https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/02/upshot/us-health-care-expensive-country-comparison.html Article from the NYT business section about the percentage of the country's economy spent on health care- 17.9% of the GNP, twice as much as other industrialized countries. A Princeton University health economy study concluded that people in the US use the same amount of health care as in other wealthy countries, but may a lot more for it. In a recent study in JAMA researchers looked at the breakdown for 155 different health conditions and found that American personal heath spending grew by $930 billion between 1996 and 2013 (adjusted for inflation). They also found that this didn't have primarily to do with the increase in population size and the aging of the population. After accounting for these demographic factors, spending grew by about $574 billion during those years. The conclusion from this study is that more is done for patients during hospital stays and doctor visits and that patients are charged more for these services. The author conlcudes that an all-payer system (like Maryland) or a single payer system is the solution.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/01/business/energy-environment/climate-change-enzymes-laundry.html In this NYT artles, "Rooting in the Rot for Clean Ideas", the author mentions a Danish biotech company is trying to discover a more environmentally friendly detergent and is testing oyster mushrooms, which contain enzymes that speed up chemical reactions or natural processes like decay.
Enzymes are also well-suited to cut energy consumption, and because they are found in cool environments like forests and oceans, they don't require the heat and pressure used by washing machines. In face, lowering the temperature on a washing machine to cold water reduces energy consumption by at least half. New enzymes are also attractive to consumers in fast-growing economies like China.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/29/climate/google-search-climate-change.html Another article from NYT about how Google's algorithms many times display climate change deniers' results at the top of searches. The fact that the denialists' ads pop up with such frequency and prominence, shows that the climate change deniers are able to "game the system". But Google also claims that many ads are removed and violators punished for policy violations. Google doesn't want users to be misled by their ads or information, according their published policies. But somehow by the practice of allowing bidding for terms, DefyCCC wound up owning the climate change term.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/06/opinion/sunday/diabetes-shouldnt-bankrupt-you.html?_r=0 An article from the NYT about the costs of chronic disease. People with long term or chronic medical conditions often owe their lives to medical innovations that allow them to continue living long and productive lives but also live those lives in fear of financial ruin, bancruptcy or the inability to get good coverage. Dialysis patients are actually an exception due to a 1972 act of Congress allowing people with end-stage kidney failure who are on dialysis to get automatic Medicare coverage. This same coverage should be provided to other chronic disease sufferers, such as the coverage provided for German citizens who can pick a "sickness fund" to contribute to, with a 15% of their income contribution from the individual's income, half from their employer and half from their paychecks. This is based on the principle of "solidarity", not "individuality".
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/opinion/trump-disdain-science.html This is from the NYT OP-ED page written by a former science advisor to President Clinton and a physics professor at UC Santa Cruz about the fact that after a year in office President Trump hasn't named a science advisor and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The job of this individual would be to pull up the necessary information for the president and cut through any conflicting advise from senior secretaries and other cabinet officials. The writers make the point that, absent a science advisor, the president and his administration have still made decisions on health and environmental policy and national security issues involving science that amount to assaults on existing laws, including the decision to pull the nation out of the Paris climate agreement. Scott Pruitt is the administrator of the EPA, a lawyer without any real understanding of climate science.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/03/science/native-americans-beringia-siberia.html This NYT article discusses the recovery of DNA from the skeleton on a 6-week old girl at Upward Sun River in Alaska. This girl lived 11,500 years ago and her DNA belongs to a population of early Native Americans called Beringians, which was revealed in a new study done by the University of Copenhagen and the University of Alaska. This infant is believed to have descended from a previously unknown population of Native Americans which diverged genetically from the ancestors of modern Native Americans about 20,000 years ago. Ancient Beringia refers to Alaska, the eastern tip of Siberia and the land bridge that joined them during the last ice age. The land bridge is suspected to have been the route that humans took from Asia to the Western Hemisphere.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/26/science/protein-design-david-baker.html This is an article in the NYT about the building of cellular proteins. How do proteins take their final shapes? There is an organization called the Institute for Protein Design dedicated to researching this question. Dvid Baker and colleagues in papers published in 2017 have solved the question and the answers will enable scientists to construct molecular tools such as proteins to fight flu viruses, break down dietary gluten and detect opioid drugs, according to the article.A community of scientists known as the Rosetta Commons at the University of Washington designed software for studying complex proteins. They have been improving the software for twenty years and also recruited volunteers using their home computers and Android phones. With increasing confidence in their work, scientists began designing proteins from scratch for particular jobs, such as combating the flu, which they did by engineering yeast.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/18/health/adhd-drugs-women.html This is an article in the NYT about the increase in the numbers of younger women being prescribed AHDH drugs, which has increased more than 5-fold since 2003. These drugs, including Adderall and Vyvanse are prescribed at rates that, according to the article, far outstrip the prevalence of the disorder. These drugs have some appeal among students as study aids and among adults as work performance enhancers. This study, done by the CDC, raises specific concerns for women with the notion that there are underlying issues causing the women to resort to these drugs, such as depression or drug abuse.
