- A summer wave of Covid-19 has arrived in the US
- The FDA will no longer allow this potentially harmful additive found in some sodas
- How the Supreme Court’s blockbuster ‘Chevron’ ruling puts countless regulations in jeopardy
- ‘I would call this the silent eating disorder’: What experts want you to know about ARFID
- Why cancer risk declines sharply in old age
- Bionic leg moves like a natural limb — without conscious thought
A summer wave of Covid-19 has arrived in the US
夏季的 Covid-19 浪潮已抵達美國
Health
Covid-19 levels have been rising in the United States for weeks as new variants drive what’s become an annual summer surge. Covid-19 surveillance has been scaled back significantly since the US public health emergency ended more than a year ago — individual cases are no longer counted, and severe outcomes are based on representative samples of the population — but the data that is available is showing a consistent upward trend. Infections are probably growing in at least 38 states, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Wastewater surveillance suggests that viral activity is still relatively low, but hospitalizations and deaths are also ticking up. Covid-19 levels are especially high in the West, where viral levels are back to what they were in February, and in the South, according to the CDC. Over the past few months, the JN.1 virus variant that drove this winter’s surge has been overtaken by newer offshoots. These so-called FLiRT variants — an acronym that refers to the locations of the amino acid mutations that the virus has picked up — have changes in some places that help them evade the body’s immune response and others that help them become more transmissible. Two of them — KP.3 and KP.2 — now account for more than half of the new Covid infections in the US, according to CDC data.
---from CNN
數週以來，美國的 Covid-19 病毒水平一直在上升，因為新的變種導致了每年夏季的病例激增。 自一年多前美國公共衛生緊急狀態結束以來，Covid-19 監測已大幅縮減——不再計算個別病例，嚴重個案是由人群的代表性取樣——但現有數據顯示，Covid-19感染趨勢持續上升。 根據美國疾病管制與預防中心(CDC)的數據，至少 38 個州的感染人數可能正在增加。廢水監測表明，病毒活動仍然相對較低，但住院人數和死亡人數也在上升。 據美國疾病管制與預防中心稱，Covid-19 病毒水平在西方地區尤其高，病毒水平已恢復到 2 月的水平，而在南方地區也是如此。 在過去的幾個月裡，推動今年冬天激增的 JN.1 病毒變種已被新的分支所取代。這些所謂的FLiRT 變體——一個縮寫詞，指的是病毒發生的氨基酸突變的位置——在一些地方發生了變化，幫助它們逃避人體的免疫反應，而在其他地方發生了變化，幫助它們改變得更具傳播性。根據美國疾病管制與預防中心的數據，其中的兩種病毒——KP.3 和 KP.2——目前占美國新冠病毒感染病例的一半以上。
----摘錄翻譯自CNN
The FDA will no longer allow this potentially harmful additive found in some sodas
FDA 將不再允許在某些蘇打水中發現這種可能有害的添加劑
Health
The US Food and Drug Administration will no longer allow the use of brominated vegetable oil in food products, the agency said Tuesday. Brominated vegetable oil (BVO) is vegetable oil modified with the chemical bromine and has been used in small amounts to keep citrus flavoring from floating to the top in beverages, according to an FDA statement. Dozens of products — mostly sodas — use BVO as an ingredient, according to the Food Scores database run by the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit research and advocacy group that focuses on consumer health, toxic chemicals and pollutants. The rule that no longer allows BVO in food will go into effect August 2, but companies will have one year after that date to reformulate and relabel their products as well as deplete their BVO inventory, according to the FDA statement. The food additive was removed from the FDA’s list of Generally Recognized As Safe or “GRAS” substance list in 1970 and has been regulated since then, the agency said. Because of the past restrictions, there are only a small number of products that still contain BVO, the FDA said. “Over the years many beverage makers reformulated their products to replace BVO with an alternative ingredient,” James Jones, FDA deputy commissioner for human foods, said in a 2023 statement. Additionally, a 2012 Change.org petition with more than 200,000 signatures brought attention to health concerns, according to an EWG news release. It also said many companies eliminated it from consumer products due to market pressure.
---from CNN
美國食品藥物管理局(FDA)週二表示，將不再允許在食品中使用溴化植物油。 根據 FDA 的聲明，溴化植物油 (BVO) 是用化學物質溴改性的植物油，少量使用可防止柑橘類香料漂浮在飲料的頂部。 根據專注於消費者健康、有毒化學物質和汙染物的非營利研究和倡導組織--環境工作小組運作的食品評分資料庫，數十種產品（主要是蘇打水）使用BVO 作為成分。 。 根據 FDA 的聲明，不再允許在食品中使用 BVO 的規定將於 8 月 2 日生效，但該公司將在該日期後一年內重新配製和重新標籤其產品，並耗盡其 BVO 庫存。 該機構表示，該食品添加劑於 1970 年從 FDA 公認安全或「GRAS」物質清單中刪除，自此後一直受到監管。 FDA 表示，由於過去的限制，只有少數產品仍含有 BVO。 FDA 負責人類食品的副局長 James Jones 在 2023 年的一份聲明中表示：“多年來，許多飲料製造商重新配製了他們的產品，用替代成分取代 BVO。” 此外，根據環境工作小組發布的新聞稿，2012 年 Change.org 上有超過 20 萬個簽署的請願書引起了人們對健康問題的關注。它還表示，由於市場壓力，許多公司將其從消費品中淘汰。
---摘錄翻譯自CNN
How the Supreme Court’s blockbuster ‘Chevron’ ruling puts countless regulations in jeopardy
最高法院轟動一時的「雪佛龍」裁決如何使無數法規陷入危險
Culture
A major Supreme Court ruling Friday that shifted power from the executive branch to the judiciary stands to transform how the federal government works. By overturning a 1984 precedent, the court’s conservative majority has made countless regulations vulnerable to legal challenge. The types of executive branch move that the ruling jeopardizes include a plan to put Wi-Fi on school buses, a new ban on noncompete clauses, health care coverage rules being implemented through Obamacare, and the latest plan to forgive student loan debt. The Supreme Court ruling could boost efforts by conservatives who have taken aim at the Biden Environmental Protection Agency’s rules limiting planet-warming pollution from vehicles, oil and gas wells and pipelines, and power plants. “There is no substantive area that this doctrine does not touch,” said Kent Barnett, a University of Georgia School of Law professor who specializes in administrative law. The so-called Chevron doctrine — named after the case, Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — told courts to defer to an agency’s interpretation of a statute in circumstances in which the law in question is vaguely written. The precedent is deeply entrenched in administrative law, with Republican and Democratic administrations alike using it to shield regulatory action from legal attack. “Essentially, anytime where an agency has a dispute with either an individual or some other entity — sometimes even the federal government versus the state government — Chevron deference could come up,” said Thomas Berry, a legal fellow at the Cato Institute.
---from CNN
最高法院週五做出的一項重大裁決將權力從行政部門轉移到司法部門，這將改變聯邦政府的運作方式。 最高法院的保守派多數推翻了 1984 年的先例，使得無數法規容易受到法律挑戰。該裁決危及的行政部門舉措包括在校車上安裝 Wi-Fi 的計劃、禁止競爭條款的新禁令、透過奧巴馬醫改實施的醫療保險覆蓋規則，以及免除學生貸款債務的最新計劃。 最高法院的裁決可能會加強保守派人士的努力，他們將矛頭指向拜登環保局限制車輛、油氣井、管線和發電廠導致地球暖化的污染的規定。 佐治亞大學法學院專門研究行政法的教授Kent Barnett表示：“這一學說已經觸及任何實質性領域。” 所謂的「雪佛龍原則」——以「雪佛龍訴自然資源保護委員會」案件命名——要求法院在相關法律表述含糊的情況下，尊重機構對法規的解釋。這項先例在行政法中根深蒂固，共和黨和民主黨政府都利用它來保護監管行動免受法律攻擊。 卡托研究所法律研究員Thomas Berry表示：「從本質上講，任何時候，當一個機構與個人或其他實體（有時甚至是聯邦政府與州政府）發生糾紛時，大家會遵守雪佛龍原則。
---摘錄翻譯自CNN
‘I would call this the silent eating disorder’: What experts want you to know about ARFID
「我稱之為沉默飲食失調」：專家希望您了解有關 ARFID 的哪些信息
Culture
When Hannah was 7 years old, she told her parents she didn’t want to be afraid of food anymore. She had stopped wanting to go to Girl Scouts, birthday parties, restaurants, family celebrations and even the dinner table. Food was everywhere, and it gave her a lot of anxiety, said her mom, Michelle, who is not sharing their last name for Hannah’s safety. Michelle first saw it when she tried to switch baby Hannah from formula to milk and solids— but Hannah refused. Often, she would pucker her lips shut or spit out the food she was given. As she got older, Hannah had a list of about five foods she would eat, and they were specific. Like the green sour cream and onion Pringles, but only the small packs, not the big container, Michelle said. Now 8 years old, Hannah is being treated for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder, or ARFID. Unlike eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia nervosa, this diagnosis isn’t concerned with body shape or size, said Kate Dansie, clinical director of the Eating Disorder Center in Rockville, Maryland. Instead, people with ARFID are very limited in the foods they feel safe and comfortable eating, Dansie said. Unlike just being “picky,” this disorder can be debilitating and cause long-term health problems.
---from CNN
Hannah7 歲時，她告訴父母她不想再害怕食物了。 她不再想去參加女童軍、生日派對、餐廳、家庭慶祝活動，甚至餐桌上。她的媽媽Michelle說，食物到處都是，這讓她非常焦慮。Michelle並未透露他們的姓氏，為了Hannah的安全考慮。 Michelle第一次看到這一點是在她試圖將嬰兒Hannah從配方奶換成牛奶和固體食物時，但Hannah拒絕了。通常，她會緊閉嘴唇或吐出給她的食物。 隨著年齡的增長，Hannah列出了大約五種她會吃的食物，而且這些食物都很具體。Michelle說，就像綠色酸奶油和洋蔥品客薯片一樣，但只有小包裝，而不是大容器。 Hannah現年 8 歲，正在接受迴避/限制性食物攝取障礙 (ARFID) 治療。馬裡蘭州羅克維爾飲食失調中心臨床主任Kate Dansie表示，與厭食症或暴食症等飲食失調症不同，這種診斷與體型或體型無關。 Dansie說，相反，患有 ARFID 的人只吃他們覺得安全、舒適的食物。與僅僅「挑剔」不同，這種疾病可能會使人衰弱並導致長期的健康問題。
---摘錄翻譯自CNN
Why cancer risk declines sharply in old age
為什麼老年癌症風險急劇下降
Sciences
Becoming an octogenarian could have an unexpected benefit: a decrease in the risk of lung cancer, according to two studies in mice. The results, posted as preprints on the bioRxiv server, highlight specific genes that could contribute to the declining risk and reveal a surprising link between them and iron metabolism. The studies have not yet been peer reviewed. The findings might seem counter-intuitive: cancer is a disease associated with ageing, and the likelihood of many cancer diagnoses peaks in a person’s 60s or 70s. But after that, rates of many of those cancers mysteriously decline. “It’s an observation that we have made for decades,” says Ana Gomes, who studies ageing and cancer at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa, Florida, and who is not involved in the preprints. “But we have really not been able to explain why that is.”
----from Nature
兩項針對小鼠的研究表明，成為八十多歲的老人可能會帶來意想不到的好處：罹患肺癌的風險降低。 結果以預印本形式發佈在 bioRxiv 伺服器上，突出顯示了可能有助於降低風險的特定基因，並揭示了它們與鐵代謝之間令人驚訝的聯繫。這些研究尚未經過同行評審。 這些發現似乎有悖常理：癌症是一種與老化相關的疾病，許多癌症診斷的可能性在人的 60 多歲或 70 多歲時達到頂峰。但在那之後，許多癌症的發生率卻神秘地下降了。 「這是我們幾十年來的觀察結果，」在佛羅裡達州坦帕市H. Lee Moffitt 癌症中心和研究所研究衰老和癌症的Ana Gomes說道，她沒有參與預印本的編寫。 “但我們確實無法解釋這是為什麼。”
---摘錄翻譯自Nature
Bionic leg moves like a natural limb — without conscious thought
仿生腿像自然肢體一樣移動－無需有意識的思考
Sciences
A robotic leg that can be fully controlled by the brain and spinal cord has enabled seven people who had lost a lower leg to walk roughly as fast as people without amputations. The bionic limb uses a computer interface that amplifies nerve signals from muscles in the remaining part of the leg and allows the wearer to move the prosthesis with their own thoughts and natural reflexes. In a clinical trial involving 14 people, participants with this interface were able to walk 41% faster than were those with standard robotic legs. They also had better balance and ability to change their speed, climb stairs and step over obstacles. The results were published today in Nature Medicine. “This is the first study that demonstrates natural gait patterns with a full neural modulation where the person’s brain is 100% in command of the bionic prosthesis, not a robotic algorithm,” said study co-author Hugh Herr, a biophysicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, at a press conference announcing the findings. “Even though the limb is made of titanium and silicone and all these various electromechanical components, the limb feels natural, and it moves naturally without even conscious thought,” he added.
--from Nature
一種完全由大腦和脊髓控制的機械腿使七名失去小腿的人能夠以與沒有截肢的人大致相同的速度行走。 仿生肢體使用電腦接口，放大腿部其餘部分肌肉的神經訊號，並允許佩戴者透過自己的想法和自然反射來移動義肢。 在一項涉及 14 人的臨床試驗中，使用該介面的參與者比使用標準機械腿的參與者行走速度快 41%。他們還具有更好的平衡能力以及改變速度、爬樓梯和跨障礙物的能力。研究結果今天發表在《自然醫學》上。 研究共同作者、麻省理工學院生物物理學家Hugh Herr表示：「這是第一個展示具有完整神經調節的自然步態模式的研究，其中人的大腦100% 控制仿生義肢，而不是機器人演算法。 「儘管該肢體是由鈦和矽膠以及所有這些各種機電組件製成的，但該肢體感覺很自然，而且它甚至可以在沒有意識的情況下自然移動，」他補充道。
--摘錄翻譯自Nature