dr. Moira Gunn. Founded in 1993, it has grown from a simple interview show to a multi-faceted production, featuring conversations with noted technology and science leaders, and a weekly science and technology-related commentary.",
"airtime": "FRI 10pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Tech-Nation-Radio-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://technation.podomatic.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "science",
"source": "Tech Nation Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/tech-nation",
"subscribe": {
"rss": "https://technation.podomatic.com/rss2.xml"
}
},
"ted-radio-hour": {
"id": "ted-radio-hour",
"title": "TED Radio Hour",
"info": "The TED Radio Hour is a journey through fascinating ideas, astonishing inventions, fresh approaches to old problems, and new ways to think and create.",
"airtime": "SUN 3pm-4pm, SAT 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/tedRadioHour.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/?showDate=2018-06-22",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/ted-radio-hour",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/8vsS",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=523121474&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/TED-Radio-Hour-p418021/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510298/podcast.xml"
}
},
"thebay": {
"id": "thebay",
"title": "The Bay",
"tagline": "Local news to keep you rooted",
"info": "Host Devin Katayama walks you through the biggest story of the day with reporters and newsmakers.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Bay-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Bay",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/thebay",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 2
},
"link": "/podcasts/thebay",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bay/id1350043452",
"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/d800ea4c-7a2c-42f2-b861-edaf78a5db0b/the-bay",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/586725995/the-bay",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-bay",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/4BIKBKIujizLHlIlBNaAqQ",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC8259786327"
}
},
"thelatest": {
"id": "thelatest",
"title": "The Latest",
"tagline": "Trusted local news in real time",
"info": "",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/The-Latest-2025-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Latest",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/thelatest",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 6
},
"link": "/thelatest",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-latest-from-kqed/id1197721799",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/1257949365/the-latest-from-k-q-e-d",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/5KIIXMgM9GTi5AepwOYvIZ?si=bd3053fec7244dba",
"rss": "https://feeds.megaphone.fm/KQINC9137121918"
}
},
"theleap": {
"id": "theleap",
"title": "The Leap",
"tagline": "What if you closed your eyes, and jumped?",
"info": "Stories about people making dramatic, risky changes, told by award-winning public radio reporter Judy Campbell.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Leap-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The Leap",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/theleap",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 17
},
"link": "/podcasts/theleap",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-leap/id1046668171",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/447248267/the-leap",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/the-leap",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/3sSlVHHzU0ytLwuGs1SD1U",
"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/programs/the-leap/feed/podcast"
}
},
"the-moth-radio-hour": {
"id": "the-moth-radio-hour",
"title": "The Moth Radio Hour",
"info": "Since its launch in 1997, The Moth has presented thousands of true stories, told live and without notes, to standing-room-only crowds worldwide. Moth storytellers stand alone, under a spotlight, with only a microphone and a roomful of strangers. The storyteller and the audience embark on a high-wire act of shared experience which is both terrifying and exhilarating. Since 2008, The Moth podcast has featured many of our favorite stories told live on Moth stages around the country. For information on all of our programs and live events, visit themoth.org.",
"airtime": "SAT 8pm-9pm and SUN 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/theMoth.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://themoth.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "prx"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-moth-radio-hour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-moth-podcast/id275699983?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/The-Moth-p273888/",
"rss": "http://feeds.themoth.org/themothpodcast"
}
},
"the-new-yorker-radio-hour": {
"id": "the-new-yorker-radio-hour",
"title": "The New Yorker Radio Hour",
"info": "The New Yorker Radio Hour is a weekly program presented by the magazine's editor, David Remnick, and produced by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker. Each episode features a diverse mix of interviews, profiles, storytelling, and an occasional burst of humor inspired by the magazine, and shaped by its writers, artists, and editors. This isn't a radio version of a magazine, but something all its own, reflecting the rich possibilities of audio storytelling and conversation. Theme music for the show was composed and performed by Merrill Garbus of tUnE-YArDs.",
"airtime": "SAT 10am-11am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-New-Yorker-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/tnyradiohour",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-new-yorker-radio-hour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1050430296",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/New-Yorker-Radio-Hour-p803804/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/newyorkerradiohour"
}
},
"the-sam-sanders-show": {
"id": "the-sam-sanders-show",
"title": "The Sam Sanders Show",
"info": "One of public radio's most dynamic voices, Sam Sanders helped launch The NPR Politics Podcast and hosted NPR's hit show It's Been A Minute. Now, the award-winning host returns with something brand new, The Sam Sanders Show. Every week, Sam Sanders and friends dig into the culture that shapes our lives: what's driving the biggest trends, how artists really think, and even the memes you can't stop scrolling past. Sam is beloved for his way of unpacking the world and bringing you up close to fresh currents and engaging conversations. The Sam Sanders Show is smart, funny and always a good time.",
"airtime": "FRI 12-1pm AND SAT 11am-12pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/The-Sam-Sanders-Show-Podcast-Tile-400x400-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.kcrw.com/shows/the-sam-sanders-show/latest",
"meta": {
"site": "arts",
"source": "KCRW"
},
"link": "https://www.kcrw.com/shows/the-sam-sanders-show/latest",
"subscribe": {
"rss": "https://feed.cdnstream1.com/zjb/feed/download/ac/28/59/ac28594c-e1d0-4231-8728-61865cdc80e8.xml"
}
},
"the-splendid-table": {
"id": "the-splendid-table",
"title": "The Splendid Table",
"info": "\u003cem>The Splendid Table\u003c/em> hosts our nation's conversations about cooking, sustainability and food culture.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Splendid-Table-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.splendidtable.org/",
"airtime": "SUN 10-11 pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/the-splendid-table"
},
"this-american-life": {
"id": "this-american-life",
"title": "This American Life",
"info": "This American Life is a weekly public radio show, heard by 2.2 million people on more than 500 stations. Another 2.5 million people download the weekly podcast. It is hosted by Ira Glass, produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media, delivered to stations by PRX The Public Radio Exchange, and has won all of the major broadcasting awards.",
"airtime": "SAT 12pm-1pm, 7pm-8pm",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/thisAmericanLife.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.thisamericanlife.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "wbez"
},
"link": "/radio/program/this-american-life",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=201671138&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"rss": "https://www.thisamericanlife.org/podcast/rss.xml"
}
},
"tinydeskradio": {
"id": "tinydeskradio",
"title": "Tiny Desk Radio",
"info": "We're bringing the best of Tiny Desk to the airwaves, only on public radio.",
"airtime": "SUN 8pm and SAT 9pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/300x300-For-Member-Station-Logo-Tiny-Desk-Radio-@2x.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/g-s1-52030/tiny-desk-radio",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/tinydeskradio",
"subscribe": {
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/g-s1-52030/rss.xml"
}
},
"wait-wait-dont-tell-me": {
"id": "wait-wait-dont-tell-me",
"title": "Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!",
"info": "Peter Sagal and Bill Kurtis host the weekly NPR News quiz show alongside some of the best and brightest news and entertainment personalities.",
"airtime": "SUN 10am-11am, SAT 11am-12pm, SAT 6pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Wait-Wait-Podcast-Tile-300x300-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/wait-wait-dont-tell-me/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/wait-wait-dont-tell-me",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/Xogv",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=121493804&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/Wait-Wait-Dont-Tell-Me-p46/",
"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/344098539/podcast.xml"
}
},
"weekend-edition-saturday": {
"id": "weekend-edition-saturday",
"title": "Weekend Edition Saturday",
"info": "Weekend Edition Saturday wraps up the week's news and offers a mix of analysis and features on a wide range of topics, including arts, sports, entertainment, and human interest stories. The two-hour program is hosted by NPR's Peabody Award-winning Scott Simon.",
"airtime": "SAT 5am-10am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Weekend-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-saturday/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/weekend-edition-saturday"
},
"weekend-edition-sunday": {
"id": "weekend-edition-sunday",
"title": "Weekend Edition Sunday",
"info": "Weekend Edition Sunday features interviews with newsmakers, artists, scientists, politicians, musicians, writers, theologians and historians. The program has covered news events from Nelson Mandela's 1990 release from a South African prison to the capture of Saddam Hussein.",
"airtime": "SUN 5am-10am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Weekend-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/weekend-edition-sunday/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/weekend-edition-sunday"
}
},
"racesReducer": {},
"racesGenElectionReducer": {},
"racesGenElection2026Reducer": {},
"radioSchedulesReducer": {},
"listsReducer": {
"posts/futureofyou?category=diy-health": {
"isFetching": false,
"latestQuery": {
"from": 60,
"size": 12
},
"vitalsOnly": false,
"totalRequested": 12,
"isLoading": false,
"isLoadingMore": true,
"total": {
"value": 290,
"relation": "eq"
},
"items": [
"futureofyou_443236",
"futureofyou_443213",
"futureofyou_443165",
"futureofyou_443119",
"futureofyou_443048",
"futureofyou_443040",
"futureofyou_443015",
"futureofyou_442968",
"futureofyou_442939",
"futureofyou_442882",
"futureofyou_442896",
"futureofyou_442808"
],
"complete": true
}
},
"recallGuideReducer": {
"intros": {},
"policy": {},
"candidates": {}
},
"savedArticleReducer": {
"articles": [],
"status": {}
},
"newslettersReducer": {
"isFetching": false,
"fetchFailed": false,
"hasFetched": false,
"newsletters": {},
"isSubscribing": false,
"isUnsubscribing": false,
"subscribedNewsletters": {}
},
"termsReducer": {
"about": {
"name": "About",
"type": "terms",
"id": "about",
"slug": "about",
"link": "/about",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"arts": {
"name": "Arts & Culture",
"grouping": [
"arts",
"pop",
"trulyca"
],
"description": "KQED Arts provides daily in-depth coverage of the Bay Area's music, art, film, performing arts, literature and arts news, as well as cultural commentary and criticism.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "arts",
"slug": "arts",
"link": "/arts",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"artschool": {
"name": "Art School",
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "artschool",
"slug": "artschool",
"link": "/artschool",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"bayareabites": {
"name": "KQED food",
"grouping": [
"food",
"bayareabites",
"checkplease"
],
"parent": "food",
"type": "terms",
"id": "bayareabites",
"slug": "bayareabites",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"bayareahiphop": {
"name": "Bay Area Hiphop",
"type": "terms",
"id": "bayareahiphop",
"slug": "bayareahiphop",
"link": "/bayareahiphop",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"campaign21": {
"name": "Campaign 21",
"type": "terms",
"id": "campaign21",
"slug": "campaign21",
"link": "/campaign21",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"careers": {
"name": "Careers",
"type": "terms",
"id": "careers",
"slug": "careers",
"link": "/careers",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"checkplease": {
"name": "KQED food",
"grouping": [
"food",
"bayareabites",
"checkplease"
],
"parent": "food",
"type": "terms",
"id": "checkplease",
"slug": "checkplease",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"education": {
"name": "Education",
"grouping": [
"education"
],
"type": "terms",
"id": "education",
"slug": "education",
"link": "/education",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"elections": {
"name": "Elections",
"type": "terms",
"id": "elections",
"slug": "elections",
"link": "/elections",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"events": {
"name": "Events",
"type": "terms",
"id": "events",
"slug": "events",
"link": "/events",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"event": {
"name": "Event",
"alias": "events",
"type": "terms",
"id": "event",
"slug": "event",
"link": "/event",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"filmschoolshorts": {
"name": "Film School Shorts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "filmschoolshorts",
"slug": "filmschoolshorts",
"link": "/filmschoolshorts",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"food": {
"name": "KQED food",
"grouping": [
"food",
"bayareabites",
"checkplease"
],
"type": "terms",
"id": "food",
"slug": "food",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"forum": {
"name": "Forum",
"relatedContentQuery": "posts/forum?",
"parent": "news",
"type": "terms",
"id": "forum",
"slug": "forum",
"link": "/forum",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"futureofyou": {
"name": "Future of You",
"grouping": [
"science",
"futureofyou"
],
"parent": "science",
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou",
"slug": "futureofyou",
"link": "/futureofyou",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"jpepinheart": {
"name": "KQED food",
"relatedContentQuery": "posts/food,bayareabites,checkplease",
"parent": "food",
"type": "terms",
"id": "jpepinheart",
"slug": "jpepinheart",
"link": "/food",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"liveblog": {
"name": "Live Blog",
"type": "terms",
"id": "liveblog",
"slug": "liveblog",
"link": "/liveblog",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"livetv": {
"name": "Live TV",
"parent": "tv",
"type": "terms",
"id": "livetv",
"slug": "livetv",
"link": "/livetv",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"lowdown": {
"name": "The Lowdown",
"relatedContentQuery": "posts/lowdown?",
"parent": "news",
"type": "terms",
"id": "lowdown",
"slug": "lowdown",
"link": "/lowdown",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"mindshift": {
"name": "Mindshift",
"parent": "news",
"description": "MindShift explores the future of education by highlighting the innovative – and sometimes counterintuitive – ways educators and parents are helping all children succeed.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "mindshift",
"slug": "mindshift",
"link": "/mindshift",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"news": {
"name": "News",
"grouping": [
"news",
"forum"
],
"type": "terms",
"id": "news",
"slug": "news",
"link": "/news",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"newsletters": {
"name": "newsletters",
"type": "terms",
"id": "newsletters",
"slug": "newsletters",
"link": "/newsletters",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"perspectives": {
"name": "Perspectives",
"parent": "radio",
"type": "terms",
"id": "perspectives",
"slug": "perspectives",
"link": "/perspectives",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"podcasts": {
"name": "Podcasts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "podcasts",
"slug": "podcasts",
"link": "/podcasts",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"pop": {
"name": "Pop",
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "pop",
"slug": "pop",
"link": "/pop",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"pressroom": {
"name": "Pressroom",
"type": "terms",
"id": "pressroom",
"slug": "pressroom",
"link": "/pressroom",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"quest": {
"name": "Quest",
"parent": "science",
"type": "terms",
"id": "quest",
"slug": "quest",
"link": "/quest",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"radio": {
"name": "Radio",
"grouping": [
"forum",
"perspectives"
],
"description": "Listen to KQED Public Radio – home of Forum and The California Report – on 88.5 FM in San Francisco, 89.3 FM in Sacramento, 88.3 FM in Santa Rosa and 88.1 FM in Martinez.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "radio",
"slug": "radio",
"link": "/radio",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"root": {
"name": "KQED",
"image": "https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/2020/02/KQED-OG-Image@1x.png",
"imageWidth": 1200,
"imageHeight": 630,
"headData": {
"title": "KQED | News, Radio, Podcasts, TV | Public Media for Northern California",
"description": "KQED provides public radio, television, and independent reporting on issues that matter to the Bay Area. We’re the NPR and PBS member station for Northern California."
},
"type": "terms",
"id": "root",
"slug": "root",
"link": "/root",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"science": {
"name": "Science",
"grouping": [
"science",
"futureofyou"
],
"description": "KQED Science brings you award-winning science and environment coverage from the Bay Area and beyond.",
"type": "terms",
"id": "science",
"slug": "science",
"link": "/science",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"stateofhealth": {
"name": "State of Health",
"parent": "science",
"type": "terms",
"id": "stateofhealth",
"slug": "stateofhealth",
"link": "/stateofhealth",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"support": {
"name": "Support",
"type": "terms",
"id": "support",
"slug": "support",
"link": "/support",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"thedolist": {
"name": "The Do List",
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "thedolist",
"slug": "thedolist",
"link": "/thedolist",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"trulyca": {
"name": "Truly CA",
"grouping": [
"arts",
"pop",
"trulyca"
],
"parent": "arts",
"type": "terms",
"id": "trulyca",
"slug": "trulyca",
"link": "/trulyca",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"tv": {
"name": "TV",
"type": "terms",
"id": "tv",
"slug": "tv",
"link": "/tv",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"voterguide": {
"name": "Voter Guide",
"parent": "elections",
"alias": "elections",
"type": "terms",
"id": "voterguide",
"slug": "voterguide",
"link": "/voterguide",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"guiaelectoral": {
"name": "Guia Electoral",
"parent": "elections",
"alias": "elections",
"type": "terms",
"id": "guiaelectoral",
"slug": "guiaelectoral",
"link": "/guiaelectoral",
"taxonomy": "site"
},
"futureofyou_category_diy-health": {
"isLoading": true
},
"futureofyou_1060": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1060",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1060",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "DIY Health",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "DIY Health Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1060,
"slug": "diy-health",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/category/diy-health"
},
"source_futureofyou_443236": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_futureofyou_443236",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "Health",
"isLoading": false
},
"source_futureofyou_443213": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_futureofyou_443213",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "Health",
"isLoading": false
},
"source_futureofyou_443165": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_futureofyou_443165",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "Health",
"isLoading": false
},
"source_futureofyou_443119": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_futureofyou_443119",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "Health",
"isLoading": false
},
"source_futureofyou_443048": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_futureofyou_443048",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "Health",
"isLoading": false
},
"source_futureofyou_443040": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_futureofyou_443040",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "Health",
"isLoading": false
},
"source_futureofyou_442968": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_futureofyou_442968",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "Hope/Hype",
"isLoading": false
},
"source_futureofyou_442939": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_futureofyou_442939",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "Health",
"isLoading": false
},
"source_futureofyou_442882": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_futureofyou_442882",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "Technology",
"isLoading": false
},
"source_futureofyou_442896": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "source_futureofyou_442896",
"meta": {
"override": true
},
"name": "Health",
"isLoading": false
},
"futureofyou_1": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "KQED Future Of You",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "KQED Future Of You Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1,
"slug": "future-of-you",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/category/future-of-you"
},
"futureofyou_73": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_73",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "73",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "KQED News",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "KQED News Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 73,
"slug": "kqed-news",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/category/kqed-news"
},
"futureofyou_999": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_999",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "999",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Alzheimer's",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Alzheimer's Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 999,
"slug": "alzheimers",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/alzheimers"
},
"futureofyou_56": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_56",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "56",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "brain",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "brain Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 56,
"slug": "brain",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/brain"
},
"futureofyou_1023": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1023",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1023",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "dementia",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "dementia Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1023,
"slug": "dementia",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/dementia"
},
"futureofyou_1008": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1008",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1008",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "elderly",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "elderly Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1008,
"slug": "elderly",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/elderly"
},
"futureofyou_61": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_61",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "61",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Health",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Health Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 61,
"slug": "health",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/health"
},
"futureofyou_1093": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1093",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1093",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "DIY Health",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "collection",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "DIY Health Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1093,
"slug": "diy-health",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/collection/diy-health"
},
"futureofyou_219": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_219",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "219",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Women's Health",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "series",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Women's Health Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 219,
"slug": "womens-health",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/series/womens-health"
},
"futureofyou_190": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_190",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "190",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "doctors",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "doctors Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 190,
"slug": "doctors",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/doctors"
},
"futureofyou_1056": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1056",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1056",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "medical treatment",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "medical treatment Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1056,
"slug": "medical-treatment",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/medical-treatment"
},
"futureofyou_214": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_214",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "214",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "pap smear",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "pap smear Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 214,
"slug": "pap-smear",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/pap-smear"
},
"futureofyou_275": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_275",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "275",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "women's health",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "women's health Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 275,
"slug": "womens-health",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/womens-health"
},
"futureofyou_1061": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1061",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1061",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Your Brain on Tech",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Your Brain on Tech Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1061,
"slug": "your-brain-on-tech",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/category/your-brain-on-tech"
},
"futureofyou_204": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_204",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "204",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "mental health",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "mental health Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 204,
"slug": "mental-health",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/mental-health"
},
"futureofyou_1224": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1224",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1224",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "psychology",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "psychology Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1224,
"slug": "psychology",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/psychology"
},
"futureofyou_35": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_35",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "35",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "technology",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "technology Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 35,
"slug": "technology",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/technology"
},
"futureofyou_1571": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1571",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1571",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "violence",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "violence Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1571,
"slug": "violence",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/violence"
},
"futureofyou_1096": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1096",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1096",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Your Brain on Tech",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "collection",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Your Brain on Tech Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1096,
"slug": "your-brain-on-tech",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/collection/your-brain-on-tech"
},
"futureofyou_972": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_972",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "972",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "alternative medicine",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "alternative medicine Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 972,
"slug": "alternative-medicine",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/alternative-medicine"
},
"futureofyou_1562": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1562",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1562",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "cannabis",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "cannabis Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1562,
"slug": "cannabis",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/cannabis"
},
"futureofyou_952": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_952",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "952",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "drugs",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "drugs Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 952,
"slug": "drugs",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/drugs"
},
"futureofyou_1041": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1041",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1041",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Marijuana",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Marijuana Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1041,
"slug": "marijuana",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/marijuana"
},
"futureofyou_1568": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1568",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1568",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "pot",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "pot Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1568,
"slug": "pot",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/pot"
},
"futureofyou_1520": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1520",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1520",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "anxiety",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "anxiety Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1520,
"slug": "anxiety",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/anxiety"
},
"futureofyou_807": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_807",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "807",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "medical marijuana",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "medical marijuana Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 807,
"slug": "medical-marijuana",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/medical-marijuana"
},
"futureofyou_1563": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1563",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1563",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "epilepsy",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "epilepsy Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1563,
"slug": "epilepsy",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/epilepsy"
},
"futureofyou_38": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_38",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "38",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "FDA",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "FDA Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 38,
"slug": "fda",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/fda"
},
"futureofyou_103": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_103",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "103",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "cancer",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "cancer Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 103,
"slug": "cancer",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/cancer"
},
"futureofyou_931": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_931",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "931",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "pharmaceuticals",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "pharmaceuticals Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 931,
"slug": "pharmaceuticals",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/pharmaceuticals"
},
"futureofyou_198": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_198",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "198",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "treatment",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "treatment Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 198,
"slug": "treatment",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/treatment"
},
"futureofyou_1097": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1097",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1097",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Hope/Hype",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "collection",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Hope/Hype Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1097,
"slug": "hopehype",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/collection/hopehype"
},
"futureofyou_1062": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1062",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1062",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Hope/Hype",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Hope/Hype Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1062,
"slug": "hopehype",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/category/hopehype"
},
"futureofyou_1231": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1231",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1231",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "bacteria",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "bacteria Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1231,
"slug": "bacteria",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/bacteria"
},
"futureofyou_141": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_141",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "141",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "disease",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "disease Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 141,
"slug": "disease",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/disease"
},
"futureofyou_1557": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1557",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1557",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "phage",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "phage Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1557,
"slug": "phage",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/phage"
},
"futureofyou_652": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_652",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "652",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "virus",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "virus Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 652,
"slug": "virus",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/virus"
},
"futureofyou_662": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_662",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "662",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "flu",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "flu Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 662,
"slug": "flu",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/flu"
},
"futureofyou_664": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_664",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "664",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "flu shot",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "flu shot Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 664,
"slug": "flu-shot",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/flu-shot"
},
"futureofyou_1064": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1064",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1064",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Your Genes",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "category",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Your Genes Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1064,
"slug": "your-genes",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/category/your-genes"
},
"futureofyou_1525": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1525",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1525",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "bioengineering",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "bioengineering Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1525,
"slug": "bioengineering",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/bioengineering"
},
"futureofyou_1521": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1521",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1521",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "biology",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "biology Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1521,
"slug": "biology",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/biology"
},
"futureofyou_94": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_94",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "94",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "CRISPR",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "CRISPR Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 94,
"slug": "crispr",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/crispr"
},
"futureofyou_17": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_17",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "17",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "DNA",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "DNA Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 17,
"slug": "dna",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/dna"
},
"futureofyou_155": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_155",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "155",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "genetic engineering",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "genetic engineering Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 155,
"slug": "genetic-engineering",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/genetic-engineering"
},
"futureofyou_1526": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1526",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1526",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "pandemic",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "pandemic Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1526,
"slug": "pandemic",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/pandemic"
},
"futureofyou_1527": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1527",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1527",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "vaccines",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "vaccines Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1527,
"slug": "vaccines",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/vaccines"
},
"futureofyou_1094": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_1094",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "1094",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "Your Genes",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "collection",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "Your Genes Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 1094,
"slug": "your-genes",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/collection/your-genes"
},
"futureofyou_555": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_555",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "555",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "autism",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "autism Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 555,
"slug": "autism",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/autism"
},
"futureofyou_673": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_673",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "673",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "brain function",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "brain function Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 673,
"slug": "brain-function",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/brain-function"
},
"futureofyou_266": {
"type": "terms",
"id": "futureofyou_266",
"meta": {
"index": "terms_1716263798",
"site": "futureofyou",
"id": "266",
"found": true
},
"relationships": {},
"featImg": null,
"name": "genetic test",
"description": null,
"taxonomy": "tag",
"headData": {
"twImgId": null,
"twTitle": null,
"ogTitle": null,
"ogImgId": null,
"twDescription": null,
"description": null,
"title": "genetic test Archives | KQED Arts",
"ogDescription": null
},
"ttid": 266,
"slug": "genetic-test",
"isLoading": false,
"link": "/futureofyou/tag/genetic-test"
}
},
"userPermissionsReducer": {
"wpLoggedIn": false
},
"eventsReducer": {},
"fssReducer": {},
"tvDailyScheduleReducer": {},
"tvWeeklyScheduleReducer": {},
"tvPrimetimeScheduleReducer": {},
"tvMonthlyScheduleReducer": {},
"userAccountReducer": {
"user": {
"email": null,
"emailStatus": "EMAIL_UNVALIDATED",
"loggedStatus": "LOGGED_OUT",
"loggingChecked": false,
"articles": [],
"firstName": null,
"lastName": null,
"phoneNumber": null,
"fetchingMembership": false,
"membershipError": false,
"memberships": [
{
"id": null,
"startDate": null,
"firstName": null,
"lastName": null,
"familyNumber": null,
"memberNumber": null,
"memberSince": null,
"expirationDate": null,
"pfsEligible": false,
"isSustaining": false,
"membershipLevel": "Prospect",
"membershipStatus": "Non Member",
"lastGiftDate": null,
"renewalDate": null,
"lastDonationAmount": null
}
]
},
"authModal": {
"isOpen": false,
"view": "LANDING_VIEW"
},
"error": null
},
"youthMediaReducer": {},
"checkPleaseReducer": {
"filterData": {
"region": {
"key": "Restaurant Region",
"filters": [
"Any Region"
]
},
"cuisine": {
"key": "Restaurant Cuisine",
"filters": [
"Any Cuisine"
]
}
},
"restaurantDataById": {},
"restaurantIdsSorted": [],
"error": null
},
"userAgentReducer": {
"userAgent": "Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)",
"isBot": true
}
}
