Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

It’s a rare occasion when my worlds of biomedical informatics and serialized lesbian melodrama fandom collide.But that’s exactly what happened earlier this summer when two of my favorite actresses appeared on a popular podcast. I was excited to hear them talk about their new book and their history of working together, so I was confused but delighted when their conversation took a turn toward my area of expertise – electronic health records.One actress noted that on a recent trip to the optometrist, she was asked about her ethnicity. “And I was like, what difference does it make?” she said.The host…

One in 10 babies in the U.S. – nearly 374,000 infants – were born preterm in 2023, meaning before 37 weeks of pregnancy. More than 15% were very preterm, meaning they were born before 32 weeks. A full-term pregnancy lasts 40 weeks.Florida’s rate is slightly higher, at about 1 in 9 babies born preterm. In an average week, 456 of the 4,257 babies born in the state will be preterm, and 75 of those will be very preterm.According to the March of Dimes, preterm birth and low birthweight-related health complications cause 37.5% of infant deaths nationwide. This makes preterm birth…

In the past decade, AI’s success has led to uncurbed enthusiasm and bold claims – even though users frequently experience errors that AI makes. An AI-powered digital assistant can misunderstand someone’s speech in embarrassing ways, a chatbot could hallucinate facts, or, as I experienced, an AI-based navigation tool might even guide drivers through a corn field – all without registering the errors.People tolerate these mistakes because the technology makes certain tasks more efficient. Increasingly, however, proponents are advocating the use of AI – sometimes with limited human supervision – in fields where mistakes have high cost, such as health care.…

Federal health officials on Wednesday said an outbreak of infant botulism tied to recalled ByHeart baby formula has expanded to include all illnesses reported since the company began production in March 2022.Investigations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and ByHeart are still ongoing to determine what originally caused the outbreak, but health officials warned that all ByHeart formula ever produced could have been contaminated.In an update shared Wednesday, the FDA said it “cannot rule out the possibility that contamination might have affected all ByHeart formula products.” Because of that, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is…

Measles outbreaks are growing along the Utah-Arizona border and in South Carolina, where hundreds are in quarantine.Between Friday and Tuesday, South Carolina health officials confirmed 27 new measles cases in an outbreak in and around northwestern Spartanburg County. In two months, 111 people have been sickened by the vaccine-preventable virus. More than 250 people, including students from nine area elementary, middle and high schools, are in quarantine — some for the second time since the outbreak began in October. Most of the state’s new cases stemmed from exposures at Way of Truth Church in Inman. Church leaders have been “very…

NEW YORK (AP) — The year the radio station company where he worked held its holiday party at a dive bar, Ryan Arnold walked in and saw coworkers passing around a tall glass boot filled with beer. He heard the office manager belting out ‘80s power ballads between whiskey shots. Arnold’s first thought was, “When can I leave?”More than 20 years later, he still remembers that awkward social event he felt obligated to attend. Arnold, 46, who describes himself as socially anxious, now thinks twice before accepting invitations to group gatherings.“I don’t want to go into a place where I…

Long-term care for older people is challenging for everyone. The costs are high and the quality of care is unpredictable at best, often falling short.The U.S. health care system is so hard to navigate that experts can find it aggravating. Even when people who need help with activities of daily living – a list that includes getting dressed, preparing meals and bathing – receive the care they need, they may still experience social isolation. And it can take a relentless emotional toll on caretakers, be they family members or trained professionals.We are researchers of government, business and nonprofits. Together, we…

Spoor launched in 2021 with the goal of using computer vision to help reduce the impact of wind turbines on local bird populations. Now, the startup has proven its technology works and is seeing demand from wind farms and beyond. Oslo, Norway-based Spoor has built software that uses computer vision to track and identify bird populations and migration patterns. The software can detect birds within a 2.5-kilometer radius (about 1.5 miles) and can work with any off-the-shelf high-resolution camera. Wind farm operators can use this information to better plan where wind farms should be located and to help them better…

Following a couple of months’ testing, Norway-based browser company Opera has finally made its AI-powered browser, Neon, available to the public — though you’ll have to shell out $19.90 per month to use it. Opera first unveiled Neon earlier this year in May and launched it in early access to select users in October. Similar to other AI-first browsers like Perplexity’s Comet, OpenAI’s Atlas, and The Browser Company’s Dia, Neon bakes in an AI chatbot into its interface, letting you ask it answers about pages, use it to create mini apps and videos, and get it to do tasks for…

The holidays aren’t so jolly with an almond mom at the dinner table. (Photo illustration: Van Santen Bolleurs for Yahoo News)This story is part of Very, Very Unmerry, Yahoo’s look at the meltdowns, mayhem and misfires that haunt the most festive time of the year. Do you have your own holiday disaster story? Drop us a comment below or fill out this Google form, and we may feature your submission in a future story.A week before Thanksgiving, Jessica S. was already mentally preparing herself for dinner table conversation. She wasn’t worried about all the usual minefields — politics, religion, money…