TLDR: Calcium binds to the microplastics making them easier to filter. You have to boil > cool > filter. Works better with hard water.

Filipinos make up a large percentage of the healthcare workforce, which includes undocumented people

In the US healthcare system, Filipinos make up a large percentage of the workforce – 4% of registered nurses are of Filipino descent, which is more than double the Filipino American population, according to National Nurses United.

The large number of Filipinos in healthcare work includes undocumented people, who fill workforce gaps and care for ailing people. Approximately 2% of undocumented immigrants in the US are from the Philippines, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute.

Amid heightened levels of immigration arrests, many Filipino healthcare workers say they are providing essential care while in the grips of anxiety over their own safety.

Nearly five million flu cases have been reported nationwide, the CDC estimates, and at least 1,900 people have died from the virus. "CBS Saturday Morning" has more on why this year's strain is breaking records.

cross-posted from: https://ibbit.at/post/138786

From Scientific American via this RSS feed

Scientists are updating their view of how drugs like Adderall and Ritalin help children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder stay on task.

The latest evidence is a study of thousands of brain scans of adolescents that confirms earlier hints that stimulant drugs have little direct impact on brain networks that control attention.

Instead, the drugs appear to activate networks involved in alertness and the anticipation of pleasure, scientists report in the journal Cell.

Surgeon leading xenotransplantation trial aimed at solving shortage of human organs says edits can lessen risk of rejection

A leading surgeon behind a clinical trial of transplanting pig kidneys into living humans has said they could one day be superior to those from human donors.

Dr Robert Montgomery, the director of NYU Langone’s Transplant Institute, said the first transplant of the trial had already been carried out, with another expected to take place in January. Six patients are initially expected to receive the pig organs, which have been gene-edited in 10 places to reduce rejection by the human body.

Should the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) give approval, the trial will be expanded to involve 44 further transplants.

The approach, called xenotransplantation, is aimed at solving the shortage of human organs.

Religious groups using banned drugs are increasingly testing the limits of faith and law – and winning

The Church of Gaia in Spokane, Washington, has all the makings of a traditional place of worship: regular gatherings, communal songs and member donations – except they also serve ayahuasca, a psychedelic substance that can induce nausea and, at times, projectile vomiting.

“This is a purely spiritual practice,” said Connor Mize, the ceremonial leader of the Church of Gaia. “It’s not a thing you do just for fun.”

Psychedelics are classified as schedule 1 substances and banned throughout most of the US. But a small number of churches have won the right to use them as sacraments: since the 2000s, four organizations have secured legal protections for psychedelic use after protracted battles with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Exclusive: Scientists find a way to forecast hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which affects millions worldwide

Scientists are developing a simple blood test to predict who is most at risk from the world’s most common inherited heart condition.

Millions of people worldwide have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a disease of the heart muscle where the wall of the heart becomes thickened. It is caused by a change in one or more genes and mostly passed on through families.

Some feel fine most of the time and have few or no symptoms. But others can suffer complications, such as heart failure and abnormal heart rhythms, which can lead to a cardiac arrest.

The problem is there is no cure. Doctors also do not know which patients with the genetic condition are most at risk from deadly complications.

A growing number of medical experts and law enforcement officials are reversing testimony that put parents behind bars. But they face an uphill battle.

Thousands of caregivers have been arrested since the early 1980s based on the medical belief that young children hospitalized with three symptoms — brain swelling, bleeding in the brain and bleeding at the back of the eyes — must have been forcefully and deliberately shaken. Many doctors and pediatric associations remain steadfast in the view that those symptoms help prove that a child has suffered what is now often called “abusive head trauma.”

But a growing number of medical and forensic experts say the diagnosis is too definitive, particularly in the absence of other signs of abuse. Accidental falls from changing tables can similarly jostle the brain. Clotting disorders and other illnesses can also cause brain bleeding. While some babies are undoubtedly shaken by overwhelmed caregivers, which can cause life-threatening brain damage, these scientists say it isn’t enough to look only at three symptoms before they draw conclusions.

In a major victory for shaken baby syndrome skeptics, New Jersey's Supreme Court recently agreed, affirming a lower court ruling that likened the diagnosis to unreliable "junk science" and barring expert testimony about it from two upcoming trials. The 6-1 ruling, closely watched by accused caregivers and their attorneys nationwide, could shift how courts weigh shaken baby evidence.

Some studies have found VR programming presented in a limited viewing format can help older people maintain and improve cognitive functions, burnish memories and foster social connections with their families and fellow residents of care facilities. Experts say the technology may be useful as an addition to and not a replacement for other activities.

"There is always a risk of too much screen time," Katherine "Kate" Dupuis, a neuropsychologist and professor who studies aging issues at Sheridan College in Canada, said. "But if you use it cautiously, with meaning and purpose, it can be very helpful. It can be an opportunity for the elderly to engage with someone and share a sense of wonder."

VR headsets may be an easier way for older people to interact with technology instead of fumbling around with a smartphone or another device that requires navigating buttons or other mechanisms, said Pallabi Bhowmick, a researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign who is examining the use of VR with older adults.

In the first 90 days after the Palisades and Eaton fires erupted in January, the caseload at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s emergency room looked different from the norm.

There were 46% more visits for heart attacks than typically occured during the same time period over the previous seven years. Visits for respiratory illnesses increased 24%. And unusual blood test results increased 118%.

These findings were reported in a new study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The study, part of a research project documenting the fires’ long-term health effects, joins several recent papers documenting the disasters’ physical toll.

Food and Drug Administration’s approval hands drugmaker Novo Nordisk an edge in the race to market an obesity pill

US regulators on Monday gave the green light to a pill version of the blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy, the first daily oral medication to treat obesity.

The US Food and Drug Administration’s approval handed drugmaker Novo Nordisk an edge over rival Eli Lilly in the race to market an obesity pill. Lilly’s oral drug, orforglipron, is still under review.

Both pills are GLP-1 drugs that work like widely used injectables to mimic a natural hormone that controls appetite and feelings of fullness.