Self-managed abortions have become more common in the US post-Dobbs, study shows

研究顯示,在多布斯案後,自行管理墮胎在美國變得更加普遍

Health
Self-managed abortions have become more common in the US post-Dobbs, study shows

The share of women who say they have self-managed an abortion has jumped about 40% since the Dobbs decision, according to a study published Tuesday in the medical journal JAMA Network Open – up from 2.4% at the end of 2021, a few months before court decision, to 3.4% in the summer of 2023, about year after the decision. The findings are based on surveys of more than 14,000 women under the age of 50 who reported on their own experiences, including hundreds of teenagers. Survey data likely underestimates how common self-managed abortion is; the study authors say underreporting is expected when asking about “sensitive, stigmatized, and now, in some settings, criminalized behavior.” It’s unclear, however, whether women may have become less likely to disclose their experiences due to the increased criminalization of pregnancy and abortion or more emboldened to share due to increased public attention on the subject, they wrote.

---from CNN

根據週二發表在醫學雜誌《JAMA Network Open》上的一項研究,自多布斯決定以來,表示自己曾自行管理墮胎的女性比例躍升了約40%,在2023年夏天,也就是法院裁決後的一年,成為3.4%,這一比例高於2021年底,也就是法院裁決前的數月的2.4%。 該結果是基於對 14,000 多名 50 歲以下女性的調查,她們報告了自己的經歷,其中包括數百名青少年。 調查數據可能低估了自行管理墮胎的普遍性;研究的作者表示,當詢問「敏感的、被污名化的,以及現在在某些情況下被定罪的行為」時,預計會出現漏報。然而,他們寫道,目前還不清楚,女性是否會因為懷孕和墮胎的犯罪化程度增加而變得不太願意透露自己的經歷,或者是否因為公眾對這一問題的關注增加,而更有勇氣分享自己的經驗。

---摘錄翻譯自CNN

Ozempic predecessor suggests potential for GLP-1 drugs in Alzheimer’s in early trial

Ozempic 前身顯示 GLP-1 藥物在早期試驗中具有治療阿茲海默症的潛力

Health
Ozempic predecessor suggests potential for GLP-1 drugs in Alzheimer’s in early trial

The study, of 204 people with Alzheimer’s disease in the United Kingdom, found that those taking the diabetes drug liraglutide – an earlier medication in Ozempic’s class, which are known as GLP-1 receptor agonists – had 18% slower cognitive decline over the course of a year compared with those taking a placebo. The trial’s main goal, though – changing the rate at which the brain metabolizes glucose – was not met, which researchers suggested could have been a result of its small size. The findings were shared Tuesday at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Philadelphia and haven’t yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal. “We’ve known for some time through animal work that GLP-1 has a different type of activity in the brain,” said Dr. Maria Carrillo, chief science officer and medical affairs lead for the Alzheimer’s Association, which was not involved with the research. “This study really demonstrates for us the possibilities that are there.” In addition to the benefit for cognition, the study found that the drug was associated with 50% less volume loss in several areas of the brain, according to a news release from the Alzheimer’s Association. Those findings add to hope that larger trials being run by Ozempic’s maker, Novo Nordisk, will be successful, Carrillo told CNN.

---from CNN

這項針對英國204 名阿茲海默症患者的研究發現,服用糖尿病藥物利拉魯肽(Ozempic 類早期藥物,被稱為GLP-1 受體激動劑)的患者在治療過程中認知能力下降速度減緩了18%與服用安慰劑的人相比一年。 然而,該試驗的主要目標——改變大腦代謝葡萄糖的速度——並未實現,研究人員認為這可能是由於體積小所致。研究結果於週二在費城舉行的阿茲海默症協會國際會議上分享,但尚未在同行評審期刊上發表。 「一段時間以來,我們透過動物研究知道GLP-1 在大腦中具有不同類型的活性,」阿茲海默症協會首席科學官兼醫療事務負責人Maria Carrillo 博士說,該協會並未參與這項研究。 「這項研究確實向我們展示了存在的可能性。」 根據阿茲海默症協會的新聞稿,除了對認知有好處外,研究發現該藥物還可以使大腦多個區域的體積損失減少 50%。Carrillo告訴美國有線電視新聞網,這些發現增加了 Ozempic 製造商諾和諾德正在進行的更大規模試驗將會成功的希望。

---摘錄翻譯自CNN

Most young people who die by suicide in the US do not have previous mental health diagnoses, study suggests

研究表明,美國大多數自殺身亡的年輕人之前沒有心理健康診斷

Culture
Most young people who die by suicide in the US do not have previous mental health diagnoses, study suggests

Suicide is a leading cause of death among young people in the United States, and new research suggests that the majority of young people who have died by suicide did not have a documented mental health diagnosis in their medical history. About 3 out of 5 young people who died by suicide between January 2010 and December 2021 had no previously diagnosed mental health condition, according to the study, published Tuesday in the medical journal JAMA Network Open. This suggests that mental health problems might be going missed or undiagnosed, and thus untreated, in some young people. The new study included data on people ages 10 to 24 from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Violent Death Reporting System, and it included more than 40,000 suicides. Only 40.4% of the young people who died had a documented mental health diagnosis, such as clinical depression, schizophrenia or anxiety disorders, among others.

---from CNN

自殺是美國年輕人死亡的主要原因,新的研究表明,大多數自殺身亡的年輕人在其病史中沒有記錄在案的心理健康診斷。 週二發表在醫學雜誌《JAMA Network Open》上的這項研究顯示,2010 年 1 月至 2021 年 12 月期間自殺身亡的年輕人中,約有五分之三之前沒有診斷出精神健康問題。這表明,一些年輕人的心理健康問題可能被忽視或未被診斷,因此無法獲得治療。 這項新研究納入了美國疾病管制與預防中心國家暴力死亡通報系統中 10 至 24 歲族群的數據,其中包括超過 4 萬例自殺事件。 只有 40.4% 的死亡年輕人有記錄的心理健康診斷,例如臨床憂鬱症、精神分裂症或焦慮症等。

---摘錄翻譯自CNN

How to think like an Olympian and develop a winner’s brain

如何像奧運選手一樣思考並培養獲勝者的大腦

Culture
How to think like an Olympian and develop a winner’s brain

Perched at the pinnacle of achievement, Olympians have trained their entire lives to reach their goal of standing on the winner’s podium. Not only do Olympic athletes tone their bodies into near perfection; they hone their minds as well. “A winner’s brain is not about a quick fix. You have to nurture your brain and take care of it,” said psychologist Jeff Brown, an assistant clinical professor at Harvard Medical School and coauthor of “The Winner’s Brain: 8 Strategies Great Minds Use to Achieve Success.” “You have to feed it good fats, like omega-3’s. Your brain is the 3 pounds that you don’t want to lose,” said Brown, who is the sports psychologist for the Boston Marathon. “You have to move it — brain function improves if you’re moving. That’s one of the best things that you can do for your brain,” he said. “And you have to sleep it — sleep is critical to memory consolidation and learning.” Mental strength, focus and resilience don’t come without effort, even to the world’s top athletes. Researchers have studied Olympians for decades and found they share some common traits, habits and qualities that you too can use to develop a winner’s mindset.

---from CNN

站在成就的頂峰,奧運選手們一生都在訓練,以實現登上冠軍頒獎台的目標。奧運選手不僅將自己的身體鍛鍊得近乎完美,而且他們也磨練自己的思想。 「勝利者的大腦並不是為了快速解決問題。你必須培育並照顧你的大腦,」哈佛醫學院臨床助理教授、《勝利者的大腦:偉人用來取得成功的8 種策略》一書的合著者、心理學家Jeff Brown說。 「你必須給它餵食優質脂肪,例如 omega-3。你的大腦就是你不想減掉的 3 磅,」波士頓馬拉松運動心理學家Brown說。 「你必須移動它——如果你移動,大腦功能就會改善。這是你能為大腦做的最好的事情之一,」他說。 「而且你必須睡覺——睡眠對於記憶鞏固和學習至關重要。” 即使對於世界頂尖運動員來說,精神力量、專注力和韌性也不是不經過努力就能獲得的。研究人員對奧運選手進行了數十年的研究,發現他們有一些共同的特徵、習慣和品質,你也可以利用這些特徵、習慣和品質來培養獲勝者的心態。

---摘錄翻譯自CNN

AI is complicating plagiarism. How should scientists respond?

人工智慧使抄襲變得更加複雜。科學家該如何應對?

Sciences
AI is complicating plagiarism. How should scientists respond?

From accusations that led Harvard University’s president to resign in January, to revelations in February of plagiarized text in peer-review reports, the academic world has been roiled by cases of plagiarism this year. But a bigger problem looms in scholarly writing. The rapid uptake of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools — which create text in response to prompts — has raised questions about whether this constitutes plagiarism and under what circumstances it should be allowed. “There’s a whole spectrum of AI use, from completely human-written to completely AI-written — and in the middle, there’s this vast wasteland of confusion,” says Jonathan Bailey, a copyright and plagiarism consultant based in New Orleans, Louisiana. Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, which are based on algorithms known as large language models (LLMs), can save time, improve clarity and reduce language barriers. Many researchers now argue that they are permissible in some circumstances and that their use should be fully disclosed. But such tools complicate an already fraught debate around the improper use of others’ work. LLMs are trained to generate text by digesting vast amounts of previously published writing. As a result, their use could result in something akin to plagiarism — if a researcher passes off the work of a machine as their own, for instance, or if a machine generates text that is very close to a person’s work without attributing the source. The tools can also be used to disguise deliberately plagiarized text, and any use of them is hard to spot. “Defining what we actually mean by academic dishonesty or plagiarism, and where the boundaries are, is going to be very, very difficult,” says Pete Cotton, an ecologist at the University of Plymouth, UK.

---from CNN

從一月導致哈佛大學校長辭職的指控,到二月同行評審報告中抄襲文本的曝光,今年學術界因抄襲案件而陷入混亂。 但學術寫作中存在著一個更大的問題。生成式人工智慧(AI)工具(根據提示創建文字)的快速普及引發了人們的疑問:這是否構成抄襲以及在什麼情況下應該允許抄襲。路易斯安那州新奧爾良的版權和抄襲顧問Jonathan Bailey 表示:“人工智能的使用範圍很廣,從完全由人類編寫到完全由人工智能編寫,中間存在著巨大的混亂荒原。” ChatGPT 等生成式人工智慧工具基於大型語言模型 (LLMs) 演算法,可節省時間、提高清晰度並減少語言障礙。許多研究人員現在認為,在某些情況下它們是允許的,並且它們的使用應該完全公開。 但這些工具使圍繞不當使用他人作品的爭論變得更加複雜。大型語言模式(LLMs)經過訓練,可以透過消化大量先前發表的文章來產生文本。因此,它們的使用可能會導致類似於剽竊的情況——例如,如果研究人員將機器的工作冒充為自己的工作,或者如果機器生成與人的工作非常接近的文本而不註明來源。這些工具還可以用來掩飾故意抄襲的文本,很難發現它們的任何使用。英國普利茅斯大學的生態學家Pete Cotton 表示:“定義學術不誠實或剽竊的真正含義以及界限在哪裡,將非常非常困難。”

---摘錄翻譯自CNN

Seventh patient ‘cured’ of HIV: why scientists are excited

第七名愛滋病毒患者「治癒」:為什麼科學家感到興奮

Sciences
Seventh patient ‘cured’ of HIV: why scientists are excited

A 60-year-old man in Germany has become at least the seventh person with HIV to be announced free of the virus after receiving a stem-cell transplant. But the man, who has been virus-free for close to six years, is only the second person to receive stem cells that are not resistant to the virus. The first person found to be HIV-free after a bone-marrow transplant to treat blood cancer was Timothy Ray Brown, who is known as the Berlin patient. Brown and a handful of others received special donor stem cells. These carried a mutation in the gene that encodes a receptor called CCR5, which is used by most HIV virus strains to enter immune cells. To many scientists, these cases suggested that CCR5 was the best target for an HIV cure. The latest case — presented at the 25th International AIDS Conference in Munich, Germany, this week — turns that on its head. The patient, referred to as the next Berlin patient, received stem cells from a donor who only had one copy of the mutated gene, which means their cells do express CCR5, but at lower levels than usual. The case sends a clear message that finding a cure for HIV is “not all about CCR5”, says infectious-disease physician Sharon Lewin, who heads The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity in Melbourne, Australia.

--from Nature

德國一名 60 歲男子成為至少第七位在接受幹細胞移植後被宣布擺脫病毒的愛滋病毒感染者。但這名男子已經近六年沒有感染病毒,他是第二個接受對病毒不具抵抗力的幹細胞的人。 Timothy Ray Brown是第一個在接受骨髓移植治療血癌後發現沒有愛滋病毒的人,他被稱為「柏林病人」。Brown和其他一些人接受了特殊的捐贈幹細胞。這些病毒攜帶編碼 CCR5 受體的基因突變,大多數 HIV 病毒株利用 CCR5 受體進入免疫細胞。對於許多科學家來說,這些病例表明 CCR5 是治療 HIV 的最佳標靶。 本週在德國慕尼黑舉行的第 25 屆國際愛滋病會議上提出的最新案例顛覆了這一觀點。這位被稱為下一位柏林患者的患者接受了來自一名只有一份突變基因拷貝的捐贈者的幹細胞,這意味著他們的細胞確實表達 CCR5,但水平低於平常。 澳洲墨爾本 Peter Doherty 感染與免疫研究所所長、傳染病醫生 Sharon Lewin 表示,該病例傳達了一個明確的訊息,即尋找愛滋病毒治療方法「不僅僅取決於 CCR5」。

--摘錄翻譯自Nature

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