Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA
Seven years ago, at 30 weeks into a seemingly low-risk pregnancy, I unexpectedly began to bleed. Doctors diagnosed me with complete placenta previa. Then, while on bed rest at 32 weeks, my placenta suddenly ruptured, leading to an immediate emergency cesarean section.I became one of about 10% of women giving birth in Nigeria to experience a preterm birth, which means before 37 weeks of pregnancy.Now, as a maternal and child health researcher in the U.S., I’m struck by the stubbornly high preterm birth rate here. According to the most recent March of Dimes Report Card on maternal and infant health,…
Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.Why do people get headaches? – Evie V., age 10, Corpus Christi, TexasWhether sharp and stabbing or dull and throbbing, a headache can ruin your day. But your brain doesn’t actually feel pain. So what is going on when it feels like your head is in a vise or about to explode?I am a child neurologist – that is, a doctor who specializes in diseases of the brain in kids. Most of my patients are kids…
Dec 1 (Reuters) – The World Health Organization on Monday issued its first guideline on the use of GLP-1 therapies for obesity, conditionally recommending them as part of long-term treatment for the condition, which affects more than 1 billion people globally according to the agency.The guidance comes as demand for the class of drugs known as GLP-1 agonists has surged worldwide, and governments are figuring out how to include the blockbuster therapies into public health systems.The first conditional recommendation advises the use of GLP-1 drugs by adults, except pregnant women, for long-term obesity treatment, while the second suggests interventions like…
The World Health Organization on Monday released new guidance on GLP-1 medications for adults with obesity, recommending their long-term, continuous use when clinically appropriate. The medications covered include semaglutide (Wegovy), liraglutide (Saxenda) and tirzepatide (Zepbound).The recommendations, published in the medical journal JAMA, emphasize that these medications alone are not a solution to treating the global obesity epidemic. Obesity is a chronic disease that needs lifelong care and is best treated with long-term GLP-1 use combined with a structured program that includes healthy eating, regular movement and ongoing counseling to lose and maintain weight loss, according to the WHO.“It signals that treating obesity…
KINSHASA, Dec 1 (Reuters) – An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo is now over, Congolese health officials announced on Monday, after the country went 42 consecutive days without recording a new case.The outbreak, declared on September 4 after the disease was identified in the Bulape health zone in Congo’s Kasai Province, was the country’s first since 2022. Out of a total of 64 cases, 45 people died and 19 others recovered, according to the Congolese health ministry.From the early days of the outbreak, Congo used a revamped national surveillance system to enable authorities to rapidly map the…
Jeff Bosacki took a trip to Europe in 1987, treating it as one last hurrah — he expected to die soon from his HIV diagnosis.However, it led him to something worth fighting for. When he returned to the United States, he went to Washington, D.C., when the AIDS Memorial Quilt was first displayed in its entirety on the National Mall. Comprised of nearly 2,000 panels at that time, the quilt was meant to draw attention to the AIDS crisis and honor those who died. The display also coincided with the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.”The…
The great AI space race has begun.Google has been quietly working on a long-term research initiative, internally known as Project Suncatcher, to “one day scale machine learning in space.”Google CEO Sundar Pichai told Shannon Bream on Fox News Sunday that Google’s goal is to start putting data centers in space, powered by the sun, as soon as 2027.”We are taking our first step in ’27,” he said. “We’ll send tiny, tiny racks of machines, and have them in satellites, test them out, and then start scaling from there.”In a decade, Pichai said that it’ll be normal to build extraterrestrial data…
WASHINGTON (AP) — For many children, the experience of getting their first pair of glasses is an inevitable milestone, the first in a lifetime of visits to the eye doctor.But what if those lenses could actually help preserve the child’s vision and reduce the chances for more serious eye problems in adulthood?That’s the promise of a new type of lens approved by the Food and Drug Administration in September. While the technology has previously been available in Europe, Asia and other parts of the world, it’s now rolling out in the U.S.Here’s what to know about the new approach.What is…
James Cameron’s movies are often at the cutting edge of visual effects technology — especially the “Avatar” films, with their heroic blue Na’vi characters brought to life through performance capture. But that doesn’t make Cameron a fan of generative AI. In a CBS Sunday Morning interview tied to the upcoming release of “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” the director acknowledged that performance capture (where an actor’s performance is recorded as a template for digital artists) can sound similar to genAI. But in reality, he said it’s “the opposite.” “For years, there was this sense that, ‘Oh they’re doing something strange with…
Addiction is rising across the US, and it’s hitting the workforce harder than ever.In corporate America, perfectionism and pressure often mask who’s truly at risk.Here’s how I help companies confront addiction, and what employers can do next.Shatterproof is a national nonprofit dedicated to reversing the US addiction crisis through stigma reduction, treatment reform, and workplace education. Business Insider correspondent Reed Alexander spoke with Nicole Fox, vice president of marketing and communications at Shatterproof, who has worked directly with companies to help tackle addiction in their ranks. This as-told-to interview has been edited for length and clarity.Addiction doesn’t always show up…