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FDA Approves Marketing of First Alzheimer's Blood Test
Source: CBS News - U.S. NewsThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Japan-based company Fujirebio to begin marketing its blood test for helping doctors diagnose Alzheimer's disease in patients 55 and older. The test works by measuring two kinds of proteins that are associated with whether the brain has built up amyloid plaques, which research has linked to Alzheimer's disease. The FDA called its approval an "important step for Alzheimer's disease diagnosis."
Is There a Genocide of White South Africans As Trump Claims?
Source: BBC News - AfricaPresident Donald Trump has given members of South Africa's Afrikaner community refugee status, alleging that a genocide is taking place there. Nearly 60 of them have arrived in the U.S. after being granted asylum. The South African government allowed the U.S. embassy to consider their applications inside the country, and let the group board a chartered flight from the largest airport in Africa—not scenes normally associated with refugees...
NYU Withholds Diploma of Graduate Who Condemned Gaza War
Source: BBC News - AmericasNew York University (NYU) has withheld the diploma of a student who used his graduation speech to accuse the U.S. of supporting "genocide" in Gaza. Undergraduate Logan Rozos told the crowd on Wednesday that he condemned the "atrocities currently happening in Palestine," drawing cheers and some boos. An NYU spokesperson accused Mr. Rozos of lying about what he had planned to say in the address in order to "express his personal and one-sided...
No Link Between ADHD Medications and Psychosis, Study Finds
Source: United Press International - Health NewsADHD stimulant medications don't increase children's risk of psychosis, a new study suggests. Analyses of stimulant prescriptions among nearly 8,400 kids with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder found no evidence that the drugs caused psychosis, researchers reported Monday in the journal Pediatrics. For the study, researchers tracked the health of children participating in an adolescent brain development study in the United States.
Privacy and Safety Top List of Parental Concerns About Screen Time
Source: Science Daily - Top HealthAs kids spend more time on screens, a new U.S. survey conducted by Ipsos for The Kids Mental Health Foundation has identified parents' greatest fears for their children concerning screen time. The top three fears parents have about their child and screen time are: privacy and safety concerns (47%), exposure to misinformation (36%) and not socializing in person (34%). Fewer parents ranked concerns about body image and schoolwork high on their...
AI Meets the Conditions for Having Free Will, Study Suggests
Source: Science Daily - Top NewsAI is advancing at such speed that moral questions, once the province of science fiction, are suddenly real and pressing, a new study concludes. The study finds that generative AI meets all three of the philosophical conditions of free will: the ability to have goal-directed agency, make genuine choices, and have control over its actions. This milestone marks a critical point in human history, as AI renders judgments in life or death situations.
UNICEF Reports on the Hits Children Took From COVID-19
Source: United Press International - Health NewsA United Nations global audit on the well-being of children finds that COVID-19 severely affected the classroom performance and mental and physical health of many children in wealthy countries. Comparing 2018 data with 2022 data, a UNICEF report issued Tuesday concluded that the pandemic and shutdowns worsened existing trends with children under-performing at school, becoming overweight and obese, and generally being less happy.
White South Africans Arrive in U.S. After Trump Grants Refugee Status
Source: Google NewsThe first group of White South Africans granted refugee status by Donald Trump's administration has arrived in the U.S., stirring controversy in South Africa as President Trump declared the Afrikaners victims of a "genocide." The Afrikaners, a minority descended from mainly Dutch colonists, were met at Dulles international airport outside Washington, DC, by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, with many given U.S. flags to wave.
Ultra-Processed Foods May Accelerate Parkinson's Brain Changes
Source: Google News - HealthA large new study shows that consuming high amounts of ultra-processed foods may be linked to early indicators of Parkinson's disease. The research, published in the journal Neurology, tracked over 42,000 adults for up to 26 years, finding that those eating 11 or more daily servings of ultra-processed foods were 2.5 times more likely to show multiple early Parkinson's symptoms. These signs included sleep issues, reduced sense of smell,...
U.S. Stops Tracking Costs of Weather Disasters Fueled by Climate Change
Source: PBS ScienceThe U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will no longer track the cost of climate change-fueled weather disasters, including floods, heat waves, and wildfires. It is the latest example of the White House limiting government resources on climate change. NOAA falls under the U.S. Department of Commerce and is tasked with daily weather forecasts, severe storm warnings, and climate monitoring. It is also parent to the National...
FDA Will Be "Aggressive" in Adopting Artificial Intelligence in Its Labs
Source: United Press International - Health NewsThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday an aggressive artificial intelligence adoption timeline, as well as a new AI tool to help scientists spend less time on repetitive tasks that slow the review process. The announcement came in statement about "an aggressive timeline to scale use of artificial intelligence internally across all FDA centers by June 30, 2025, following the completion of a new generative AI pilot for scientific...
Pentagon Orders Military Libraries to Remove Books About Diversity
Source: United Press International - Health NewsThe Pentagon has ordered senior military leaders to pull and review library books from educational institutions that address diversity, anti-racism or gender issues. The Department of Defense on Friday issued a six-page memo "to identify library materials that may conflict with our core mission. The Department's instructional materials should be mission-focused and not promote divisive concepts and gender ideology."
Measure of Pulse Rate Predicts Cognitive Decline in Older Adults
Source: Science Daily - Top HealthHeartbeats exhibit variation as they adjust to tiny changes in the body and environment. Researchers have applied a new way to measure the complexity of pulse rates, using data collected through wearable pulse oximetry devices. The new method, published in Journal of the American Heart Association, provides a more detailed peek into heart health than traditional measures, uncovering a link between reduced complexity and future cognitive decline.
Pope Leo XIV Outlines His Vision in First Formal Audience
Source: CBS News - World NewsPope Leo XIV laid out the vision of his papacy Saturday, identifying artificial intelligence as one of the most critical matters facing humanity and vowing to continue core priorities of Pope Francis. In his first formal audience with the cardinals who elected him two days ago, Leo repeatedly cited Francis and the former pope's 2013 mission statement, committing the Catholic Church to be a more inclusive church that looks out for the "least and...
U.S. Military to Start Removing 1,000 Transgender Service Members
Source: United Press International - Health NewsThe Pentagon will begin immediately removing 1,000 transgender service members from the military, according to a memo issued Thursday, after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Trump administration's ban on transgender soldiers. The memo states that service members who suffer from gender dysphoria or have a history with the condition may choose to separate from the military voluntarily in the next month or two, after which the military will...
Teen Mental Health: When to Seek Help and What Parents Can Do
Source: BBC News - UK NewsThere are biological reasons why certain mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression, are common in adolescence. For example, emotional reactions are intensified by hormones and changes to the internal body clock that affects sleep patterns. So, when should teens and parents regard emotions and behavior as normal, and when should they consider seeking professional help? Mental health experts weigh in with useful advice.
White House Launches Anti-Semitism Probe Into University of Washington
Source: United Press International - Health NewsThe Trump administration launched a review into recently alleged anti-Semitic activity at the University of Washington and its affiliated campuses. Government officials announced the probe a day after roughly 30 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested at the school's Seattle campus when they occupied an engineering building and demanded the university sever its ties with Boeing, which donated $10 million for the building in 2022.
Climate Change: The Future of Today's Young People
Source: Science DailyClimate research suggests that millions of today's young people will live through unprecedented lifetime exposure to heatwaves, crop failures, river floods, droughts, wildfires, and tropical storms under current climate policies. If global temperatures rise by 3.5 C by 2100, 92% of children born in 2020 will experience unprecedented heatwave exposure. Meeting the Paris Agreement's 1.5 C target could protect millions of them from this risk.
Want to Know Your Alzheimer's Risk? Many People Don't
Source: Google News - HealthNew research reveals a gap between people's stated desire to know their Alzheimer's disease risk and their real-life decisions when results are actually offered. In a study published in JAMA Network Open, only 60% of participants chose to learn their estimated risk when given the chance, despite 81% expressing prior interest. The main reasons for declining to know included concerns about anxiety, burden on family, and the lack of effective...
Mindfulness Therapy Reduces Opioid Craving and Addiction, Study Finds
Source: Science Daily - Top HealthResearchers have found that Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) can help rewire the brain's response to natural healthy pleasure, leading to improved mood, greater attention to positive experiences, and reduced opioid cravings. The findings, published on April 30, 2025 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggest that this evidence-based therapy may be a promising tool in the fight against opioid use disorder.

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