Articles: Wed 21.Feb.2024
- continuing to share thoughts on my experiences with Strata here
NYT: Alabama Rules Frozen Embryos Are Children, Raising Questions About Fertility Care
An Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling that frozen embryos in test tubes should be considered children has sent shock waves through the world of reproductive medicine, casting doubt over fertility care for would-be parents in the state and raising complex legal questions with implications extending far beyond Alabama.
On Tuesday, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said the ruling would cause “exactly the type of chaos that we expected when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and paved the way for politicians to dictate some of the most personal decisions families can make.”
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Referencing antiabortion language in the state constitution, the judges’ majority opinion said that an 1872 statute allowing parents to sue over the wrongful death of a minor child applies to unborn children, with no exception for “extrauterine children.”
“Even before birth, all human beings have the image of God, and their lives cannot be destroyed without effacing his glory,” Chief Justice Tom Parker wrote in a concurring opinion, citing scripture.
Wales Online: Thousands of junior doctors in Wales will strike for 72 hours from today
People have been warned to expect service levels resembling those normally seen on a bank holiday.
BBC: Super Bowl parade shooting: Two men charged with murder
Mr Mays was the one who got into an argument at the event and drew a handgun, Ms Peters Baker alleged.
Other people then drew guns during the incident, officials said. That included Mr Miller, who prosecutors believe is the one who shot and killed Lisa Lopez Galvan, 43, during the incident.
CBC: Hometown kid Arshdeep Bains makes Vancouver Canucks debut
Bains becomes 1 of only 4 Punjabi players to play in the NHL.
MacRumors: Apple Announces ‘Groundbreaking’ New Security Protocol for iMessage
Apple today announced a new post-quantum cryptographic protocol for iMessage called PQ3. Apple says this “groundbreaking” and “state-of-the-art” protocol provides “extensive defenses against even highly sophisticated quantum attacks.”
Apple believes the PQ3 protocol’s protections “surpass those in all other widely deployed messaging apps,” according to its blog post:
Today we are announcing the most significant cryptographic security upgrade in iMessage history with the introduction of PQ3, a groundbreaking post-quantum cryptographic protocol that advances the state of the art of end-to-end secure messaging. With compromise-resilient encryption and extensive defenses against even highly sophisticated quantum attacks, PQ3 is the first messaging protocol to reach what we call Level 3 security — providing protocol protections that surpass those in all other widely deployed messaging apps. To our knowledge, PQ3 has the strongest security properties of any at-scale messaging protocol in the world.
CBC: Ottawa Black Bears to join National Lacrosse League next season
New York Riptide moving to Canadian Tire Centre after current season
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The Black Bears’ first home game should be in December, the league said.
The hardest working athletes in team sports!
The Guardian: Power tools at the ready! The life-changing science behind hip and knee replacements
Thousands of people are given new joints each year in the UK. But can robots and smart tech soon make it a smoother procedure?
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According to the National Joint Registry (NJR), which covers England, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and Guernsey, there were 99,043 primary hip replacement procedures in 2022 and 98,469 primary knee replacement procedures, a figure that includes partial replacements. (“Primary” meaning it is the first time that particular joint has been replaced in the patient.)
Prevalence is highest in people in their mid to late-70s. Data from NHS England for 2021/22 reveals that, among women aged 75 to 79, the rate of hip replacements was 621.8 per 100,000; while for knee replacements, including partial ones, it was 649.2 per 100,000. For men of a similar age, the figures were 420.6 and 587.7 per 100,000 respectively. But these are no longer operations of old age.
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The website of West Suffolk NHS Foundation trust — one of the few to clearly publish its waiting times — reveals the average wait for a hip or knee replacement is currently 57 or 59 weeks respectively. This, despite the NHS constitution including a right for patients to receive such surgery within 18 weeks.
Guardian: Is going to bed at 9pm the secret to happiness? My week of sleeping like a gen Zer
What is the world coming to when teenagers believe that? Why would anyone – young or old – want to go bed at nine? And what would happen if I tried it, just for a week?
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The truth is that some people – young and old – will naturally want to go bed early, while some will naturally sleep for more than nine hours. But even if you want to emulate them, there probably isn’t much you can do about it.
The Atlantic: You Could Take Ozempic and Not Lose Any Weight
No medication in the history of modern weight loss has inspired as much awe as the latest class of obesity drugs. Wegovy and Zepbound are so effective that they are often likened to “magic” and “miracles.” Indeed, the weekly injections, which belong to a broader class known as GLP-1s, can lead to weight loss of 20 percent or more, fueling hype about a future in which many more millions of Americans take them. Major food companies including Nestlé and Conagra are considering tailoring their products to suit GLP-1 users. Underlying all this excitement is a huge assumption: They work for everyone.
But for a lot of people, they just don’t. Anita, who lives in Arizona, told me she “took it for granted” that she would lose weight on a GLP-1 drug because “the people around me who were on it were just dropping weight like mad.” Instead, she didn’t shed any pounds. Likewise, Kathryn, from Florida, hasn’t lost any weight since starting the medication in October. “I was really hoping this was something that would be a game changer for me, but it feels like it was just a lot of wasted money,” she told me.
CBC: Ontario documents show patient complaints over cataract billings
As Ontario prepares to expand the number of private clinics that perform publicly funded cataract surgeries, documents show those procedures form one of the most common complaints the province receives from patients about unfair billing practices.
The Canadian Press submitted a freedom-of-information request for copies of complaints made under the law banning medical professionals from charging patients for services covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan.
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“According to the records provided, you had consented to paying for and receiving these services,” the ministry told the patient.
“The [Commitment to the Future of Medicare Act] does not apply to uninsured services, and any costs associated with these services are the responsibility of the patient.”
Gelinas said such examples show that patients receiving publicly funded surgeries in private clinics are being upsold and are not always clear on what charges they will have to pay out of pocket.
She was referred to an orthopedic specialist in November and told it could take up to three months to get an appointment. But she still hasn’t received a consultation.
“I call every week, crying, almost screaming because I can’t endure the pain anymore,” said Payette. “I’m not even on the list yet in the public system.”
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According to the Health Ministry, 19,836 people were waiting for a hip or knee replacement in Quebec as of the latest figures available on Jan. 27.
Of those patients, 8,822 had waited six months or more for surgery.
NewsNation: Kevin O’Leary: Biden student debt forgiveness “completely unfair”
“Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary says President Joe Biden’s student debt cancellation is “completely unfair.”
“Why is this cohort the only one that gets this deal?” O’Leary asked during an appearance on NewsNation’s “The Hill.” “How unfair is that? What kind of a message is that? I’m 100% against this.”
O’Leary calls the cancellation “unfair to people who didn’t go to college prior to this forgiveness of debt because they couldn’t afford it.”
I guess there’s a first time for everything, and for once I actually agree with O’Leary on something. This is really bad policy and there are better alternatives for the same money.
Daring Fireball: Coming Soon: Apple Immersive Video Film With Highlights of MLS 2023 Playoffs
Apple Newsroom, in a post announcing the kickoff of the MLS 2024 season:
Coming soon, all Apple Vision Pro users can experience the best of the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs with the first-ever sports film captured in Apple Immersive Video. Viewers will feel every heart-pounding moment in 8K 3D with a 180-degree field of view and Spatial Audio that transports them to each match.
I speculated on the most recent episode of Dithering — which you should subscribe to! — that Apple’s immersive video sports coverage might not be for live events any time soon, but rather will be something akin to NFL Films and the heyday of HBO’s Inside the NFL. Which is to say, highlights presented in far better quality than what you see live. Sounds like that’s exactly what’s coming soon, at least.
Last Updated: 21.Feb.2024 23:57 EST