Rachel Feltman: Happy Monday to all our listeners! for scientific american‘s science quickly, I’m Rachel Feltman. Start your week with the latest science news.
First, a quick update from Tanya Lewis, senior health and medicine editor. scientific american. She was here to shed light on the news that President-elect Donald Trump plans to put Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in charge of the Department of Health and Human Services. Below is a short conversation that Tanya and I recorded a few days ago.
Tanya, what is RFK Jr.’s background in health?
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Tanya Lewis: RFK Jr. is trained as an environmental lawyer but has no medical background and holds very strong anti-vaccine views. He claims that vaccines cause autism, which of course has been proven false.
He has also made many false and exaggerated claims about the dangers of water fluoridation. He has advocated for unproven and potentially dangerous treatments like hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin for the coronavirus, and chelation therapy, a way to remove heavy metals from the body, for autism. However, it is of course not effective for autism.
He also wants to end what he calls the “war on public health,” in the words of the Food and Drug Administration, including regulations on raw milk and some unproven stem cell treatments. He also wants to stop the “revolving door” between industry and government and regulate ultra-processed foods, but it’s not really clear how he would actually do that.
Feltman: So what does his nomination for this role actually mean?
Lewis: I think his nomination suggests that the Trump administration has little regard for established medicine. His views on vaccines and fluoride go completely against the consensus of most public health experts and decades of research on their safety and effectiveness.
And since it’s not yet clear whether he’ll even be confirmed by the Senate, he may not even have a chance to implement this agenda.
Feltman: Even if he were to take on this role, what kind of powers does he actually have?
Lewis: So as secretary of HHS, the Department of Health and Human Services, he would be in charge of the FDA, the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the (National Institutes of Health), and just about every other health department. It would have enormous powers to fire people, hire people, and completely restructure these government agencies. He also may fill the FDA and CDC advisory committees with vaccine skeptics, but those agencies are supposed to be tasked with protecting people’s health, and vaccines are a big part of that. So this would obviously be a bad thing.
One of the interesting things about RFK Jr. is that he actually has a very long track record of supporting abortion. He’s said in the past that he supports abortion up to nine months old, but I think he’s backtracking a bit on that. But his pro-abortion stance could actually get in the way of approval in the heavily conservative Congress.
Feltman: What decisions, restrictions, and allowances can this group of institutions make?
Lewis: As Secretary of Health and Human Services, HHS, RFK Jr. will oversee the FDA, the agency responsible for ensuring that all drugs on the market are rigorously tested for safety and effectiveness. It will be. And he will be in charge of the CDC, which plays a major role in protecting the public health of Americans and alerting the public at all times, not just in pandemics but in everyday life. So it’s a very important role. He will also become head of the National Institutes of Health, the government’s main source of funding for biomedical research. And he will also be in charge of other smaller government health agencies, which also have very important roles.
Feltman: Tanya, thank you so much for coming to unpack it for us.
Lewis: Yes, thank you very much for joining us.
Feltman: In other national health news, the U.S. Surgeon General released a new report on tobacco use and second-hand smoke exposure last Tuesday. The report states that since 1965, smoking rates in the United States have declined by more than 70%, but that decline has not benefited all Americans equally. American Indians and Alaska Natives smoke at higher rates than other ethnic and racial groups, and people who identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual are more likely to smoke than straight people. The report also notes that people living in poverty are almost twice as likely to smoke compared to those living above the poverty line. What’s worse is that some of these disparities have actually widened since 2000. It’s a similar story with second-hand smoke exposure. Although the number of related deaths has fallen by more than half since 2006, exposure to secondhand smoke remains disproportionately high among black people, adults with lower levels of education, children, and low-income groups.
The report notes that these disparities are due to several possible factors, including tobacco marketing campaigns that target specific groups or regions, as well as stress and financial barriers to treatment. That’s why the report calls for policies that address the entire disparity in access to health care and education, in addition to standard anti-smoking policies. If you or someone you love is ready to cut down on tobacco use, you can find helpful resources by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW or visiting the website SmokeFree.gov. Masu.
Now, let’s zoom out and zoom back in to check out some space news. Last Thursday, astronomers released the first close-up image of a star from outside the Milky Way. This distant object is about 2,000 times larger than the Sun and is located in the galaxy that orbits us. Don’t get too excited about the visuals. It looks like a glowing blob surrounded by a slightly less shiny oval. But scientists are quite nervous about the ring, and think it may be related to an explosion of material ejected just before the star explodes into a supernova. New images reveal that the star has become fainter over the past decade, consistent with theories that the star may be shedding material and reaching the end of its life. Masu.
To end the story on a playful note, let’s check out a couple of new studies about one of our closest animal relatives, chimpanzees, of course. As a side note, I really hated it when people forgot that bonobos are one of us too. other These studies are about chimpanzees, although they are the closest relatives to bonobos, so I won’t go on a full-on rant about bonobos.
The first study, published last Wednesday, focuses on a phenomenon known as social contagion. It is when actions, ideas, and emotions spread through social networks. For example, contagious laughter. Researchers spent hundreds of hours observing chimpanzees performing so-called affiliative behaviors. These are behaviors that chimpanzees perform to promote active social participation. In this case, their affiliative behavior was grooming each other and participating in play. This study suggests that both behaviors are susceptible to social contagion. Individuals were more likely to initiate these behaviors after seeing other chimpanzees doing the same thing. Researchers hope that a deeper understanding of how contagious behavior affects social cohesion in groups will help understand how and why this mimicry phenomenon evolved. I hope so.
Another study published last Thursday examined social play in adult chimpanzees. Although children obviously play more than adults in the human world, most adults still play, whether it’s in the local softball league or a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Researchers behind the new study say that while adult play with non-human animals is generally thought to be rare, the results of a study studying these chimpanzees suggest otherwise. said. Scientists studied 57 wild adult chimpanzees and found that they regularly played with each other. They wrestled and chased each other, making what chimpanzee researchers call “playful faces.” This facial expression is often compared to a smile, but it does not look like a human smile. In fact, if you see a chimpanzee baring its fangs at you, assume they are in distress. Happy chimpanzees cover their upper teeth and keep their mouths open, exposing only their lower teeth.
What was really cool about this study was that adult chimpanzees tended to play together before doing things that required group cooperation, like defending their territory from outsiders or going out to hunt. is. They were also more likely to play when the situation was tense due to intragroup competition or fighting. In other words, horse racing appears to be an important part of maintaining this chimpanzee community. Researchers aren’t sure if the species as a whole uses play in this way, but would like to study other wild groups to find out. But I don’t think you need to wait for that follow-up before planning your next game night.
That’s all for this week’s news summary. Come back Wednesday to talk about the psychology behind Black Friday shopping and how to avoid letting marketing take over your brain. Just a quick note, we will not be posting new episodes on Friday and next Monday.
science fast It is produced by me, Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi, Kelso Harper, Madison Goldberg, and Jeff DelVisio. This episode was edited by Anassa Luis Tejada. Shayna Possess and Aaron Shattuck fact-check the show. Our theme music was composed by Dominic Smith. Subscribe scientific american Check out more latest and in-depth science news.
for scientific american, Rachel Feltman. Have a great week!
