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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cimg class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-10715\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/02/CT-scan-13-of-Clubs_Flickr-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"CT scan 13 of Clubs_Flickr\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\">Mary Kathryn Lynch stood next to her young son in a Lake Tahoe emergency room. The Oakland resident had rushed her 9-year-old to the hospital after a ski accident left him groggy, curled up in the fetal position, and speaking incoherently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nurses and hospital staff told Lynch that her son needed a CT scan of his head right away, she recalled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Lynch and her husband were both worried the accident may have caused brain damage, her husband was also weighing risks of the scan's radiation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CT -- or computerized tomography -- combines a series of x-rays for a sophisticated image. In this case, doctors could use the scan to quickly detect internal bleeding or other injuries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is a powerful tool that has saved lives by discovering small problems before they’ve had the chance to get worse, says Andrew Phelps, a pediatric radiologist at UCSF. But the useful pictures come at a cost: CT scans expose patients to radiation levels that are higher than other types of imaging, like traditional x-rays or MRIs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And exposure to high levels of radiation has been linked to cancer.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the potential dangers, fewer than half of the parents who bring their children into emergency rooms are aware of the cancer risks from CT scans, according to a \u003ca href=\"http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2013/07/02/peds.2013-0378.abstract\">study\u003c/a> published today in the journal Pediatrics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Clearly there is a gap in the truth about the radiation risks and parental understanding,” said Phelps, who was not involved with the study.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the potential risk to any individual is small, multiple exposures or high doses of radiation may increase the risk of cancer later in life. What’s more, the developing bodies of children may be even more sensitive to radiation than adults.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the study researchers surveyed parents arriving in Canadian emergency rooms with kids who had suffered head injuries. The researchers found that roughly 90 percent of parents were “very willing/willing” to have a CT scan done on their child.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The use of CT scans in diagnosing kids has grown dramatically in the past decades. One previous \u003ca href=\"http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1696279\">study\u003c/a> of U.S. health centers found that the number of scans in kids younger than age 5 had doubled from 1995 to 2005. During the same period, the number of scans tripled for children ages 5-14. Other research of CT scans in emergency rooms, has \u003ca href=\"http://radiology.rsna.org/content/early/2011/03/15/radiol.11101939.full\">found\u003c/a> that the increase was even higher: CT scans in kids increased fivefold from 1995 to 2008, growing from 0.33 to 1.65 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 2007, studies suggest that the use of CT in children has declined. At pediatric hospitals, more doctors are prescribing ultrasounds or MRIs, which are less risky, said Phelps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But about half of all pediatric imaging occurs in non-pediatric imaging centers,” he said, adding that children who get tests at places that cater to adults may not always be getting “kid-sized” doses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many physicians credit much of the decrease in the number of CT scans in recent years to the \u003ca href=\"http://www.pedrad.org/associations/5364/ig/\">Image Gently\u003c/a> campaign by the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging. The campaign advocates for doing tests only when they are medically necessary and then to use the smallest amount of radiation possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The purpose is to educate the pediatricians and the general practitioners before you order a test,” said Bernice Law, a pediatric radiologist at California Pacific Medical Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The campaign encourages parents to be proactive and ask physicians if a test is medically necessary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Canadian study, researchers found that a clear discussion of risks and benefits makes a difference to parents. After these conversations, the number of parents willing to approve a CT scan in their child dropped from 90 to almost 70 percent. In addition, more than 90 percent of all the parents -- including those who still wanted the scan -- wanted to know the risks before the tests were done.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in the emergency room at Lake Tahoe, Lynch didn’t know a lot about the risks of a CT scan but she did know that something was wrong with her son. “You can see that your kid is in distress,” she said. “Here’s an immediate problem versus a potential future problem.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She and her husband asked the hospital staff about alternatives and ways to minimize the amount of radiation from the CT scan. But she says she felt pressure by some staff to do the test right away. “I will say that we really had to pull that information out of them,” Lynch says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When a more senior doctor arrived in the emergency room, he explained the risks and benefits of the procedure with Lynch and her husband. “The doctor there was fabulous because he gave us a lot of information, and it felt like we were making a very informed decision,” said Lynch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Lynch was signing the paperwork to consent to the CT scan, her groggy son suddenly began to perk up. He started to uncurl his body and speak normally. In the end, he didn’t get a CT scan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, like many parents in the Canadian study, Lynch said that she appreciated a doctor walking her through all the risks and benefits of the test.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Mary Kathryn Lynch stood next to her young son in a Lake Tahoe emergency room. The Oakland resident had rushed her 9-year-old to the hospital after a ski accident left him groggy, curled up in the fetal position, and speaking incoherently.\r\n\r\nNurses and hospital staff told Lynch that her son needed a CT scan of his head right away, she recalled.\r\n\r\nWhile Lynch and her husband were both worried the accident may have caused brain damage, her husband was also weighing risks of the scan's radiation.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cimg class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-10715\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/02/CT-scan-13-of-Clubs_Flickr-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"CT scan 13 of Clubs_Flickr\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\">Mary Kathryn Lynch stood next to her young son in a Lake Tahoe emergency room. The Oakland resident had rushed her 9-year-old to the hospital after a ski accident left him groggy, curled up in the fetal position, and speaking incoherently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nurses and hospital staff told Lynch that her son needed a CT scan of his head right away, she recalled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Lynch and her husband were both worried the accident may have caused brain damage, her husband was also weighing risks of the scan's radiation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>CT -- or computerized tomography -- combines a series of x-rays for a sophisticated image. In this case, doctors could use the scan to quickly detect internal bleeding or other injuries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It is a powerful tool that has saved lives by discovering small problems before they’ve had the chance to get worse, says Andrew Phelps, a pediatric radiologist at UCSF. But the useful pictures come at a cost: CT scans expose patients to radiation levels that are higher than other types of imaging, like traditional x-rays or MRIs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And exposure to high levels of radiation has been linked to cancer.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the potential dangers, fewer than half of the parents who bring their children into emergency rooms are aware of the cancer risks from CT scans, according to a \u003ca href=\"http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2013/07/02/peds.2013-0378.abstract\">study\u003c/a> published today in the journal Pediatrics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Clearly there is a gap in the truth about the radiation risks and parental understanding,” said Phelps, who was not involved with the study.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although the potential risk to any individual is small, multiple exposures or high doses of radiation may increase the risk of cancer later in life. What’s more, the developing bodies of children may be even more sensitive to radiation than adults.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the study researchers surveyed parents arriving in Canadian emergency rooms with kids who had suffered head injuries. The researchers found that roughly 90 percent of parents were “very willing/willing” to have a CT scan done on their child.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The use of CT scans in diagnosing kids has grown dramatically in the past decades. One previous \u003ca href=\"http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1696279\">study\u003c/a> of U.S. health centers found that the number of scans in kids younger than age 5 had doubled from 1995 to 2005. During the same period, the number of scans tripled for children ages 5-14. Other research of CT scans in emergency rooms, has \u003ca href=\"http://radiology.rsna.org/content/early/2011/03/15/radiol.11101939.full\">found\u003c/a> that the increase was even higher: CT scans in kids increased fivefold from 1995 to 2008, growing from 0.33 to 1.65 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since 2007, studies suggest that the use of CT in children has declined. At pediatric hospitals, more doctors are prescribing ultrasounds or MRIs, which are less risky, said Phelps.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But about half of all pediatric imaging occurs in non-pediatric imaging centers,” he said, adding that children who get tests at places that cater to adults may not always be getting “kid-sized” doses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many physicians credit much of the decrease in the number of CT scans in recent years to the \u003ca href=\"http://www.pedrad.org/associations/5364/ig/\">Image Gently\u003c/a> campaign by the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging. The campaign advocates for doing tests only when they are medically necessary and then to use the smallest amount of radiation possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The purpose is to educate the pediatricians and the general practitioners before you order a test,” said Bernice Law, a pediatric radiologist at California Pacific Medical Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The campaign encourages parents to be proactive and ask physicians if a test is medically necessary.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the Canadian study, researchers found that a clear discussion of risks and benefits makes a difference to parents. After these conversations, the number of parents willing to approve a CT scan in their child dropped from 90 to almost 70 percent. In addition, more than 90 percent of all the parents -- including those who still wanted the scan -- wanted to know the risks before the tests were done.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in the emergency room at Lake Tahoe, Lynch didn’t know a lot about the risks of a CT scan but she did know that something was wrong with her son. “You can see that your kid is in distress,” she said. “Here’s an immediate problem versus a potential future problem.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She and her husband asked the hospital staff about alternatives and ways to minimize the amount of radiation from the CT scan. But she says she felt pressure by some staff to do the test right away. “I will say that we really had to pull that information out of them,” Lynch says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When a more senior doctor arrived in the emergency room, he explained the risks and benefits of the procedure with Lynch and her husband. “The doctor there was fabulous because he gave us a lot of information, and it felt like we were making a very informed decision,” said Lynch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As Lynch was signing the paperwork to consent to the CT scan, her groggy son suddenly began to perk up. He started to uncurl his body and speak normally. In the end, he didn’t get a CT scan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, like many parents in the Canadian study, Lynch said that she appreciated a doctor walking her through all the risks and benefits of the test.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Mining Naked Mole Rats for New Cancer Therapies",
"headTitle": "Mining Naked Mole Rats for New Cancer Therapies | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Scientists Find Key Trigger in Keeping Naked Mole Rats Cancer-Free\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_4842\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/NakedMoleRat.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-4842\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/NakedMoleRat.jpg\" alt=\"This little guy will never get cancer. Maybe he can teach us how so we can deal better with the cancers we get.\" width=\"640\" height=\"361\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4842\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This little guy will never get cancer. Maybe he can teach us how so we can deal better with the cancers we get.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Naked mole rats are these weird, ugly little beasts that burrow around East Africa. They are not the kinds of animals anyone would ever pay attention to (except maybe a few years ago when one was a sidekick on the Disney Channel show, \u003ca href=\"http://disneychannel.disney.com/kim-possible\">Kim Possible\u003c/a>). And yet, perhaps, we should notice them as they may help us understand and maybe even find new ways to combat cancer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Naked mole rats are unique in the rodent world in that they don’t get cancer. While most rodents are riddled with the stuff within a few years (or even sooner), these animals live their thirty or so years cancer free. No one has yet reported a tumor in a naked mole rat. Ever.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Obviously scientists would love to figure out why this is. Not only will we learn something about cancer, but maybe we can translate what we learn in naked mole rats to people. These vile little creatures might point us in an unexpected direction that gives us a completely novel way to treat and maybe even prevent cancers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_4845\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 200px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/TissueCulture.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-4845\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/TissueCulture.jpg\" alt=\"A big reason the researchers stumbled on this anti-cancer molecule was because it slimed up their experiments and clogged the drains in their labs.\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4845\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A big reason the researchers stumbled on this anti-cancer molecule was because it slimed up their experiments and clogged the drains in their labs.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Some previous work done on naked mole rats showed that a key reason they don’t get cancer is because of something called early contact inhibition. Basically, if cells get too close together, they are sent a signal to stop growing. This applies to cancer cells too. When a cell turns cancerous and starts to divide like crazy, it stops once things get a bit crowded. This is apparently enough to keep the cancer at bay, at least in naked mole rats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mice, people and guinea pigs all have this form of inhibition too. It is just that the process is much stronger and nigh on impossible to shut off in naked mole rats. So the obvious next step for scientists was to figure out why this pathway is so much stronger in these cancer free rodents as compared to the rest of us. The results of a new study by \u003ca href=\"http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23783513\">Tian and coworkers\u003c/a> point to a chemical called hyaluronan (HA).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We all make HA but naked mole rats make lots more of a much larger version of this chemical. Through a series of clever experiments, these researchers were able to show that this HA is enough to keep cancer away in a naked mole rat cell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first step in figuring this out was to find the gene responsible for making this special HA. There are a number of genes responsible for making this chemical in a cell but the researchers quickly homed in on HAS2. The naked mole rat version had a couple of unique DNA differences not seen in any other mammals that scientists have looked at so far. They then showed that when they put this gene into human or mouse cells, they now made naked mole rat HA (called high molecular mass HA or HMM-HA). \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next step was to see if making this HA was enough to keep the cancer away. The way they did this was to add a couple of things to naked mole rat cells that prime mice and human cells to become cancerous. They then added these cells to a mouse and checked whether tumors formed. As expected, these cells did not turn cancerous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_4848\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 158px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/SharPei.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-4848\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/SharPei.jpg\" alt=\"Shar Pei dogs are wrinkly because they make a lot of HA but they still get cancer. So just making a lot of HA isn't enough to keep cancer away. \" width=\"158\" height=\"267\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4848\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shar Pei dogs are wrinkly because they make a lot of HA but they still get cancer. So just making a lot of HA isn’t enough to keep cancer away. You might need to make a lot of the right kind.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Things were very different, though, if the cells were coaxed into making less naked mole rat HA. Then these cells did form tumors. It looked like naked mole rat HA kept cells that should be cancerous from becoming cancerous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of course, there may be lots of other things going on in a naked mole rat cell that help the HA keep cancer at bay. To figure out if all a cell needs is this HA, scientists plan to substitute the naked mole rat HAS2 gene for the mouse HAS2 in a mouse and see if that engineered mouse ends up with cancer less often. If so, then this HA may be enough to prevent cancer on its own. If not, then they’ll need to figure out what else is going on in the naked mole rat cell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the future we probably don’t want to engineer humans to make this HA even if it does end up protecting mice from cancer. Scientists think that naked mole rats evolved this molecule not to keep cancer away but instead to give them the loose skin they need to wriggle and burrow in tight spaces. If we had its HAS2 gene we might end up looking like them!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most likely way we’ll be able to use these results to help us fight cancer in people is to learn what pathways it activates and see if we can mimic this with some more pharmaceutical-like chemical. Then we can turn on cancer prevention and/or treatment without having to look so odd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This research also again points out the merits of basic research. If we focused on only applied research, we would never have learned that naked mole rats don’t get cancer. We never would have come across tis potential new cancer therapy without some scientist studying naked mole rats in Africa.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Scientists Find Key Trigger in Keeping Naked Mole Rats Cancer-Free\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_4842\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/NakedMoleRat.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-4842\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/NakedMoleRat.jpg\" alt=\"This little guy will never get cancer. Maybe he can teach us how so we can deal better with the cancers we get.\" width=\"640\" height=\"361\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4842\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">This little guy will never get cancer. Maybe he can teach us how so we can deal better with the cancers we get.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Naked mole rats are these weird, ugly little beasts that burrow around East Africa. They are not the kinds of animals anyone would ever pay attention to (except maybe a few years ago when one was a sidekick on the Disney Channel show, \u003ca href=\"http://disneychannel.disney.com/kim-possible\">Kim Possible\u003c/a>). And yet, perhaps, we should notice them as they may help us understand and maybe even find new ways to combat cancer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Naked mole rats are unique in the rodent world in that they don’t get cancer. While most rodents are riddled with the stuff within a few years (or even sooner), these animals live their thirty or so years cancer free. No one has yet reported a tumor in a naked mole rat. Ever.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Obviously scientists would love to figure out why this is. Not only will we learn something about cancer, but maybe we can translate what we learn in naked mole rats to people. These vile little creatures might point us in an unexpected direction that gives us a completely novel way to treat and maybe even prevent cancers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_4845\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 200px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/TissueCulture.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-4845\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/TissueCulture.jpg\" alt=\"A big reason the researchers stumbled on this anti-cancer molecule was because it slimed up their experiments and clogged the drains in their labs.\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4845\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A big reason the researchers stumbled on this anti-cancer molecule was because it slimed up their experiments and clogged the drains in their labs.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Some previous work done on naked mole rats showed that a key reason they don’t get cancer is because of something called early contact inhibition. Basically, if cells get too close together, they are sent a signal to stop growing. This applies to cancer cells too. When a cell turns cancerous and starts to divide like crazy, it stops once things get a bit crowded. This is apparently enough to keep the cancer at bay, at least in naked mole rats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mice, people and guinea pigs all have this form of inhibition too. It is just that the process is much stronger and nigh on impossible to shut off in naked mole rats. So the obvious next step for scientists was to figure out why this pathway is so much stronger in these cancer free rodents as compared to the rest of us. The results of a new study by \u003ca href=\"http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23783513\">Tian and coworkers\u003c/a> point to a chemical called hyaluronan (HA).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We all make HA but naked mole rats make lots more of a much larger version of this chemical. Through a series of clever experiments, these researchers were able to show that this HA is enough to keep cancer away in a naked mole rat cell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first step in figuring this out was to find the gene responsible for making this special HA. There are a number of genes responsible for making this chemical in a cell but the researchers quickly homed in on HAS2. The naked mole rat version had a couple of unique DNA differences not seen in any other mammals that scientists have looked at so far. They then showed that when they put this gene into human or mouse cells, they now made naked mole rat HA (called high molecular mass HA or HMM-HA). \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The next step was to see if making this HA was enough to keep the cancer away. The way they did this was to add a couple of things to naked mole rat cells that prime mice and human cells to become cancerous. They then added these cells to a mouse and checked whether tumors formed. As expected, these cells did not turn cancerous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_4848\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 158px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/SharPei.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-4848\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/SharPei.jpg\" alt=\"Shar Pei dogs are wrinkly because they make a lot of HA but they still get cancer. So just making a lot of HA isn't enough to keep cancer away. \" width=\"158\" height=\"267\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4848\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shar Pei dogs are wrinkly because they make a lot of HA but they still get cancer. So just making a lot of HA isn’t enough to keep cancer away. You might need to make a lot of the right kind.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Things were very different, though, if the cells were coaxed into making less naked mole rat HA. Then these cells did form tumors. It looked like naked mole rat HA kept cells that should be cancerous from becoming cancerous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of course, there may be lots of other things going on in a naked mole rat cell that help the HA keep cancer at bay. To figure out if all a cell needs is this HA, scientists plan to substitute the naked mole rat HAS2 gene for the mouse HAS2 in a mouse and see if that engineered mouse ends up with cancer less often. If so, then this HA may be enough to prevent cancer on its own. If not, then they’ll need to figure out what else is going on in the naked mole rat cell.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the future we probably don’t want to engineer humans to make this HA even if it does end up protecting mice from cancer. Scientists think that naked mole rats evolved this molecule not to keep cancer away but instead to give them the loose skin they need to wriggle and burrow in tight spaces. If we had its HAS2 gene we might end up looking like them!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most likely way we’ll be able to use these results to help us fight cancer in people is to learn what pathways it activates and see if we can mimic this with some more pharmaceutical-like chemical. Then we can turn on cancer prevention and/or treatment without having to look so odd.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This research also again points out the merits of basic research. If we focused on only applied research, we would never have learned that naked mole rats don’t get cancer. We never would have come across tis potential new cancer therapy without some scientist studying naked mole rats in Africa.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Who Profits from Proposition 65? (Part One)",
"headTitle": "Who Profits from Proposition 65? (Part One) | KQED",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"audio-wrap\">\n\u003ch2>Listen:\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>http://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/science/2013/07/2013-07-01-science.mp3\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_4862\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 355px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/Prop-65-warning-e1372446825599.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-4862\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4862 \" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/Prop-65-warning-e1372446825599.jpg\" alt=\"Prop. 65 warning posted outside of a San Francisco auto parts store. (Mike Osborne/KQED)\" width=\"355\" height=\"200\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Prop. 65 warning posted outside of a San Francisco auto parts store. (Mike Osborne/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>You’ve seen the signs all over California, on parking garages, gas stations, office buildings and convenience stores. “Warning,” they say, “this area contains a chemical known to cause cancer or birth defects.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The signs are there because of a law called \u003ca href=\"http://www.oehha.ca.gov/prop65/background/p65plain.html\">Proposition 65\u003c/a>, passed by California voters in 1986 in order to reduce Californian’s exposure to toxic chemicals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now there’s an effort in Sacramento to revise the law, amid charges that Prop. 65 has prompted a flood of frivolous lawsuits that make millions of dollars for a select few and cause undue headaches for thousands of California businesses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To really understand Proposition 65, consider an iceberg, says David Roe, who helped write the law when he was an attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Basically,” Roe says, “you don’t see 95 percent of the effect of Prop 65.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those warning signs, Roe says, are just the tip.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_4929\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 641px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/chemicals_rev2_12001-e1372464530473.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/chemicals_rev2_12001-e1372464530473.png\" alt=\"Click to see larger image. (Produced by Mike Osborne, graphic by Yael Braha)\" width=\"641\" height=\"265\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4929\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Click to see larger image. (Produced by Mike Osborne, graphic by Yael Braha)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The real base of the iceberg is made up of places where we see no signs at all, places businesses said, as Roe puts it, “I don’t want to tell people there’s a cancer-causing chemical in my hair dye, so I’m going to take it out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Roe says this has happened to hundreds of products, everything from raincoats to CD cases and the caps on wine bottles. Companies didn’t want to put a Prop. 65 warning label on their product, so they reformulated it to take the toxic chemical out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is a big market. So rather than create a separate product stream, companies now sell\u003cbr>\nthese reformulated products nationwide. “In effect,” says Roe, “the whole country is benefiting from one state’s law.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">Some attorneys have used Proposition 65 to extract quick, go-away settlements.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>But there have been other consequences, too, consequences that critics of Prop. 65 consider to be the base of the iceberg. Those have been getting a lot of attention these days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In May, Governor Jerry Brown called for a \u003ca href=\"http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18026\">broad reform\u003c/a> of Prop. 65, making warning signs more specific, revisiting the science of acceptable levels for some chemicals and taking steps to end what he called “frivolous shake-down lawsuits.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, a more limited Prop. 65 reform bill – \u003ca href=\"http://www.asmdc.org/members/a43/press-releases/mike-gatto-s-bill-to-protect-small-businesses-clears-assembly-judiciary-committee\">AB 227\u003c/a> – is being considered by the state legislature. (In May, the State Assembly approved the bill by a 72-0 vote, and it is now making its way through the State Senate.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AB 227 “seeks to correct some unintended consequences of an otherwise good law,” said its sponsor Mike Gatto, a Democratic assemblyman from LA, during a hearing in Sacramento last month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some attorneys have used Proposition 65 to extract quick, go-away settlements from business owners who haven’t put up a sign, or simply haven’t put up the right sign, to warn people about everyday common household substances,” Gatto told fellow state legislators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If passed, Gatto’s bill would give restaurants, parking garages and other businesses a 14-day grace period to put up a sign and pay a $500 fee before being hit with legal costs or hefty settlement bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It would give cover to people like Bette Kroening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kroening owns Bette’s Oceanview Diner, a cozy neighborhood place on Fourth Street in Berkeley, known for its pancakes. In July 2006, Kroening got a letter from a private law firm, saying that the diner was in violation of Prop. 65.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kroening was taken off guard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I knew about Prop. 65 in terms of all the signs in the parking garages and all that kind of stuff,” she says. “I never imagined that applied to us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It did apply to them, specifically to a brand of old-timey soda the diner sold called Original Nehi Grape, which came in a glass bottle with an elaborate painted label.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unbeknownst to Kroening, the paint contained a small amount of lead. Under Prop. 65, Kroenig should have had a warning sign on the cooler. She worried the violation could cost her thousands of dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t know how far it was going to go. I felt really threatened,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Right now, businesses have two choices when they get a letter like this: either settle with the law firm in an out-of-court settlement, or defend themselves against the charges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Much of the time, businesses settle out of court, often paying tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, in addition to an often smaller civil penalty that’s divided between the state and the “private enforcer,” who filed the 60-day notice through his or her law firm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2013, for example, the grocery store Berkeley Bowl paid $22,000 in an out-of-court settlement over charges that it failed to post a Prop. 65 sign warning customers that grilled hamburgers can contain a variety of carcinogenic chemicals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of that payment, $21,000 went to the Berkeley-based law firm the Chanler Group, to cover what attorney Cliff Chanler described as costs related to testing the hamburger patties and consulting experts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley Bowl also paid a $1,000 civil penalty, of which $750 went to the state and $250 to Chanler’s client, Whitney Leeman. (We’ll have more on the role of plaintiffs like Leeman in part two of this story, next week.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Kroenig decided to fight. She put a warning sign up on her cooler, then called her lawyer. Eventually the case was dropped. She was never sure why.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About a year later the state attorney general’s office sent a complaint \u003ca href=\"http://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/prop65/Chanler_51107_letter.pdf?\">letter\u003c/a> to the private law firm, headed by Cliff Chanler, that had targeted Bette.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The letter said yes, the lead on the bottles was a problem. But it said the way the firm was pursuing this issue was not in the public interest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the letter, the firm had turned this lead bottle issue into a cash cow. It had sent out more that 600 letters, like the one Bette Kroenig got, collecting $9 million in attorney’s fees over the course of just a few years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This case and others like it “smack of shakedown lawsuits,” says John Coupal of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, “or at least leveraging people to comply with what may be very picayune violations of Prop. 65.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To Cliff Chanler, terms like “frivolous” or “shakedown” are “only rhetoric or hyperbole from the other side.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chanler heads the Chanler Group. For over two decades, few, if any, law firms have \u003ca href=\"https://www.chanler.com/prop-65\">pursued\u003c/a> as many Prop. 65 cases as his.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chanler says if he’s had a lot of cases, well, that’s because there are a lot of toxic chemicals in our midst, like all the Chinese imports that have flooded the market in recent years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re living in a — it might [sound like] hyperbole to say [it] — we’re living in a toxic cesspool. You would not believe the amount of toxics we find in everyday items,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As to the idea that these suits have become too profitable for his firm, and others like it? He says it’s the fair price for the work they do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The law is written so that if someone like my firm ends up promoting the public interest in a substantial manner, we’re able to go seek our hourly effort from the settling defendant.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That cost of that hourly effort is part of what’s being discussed in Sacramento right now. And if Prop. 65 gets an overhaul, it’ll also affect another group of people: the “citizen enforcers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Next week we’ll meet some of these citizen enforcers, and find out what role they play in the Prop 65 debate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Proposition 65 was passed by voters in order to reduce Californian's exposure to toxic chemicals. Now there's an effort in Sacramento to revise the law, amid charges that it's prompted a flood of frivolous lawsuits that make millions of dollars for a select few and cause undue headaches for thousands of California businesses.",
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"description": "Proposition 65 was passed by voters in order to reduce Californian's exposure to toxic chemicals. Now there's an effort in Sacramento to revise the law, amid charges that it's prompted a flood of frivolous lawsuits that make millions of dollars for a select few and cause undue headaches for thousands of California businesses.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cdiv class=\"audio-wrap\">\n\u003ch2>Listen:\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>http://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/science/2013/07/2013-07-01-science.mp3\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_4862\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 355px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/Prop-65-warning-e1372446825599.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-4862\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4862 \" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/Prop-65-warning-e1372446825599.jpg\" alt=\"Prop. 65 warning posted outside of a San Francisco auto parts store. (Mike Osborne/KQED)\" width=\"355\" height=\"200\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Prop. 65 warning posted outside of a San Francisco auto parts store. (Mike Osborne/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>You’ve seen the signs all over California, on parking garages, gas stations, office buildings and convenience stores. “Warning,” they say, “this area contains a chemical known to cause cancer or birth defects.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The signs are there because of a law called \u003ca href=\"http://www.oehha.ca.gov/prop65/background/p65plain.html\">Proposition 65\u003c/a>, passed by California voters in 1986 in order to reduce Californian’s exposure to toxic chemicals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now there’s an effort in Sacramento to revise the law, amid charges that Prop. 65 has prompted a flood of frivolous lawsuits that make millions of dollars for a select few and cause undue headaches for thousands of California businesses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To really understand Proposition 65, consider an iceberg, says David Roe, who helped write the law when he was an attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Basically,” Roe says, “you don’t see 95 percent of the effect of Prop 65.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Those warning signs, Roe says, are just the tip.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_4929\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 641px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/chemicals_rev2_12001-e1372464530473.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/chemicals_rev2_12001-e1372464530473.png\" alt=\"Click to see larger image. (Produced by Mike Osborne, graphic by Yael Braha)\" width=\"641\" height=\"265\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4929\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Click to see larger image. (Produced by Mike Osborne, graphic by Yael Braha)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The real base of the iceberg is made up of places where we see no signs at all, places businesses said, as Roe puts it, “I don’t want to tell people there’s a cancer-causing chemical in my hair dye, so I’m going to take it out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Roe says this has happened to hundreds of products, everything from raincoats to CD cases and the caps on wine bottles. Companies didn’t want to put a Prop. 65 warning label on their product, so they reformulated it to take the toxic chemical out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California is a big market. So rather than create a separate product stream, companies now sell\u003cbr>\nthese reformulated products nationwide. “In effect,” says Roe, “the whole country is benefiting from one state’s law.”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">Some attorneys have used Proposition 65 to extract quick, go-away settlements.\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>But there have been other consequences, too, consequences that critics of Prop. 65 consider to be the base of the iceberg. Those have been getting a lot of attention these days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In May, Governor Jerry Brown called for a \u003ca href=\"http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18026\">broad reform\u003c/a> of Prop. 65, making warning signs more specific, revisiting the science of acceptable levels for some chemicals and taking steps to end what he called “frivolous shake-down lawsuits.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, a more limited Prop. 65 reform bill – \u003ca href=\"http://www.asmdc.org/members/a43/press-releases/mike-gatto-s-bill-to-protect-small-businesses-clears-assembly-judiciary-committee\">AB 227\u003c/a> – is being considered by the state legislature. (In May, the State Assembly approved the bill by a 72-0 vote, and it is now making its way through the State Senate.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>AB 227 “seeks to correct some unintended consequences of an otherwise good law,” said its sponsor Mike Gatto, a Democratic assemblyman from LA, during a hearing in Sacramento last month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some attorneys have used Proposition 65 to extract quick, go-away settlements from business owners who haven’t put up a sign, or simply haven’t put up the right sign, to warn people about everyday common household substances,” Gatto told fellow state legislators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If passed, Gatto’s bill would give restaurants, parking garages and other businesses a 14-day grace period to put up a sign and pay a $500 fee before being hit with legal costs or hefty settlement bills.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It would give cover to people like Bette Kroening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kroening owns Bette’s Oceanview Diner, a cozy neighborhood place on Fourth Street in Berkeley, known for its pancakes. In July 2006, Kroening got a letter from a private law firm, saying that the diner was in violation of Prop. 65.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Kroening was taken off guard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I knew about Prop. 65 in terms of all the signs in the parking garages and all that kind of stuff,” she says. “I never imagined that applied to us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It did apply to them, specifically to a brand of old-timey soda the diner sold called Original Nehi Grape, which came in a glass bottle with an elaborate painted label.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unbeknownst to Kroening, the paint contained a small amount of lead. Under Prop. 65, Kroenig should have had a warning sign on the cooler. She worried the violation could cost her thousands of dollars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I didn’t know how far it was going to go. I felt really threatened,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Right now, businesses have two choices when they get a letter like this: either settle with the law firm in an out-of-court settlement, or defend themselves against the charges.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Much of the time, businesses settle out of court, often paying tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees, in addition to an often smaller civil penalty that’s divided between the state and the “private enforcer,” who filed the 60-day notice through his or her law firm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2013, for example, the grocery store Berkeley Bowl paid $22,000 in an out-of-court settlement over charges that it failed to post a Prop. 65 sign warning customers that grilled hamburgers can contain a variety of carcinogenic chemicals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Of that payment, $21,000 went to the Berkeley-based law firm the Chanler Group, to cover what attorney Cliff Chanler described as costs related to testing the hamburger patties and consulting experts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley Bowl also paid a $1,000 civil penalty, of which $750 went to the state and $250 to Chanler’s client, Whitney Leeman. (We’ll have more on the role of plaintiffs like Leeman in part two of this story, next week.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Kroenig decided to fight. She put a warning sign up on her cooler, then called her lawyer. Eventually the case was dropped. She was never sure why.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About a year later the state attorney general’s office sent a complaint \u003ca href=\"http://oag.ca.gov/sites/all/files/agweb/pdfs/prop65/Chanler_51107_letter.pdf?\">letter\u003c/a> to the private law firm, headed by Cliff Chanler, that had targeted Bette.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The letter said yes, the lead on the bottles was a problem. But it said the way the firm was pursuing this issue was not in the public interest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the letter, the firm had turned this lead bottle issue into a cash cow. It had sent out more that 600 letters, like the one Bette Kroenig got, collecting $9 million in attorney’s fees over the course of just a few years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This case and others like it “smack of shakedown lawsuits,” says John Coupal of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, “or at least leveraging people to comply with what may be very picayune violations of Prop. 65.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To Cliff Chanler, terms like “frivolous” or “shakedown” are “only rhetoric or hyperbole from the other side.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chanler heads the Chanler Group. For over two decades, few, if any, law firms have \u003ca href=\"https://www.chanler.com/prop-65\">pursued\u003c/a> as many Prop. 65 cases as his.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chanler says if he’s had a lot of cases, well, that’s because there are a lot of toxic chemicals in our midst, like all the Chinese imports that have flooded the market in recent years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re living in a — it might [sound like] hyperbole to say [it] — we’re living in a toxic cesspool. You would not believe the amount of toxics we find in everyday items,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As to the idea that these suits have become too profitable for his firm, and others like it? He says it’s the fair price for the work they do.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The law is written so that if someone like my firm ends up promoting the public interest in a substantial manner, we’re able to go seek our hourly effort from the settling defendant.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That cost of that hourly effort is part of what’s being discussed in Sacramento right now. And if Prop. 65 gets an overhaul, it’ll also affect another group of people: the “citizen enforcers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Next week we’ll meet some of these citizen enforcers, and find out what role they play in the Prop 65 debate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Earworms: Intrusive Songs That Stick in Your Brain",
"headTitle": "Earworms: Intrusive Songs That Stick in Your Brain | KQED",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_4404\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/ListeningWHeadphones_flickr7189627758_EditorB_640x360.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/ListeningWHeadphones_flickr7189627758_EditorB_640x360.jpg\" alt=\"Photograph courtesy of Editor B via a Creative Commons license.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4404\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photograph courtesy of \u003ca href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/editor/7189627758/sizes/z/in/photolist-bXjHRh/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Editor B\u003c/a> via a Creative Commons license.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If you could hear inside my sister’s head, it would often sound like, “Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Fa la la la la, la la la la.” For years, she has had this “earworm,” which is a song that plays in her head without control. Her mind acts like a broken record and repeatedly plays the same song again and again, especially during quiet times when she is alone. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Having a song stuck in your head is a common experience. \u003ca href=\"http://pom.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/09/17/0305735611418553.abstract\" title=\"How do “earworms” start? Classifying the everyday circumstances of Involuntary Musical Imagery\">Research\u003c/a> has shown that 92% of people experience earworms (or “involuntary musical imagery”) at least once a week and 26% experience them several times a day. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So it isn’t surprising that many myths exist about this common experience. One common belief is that annoying music is more likely to become stuck. Another is that certain music characteristics, such as simplicity and repetitiveness, cause songs to become intrusive. It is also thought that having earworms is more likely for certain types of people, including musicians and women. Finally, some people believe that interrupting a song creates a sense of incompleteness that leads the song to remain in the consciousness, making it more likely to become an earworm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Researchers from the psychology department at Western Washington University have investigated these common beliefs about earworms, as reported in a \u003ca href=\"http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/acp.2897/abstract\" title=\"Going Gaga: Investigating, Creating, and Manipulating the Song Stuck in My Head\">journal article\u003c/a> recently published in \u003cem>Applied Cognitive Psychology\u003c/em>. They conducted five studies on earworms: an online survey of 299 participants, an experimental diary study of 16 participants and three lab experiments with 89, 123 or 139 participants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the online survey, participants completed a 19-question survey. Ten questions asked for details about their most recent earworm, such as how frequently they heard the song, how well they knew it and what they thought triggered it. They also answered questions about their general music experience and basic demographics. The other research studies used methods to induce earworms. In the three lab experiments, participants evaluated three songs, completed a puzzle (maze, Sudoku or anagram) and then reported the extent to which they heard the songs playing in their heads while completing the puzzle. Participants completed either an easy or difficult puzzle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although annoying songs like advertising jingles can become stuck in someone’s head, this appears to be relatively rare. Researchers found that people generally know and like the songs that become intrusive. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They also found that the intrusive songs are virtually unique to each individual, which suggests that lists of the most potent earworms are misleading. Earworms are mainly formed from recent and repeated exposure to a song. So they are influenced by listening tastes, rather than particular music characteristics. This is supported by a \u003ca href=\"http://pom.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/09/17/0305735611418553.abstract\" title=\"How do “earworms” start? Classifying the everyday circumstances of Involuntary Musical Imagery\">previous study\u003c/a> that identified music exposure to be the primary trigger for earworms, followed by memory triggers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Researchers found no gender difference in how earworms were experienced. However, musicians did report having earworms more frequently than non-musicians, as did people who listen to music constantly. So this may just reflect a greater music exposure, indicating that environmental cues can play a significant role in triggering earworms. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The researchers also interrupted some of the songs that they played, expecting the interrupted songs to trigger earworms more frequently than the songs played to completion. However, no difference was observed due to song interruption. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, they analyzed how participants responded to completing the different puzzle tasks. Researchers found that the best way to stop an earworm is to perform a verbal task: solve an anagram, have an engaging conversation or read an interesting book. But you don’t want the task to be too easy or too challenging, or your mind will wander and the earworm may return. I guess this means that I should give my sister some engrossing novels and a book of anagrams for her birthday?\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Having a song stuck in your head is a common experience. Researchers from Western Washington University have investigated many common beliefs about these earworm phenomena. They have also determined the best way to stop an earworm.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_4404\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/ListeningWHeadphones_flickr7189627758_EditorB_640x360.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/ListeningWHeadphones_flickr7189627758_EditorB_640x360.jpg\" alt=\"Photograph courtesy of Editor B via a Creative Commons license.\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4404\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photograph courtesy of \u003ca href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/editor/7189627758/sizes/z/in/photolist-bXjHRh/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Editor B\u003c/a> via a Creative Commons license.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If you could hear inside my sister’s head, it would often sound like, “Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Fa la la la la, la la la la.” For years, she has had this “earworm,” which is a song that plays in her head without control. Her mind acts like a broken record and repeatedly plays the same song again and again, especially during quiet times when she is alone. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Having a song stuck in your head is a common experience. \u003ca href=\"http://pom.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/09/17/0305735611418553.abstract\" title=\"How do “earworms” start? Classifying the everyday circumstances of Involuntary Musical Imagery\">Research\u003c/a> has shown that 92% of people experience earworms (or “involuntary musical imagery”) at least once a week and 26% experience them several times a day. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So it isn’t surprising that many myths exist about this common experience. One common belief is that annoying music is more likely to become stuck. Another is that certain music characteristics, such as simplicity and repetitiveness, cause songs to become intrusive. It is also thought that having earworms is more likely for certain types of people, including musicians and women. Finally, some people believe that interrupting a song creates a sense of incompleteness that leads the song to remain in the consciousness, making it more likely to become an earworm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Researchers from the psychology department at Western Washington University have investigated these common beliefs about earworms, as reported in a \u003ca href=\"http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/acp.2897/abstract\" title=\"Going Gaga: Investigating, Creating, and Manipulating the Song Stuck in My Head\">journal article\u003c/a> recently published in \u003cem>Applied Cognitive Psychology\u003c/em>. They conducted five studies on earworms: an online survey of 299 participants, an experimental diary study of 16 participants and three lab experiments with 89, 123 or 139 participants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the online survey, participants completed a 19-question survey. Ten questions asked for details about their most recent earworm, such as how frequently they heard the song, how well they knew it and what they thought triggered it. They also answered questions about their general music experience and basic demographics. The other research studies used methods to induce earworms. In the three lab experiments, participants evaluated three songs, completed a puzzle (maze, Sudoku or anagram) and then reported the extent to which they heard the songs playing in their heads while completing the puzzle. Participants completed either an easy or difficult puzzle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although annoying songs like advertising jingles can become stuck in someone’s head, this appears to be relatively rare. Researchers found that people generally know and like the songs that become intrusive. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They also found that the intrusive songs are virtually unique to each individual, which suggests that lists of the most potent earworms are misleading. Earworms are mainly formed from recent and repeated exposure to a song. So they are influenced by listening tastes, rather than particular music characteristics. This is supported by a \u003ca href=\"http://pom.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/09/17/0305735611418553.abstract\" title=\"How do “earworms” start? Classifying the everyday circumstances of Involuntary Musical Imagery\">previous study\u003c/a> that identified music exposure to be the primary trigger for earworms, followed by memory triggers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Researchers found no gender difference in how earworms were experienced. However, musicians did report having earworms more frequently than non-musicians, as did people who listen to music constantly. So this may just reflect a greater music exposure, indicating that environmental cues can play a significant role in triggering earworms. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The researchers also interrupted some of the songs that they played, expecting the interrupted songs to trigger earworms more frequently than the songs played to completion. However, no difference was observed due to song interruption. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Finally, they analyzed how participants responded to completing the different puzzle tasks. Researchers found that the best way to stop an earworm is to perform a verbal task: solve an anagram, have an engaging conversation or read an interesting book. But you don’t want the task to be too easy or too challenging, or your mind will wander and the earworm may return. I guess this means that I should give my sister some engrossing novels and a book of anagrams for her birthday?\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Can Air Pollution Cause Asthma in Kids? How About Autism?",
"title": "Can Air Pollution Cause Asthma in Kids? How About Autism?",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12294\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 491px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-12294\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/04/AutoPollution_GettyImages.jpg\" alt=\"(Getty Images/Thinkstock)\" width=\"491\" height=\"349\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/04/AutoPollution_GettyImages.jpg 491w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/04/AutoPollution_GettyImages-400x284.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/04/AutoPollution_GettyImages-320x227.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 491px) 100vw, 491px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Getty Images/Thinkstock)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>We all know air pollution is not great for your health, but two new studies this week stressed just how bad it can be for children, infants and the developing fetus. Exposure to air pollution at a young age, these studies showed, can lead to an array of long-lasting health problems, including asthma and autism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's not just that polluted air can, say, trigger asthma attacks. Now, researchers are finding that exposure to air pollution may actually cause some diseases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re discovering some of the long-term effects of this air pollution: things like lung development in kids,” said Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\"Communities should be informed of what they’re breathing.” -- Paul Cort, Earthjustice \u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/23750510/reload=0;jsessionid=1gzFXIEMY9Op4KHZiWa1.6\">study\u003c/a> led by UCSF found that African American and Latino infants living in communities with high automobile exhaust are more likely to develop childhood asthma than those living with less pollution. This is significant because minority communities are more likely to live near congested roadways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, African Americans and multi-racial people have some of the highest rates of asthma, according to the \u003ca href=\"http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/stateprofiles/Asthma_in_CA.pdf\">CDC\u003c/a>. But rigorous scientific studies that examine just how the lungs of minority children develop when swamped with car exhaust have been rare.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this new study, researchers followed more than 4,000 African American and Latino children in the Bay Area and other cities in the United States and Puerto Rico. It’s one of the largest studies of its kind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They found that exposure to higher levels of nitrogen dioxide -- a pollutant found in automobile exhaust -- put healthy infants at a greater risk of developing asthma later in life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This was despite the fact that the average amount of nitrogen dioxide infants were exposed to was almost 3 times lower than the limit set by the Environmental Protection Agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We found an association even though all of these children were exposed to what the EPA would consider to be an acceptable level of air pollution,” said Katherine Nishimura, a UCSF researcher and lead author on the study.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nishimura tracked pollution exposure for infants within their first years of life. This is a time when children’s lungs and immune system are developing, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though factors other than pollution may also increase the risk of developing asthma -- like obesity, stress, and a family history -- the team’s results raise questions about whether the national standards for nitrogen dioxide are strong enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The problem hits home in California. This year, California cities dominated the top ten most air polluted cities in the nation, according to the American Lung Association's \u003ca href=\"http://www.stateoftheair.org/2013/city-rankings/most-polluted-cities.html\">State of the Air\u003c/a> report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The state has this golden reputation of being so far out in front in everything,” said Paul Cort, attorney at Earthjustice, a San Francisco-based environmental advocacy group that has pushed for tighter air pollution standards. “And yet we still have two of the most polluted air basins in the country.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Stronger evidence that pollutants increase risk of autism\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other research out this week links air pollution to autism. Those findings suggest that public health officials might want to look at strengthening regulations for more than just nitrogen dioxide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Diesel particulates and metals like lead, manganese, and mercury that are found in polluted air have been shown to disrupt brain development in babies in the womb.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists from Harvard's School of Public Health \u003ca href=\"http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/wp-content/uploads/121/6/ehp.1206187.pdf\">found\u003c/a> that pregnant women who were exposed to high levels of air pollution were up to two times more likely to have a child with autism when compared to pregnant women who lived in low pollution areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the study, air pollution came from a variety of sources including automobiles, power plants, factories, incinerators and businesses. And greater levels of diesel, mercury, lead, manganese, methylene chloride, and a combination of metals found in the air were linked to higher rates of autism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“New studies should begin the process of measuring metals and other pollutants in the blood of pregnant women or newborn children to provide stronger evidence that specific pollutants increase risk of autism,” Marc Weisskopf, a public health professor at Harvard and an author of the study said in a \u003ca href=\"http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/exposure-to-high-pollution-levels-during-pregnancy-may-increase-risk-of-having-child-with-autism/\">press release\u003c/a>. “A better understanding of this can help to develop interventions to reduce pregnant women’s exposure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The researchers looked at more than 22,000 women who had children with and without autism. This was the first large national study to examine the effects of air pollution on pregnancy and autism, the authors said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Clearly the underserved communities are very affected,” said Benjamin. “Many times these [factories and] plants are put into communities where the land is fundamentally cheap.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But air pollution has rarely been monitored in these communities, hindering advocates’ abilities to fully grasp and tackle the issue, said Cort. “These communities should be informed of what they’re breathing,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates hope that the flood of research on the effects of air pollution on children will bolster a case for tighter air pollution and car emission standards in the future.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12294\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 491px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-full wp-image-12294\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/04/AutoPollution_GettyImages.jpg\" alt=\"(Getty Images/Thinkstock)\" width=\"491\" height=\"349\" srcset=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/04/AutoPollution_GettyImages.jpg 491w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/04/AutoPollution_GettyImages-400x284.jpg 400w, https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/27/2013/04/AutoPollution_GettyImages-320x227.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 491px) 100vw, 491px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Getty Images/Thinkstock)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>We all know air pollution is not great for your health, but two new studies this week stressed just how bad it can be for children, infants and the developing fetus. Exposure to air pollution at a young age, these studies showed, can lead to an array of long-lasting health problems, including asthma and autism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It's not just that polluted air can, say, trigger asthma attacks. Now, researchers are finding that exposure to air pollution may actually cause some diseases.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re discovering some of the long-term effects of this air pollution: things like lung development in kids,” said Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">\"Communities should be informed of what they’re breathing.” -- Paul Cort, Earthjustice \u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>A \u003ca href=\"http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/23750510/reload=0;jsessionid=1gzFXIEMY9Op4KHZiWa1.6\">study\u003c/a> led by UCSF found that African American and Latino infants living in communities with high automobile exhaust are more likely to develop childhood asthma than those living with less pollution. This is significant because minority communities are more likely to live near congested roadways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California, African Americans and multi-racial people have some of the highest rates of asthma, according to the \u003ca href=\"http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/stateprofiles/Asthma_in_CA.pdf\">CDC\u003c/a>. But rigorous scientific studies that examine just how the lungs of minority children develop when swamped with car exhaust have been rare.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this new study, researchers followed more than 4,000 African American and Latino children in the Bay Area and other cities in the United States and Puerto Rico. It’s one of the largest studies of its kind.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They found that exposure to higher levels of nitrogen dioxide -- a pollutant found in automobile exhaust -- put healthy infants at a greater risk of developing asthma later in life.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This was despite the fact that the average amount of nitrogen dioxide infants were exposed to was almost 3 times lower than the limit set by the Environmental Protection Agency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We found an association even though all of these children were exposed to what the EPA would consider to be an acceptable level of air pollution,” said Katherine Nishimura, a UCSF researcher and lead author on the study.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nishimura tracked pollution exposure for infants within their first years of life. This is a time when children’s lungs and immune system are developing, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though factors other than pollution may also increase the risk of developing asthma -- like obesity, stress, and a family history -- the team’s results raise questions about whether the national standards for nitrogen dioxide are strong enough.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The problem hits home in California. This year, California cities dominated the top ten most air polluted cities in the nation, according to the American Lung Association's \u003ca href=\"http://www.stateoftheair.org/2013/city-rankings/most-polluted-cities.html\">State of the Air\u003c/a> report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The state has this golden reputation of being so far out in front in everything,” said Paul Cort, attorney at Earthjustice, a San Francisco-based environmental advocacy group that has pushed for tighter air pollution standards. “And yet we still have two of the most polluted air basins in the country.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Stronger evidence that pollutants increase risk of autism\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other research out this week links air pollution to autism. Those findings suggest that public health officials might want to look at strengthening regulations for more than just nitrogen dioxide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Diesel particulates and metals like lead, manganese, and mercury that are found in polluted air have been shown to disrupt brain development in babies in the womb.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Scientists from Harvard's School of Public Health \u003ca href=\"http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/wp-content/uploads/121/6/ehp.1206187.pdf\">found\u003c/a> that pregnant women who were exposed to high levels of air pollution were up to two times more likely to have a child with autism when compared to pregnant women who lived in low pollution areas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the study, air pollution came from a variety of sources including automobiles, power plants, factories, incinerators and businesses. And greater levels of diesel, mercury, lead, manganese, methylene chloride, and a combination of metals found in the air were linked to higher rates of autism.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“New studies should begin the process of measuring metals and other pollutants in the blood of pregnant women or newborn children to provide stronger evidence that specific pollutants increase risk of autism,” Marc Weisskopf, a public health professor at Harvard and an author of the study said in a \u003ca href=\"http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/exposure-to-high-pollution-levels-during-pregnancy-may-increase-risk-of-having-child-with-autism/\">press release\u003c/a>. “A better understanding of this can help to develop interventions to reduce pregnant women’s exposure.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The researchers looked at more than 22,000 women who had children with and without autism. This was the first large national study to examine the effects of air pollution on pregnancy and autism, the authors said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Clearly the underserved communities are very affected,” said Benjamin. “Many times these [factories and] plants are put into communities where the land is fundamentally cheap.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But air pollution has rarely been monitored in these communities, hindering advocates’ abilities to fully grasp and tackle the issue, said Cort. “These communities should be informed of what they’re breathing,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates hope that the flood of research on the effects of air pollution on children will bolster a case for tighter air pollution and car emission standards in the future.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "'Baby Panic'? Women Over 35 May Be Quite Fertile After All",
"title": "'Baby Panic'? Women Over 35 May Be Quite Fertile After All",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13314\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 620px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-13314\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/06/122274215-620x413.jpg\" alt=\"(Getty Images)\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>I walked into the newsroom today startled to see the TV screen tuned to ABC's Good Morning America streaming (or screaming?) \"Baby Panic: How long can you wait to have a baby?\" across the bottom of the screen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I wondered why this discussion was suddenly news again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I hate the \"baby panic\" story. I got pregnant easily for the first time at 39. Right on my block, I can quickly count a number of women who also had their first child after 35. Many of us also had children in our 40s. Most of us did this without fertility treatments. I always thought baby panic was a way to get women to \"lean out\" of their careers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So it was with some trepidation that I discovered \u003ca href=\"http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/07/how-long-can-you-wait-to-have-a-baby/309374/?single_page=true\" target=\"_blank\">The Atlantic article\u003c/a> that appears to be driving this new media frenzy. But this article is different. It debunks the conventional wisdom about women over 35 facing a steep and rapid decline in fertility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In her piece, Jean Twenge weaves in her personal story: divorced at 30, longing for children, worrying she'd never have them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then she dives into the data. For example, where does the statistic showing that one-third of women 35 to 39 will not be pregnant after a year of trying come from?\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>French birth records from 1670 to 1830.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"In other words,\" Twenge writes, \"millions of women are being told when to get pregnant based on statistics from a time before electricity, antibiotics or fertility treatment.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in 2007 I was thinking about statistics in a different way at the annual \u003ca href=\"http://healthjournalism.org/calendar-details.php?id=6\" target=\"_blank\">Health Journalism\u003c/a> conference in Los Angeles. At a session on \"Innovations in Reproductive Health,\" I listened as Dr. Richard Paulsen, director of USC Fertility, discussed the decline in fertility that happens to women over 35. I queried him after his talk, pointing out my own purely anecdotal observations in my neighborhood. He confirmed that we \"don't know the denominator.\" In other words, women who seek fertility treatments are by definition having trouble getting pregnant. There wasn't a lot of data looking at the population of women over 35, trying to get pregnant and succeeding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that's changing, as Twenge reports. While 21st century data on modern women who want to get pregnant are still \"sparse,\" she cited these:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/Fulltext/2004/01000/Increased_Infertility_With_Age_in_Men_and_Women.10.aspxYoublacklove\" target=\"_blank\">Obstetrics & Gynecology\u003c/a>: of couples having sex twice a week, 82 percent of 35-to-39 year old women conceive within a year vs. 86 percent of 27-to-34 year olds\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0015028213003397\" target=\"_blank\">Fertility and Sterility\u003c/a>: of couples having sex during their fertile times, 78 percent of 35-to-40 year olds got pregnant within a year vs. 84 percent of 20-to-34 year olds\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Again, these studies are limited, but they are starting to get at a better \"denominator\" that Dr. Paulsen and I discussed several years ago. There is a decline, but in this limited data set if appears to be much more gradual than has been widely reported. In addition, that decline \"is still of relatively limited use to individuals, given the large range of fertility found in healthy women,\" Allen Wilcox of the NIH tells Twenge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In closing her piece, Twenge says the data, though imperfect, lead her to two conclusions:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>No. 1: fertility declines with age. No. 2, and much more relevant: the vast majority of women in their late 30s will be able to get pregnant on their own.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Learn more:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/07/how-long-can-you-wait-to-have-a-baby/309374/?single_page=true\" target=\"_blank\">How Long Can You Wait to Have a Baby? \u003c/a>(The Atlantic)\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "I walked into the newsroom today startled to see the TV screen tuned to ABC's Good Morning America streaming (or screaming?) \"Baby Panic: How long can you wait to have a baby?\" across the bottom of the screen.\r\n\r\nI wondered why this discussion was suddenly news again.\r\n\r\nI hate the \"baby panic\" story. I got pregnant easily for the first time at 39. Right on my block, I can quickly count a number of women who also had their first child after 35. Many of us also had children in our 40s. Most of us did this without fertility treatments. I always thought baby panic was a way to get women to \"lean out\" of their careers.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13314\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 620px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-13314\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/06/122274215-620x413.jpg\" alt=\"(Getty Images)\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>I walked into the newsroom today startled to see the TV screen tuned to ABC's Good Morning America streaming (or screaming?) \"Baby Panic: How long can you wait to have a baby?\" across the bottom of the screen.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I wondered why this discussion was suddenly news again.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I hate the \"baby panic\" story. I got pregnant easily for the first time at 39. Right on my block, I can quickly count a number of women who also had their first child after 35. Many of us also had children in our 40s. Most of us did this without fertility treatments. I always thought baby panic was a way to get women to \"lean out\" of their careers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So it was with some trepidation that I discovered \u003ca href=\"http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/07/how-long-can-you-wait-to-have-a-baby/309374/?single_page=true\" target=\"_blank\">The Atlantic article\u003c/a> that appears to be driving this new media frenzy. But this article is different. It debunks the conventional wisdom about women over 35 facing a steep and rapid decline in fertility.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In her piece, Jean Twenge weaves in her personal story: divorced at 30, longing for children, worrying she'd never have them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then she dives into the data. For example, where does the statistic showing that one-third of women 35 to 39 will not be pregnant after a year of trying come from?\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>French birth records from 1670 to 1830.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"In other words,\" Twenge writes, \"millions of women are being told when to get pregnant based on statistics from a time before electricity, antibiotics or fertility treatment.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Back in 2007 I was thinking about statistics in a different way at the annual \u003ca href=\"http://healthjournalism.org/calendar-details.php?id=6\" target=\"_blank\">Health Journalism\u003c/a> conference in Los Angeles. At a session on \"Innovations in Reproductive Health,\" I listened as Dr. Richard Paulsen, director of USC Fertility, discussed the decline in fertility that happens to women over 35. I queried him after his talk, pointing out my own purely anecdotal observations in my neighborhood. He confirmed that we \"don't know the denominator.\" In other words, women who seek fertility treatments are by definition having trouble getting pregnant. There wasn't a lot of data looking at the population of women over 35, trying to get pregnant and succeeding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that's changing, as Twenge reports. While 21st century data on modern women who want to get pregnant are still \"sparse,\" she cited these:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/Fulltext/2004/01000/Increased_Infertility_With_Age_in_Men_and_Women.10.aspxYoublacklove\" target=\"_blank\">Obstetrics & Gynecology\u003c/a>: of couples having sex twice a week, 82 percent of 35-to-39 year old women conceive within a year vs. 86 percent of 27-to-34 year olds\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0015028213003397\" target=\"_blank\">Fertility and Sterility\u003c/a>: of couples having sex during their fertile times, 78 percent of 35-to-40 year olds got pregnant within a year vs. 84 percent of 20-to-34 year olds\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>Again, these studies are limited, but they are starting to get at a better \"denominator\" that Dr. Paulsen and I discussed several years ago. There is a decline, but in this limited data set if appears to be much more gradual than has been widely reported. In addition, that decline \"is still of relatively limited use to individuals, given the large range of fertility found in healthy women,\" Allen Wilcox of the NIH tells Twenge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In closing her piece, Twenge says the data, though imperfect, lead her to two conclusions:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>No. 1: fertility declines with age. No. 2, and much more relevant: the vast majority of women in their late 30s will be able to get pregnant on their own.\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Learn more:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/07/how-long-can-you-wait-to-have-a-baby/309374/?single_page=true\" target=\"_blank\">How Long Can You Wait to Have a Baby? \u003c/a>(The Atlantic)\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Who Wins and Who Loses With the Supreme Court's Gene Patenting Decision?",
"headTitle": "Who Wins and Who Loses With the Supreme Court’s Gene Patenting Decision? | KQED",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_4362\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4362\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/DoubleHelix_GettyImages-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Getty Images\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Getty Images\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A US Supreme Court ruling issued Thursday has big implications for Bay Area biotech companies and medical researchers, not to mention patients who want genetic testing or gene-based therapies. The justices ruled that no one has the right to patent natural human genes, but synthetic DNA material can be patented.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED News anchor Stephanie Martin spoke with Jacob Sherkow, a fellow at the \u003ca href=\"http://www.law.stanford.edu/node/149619\">Center for Law and the Biosciences at Stanford\u003c/a> who studies the intersection of patent law and biotech.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Stephanie Martin: Let’s talk first about what the court means by naturally occurring genetic material. What does that cover?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jacob Sherkow: It’s referring to human genes as they exist in the human chromosome. So, one of the things that \u003ca href=\"http://www.myriad.com/\">Myriad\u003c/a> attempted to patent was isolated genomic DNA. That is, those genes as they exist in human chromosomes, except as if they were cut out using a pair of molecular scissors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>SM: And we should mention that Myriad is the Utah-based company at the center of the case.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>JS: Right, sorry. Myriad Genetics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>SM: And very briefly, what is the difference between synthetic DNA and naturally occurring DNA?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>JS: So the type of synthetic DNA that the court was concerned with was something called cDNA, which stands for either complementary DNA or clone DNA. cDNA is a variant of the isolated genomic DNA that we just talked about. The major difference, however, is that all of the regions of the isolated genomic DNA that do not code for protein have been removed. So if you can imagine a sentence, for example, and if you were to remove all of the less meaningful words from it and creating a new sentence with only the meaningful ones, that’s kind of what cDNA is.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>SM: So there are a lot of biotech companies and universities in the Bay Area who own patents on both of these types of DNA. Who wins and who loses with today’s decision?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>JS: That’s actually a really difficult question to answer. I think in the biotech industry, you know, here in the Bay Area and around the country, you’re going to get a mixed bag of responses. There are going to be some companies that are going to laud the ability to get into this gene marketing space without having to be worried if they’re going to be sued for patent infringement. And you have some other companies that are going to be concerned that without patent protection to certain genes it’s going to be difficult for them to recoup the investments that they put in creating their technologies, and also to get funding as they move forward in their product life cycle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>SM: Now patient advocates are claiming this \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2013/06/13/san-francisco-breast-cancer-advocates-jubilant-over-supreme-court-human-genes-ruling/\">as a victory\u003c/a>, because they say that it’s a big win for competition in the marketplace and access to perhaps cheaper, and perhaps better, gene testing therapy in the future. But isn’t there also an argument that this ruling might hurt patients, because getting patents on naturally occurring genes, was there was a financial incentive behind it?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>JS: So that’s actually a greater argument about the patent system. It takes a lot of research and time to be able to figure out which genes implicate which diseases, and which mutations in those genes have which effects. And the way that companies have traditionally been able to recoup those costs is by getting patents and by excluding other companies from the marketplace. And so the reality is that without some type of exclusionary system, like the patent system, it’s possible that we may see less research and development in the future in this space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>SM: Is there an argument that this Supreme Court ruling might put a damper on innovation?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>JS: So I think it’s possible, but I think the on-the-ground reality is that because a lot of this work is funded publically by organizations such as the National Institute of Health, that we’re really not going to see this dampening on innovation that people have been saying that there’s going to be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Michael Osborne contributed to this article.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "A US Supreme Court ruling issued Thursday has big implications for Bay Area biotech companies and medical researchers, not to mention patients who want genetic testing or gene-based therapies. The Justices ruled that no one has the right to patent natural human genes, but synthetic DNA material can be patented.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_4362\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4362\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/06/DoubleHelix_GettyImages-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Getty Images\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Getty Images\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A US Supreme Court ruling issued Thursday has big implications for Bay Area biotech companies and medical researchers, not to mention patients who want genetic testing or gene-based therapies. The justices ruled that no one has the right to patent natural human genes, but synthetic DNA material can be patented.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>KQED News anchor Stephanie Martin spoke with Jacob Sherkow, a fellow at the \u003ca href=\"http://www.law.stanford.edu/node/149619\">Center for Law and the Biosciences at Stanford\u003c/a> who studies the intersection of patent law and biotech.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Stephanie Martin: Let’s talk first about what the court means by naturally occurring genetic material. What does that cover?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jacob Sherkow: It’s referring to human genes as they exist in the human chromosome. So, one of the things that \u003ca href=\"http://www.myriad.com/\">Myriad\u003c/a> attempted to patent was isolated genomic DNA. That is, those genes as they exist in human chromosomes, except as if they were cut out using a pair of molecular scissors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>SM: And we should mention that Myriad is the Utah-based company at the center of the case.\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>JS: Right, sorry. Myriad Genetics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>SM: And very briefly, what is the difference between synthetic DNA and naturally occurring DNA?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>JS: So the type of synthetic DNA that the court was concerned with was something called cDNA, which stands for either complementary DNA or clone DNA. cDNA is a variant of the isolated genomic DNA that we just talked about. The major difference, however, is that all of the regions of the isolated genomic DNA that do not code for protein have been removed. So if you can imagine a sentence, for example, and if you were to remove all of the less meaningful words from it and creating a new sentence with only the meaningful ones, that’s kind of what cDNA is.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>SM: So there are a lot of biotech companies and universities in the Bay Area who own patents on both of these types of DNA. Who wins and who loses with today’s decision?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>JS: That’s actually a really difficult question to answer. I think in the biotech industry, you know, here in the Bay Area and around the country, you’re going to get a mixed bag of responses. There are going to be some companies that are going to laud the ability to get into this gene marketing space without having to be worried if they’re going to be sued for patent infringement. And you have some other companies that are going to be concerned that without patent protection to certain genes it’s going to be difficult for them to recoup the investments that they put in creating their technologies, and also to get funding as they move forward in their product life cycle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>SM: Now patient advocates are claiming this \u003ca href=\"http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2013/06/13/san-francisco-breast-cancer-advocates-jubilant-over-supreme-court-human-genes-ruling/\">as a victory\u003c/a>, because they say that it’s a big win for competition in the marketplace and access to perhaps cheaper, and perhaps better, gene testing therapy in the future. But isn’t there also an argument that this ruling might hurt patients, because getting patents on naturally occurring genes, was there was a financial incentive behind it?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>JS: So that’s actually a greater argument about the patent system. It takes a lot of research and time to be able to figure out which genes implicate which diseases, and which mutations in those genes have which effects. And the way that companies have traditionally been able to recoup those costs is by getting patents and by excluding other companies from the marketplace. And so the reality is that without some type of exclusionary system, like the patent system, it’s possible that we may see less research and development in the future in this space.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>SM: Is there an argument that this Supreme Court ruling might put a damper on innovation?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>JS: So I think it’s possible, but I think the on-the-ground reality is that because a lot of this work is funded publically by organizations such as the National Institute of Health, that we’re really not going to see this dampening on innovation that people have been saying that there’s going to be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Michael Osborne contributed to this article.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "San Francisco Breast Cancer Advocates Jubilant Over Supreme Court Human Genes Ruling",
"title": "San Francisco Breast Cancer Advocates Jubilant Over Supreme Court Human Genes Ruling",
"headTitle": "State of Health | KQED News",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13262\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 620px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-13262\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/06/RS5070_81147632-scr-620x377.jpg\" alt=\"(William West/AFP/Getty Images)\" width=\"620\" height=\"377\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(William West/AFP/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday morning that \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/06/13/supreme-court-rules-human-genes-cannot-be-patented/\" target=\"_blank\">human genes are not patentable\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://science.kqed.org/quest/audio/bay-area-biotech-industry-braces-for-gene-patenting-court-case/\" target=\"_blank\">The case \u003c/a>centered around Myriad Genetics, the holder of patents on two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2. \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2013/04/12/breast-cancer-gene-mutations-at-heart-of-supreme-court-case/\" target=\"_blank\">Some mutations of these genes\u003c/a> are associated with an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer. For women with a strong family history of these cancers, the only place they could be tested was Myriad Genetics, which sometimes charged more than $3,000 for the test.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Breast Cancer Action, an advocacy group based in San Francisco, was a plaintiff in the case, and executive director Karuna Jaggar sounded jubilant in a phone call Thursday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"From our perspective, these patents never should have been granted in the first place,\" Jaggar said. \"There's no question that DNA is a product of nature, and so it's very affirming to see the court rule in our favor.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>BRCA1 and 2 mutations became international news when actress \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2013/05/14/why-angelina-jolies-medical-choice-is-likely-not-yours/\" target=\"_blank\">Angelina Jolie\u003c/a> revealed that she'd had a preventive double mastectomy after testing showed that she had a specific mutation that put her at very high risk of developing breast cancer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Breast Cancer Action has long argued against the high cost of the test, and said that the patent gave an unfair monopoly to Myriad Genetics, which is located in Salt Lake City. With the court's ruling, Jaggar believes that more companies will be able to offer a test to women.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"They'll have access to new tests at lower costs and will have access to second opinions,\" Jaggar said. \"Currently Myriad offers the one and only test. It has not been peer reviewed; it has not been scientifically validated. New labs will now be able to offer new tests using new methodologies.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement Myriad Genetics played down the magnitude of the decision, pointing to its 500 other valid patent claims as well as the BRCA test. The court upheld patent claims on what's known as synthetic DNA or \"cDNA.\" Synthetic DNA is man-made, not a \"product of nature,\" and is still patentable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We believe the Court appropriately upheld our claims on cDNA,\" Myriad's CEO Peter Meldrum said in a release, \"ensuring strong intellectual property protection for our BRACAnalysis test moving forward.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Breast Cancer Action insists the Supreme Court's decision opens the door to new options for women who worry about inherited risk of breast cancer. “Laboratories can conduct genetic testing without using cDNA and this means that Myriad no longer holds a monopoly on the BRCA genes,\" Jaggar said in a release this morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Roughly 5 to 10 percent of women carry a BRCA1 or 2 mutation, according to the National Cancer Institute. Not all mutations are harmful, but some can be devastating. Angelina Jolie said that she had a mutation that put her at an 87 percent risk of breast cancer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Learn More:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/12-398_8njq.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Read the decision: Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday morning that human genes are not patentable.\r\n\r\nThe case centered around Myriad Genetics, the holder of patents on two genes, BRCA 1 and BRCA 2. Some mutations of these genes are associated with an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer. For women with a strong family history of these cancers, the only place they could be tested was Myriad Genetics, which sometimes charged more than $3,000 for the test.\r\n\r\nBreast Cancer Action, an advocacy group based in San Francisco, was a plaintiff in the case and executive director Karuna Jagger sounded jubilant in a phone call Thursday morning.",
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"description": "In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday morning that human genes are not patentable.\r\n\r\nThe case centered around Myriad Genetics, the holder of patents on two genes, BRCA 1 and BRCA 2. Some mutations of these genes are associated with an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer. For women with a strong family history of these cancers, the only place they could be tested was Myriad Genetics, which sometimes charged more than $3,000 for the test.\r\n\r\nBreast Cancer Action, an advocacy group based in San Francisco, was a plaintiff in the case and executive director Karuna Jagger sounded jubilant in a phone call Thursday morning.",
"title": "San Francisco Breast Cancer Advocates Jubilant Over Supreme Court Human Genes Ruling | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13262\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 620px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-large wp-image-13262\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/06/RS5070_81147632-scr-620x377.jpg\" alt=\"(William West/AFP/Getty Images)\" width=\"620\" height=\"377\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">(William West/AFP/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday morning that \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2013/06/13/supreme-court-rules-human-genes-cannot-be-patented/\" target=\"_blank\">human genes are not patentable\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://science.kqed.org/quest/audio/bay-area-biotech-industry-braces-for-gene-patenting-court-case/\" target=\"_blank\">The case \u003c/a>centered around Myriad Genetics, the holder of patents on two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2. \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2013/04/12/breast-cancer-gene-mutations-at-heart-of-supreme-court-case/\" target=\"_blank\">Some mutations of these genes\u003c/a> are associated with an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer. For women with a strong family history of these cancers, the only place they could be tested was Myriad Genetics, which sometimes charged more than $3,000 for the test.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Breast Cancer Action, an advocacy group based in San Francisco, was a plaintiff in the case, and executive director Karuna Jaggar sounded jubilant in a phone call Thursday morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"From our perspective, these patents never should have been granted in the first place,\" Jaggar said. \"There's no question that DNA is a product of nature, and so it's very affirming to see the court rule in our favor.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>BRCA1 and 2 mutations became international news when actress \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2013/05/14/why-angelina-jolies-medical-choice-is-likely-not-yours/\" target=\"_blank\">Angelina Jolie\u003c/a> revealed that she'd had a preventive double mastectomy after testing showed that she had a specific mutation that put her at very high risk of developing breast cancer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Breast Cancer Action has long argued against the high cost of the test, and said that the patent gave an unfair monopoly to Myriad Genetics, which is located in Salt Lake City. With the court's ruling, Jaggar believes that more companies will be able to offer a test to women.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"They'll have access to new tests at lower costs and will have access to second opinions,\" Jaggar said. \"Currently Myriad offers the one and only test. It has not been peer reviewed; it has not been scientifically validated. New labs will now be able to offer new tests using new methodologies.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement Myriad Genetics played down the magnitude of the decision, pointing to its 500 other valid patent claims as well as the BRCA test. The court upheld patent claims on what's known as synthetic DNA or \"cDNA.\" Synthetic DNA is man-made, not a \"product of nature,\" and is still patentable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\"We believe the Court appropriately upheld our claims on cDNA,\" Myriad's CEO Peter Meldrum said in a release, \"ensuring strong intellectual property protection for our BRACAnalysis test moving forward.\"\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Breast Cancer Action insists the Supreme Court's decision opens the door to new options for women who worry about inherited risk of breast cancer. “Laboratories can conduct genetic testing without using cDNA and this means that Myriad no longer holds a monopoly on the BRCA genes,\" Jaggar said in a release this morning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Roughly 5 to 10 percent of women carry a BRCA1 or 2 mutation, according to the National Cancer Institute. Not all mutations are harmful, but some can be devastating. Angelina Jolie said that she had a mutation that put her at an 87 percent risk of breast cancer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Learn More:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/12-398_8njq.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Read the decision: Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "A Virus Shield That Protects Us From Our Own Bacteria",
"headTitle": "A Virus Shield That Protects Us From Our Own Bacteria | KQED",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_3746\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/05/Phage.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-3746\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/05/Phage.jpg\" alt=\"Bacterial viruses (phages) like these may form a shield that protects us from the bacteria living in our gut. Image on left is a scanning electron micrograph of one of these phages and the image on the left is a diagram of a similar phage.\" width=\"640\" height=\"359\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3746\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bacterial viruses (phages) like these may form a shield that protects us from the bacteria living in our gut. \u003ca href=\"http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phage_S-PM2.png\">Image \u003c/a>on left is a scanning electron micrograph of one of these phages and the \u003ca href=\"http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Head-tail_phage.svg\">image \u003c/a>on the right is a diagram of a similar phage.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>There has been a lot of news lately about the bacteria living in our gut—the human gut \u003ca href=\"http://science.kqed.org/quest/2013/05/03/the-human-microbiome-a-rogues-gallery/\">microbiome\u003c/a>. Researchers are learning which bacteria live there, who is naughty and who is nice and even a somewhat distasteful way to replace naughty with nice (a fecal transplant). \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What gets lost in all of this is the fact that these bacteria are wild creatures whose only purpose is to divide and spread. If given half a chance, even those helpful bacteria would break free of the gut and spread through the body, eventually killing its host. To properly harness their power for good, we need to have ways to control them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new \u003ca href=\"http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23690590\">study \u003c/a>presents an unexpected way that we work with viruses to keep bacteria confined to the gut. The idea is based on the fact that the mucous which lines the inside of our gut is riddled with viruses that infect and destroy bacteria (these viruses are called phages). If a bacterium gets too far into this mucous layer, it meets with a phage that destroys it. It is like a minefield of viruses set to explode whenever they encounter a bacterium. Except that it is even better than that…it is a self-renewing minefield.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_3757\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/05/MicrobiomeColorSm.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-3757\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/05/MicrobiomeColorSm.jpg\" alt=\"We need to keep bacteria like these under control.\" width=\"250\" height=\"141\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3757\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">We need to keep bacteria like these under control.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When a phage infects a bacterium, it first hijacks the bacterium’s cellular machinery and forces it to crank out lots of new virus particles. Once the bacterium has made as many virus particles as it can, the bacterium then explodes releasing lots more phage into its surroundings. Now there are more phage that can infect any bacteria bold enough to venture where they shouldn’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is a win-win for both the phages and us. We get to keep helpful bacteria confined to where they can do some good and the phage get a plentiful supply of bacteria. In fact, it is such a good deal for the viruses that they have evolved tails that can hook onto the ends of the mucin molecules in our mucous layer. This allows the viruses to linger for a longer time, increasing their chances of latching onto a bacterium.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So the mucous layer is like a huge three-dimensional forest of hooks with phages hanging off of them, waiting for passing bacteria. Well, this is almost the right analogy. The phage don’t stay on the hook for long but instead pause for a bit at each hook. The researchers hypothesize that these pauses are a big enough boost for finding bacteria that there has been a positive selection working on the phages for interacting with the mucins. Or in other words, those phage that could stick to the mucins did better than those that could not so that now the vast majority of phage have these sticky tails.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_3760\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/05/VirusShield.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-3760\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/05/VirusShield.jpg\" alt=\"Viral shields like this may be common in nature.\" width=\"250\" height=\"299\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3760\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Viral shields like this may be common in nature.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Now of course, nothing in biology is as simple as this. There are lots of different kinds of phage, each specific for a certain bacterial species. And the mucous layer isn’t as static as I have painted it here either. The cells lining the gut, the epithelium cells, are constantly making new mucins and the old ones are being sloughed off with phage being sloughed off along with them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even with all of this added complexity, what we have is a situation where viruses are potentially being helpful instead of harmful. And this probably isn’t true just in people either. Mucous layers in a wide variety of organisms from corals to mammals all seem to be enriched for phage as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It may be that this sort of primitive immune system is common in nature. In this system, creatures harness phages to destroy invaders instead of using their own genes to generate cells akin to our killer T cells. They use phages to create a non-host immune system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’ll need to do a lot more research to see whether the phage in our gut really are a line of defense and how common this system really is in nature. But whatever the final answer, it has got us to thinking about immunity in a whole new way. This might \u003ca href=\"http://science.kqed.org/quest/2013/04/22/fund-basic-research-its-for-your-own-good/\">open up avenues of research\u003c/a> we hadn’t even thought about before.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"description": "There has been a lot of news lately about the bacteria living in our gut—the human gut microbiome. Researchers are learning which bacteria live there, who is naughty and who is nice and even a somewhat distasteful way to replace naughty with nice (a fecal transplant). What gets lost in all of this is the",
"title": "A Virus Shield That Protects Us From Our Own Bacteria | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_3746\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/05/Phage.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-3746\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/05/Phage.jpg\" alt=\"Bacterial viruses (phages) like these may form a shield that protects us from the bacteria living in our gut. Image on left is a scanning electron micrograph of one of these phages and the image on the left is a diagram of a similar phage.\" width=\"640\" height=\"359\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3746\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bacterial viruses (phages) like these may form a shield that protects us from the bacteria living in our gut. \u003ca href=\"http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phage_S-PM2.png\">Image \u003c/a>on left is a scanning electron micrograph of one of these phages and the \u003ca href=\"http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Head-tail_phage.svg\">image \u003c/a>on the right is a diagram of a similar phage.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>There has been a lot of news lately about the bacteria living in our gut—the human gut \u003ca href=\"http://science.kqed.org/quest/2013/05/03/the-human-microbiome-a-rogues-gallery/\">microbiome\u003c/a>. Researchers are learning which bacteria live there, who is naughty and who is nice and even a somewhat distasteful way to replace naughty with nice (a fecal transplant). \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What gets lost in all of this is the fact that these bacteria are wild creatures whose only purpose is to divide and spread. If given half a chance, even those helpful bacteria would break free of the gut and spread through the body, eventually killing its host. To properly harness their power for good, we need to have ways to control them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new \u003ca href=\"http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23690590\">study \u003c/a>presents an unexpected way that we work with viruses to keep bacteria confined to the gut. The idea is based on the fact that the mucous which lines the inside of our gut is riddled with viruses that infect and destroy bacteria (these viruses are called phages). If a bacterium gets too far into this mucous layer, it meets with a phage that destroys it. It is like a minefield of viruses set to explode whenever they encounter a bacterium. Except that it is even better than that…it is a self-renewing minefield.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_3757\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/05/MicrobiomeColorSm.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-3757\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/05/MicrobiomeColorSm.jpg\" alt=\"We need to keep bacteria like these under control.\" width=\"250\" height=\"141\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3757\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">We need to keep bacteria like these under control.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>When a phage infects a bacterium, it first hijacks the bacterium’s cellular machinery and forces it to crank out lots of new virus particles. Once the bacterium has made as many virus particles as it can, the bacterium then explodes releasing lots more phage into its surroundings. Now there are more phage that can infect any bacteria bold enough to venture where they shouldn’t.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is a win-win for both the phages and us. We get to keep helpful bacteria confined to where they can do some good and the phage get a plentiful supply of bacteria. In fact, it is such a good deal for the viruses that they have evolved tails that can hook onto the ends of the mucin molecules in our mucous layer. This allows the viruses to linger for a longer time, increasing their chances of latching onto a bacterium.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So the mucous layer is like a huge three-dimensional forest of hooks with phages hanging off of them, waiting for passing bacteria. Well, this is almost the right analogy. The phage don’t stay on the hook for long but instead pause for a bit at each hook. The researchers hypothesize that these pauses are a big enough boost for finding bacteria that there has been a positive selection working on the phages for interacting with the mucins. Or in other words, those phage that could stick to the mucins did better than those that could not so that now the vast majority of phage have these sticky tails.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_3760\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 250px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/05/VirusShield.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-3760\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/05/VirusShield.jpg\" alt=\"Viral shields like this may be common in nature.\" width=\"250\" height=\"299\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3760\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Viral shields like this may be common in nature.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Now of course, nothing in biology is as simple as this. There are lots of different kinds of phage, each specific for a certain bacterial species. And the mucous layer isn’t as static as I have painted it here either. The cells lining the gut, the epithelium cells, are constantly making new mucins and the old ones are being sloughed off with phage being sloughed off along with them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But even with all of this added complexity, what we have is a situation where viruses are potentially being helpful instead of harmful. And this probably isn’t true just in people either. Mucous layers in a wide variety of organisms from corals to mammals all seem to be enriched for phage as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It may be that this sort of primitive immune system is common in nature. In this system, creatures harness phages to destroy invaders instead of using their own genes to generate cells akin to our killer T cells. They use phages to create a non-host immune system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’ll need to do a lot more research to see whether the phage in our gut really are a line of defense and how common this system really is in nature. But whatever the final answer, it has got us to thinking about immunity in a whole new way. This might \u003ca href=\"http://science.kqed.org/quest/2013/04/22/fund-basic-research-its-for-your-own-good/\">open up avenues of research\u003c/a> we hadn’t even thought about before.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "When Will Mental Illness Be Diagnosed With a Lab Test?",
"headTitle": "When Will Mental Illness Be Diagnosed With a Lab Test? | KQED",
"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"audio-wrap\">\n\u003ch2>Listen:\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>http://kqed02.streamguys.us/anon.kqed/radio/science/2013/06/2013-06-03-science.mp3\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_3769\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/05/KQED_CN-PTSD-AD_dts_Scaled.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-3769\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/05/KQED_CN-PTSD-AD_dts_Scaled.jpg\" alt=\"MRIs of two brains show a slightly smaller amygdala in the brain of a man with PTSD. (Photo courtesy Michael Weiner)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3769\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Two MRI scans show a slightly smaller amygdala in the brain of a man with PTSD. (Photo courtesy Michael Weiner)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Say you’re a doctor and a patient comes in complaining of chest pains. You’d want to know what was causing them. So you’d run lab tests, looking for signs of a heart attack or some other problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s standard procedure across medicine, except in the case of mental illness. It’s the last area of medicine where there are virtually no lab tests to indicate what’s wrong. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This has become a major challenge across the field of psychiatry: to give those who suffer from mental illnesses like schizophrenia and depression the same sort of scientific certainty doctors have recently begun to provide to people with Alzheimer’s disease. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People like Robin Jones.\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\n“Something is different.”\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2007, Jones found himself in a parking lot. He had no idea where his car was. This was unlike him. Jones is a scientist who used to work on nuclear power plants. He’s always been good with details. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m the one who parked it there!” Jones recalls thinking. “Why can’t I remember?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At work, he had a hard time finding the right words and making persuasive arguments to his colleagues. He’d come home and tell his wife, Anne, “Something’s different.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He would say his brain didn’t feel like it was working the same way it used to,” she recalls. “We said, ‘Well, why not talk to your primary care physician about it?’ And that started a cascade of events.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eventually, the Joneses made it to the \u003ca href=\"http://neurology.stanford.edu/memory/\">Stanford Center for Memory Disorders\u003c/a>, where Robin went through the standard run-up for Alzheimer’s disease, memorizing lists of words, and so on. But he did pretty well on them, says Mike Greicius, the center’s medical director, better than you’d expect from someone in the early stages of the disease. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He didn’t fit neatly into this classic presentation of Alzheimer’s disease,” says Greicius. “That’s one of the reasons that, fairly early on, we started talking about biomarkers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These biomarkers refer to lab tests, and they’re a very recent development in Alzheimer’s disease care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One test uses a PET scan that can detect amyloid, a protein that takes on an abnormal shape in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. The second test requires a lumbar puncture to look for traces of amyloid and tau, another protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease, in the patient’s spinal fluid. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robin chose the spinal fluid test. “It seemed to me it would sharpen up my understanding of what was happening,” he says.\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\nTests for Alzheimer’s disease signal changes across mental health\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until very recently, Alzheimer’s was diagnosed more or less the same way other mental illnesses, such as autism or schizophrenia, are diagnosed: by asking patients how they feel and observing how they behave. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That all changed when scientists discovered biomarkers for Alzheimer’s: the tau and amyloid proteins that are signatures of the disease. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, it was a matter of finding tests that could pick up those biomarkers. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Michael Weiner, who directs the \u003ca href=\"http://www.radiology.ucsf.edu/cind\">Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases\u003c/a> at San Francisco’s VA Medical Center, says the same thing happened with heart disease a generation ago. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I was a medical student 40 years ago, patients would come in with chest pains and we’d spend a lot of time talking to them,” Weiner says. “‘Where is the pain in the chest? What’s going on? How does it radiate in your arm?’” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That whole process changed when scientists discovered biomarkers of heart disease, for example, certain enzymes that leak into the bloodstream when the heart is damaged. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nowadays,” says Weiner, “you draw blood enzymes. And if a person has a rise in certain enzymes, we say they had a heart attack. And if they didn’t, we say you didn’t have a heart attack.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is the name of the game in psychiatry today: to understand the underlying brain diseases behind mental illness and find ways to test for them.\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\nBetter tools for diagnosing PTSD\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the biggest efforts is directed out of NYU’s \u003ca href=\"http://www.med.nyu.edu/\">Langone Medical Center\u003c/a>, where Charles Marmar chairs the psychiatry department and leads a $28 million dollar effort to look for biomarkers of post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain damage, diseases that are often under-reported and under-treated. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marmar believes that one day — maybe within a decade or two — simple tests, much like home pregnancy tests, will indicate whether people are suffering from PTSD or possibly even autism or schizophrenia. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Blood, urine and cerebral spinal fluid will, over time, have something very important to say about risks for psychiatric illness, the presence or absence of illness and the prognosis of a given depressive illness,” says Marmar. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, importantly, he says, whether a treatment – be it talk therapy or drugs – is working. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the case of PTSD, he says, the first step is to look for biomarkers, what he calls the “biological footprint of learned fear,” that could be detectable in a lab test. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Voice as a diagnostic tool\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But these diseases may announce themselves in other ways, too, for example, in the way people talk. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At \u003ca href=\"http://www.sri.com/\">SRI International\u003c/a>, a non-profit research group in Menlo Park, scientists are developing computer algorithms to look for voice signatures of people with PTSD. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SRI’s Dimitra Vergyri plays a recording of three voices saying the word “no.” The first sounds disappointed, the second impatient, the third – with a happy laugh – sounds “entertained,” she explains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F94724399\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want to show that there are features that we can extract automatically, measure them, and they can be an indicator of a very specific emotional state,” she says. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The idea here is that you could take voice recordings of, say, returning soldiers, and use the algorithm to flag which of them might be more at risk for psychological problems. Then, make sure they don’t slip through the cracks. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Charles Marmar, head of the NYU effort, believes tests like these will change the field of psychiatry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As we advance biomarkers, we will demystify and de-stigmatize psychiatric illness,” says Marmar. “We will make [mental health] part of normal care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The results come back \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Slowly, that is what’s happening in Alzheimer’s disease, and in the case of Robin Jones. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robin’s wife, Anne, was the first to learn the results of his Alzheimer’s test, which came back positive. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her first reaction, she says, was simply sadness. But after that came “a certain amount of relief.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s relief knowing why your arm hurts, or why you have a bad cough. Knowing how to chart out the rest of our time together.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently, Anne took a trip alone to Florence to see the great works of art she studied as an art history major in college. She left a note for Robin, reminding him where she had gone and thanking him for the opportunity. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Having a concrete diagnosis, she says, helped her recognize a window for such adventures, before her care-taking responsibilities begin to keep her closer to home. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The test, she says, gave them both certainty and the ability to focus on what lies ahead. \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cdiv class=\"audio-wrap\">\n\u003ch2>Listen:\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>http://kqed02.streamguys.us/anon.kqed/radio/science/2013/06/2013-06-03-science.mp3\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_3769\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/05/KQED_CN-PTSD-AD_dts_Scaled.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-3769\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/05/KQED_CN-PTSD-AD_dts_Scaled.jpg\" alt=\"MRIs of two brains show a slightly smaller amygdala in the brain of a man with PTSD. (Photo courtesy Michael Weiner)\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3769\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Two MRI scans show a slightly smaller amygdala in the brain of a man with PTSD. (Photo courtesy Michael Weiner)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Say you’re a doctor and a patient comes in complaining of chest pains. You’d want to know what was causing them. So you’d run lab tests, looking for signs of a heart attack or some other problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s standard procedure across medicine, except in the case of mental illness. It’s the last area of medicine where there are virtually no lab tests to indicate what’s wrong. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This has become a major challenge across the field of psychiatry: to give those who suffer from mental illnesses like schizophrenia and depression the same sort of scientific certainty doctors have recently begun to provide to people with Alzheimer’s disease. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People like Robin Jones.\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\n“Something is different.”\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2007, Jones found himself in a parking lot. He had no idea where his car was. This was unlike him. Jones is a scientist who used to work on nuclear power plants. He’s always been good with details. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m the one who parked it there!” Jones recalls thinking. “Why can’t I remember?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At work, he had a hard time finding the right words and making persuasive arguments to his colleagues. He’d come home and tell his wife, Anne, “Something’s different.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He would say his brain didn’t feel like it was working the same way it used to,” she recalls. “We said, ‘Well, why not talk to your primary care physician about it?’ And that started a cascade of events.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eventually, the Joneses made it to the \u003ca href=\"http://neurology.stanford.edu/memory/\">Stanford Center for Memory Disorders\u003c/a>, where Robin went through the standard run-up for Alzheimer’s disease, memorizing lists of words, and so on. But he did pretty well on them, says Mike Greicius, the center’s medical director, better than you’d expect from someone in the early stages of the disease. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He didn’t fit neatly into this classic presentation of Alzheimer’s disease,” says Greicius. “That’s one of the reasons that, fairly early on, we started talking about biomarkers.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These biomarkers refer to lab tests, and they’re a very recent development in Alzheimer’s disease care.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One test uses a PET scan that can detect amyloid, a protein that takes on an abnormal shape in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. The second test requires a lumbar puncture to look for traces of amyloid and tau, another protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease, in the patient’s spinal fluid. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robin chose the spinal fluid test. “It seemed to me it would sharpen up my understanding of what was happening,” he says.\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\nTests for Alzheimer’s disease signal changes across mental health\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until very recently, Alzheimer’s was diagnosed more or less the same way other mental illnesses, such as autism or schizophrenia, are diagnosed: by asking patients how they feel and observing how they behave. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That all changed when scientists discovered biomarkers for Alzheimer’s: the tau and amyloid proteins that are signatures of the disease. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then, it was a matter of finding tests that could pick up those biomarkers. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Michael Weiner, who directs the \u003ca href=\"http://www.radiology.ucsf.edu/cind\">Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Diseases\u003c/a> at San Francisco’s VA Medical Center, says the same thing happened with heart disease a generation ago. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When I was a medical student 40 years ago, patients would come in with chest pains and we’d spend a lot of time talking to them,” Weiner says. “‘Where is the pain in the chest? What’s going on? How does it radiate in your arm?’” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That whole process changed when scientists discovered biomarkers of heart disease, for example, certain enzymes that leak into the bloodstream when the heart is damaged. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nowadays,” says Weiner, “you draw blood enzymes. And if a person has a rise in certain enzymes, we say they had a heart attack. And if they didn’t, we say you didn’t have a heart attack.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is the name of the game in psychiatry today: to understand the underlying brain diseases behind mental illness and find ways to test for them.\u003cbr>\n\u003cstrong>\u003cbr>\nBetter tools for diagnosing PTSD\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One of the biggest efforts is directed out of NYU’s \u003ca href=\"http://www.med.nyu.edu/\">Langone Medical Center\u003c/a>, where Charles Marmar chairs the psychiatry department and leads a $28 million dollar effort to look for biomarkers of post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain damage, diseases that are often under-reported and under-treated. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Marmar believes that one day — maybe within a decade or two — simple tests, much like home pregnancy tests, will indicate whether people are suffering from PTSD or possibly even autism or schizophrenia. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Blood, urine and cerebral spinal fluid will, over time, have something very important to say about risks for psychiatric illness, the presence or absence of illness and the prognosis of a given depressive illness,” says Marmar. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And, importantly, he says, whether a treatment – be it talk therapy or drugs – is working. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the case of PTSD, he says, the first step is to look for biomarkers, what he calls the “biological footprint of learned fear,” that could be detectable in a lab test. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Voice as a diagnostic tool\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But these diseases may announce themselves in other ways, too, for example, in the way people talk. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At \u003ca href=\"http://www.sri.com/\">SRI International\u003c/a>, a non-profit research group in Menlo Park, scientists are developing computer algorithms to look for voice signatures of people with PTSD. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SRI’s Dimitra Vergyri plays a recording of three voices saying the word “no.” The first sounds disappointed, the second impatient, the third – with a happy laugh – sounds “entertained,” she explains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F94724399\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We want to show that there are features that we can extract automatically, measure them, and they can be an indicator of a very specific emotional state,” she says. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The idea here is that you could take voice recordings of, say, returning soldiers, and use the algorithm to flag which of them might be more at risk for psychological problems. Then, make sure they don’t slip through the cracks. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Charles Marmar, head of the NYU effort, believes tests like these will change the field of psychiatry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As we advance biomarkers, we will demystify and de-stigmatize psychiatric illness,” says Marmar. “We will make [mental health] part of normal care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The results come back \u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Slowly, that is what’s happening in Alzheimer’s disease, and in the case of Robin Jones. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Robin’s wife, Anne, was the first to learn the results of his Alzheimer’s test, which came back positive. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her first reaction, she says, was simply sadness. But after that came “a certain amount of relief.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s relief knowing why your arm hurts, or why you have a bad cough. Knowing how to chart out the rest of our time together.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Recently, Anne took a trip alone to Florence to see the great works of art she studied as an art history major in college. She left a note for Robin, reminding him where she had gone and thanking him for the opportunity. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Having a concrete diagnosis, she says, helped her recognize a window for such adventures, before her care-taking responsibilities begin to keep her closer to home. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The test, she says, gave them both certainty and the ability to focus on what lies ahead. \u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Whooping Cough Remains a Formidable Opponent Against Vaccination",
"headTitle": "Whooping Cough Remains a Formidable Opponent Against Vaccination | KQED",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_3471\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/05/pertussis.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-3471\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/05/pertussis.jpg\" alt=\"Electron microscope image of the bacterium (Bordetella pertussis) responsible for pertussis (whooping cough).\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3471\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Electron microscope image of the bacterium (Bordetella pertussis) responsible for pertussis (whooping cough).\u003cbr>Image: \u003ca href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/sanofi-pasteur/5280262078/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sanofi Pasteur via Flickr\u003c/a>, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 1976, public health officials celebrated when whooping cough cases dropped to 1,010—the fewest ever reported. Before widespread vaccination against whooping cough, the disease infected up to 270,000 people a year, killing as many as 10,000, mostly infants. Just five years earlier, widespread vaccination against smallpox had worked so well that health officials retired the vaccine, raising hopes that whooping cough might follow a similar path. But whooping cough, or pertussis—named after the pathogenic bacterium \u003cem>Bordetella pertussis\u003c/em>—has proven a far more formidable opponent. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent years, despite relatively high vaccination rates, the pathogen has come roaring back to infect people in numbers not seen since the pre-vaccine days. Several states \u003ca href=\"http://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/outbreaks/trends.html\">suffered outbreaks\u003c/a> last year, with more than 41,000 cases reported across the country. \u003ca href=\"http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/immunize/Documents/PertussisReport2011-11-10.pdf\">California’s epidemic hit in 2010\u003c/a>, when more than 9,000 people fell ill—the highest number in more than 60 years—and 10 infants died. Pertussis has also rebounded in Europe. England and Wales saw a \u003ca href=\"http://www.hpa.org.uk/NewsCentre/NationalPressReleases/2013PressReleases/130201Casesofwhoopingcoughdeclineafterrecordnumbers/\">record number of cases in 2012\u003c/a>, with more than 9,700 cases and 14 infant deaths. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pertussis attacks the respiratory track to cause spasmodic coughing, vomiting and severe breathing problems as thick mucus clogs the lungs. Most deaths occur in babies because the buildup of mucus quickly overwhelms their still-developing blood vessels, depriving their lungs of oxygen. “It’s like they’re being strangled to death by this particular bacteria,” \u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkE7w_DiWUY\">pediatrician Paul Offit says\u003c/a> of watching a stricken child. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although vaccination protects infants, babies younger than two months old—too young to receive the first of five recommended vaccinations—face the greatest risk of death. Nine of the 10 children who died during the California epidemic were less than two months old. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several factors may account for recent pertussis outbreaks, including waning effectiveness of the vaccine, the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22293463\">evolution of more aggressive pathogens\u003c/a>, a \u003ca href=\"http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10905967?dopt=Abstract\">mismatch between the vaccine\u003c/a> and the bacterium and \u003ca href=\"http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1209051\">increased awareness \u003c/a>among health professionals. Following the California epidemic, researchers at Kaiser Permanente’s Vaccine Study Center \u003ca href=\"http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2013/05/15/peds.2012-3836.abstract\">tested the waning immunity hypothesis\u003c/a>: the possibility that protection from the vaccine fades with time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_3483\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 960px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/05/incidence-graph.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-3483\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/05/incidence-graph.jpg\" alt=\"Cases of whooping cough dropped precipitously after introduction of the vaccine in the 1940s. The disease has been on the rise since health officials replaced the old vaccine with a newer version with fewer side effects. (Source: CDC)\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3483\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Outbreaks of whooping cough became less and less common after introduction of the vaccine in the 1940s. The disease has been on the rise since health officials replaced the old vaccine with a newer version with fewer side effects. (Source: CDC)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Before vaccines targeting \u003cem>B. pertussis\u003c/em> were introduced in the 1940s, pertussis was a major cause of infant death worldwide, \u003ca href=\"http://www.kdheks.gov/immunize/download/What_the_US_Needs_Now_Pertussis_Boosters.pdf\">killing more children\u003c/a> than polio, measles and tuberculosis combined. The original pertussis vaccine was made from killing the bacteria with chemicals, and combining the whole bacterium with weakened diphtheria and tetanus toxins in a vaccine called DTwP— “w” for “whole cell.” After concerns about the vaccine’s adverse effects—both real (episodes of high fever, fever with seizure, irritability, and a scary though short-lived condition called \u003ca href=\"http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/106/4/e52.long\">hypotonic hyporesponsive syndrome\u003c/a>, in which children appear limp, unresponsive and pale) and unsupported by science (\u003ca href=\"http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/174/Supplement_3/S259.long\">long term brain damage\u003c/a>)—led to rising rates of vaccine refusal in the 1980s, vaccine developers formulated an acellular vaccine, DTaP, using isolated components of the pathogen. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the late 1990s, the acellular version was used for all five recommended childhood doses. Although both vaccines offer protection against pertussis for a number of years, several studies suggest that immunity fades faster following DTaP vaccination. That’s why in 2005 the U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices started recommending booster shots for children 11 years and older and \u003ca href=\"http://www.cdph.ca.gov/healthinfo/discond/pages/pertussis.aspx\">California now requires a pertussis booster\u003c/a> for students entering seventh grade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To determine the relative effectiveness of the two vaccines, the Kaiser researchers studied the health records of teenagers born between 1994 and 1999 to see if the vaccines they received as babies and toddlers affected their risk of getting pertussis during the 2010 epidemic. Because the new whole cell vaccine was phased in gradually, some children received just the old vaccine, some received both, and some got just the new vaccine. During the epidemic, 138 of the children in the study contracted pertussis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The researchers found that children vaccinated with the acellular vaccine were nearly six times more likely to get the disease than children vaccinated with the discontinued whole cell vaccine. Protection appeared to be dose-related, the team noted, as children who received mixed vaccines faced an intermediate level of risk.The “Tdap” booster shot failed to bridge the gap in protection between those who received only whole cell vaccines and those who got just the acellular version. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anytime a new vaccine is developed, scientists work to balance the vaccine’s effectiveness with the risk of side effects. “This is a very complex issue,” says pediatrician Nicola Klein, who led the Kaiser study. Health officials may need to add additional boosters of the acellular vaccine to compensate for waning immunity, for example. “But I don’t think there’s a willingness to go back to the whole cell vaccines, so the long-term strategy would be to develop new vaccines with reliable and lasting immunity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that task will not be easy. It’s not exactly clear what components from the bacteria need to be included in the vaccine to produce a long-term effect on immunity, Klein says. “We thought the acellular vaccine would provide that. Clearly it’s not.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some researchers think pertussis strains are adapting to vaccination, either by producing more aggressive toxins or acquiring mutations that create a mismatch between the vaccine and the pathogen. Frits Mooi, a pertussis expert with the Netherlands Centre for Infectious Disease Control who was not involved in the Kaiser study, says that several studies now show that whole cell vaccines afford much longer protection than acelluar vaccines. \u003ca href=\"http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23406868\">But strain adaptation\u003c/a> also increases the speed at which immunity wanes, he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think waning immunity is the compound effect of intrinsic qualities of the vaccine and pathogen adaptation,” Mooi says. What’s needed, he argues, is an integrated approach that accounts for interactions beween the vaccines and evolving pathogens. As \u003ca href=\"http://iai.asm.org/content/66/2/670.full\">far back as 1998\u003c/a>, Mooi suggested that incorporating pertussis variants identified in circulating bacterial populations into a new acellular vaccine could make it more effective. Using genetic rather than chemical methods to detoxify pertussis toxins in vaccines could also prove more effective because genetically neutralized toxins can trigger a stronger immune response in our bodies. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until a new vaccine is developed, Klein urges parents to vaccinate their children. Pertussis outbreaks cycle in three to five years and it’s been three years since California’s historic epidemic. “The take-home message for parents is that they really need to continue to get their kids vaccinated and to get them vaccinated on the recommended schedules,” she says. That includes ensuring that adolescents get their Tdap booster shot. “We know the acellular vaccine works. It just doesn’t last as long as we’d hoped.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "The past few years have seen the worst outbreaks of whooping cough since the pre-vaccine days. A recent study adds to other research suggesting that though the newer aceullar vaccines have fewer side effects than the old whole cell versions, they don't last as long.",
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"description": "The past few years have seen the worst outbreaks of whooping cough since the pre-vaccine days. A recent study adds to other research suggesting that though the newer aceullar vaccines have fewer side effects than the old whole cell versions, they don't last as long.",
"title": "Whooping Cough Remains a Formidable Opponent Against Vaccination | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_3471\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/05/pertussis.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-3471\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/05/pertussis.jpg\" alt=\"Electron microscope image of the bacterium (Bordetella pertussis) responsible for pertussis (whooping cough).\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3471\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Electron microscope image of the bacterium (Bordetella pertussis) responsible for pertussis (whooping cough).\u003cbr>Image: \u003ca href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/sanofi-pasteur/5280262078/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sanofi Pasteur via Flickr\u003c/a>, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In 1976, public health officials celebrated when whooping cough cases dropped to 1,010—the fewest ever reported. Before widespread vaccination against whooping cough, the disease infected up to 270,000 people a year, killing as many as 10,000, mostly infants. Just five years earlier, widespread vaccination against smallpox had worked so well that health officials retired the vaccine, raising hopes that whooping cough might follow a similar path. But whooping cough, or pertussis—named after the pathogenic bacterium \u003cem>Bordetella pertussis\u003c/em>—has proven a far more formidable opponent. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent years, despite relatively high vaccination rates, the pathogen has come roaring back to infect people in numbers not seen since the pre-vaccine days. Several states \u003ca href=\"http://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/outbreaks/trends.html\">suffered outbreaks\u003c/a> last year, with more than 41,000 cases reported across the country. \u003ca href=\"http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/immunize/Documents/PertussisReport2011-11-10.pdf\">California’s epidemic hit in 2010\u003c/a>, when more than 9,000 people fell ill—the highest number in more than 60 years—and 10 infants died. Pertussis has also rebounded in Europe. England and Wales saw a \u003ca href=\"http://www.hpa.org.uk/NewsCentre/NationalPressReleases/2013PressReleases/130201Casesofwhoopingcoughdeclineafterrecordnumbers/\">record number of cases in 2012\u003c/a>, with more than 9,700 cases and 14 infant deaths. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Pertussis attacks the respiratory track to cause spasmodic coughing, vomiting and severe breathing problems as thick mucus clogs the lungs. Most deaths occur in babies because the buildup of mucus quickly overwhelms their still-developing blood vessels, depriving their lungs of oxygen. “It’s like they’re being strangled to death by this particular bacteria,” \u003ca href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkE7w_DiWUY\">pediatrician Paul Offit says\u003c/a> of watching a stricken child. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although vaccination protects infants, babies younger than two months old—too young to receive the first of five recommended vaccinations—face the greatest risk of death. Nine of the 10 children who died during the California epidemic were less than two months old. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Several factors may account for recent pertussis outbreaks, including waning effectiveness of the vaccine, the \u003ca href=\"http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22293463\">evolution of more aggressive pathogens\u003c/a>, a \u003ca href=\"http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10905967?dopt=Abstract\">mismatch between the vaccine\u003c/a> and the bacterium and \u003ca href=\"http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1209051\">increased awareness \u003c/a>among health professionals. Following the California epidemic, researchers at Kaiser Permanente’s Vaccine Study Center \u003ca href=\"http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2013/05/15/peds.2012-3836.abstract\">tested the waning immunity hypothesis\u003c/a>: the possibility that protection from the vaccine fades with time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_3483\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 960px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/05/incidence-graph.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-3483\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2013/05/incidence-graph.jpg\" alt=\"Cases of whooping cough dropped precipitously after introduction of the vaccine in the 1940s. The disease has been on the rise since health officials replaced the old vaccine with a newer version with fewer side effects. (Source: CDC)\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3483\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Outbreaks of whooping cough became less and less common after introduction of the vaccine in the 1940s. The disease has been on the rise since health officials replaced the old vaccine with a newer version with fewer side effects. (Source: CDC)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Before vaccines targeting \u003cem>B. pertussis\u003c/em> were introduced in the 1940s, pertussis was a major cause of infant death worldwide, \u003ca href=\"http://www.kdheks.gov/immunize/download/What_the_US_Needs_Now_Pertussis_Boosters.pdf\">killing more children\u003c/a> than polio, measles and tuberculosis combined. The original pertussis vaccine was made from killing the bacteria with chemicals, and combining the whole bacterium with weakened diphtheria and tetanus toxins in a vaccine called DTwP— “w” for “whole cell.” After concerns about the vaccine’s adverse effects—both real (episodes of high fever, fever with seizure, irritability, and a scary though short-lived condition called \u003ca href=\"http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/106/4/e52.long\">hypotonic hyporesponsive syndrome\u003c/a>, in which children appear limp, unresponsive and pale) and unsupported by science (\u003ca href=\"http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/174/Supplement_3/S259.long\">long term brain damage\u003c/a>)—led to rising rates of vaccine refusal in the 1980s, vaccine developers formulated an acellular vaccine, DTaP, using isolated components of the pathogen. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By the late 1990s, the acellular version was used for all five recommended childhood doses. Although both vaccines offer protection against pertussis for a number of years, several studies suggest that immunity fades faster following DTaP vaccination. That’s why in 2005 the U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices started recommending booster shots for children 11 years and older and \u003ca href=\"http://www.cdph.ca.gov/healthinfo/discond/pages/pertussis.aspx\">California now requires a pertussis booster\u003c/a> for students entering seventh grade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To determine the relative effectiveness of the two vaccines, the Kaiser researchers studied the health records of teenagers born between 1994 and 1999 to see if the vaccines they received as babies and toddlers affected their risk of getting pertussis during the 2010 epidemic. Because the new whole cell vaccine was phased in gradually, some children received just the old vaccine, some received both, and some got just the new vaccine. During the epidemic, 138 of the children in the study contracted pertussis.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The researchers found that children vaccinated with the acellular vaccine were nearly six times more likely to get the disease than children vaccinated with the discontinued whole cell vaccine. Protection appeared to be dose-related, the team noted, as children who received mixed vaccines faced an intermediate level of risk.The “Tdap” booster shot failed to bridge the gap in protection between those who received only whole cell vaccines and those who got just the acellular version. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Anytime a new vaccine is developed, scientists work to balance the vaccine’s effectiveness with the risk of side effects. “This is a very complex issue,” says pediatrician Nicola Klein, who led the Kaiser study. Health officials may need to add additional boosters of the acellular vaccine to compensate for waning immunity, for example. “But I don’t think there’s a willingness to go back to the whole cell vaccines, so the long-term strategy would be to develop new vaccines with reliable and lasting immunity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that task will not be easy. It’s not exactly clear what components from the bacteria need to be included in the vaccine to produce a long-term effect on immunity, Klein says. “We thought the acellular vaccine would provide that. Clearly it’s not.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some researchers think pertussis strains are adapting to vaccination, either by producing more aggressive toxins or acquiring mutations that create a mismatch between the vaccine and the pathogen. Frits Mooi, a pertussis expert with the Netherlands Centre for Infectious Disease Control who was not involved in the Kaiser study, says that several studies now show that whole cell vaccines afford much longer protection than acelluar vaccines. \u003ca href=\"http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23406868\">But strain adaptation\u003c/a> also increases the speed at which immunity wanes, he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I think waning immunity is the compound effect of intrinsic qualities of the vaccine and pathogen adaptation,” Mooi says. What’s needed, he argues, is an integrated approach that accounts for interactions beween the vaccines and evolving pathogens. As \u003ca href=\"http://iai.asm.org/content/66/2/670.full\">far back as 1998\u003c/a>, Mooi suggested that incorporating pertussis variants identified in circulating bacterial populations into a new acellular vaccine could make it more effective. Using genetic rather than chemical methods to detoxify pertussis toxins in vaccines could also prove more effective because genetically neutralized toxins can trigger a stronger immune response in our bodies. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Until a new vaccine is developed, Klein urges parents to vaccinate their children. Pertussis outbreaks cycle in three to five years and it’s been three years since California’s historic epidemic. “The take-home message for parents is that they really need to continue to get their kids vaccinated and to get them vaccinated on the recommended schedules,” she says. That includes ensuring that adolescents get their Tdap booster shot. “We know the acellular vaccine works. It just doesn’t last as long as we’d hoped.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"disqusTitle": "Young Adults Will Make or Break Obamacare in California",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>By Mina Kim, KQED\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12967\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-12967 \" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/05/RS4926_photo-Dave2-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"David Kim, brother of KQED health reporter Mina Kim, is 29-years-old and uninsured. (Mina Kim/KQED)\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">David Kim, brother of KQED health reporter Mina Kim, is 29-years-old and uninsured. He is considering whether to buy insurance on the health care marketplace if he doesn't have employer-based coverage next year. (Mina Kim/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Most of us know someone who doesn’t have health insurance. In my case, it’s my little brother, David Kim.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>David is 29-years-old and recently earned an advanced degree in international relations. He hasn’t been able to land a full-time job with health benefits. The two jobs he has now are temporary, and with such a precarious work situation, he just doesn’t think he can afford health insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m totally aware that if I get sick then I’m doomed financially,” Dave told me over a lunch break. “And maybe that's not a very financially sound decision to make, but it is nonetheless a risk that, for the time being, I’m prepared to take.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Young adults —18 to 34-year-olds — make up \u003ca href=\"http://www.chcf.org/~/media/MEDIA%20LIBRARY%20Files/PDF/C/PDF%20CaliforniaUninsured2012.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">more than 40 percent\u003c/a> of California’s uninsured, though they make up less than 30 percent of the population. And according to many health reform advocates, they’re the ones who could make or break Obamacare.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">“If we get only sick people, and don’t get the young, healthy people into the insurance system, it’s going to mean premiums are much higher.” \u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“The success of this law really does depend on getting young people insured, and frankly getting everyone insured,” said Larry Levitt, a health policy and insurance expert for the Kaiser Family Foundation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In less than five months, a key piece of Obamacare will go live: state-based insurance marketplaces, called Covered California here. That means millions of Californians looking for coverage for themselves or their families will be able to go online and enroll in qualified health plans regardless of their medical history. Many will get help from federal subsidies. But if the exchange doesn't enroll enough young, healthy people, insurers will have to hike everyone’s premiums.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Insurance premiums are set based on the pool of people who are buying coverage,” Levitt said. “If we get only sick people, and don’t get the young, healthy people into the insurance system, it’s going to mean premiums are much higher.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Thursday, Covered California \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2013/05/23/californias-health-insurance-exchange-sets-plans-premiums-no-apparent-rate-shock/\" target=\"_blank\">released plans and premiums\u003c/a> for 2014.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Obamacare's Incentives for Young Adults\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The health law has plenty of incentives to engage young people in insurance. They can stay on a parent's health plan until they’re 26-years-old. Some will qualify for expanded Medi-Cal, the state’s health insurance program for the poor. On Covered California, there will be federal tax credits to help people buy insurance. Individuals who make up to about $46,000 a year (or about $94,000 for a family of four) are eligible for the tax credits. People under 30 will also have the option of buying bare-bones, catastrophic plans with low premiums.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12946\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-12946\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/05/RS4928_Tamika-Butler-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Tamika Butler shows off a mobile app that explains the federal health law's benefits for young people. Butler runs the California chapter of Young Invincibles, an advocacy group. (Mina Kim/KQED)\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tamika Butler shows off a mobile app that explains the federal health law's benefits for young people. Butler runs the California chapter of Young Invincibles, an advocacy group. (Mina Kim/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Still, getting young adults to buy insurance won’t be easy, Levitt warns. The financial penalty for not having coverage next year is fairly small -- $95 or one percent of income, whichever is greater. Also, fears abound that young people’s premiums will skyrocket because the health law limits the difference in price between plans for the young and old. And there's still just a lot of confusion about health reform.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This generation has very low levels of insurance literacy,\" Tamika Butler tells me. She runs the Los Angeles-based chapter of Young Invincibles, a nonprofit advocacy group trying to get the word out about the health law’s benefits. Her group has launched a \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/together.invincible\" target=\"_blank\">social media\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/YI_Care\" target=\"_blank\">outreach campaign\u003c/a> and a \u003ca href=\"http://younginvincibles.org/promotion/young-invincibles-theres-an-app-for-that/\" target=\"_blank\">mobile app\u003c/a> that helps people find and rate cheap health care and answer questions about the Affordable Care Act. According to Butler, young adults are gateways to getting hard-to-reach minority communities insured.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Young adults are really the leaders of their communities, of their families,” Butler said. “You see it when there's a young child translating for a parent at school, or helping them figure out a complicated financial aid form, and it’s the same for health care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Butler said it’s a misconception that most young people shun health insurance because they believe they’re indestructible. She says her groups’ polls and outreach activities have shown that the more young people learn about coverage, the more they want it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peter Lee who runs Covered California said the exchange is planning to launch a major media campaign aimed at young people this summer and to reach out to students on college campuses, at trade schools and those who work at low-wage jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been having focus groups, surveys and young people throughout California aren’t saying they don’t want to have health insurance,” Lee said. “They’re saying they can’t afford it, and they are looking for the security that health insurance provides.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My brother David said he has felt a bit vulnerable without health coverage and will look into plans on the exchange.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Just the other day I went ice skating,\" David said. “I went at the wall like full speed, and my skate edge slipped. I almost [went] face first into the wall, and at that point I was reminded that I don’t have health insurance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Covered California officials unveiled Thursday, a list of the health plans and rates they expect to offer on the exchange in October. The enrollment period will run through March 2014.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Listen to Mina Kim's Story:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\n\u003cobject width=\"335\" height=\"85\" classid=\"d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000\" codebase=\"http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0\">\u003cparam name=\"flashvars\" value=\"file=http://www.kqed.org/radio/archives/R201305230850a.xml\">\u003cparam name=\"src\" value=\"http://www.kqed.org/assets/flash/kqedplayer.swf\">\u003cembed width=\"335\" height=\"85\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" src=\"http://www.kqed.org/assets/flash/kqedplayer.swf\" flashvars=\"file=http://www.kqed.org/radio/archives/R201305230850a.xml\">\u003c/embed>\u003c/object>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Most of us know someone who doesn’t have health insurance. In my case, it’s my little brother, David Kim.\r\n\r\nDavid is 29-years-old and recently earned an advanced degree in international relations. He hasn’t been able to land a full-time job with health benefits. The two jobs he has now are temporary, and with such a precarious work situation, he just doesn’t think he can afford health insurance.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003c/em>\u003cstrong>By Mina Kim, KQED\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12967\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-12967 \" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/05/RS4926_photo-Dave2-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"David Kim, brother of KQED health reporter Mina Kim, is 29-years-old and uninsured. (Mina Kim/KQED)\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">David Kim, brother of KQED health reporter Mina Kim, is 29-years-old and uninsured. He is considering whether to buy insurance on the health care marketplace if he doesn't have employer-based coverage next year. (Mina Kim/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Most of us know someone who doesn’t have health insurance. In my case, it’s my little brother, David Kim.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>David is 29-years-old and recently earned an advanced degree in international relations. He hasn’t been able to land a full-time job with health benefits. The two jobs he has now are temporary, and with such a precarious work situation, he just doesn’t think he can afford health insurance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m totally aware that if I get sick then I’m doomed financially,” Dave told me over a lunch break. “And maybe that's not a very financially sound decision to make, but it is nonetheless a risk that, for the time being, I’m prepared to take.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Young adults —18 to 34-year-olds — make up \u003ca href=\"http://www.chcf.org/~/media/MEDIA%20LIBRARY%20Files/PDF/C/PDF%20CaliforniaUninsured2012.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">more than 40 percent\u003c/a> of California’s uninsured, though they make up less than 30 percent of the population. And according to many health reform advocates, they’re the ones who could make or break Obamacare.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignleft\">“If we get only sick people, and don’t get the young, healthy people into the insurance system, it’s going to mean premiums are much higher.” \u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“The success of this law really does depend on getting young people insured, and frankly getting everyone insured,” said Larry Levitt, a health policy and insurance expert for the Kaiser Family Foundation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In less than five months, a key piece of Obamacare will go live: state-based insurance marketplaces, called Covered California here. That means millions of Californians looking for coverage for themselves or their families will be able to go online and enroll in qualified health plans regardless of their medical history. Many will get help from federal subsidies. But if the exchange doesn't enroll enough young, healthy people, insurers will have to hike everyone’s premiums.\u003c!--more-->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Insurance premiums are set based on the pool of people who are buying coverage,” Levitt said. “If we get only sick people, and don’t get the young, healthy people into the insurance system, it’s going to mean premiums are much higher.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Thursday, Covered California \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2013/05/23/californias-health-insurance-exchange-sets-plans-premiums-no-apparent-rate-shock/\" target=\"_blank\">released plans and premiums\u003c/a> for 2014.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Obamacare's Incentives for Young Adults\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The health law has plenty of incentives to engage young people in insurance. They can stay on a parent's health plan until they’re 26-years-old. Some will qualify for expanded Medi-Cal, the state’s health insurance program for the poor. On Covered California, there will be federal tax credits to help people buy insurance. Individuals who make up to about $46,000 a year (or about $94,000 for a family of four) are eligible for the tax credits. People under 30 will also have the option of buying bare-bones, catastrophic plans with low premiums.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12946\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 300px\">\u003cimg class=\"size-medium wp-image-12946\" title=\"\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/stateofhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/27/2013/05/RS4928_Tamika-Butler-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Tamika Butler shows off a mobile app that explains the federal health law's benefits for young people. Butler runs the California chapter of Young Invincibles, an advocacy group. (Mina Kim/KQED)\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tamika Butler shows off a mobile app that explains the federal health law's benefits for young people. Butler runs the California chapter of Young Invincibles, an advocacy group. (Mina Kim/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Still, getting young adults to buy insurance won’t be easy, Levitt warns. The financial penalty for not having coverage next year is fairly small -- $95 or one percent of income, whichever is greater. Also, fears abound that young people’s premiums will skyrocket because the health law limits the difference in price between plans for the young and old. And there's still just a lot of confusion about health reform.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This generation has very low levels of insurance literacy,\" Tamika Butler tells me. She runs the Los Angeles-based chapter of Young Invincibles, a nonprofit advocacy group trying to get the word out about the health law’s benefits. Her group has launched a \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/together.invincible\" target=\"_blank\">social media\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/YI_Care\" target=\"_blank\">outreach campaign\u003c/a> and a \u003ca href=\"http://younginvincibles.org/promotion/young-invincibles-theres-an-app-for-that/\" target=\"_blank\">mobile app\u003c/a> that helps people find and rate cheap health care and answer questions about the Affordable Care Act. According to Butler, young adults are gateways to getting hard-to-reach minority communities insured.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Young adults are really the leaders of their communities, of their families,” Butler said. “You see it when there's a young child translating for a parent at school, or helping them figure out a complicated financial aid form, and it’s the same for health care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Butler said it’s a misconception that most young people shun health insurance because they believe they’re indestructible. She says her groups’ polls and outreach activities have shown that the more young people learn about coverage, the more they want it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peter Lee who runs Covered California said the exchange is planning to launch a major media campaign aimed at young people this summer and to reach out to students on college campuses, at trade schools and those who work at low-wage jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve been having focus groups, surveys and young people throughout California aren’t saying they don’t want to have health insurance,” Lee said. “They’re saying they can’t afford it, and they are looking for the security that health insurance provides.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My brother David said he has felt a bit vulnerable without health coverage and will look into plans on the exchange.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Just the other day I went ice skating,\" David said. “I went at the wall like full speed, and my skate edge slipped. I almost [went] face first into the wall, and at that point I was reminded that I don’t have health insurance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Covered California officials unveiled Thursday, a list of the health plans and rates they expect to offer on the exchange in October. 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}
},
"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.",
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"order": 3
},
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},
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"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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},
"link": "/radio/program/bbc-world-service",
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"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",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/26099305-72af-4542-9dde-ac1807fe36d5/kqed-s-the-california-report",
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}
},
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"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",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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},
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"id": "city-arts",
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"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": {
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"order": 1
},
"link": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"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 />",
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"meta": {
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},
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"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",
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"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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"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",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"id": "freakonomics-radio",
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"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",
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"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
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},
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"id": "fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"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.",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
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"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.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
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"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": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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},
"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",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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},
"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",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
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}
},
"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": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"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",
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"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": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
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"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",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
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