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New York Post
5 hours ago
- Health
- New York Post
Appendix cancer has quadrupled in older millennials in the US
Researchers are reporting a startling spike in appendiceal adenocarcinoma (AA) — otherwise known as appendix cancer — in people born after 1945. Cases have more than tripled in Americans born between 1980 and 1985 and quadrupled in those born between 1985 and 1990, according to a new study out of Vanderbilt University Medical Center. 'I think it's alarming,' study author Andreana N. Holowatyj, an assistant professor of hematology and oncology, told The Post. Advertisement 3 A new study has identified an alarming spike in appendiceal adenocarcinoma (AA) — otherwise known as appendix cancer — in people born after 1945. top images – Appendix cancer is very rare, estimated to affect only about one or two people per 1 million per year, according to the National Cancer Institute. Indeed, Holowatyj's team identified only 4,858 people aged 20 and over who were diagnosed with AA between 1975 and 2019. Advertisement The findings, published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, are nonetheless part of a troublesome trend. AA is yet another type of cancer that seems to be on the rise in younger adults — joining the ranks of colorectal, breast, uterine, kidney and pancreatic cancers. 'I think the fact that we're seeing birth cohort or generational effects across a plethora of cancer types is indeed alarming because it really stresses the need to understand what is underpinning this pattern in order for us to be able to actively reverse it,' Holowatyj said. 3 Experts point to lifestyle changes, such as more sedentary behavior, as a possible cause of the rise in cancer cases in younger people. StockPhotoPro – Advertisement As with other cancers, health experts aren't exactly sure what could be causing the jump in AA cases. 'I think it's going to be a constellation of factors that may be driving appendiceal cancer development,' Holowatyj said. 'One of the things we often think about is, what has changed across birth cohorts over time?' she said. Advertisement Holowatyj pointed to 'possibly the use of antibiotics, both in childhood and in the food chain, the industrialization of the food industry over time, the lifestyle patterns and the tripling of obesity since the 1970s, increasingly sedentary behavior, possibly environmental exposures that have changed across different parts of the country and over time.' Whatever the cause, she hopes this study encourages the public to be 'aware of this cancer, to know about the signs and symptoms of appendix cancers and know that we're seeing more cases diagnosed across generations.' 3 Most AA cases are diagnosed incidentally after someone has their appendix removed. Avocado_studio – Many of these symptoms can mimic appendicitis: Abdominal pain, often on the lower right side Bloating, diarrhea or constipation Feeling full after small meals Unexplained weight loss Nausea and vomiting Abdominal mass or swelling Holowatyj hopes that people with symptoms 'see a healthcare professional in a timely manner because it's truly critical to detect appendix cancer early.' There are no standardized screening tests for appendix cancers — most cases are diagnosed incidentally after someone has their appendix removed. 'I think it's important to understand that appendix cancer is actually diagnosed in younger ages more commonly than we see in other cancers,' she said, noting that one in three patients diagnosed with appendix cancer is under the age of 50, compared to one in eight for colon cancer.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Swiss Village Buried by Massive Glacial Collapse
A chunk of the Birch glacier collapsed Wednesday, May 28, 2025, burying large portions of the small Swiss village, Blatten, under a mass of snow, ice, and debris, according to news May 19, residents of Blatten, which normally has a population of about 300, were evacuated after geologists determined that they were threatened by the risk of rock and ice fall. Still, Matthias Ebener, a spokesperson for local authorities in the canton of Valais, said one person is missing, Reuters collapse destroyed several homes in the village and, according to generated an earthquake measuring 3.1 on the Richter scale. Footage shared of the avalanche shows a deluge of snow, ice, and rock roaring down a Swiss mountainside. Thick brown plumes of debris erupted around the slide. Tap or click the embedded video below to watch the collapse to keep up with the best stories and photos in skiing? Subscribe to the new Powder To The People newsletter for weekly updates. Karin Keller-Suter, the president of Switzerland, acknowledged the glacial collapse in a post on X.'It's terrible to lose your home,' she wrote. 'In these difficult times, my thoughts are with the residents of Blatten." The natural disaster at Blatten follows another incident when, in 2023, residents of the Swiss village of Brienz were forced to leave their homes as the mountains above them deteriorated, the BBC reported that, according to experts, the link between the collapse of the Birch glacier and climate isn't yet a changing climate has accelerated global glacial recession and, according to a fact sheet published by the Swiss Academy of Sciences, global warming can destabilize rock faces previously supported by glaciers or permafrost, heightening the risk of rockfalls and an interview, Daniel Farinotti, a glaciologist at ETH Zurich, said a portion of Switzerland's glaciers could be preserved if 'we manage to cut global greenhouse gas emissions quickly.' However, Farinotti added that if greenhouse gas emissions aren't reduced, all of the Swiss glaciers could vanish by prospect doesn't just threaten an increased prevalence of natural hazards—it also puts Swiss summer skiing destinations at risk. Across the country, seven of the nine ski resorts that offered glacier skiing have ceased summer operations, according to a paper published in the Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights. Today, only Zermatt and Saas-Fee's summer glacier skiing offerings Village Buried by Massive Glacial Collapse first appeared on Powder on May 28, 2025
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
A gross airplane bathroom is the wrong place to do this, experts say — and you should follow their advice
Experts poo-poo the airplane loo. Flying might feel high-tech — but beneath the surface, it can get pretty gross. In fact, some experts warn that the water on board airplanes is so questionable, they wouldn't even wash their hands with it. While tray tables and overhead bins are known germ zones, it's the airplane bathroom that deserves the most caution. 'The toilets are regularly cleaned, but the locks and door handles are not,' Josephine Remo, a flight attendant and travel blogger, told Travel and Leisure. Even more concerning: studies show onboard water tanks may harbor harmful bacteria. A 2017 study in the Annals of Microbiology found over 50 strains of bacteria in ice used on planes. 'My takeaway from doing the research was to not drink the coffee and the tea. At all,' Charles Platkin, the author of the study and the executive director of the Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center, told Travel and Leisure. He also echoed his team's findings, saying that he avoids washing his hands with water as well. He uses hand wipes instead. A former flight attendant also revealed to The Sun that the bathrooms onboard don't have great ventilation. 'The airplane loo is essentially a cupboard, with no clean air. There is no window, and the air ventilation is poor,' the unnamed attendant said. 'This means that every time you go to the loo, not only are you breathing in the air of many others who have 'done their business' before you (especially if it's a long-haul flight), but you could also be breathing in potential feces particles, circulating [in] the air after a toilet flush.' They recommend wearing a mask when entering the bathroom — or avoiding it altogether, if possible. If you need to brush your teeth during the flight, it's best to use bottled water, as the expert warns that the water is unfiltered and not in the best condition. Experts suggest packing hand sanitizer, using disinfectant wipes and being mindful of bathroom surfaces. 'I try to avoid the restroom if possible,' Shanina Knighton, a research associate professor at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University, told Travel and Leisure, 'but when I must go, I'm careful about what I touch. 'I wouldn't want to start a vacation with a stomach bug because of unsafe water exposure,' Knighton said.
Otago Daily Times
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Smoke rising for the American empire
Donald Trump and Nero have, worryingly, much in common, William J Dominik writes. Donald Trump is not just following in Nero's footsteps — he is resurrecting some of the dynamics that damaged the stability and prosperity of the Roman empire. Like Nero, the possibly demented emperor chronicled by the biographer Suetonius and the historians Tacitus and Dio Cassius, Trump uses spectacle, manipulation and lies as tools of power. What is more chilling is that the lessons of ancient Rome are playing out in real time in the United States today. Suetonius, in The Twelve Caesars, describes Nero as a ruler obsessed with public admiration. He appeared in the guise of a singer, an actor, a dancer and a charioteer — as if his role as emperor was nothing more than a performance. Trump's rallies, filled with rhetorical flourishes, chants and self-congratulation, mirror this obsession with the stage. The difference? While Nero performed on the Roman stage, Trump now commands the media stage 24/7 by cultivating a cult of personality that thrives on spectacle. Tacitus, in his Annals, paints a far darker, more sinister portrait. He portrays Nero as a master of manipulation and fear to keep both the Senate and the people in line. When the Great Fire of 64CE ravaged Rome, Nero's response was typical: self-preservation over leadership. While Dio Cassius claims in his Roman History that Nero sang and fiddled with his lyre while Rome burned, the reality is that he focused on consolidating his power even as the city smouldered. In the midst of a crisis, he shifted blame to scapegoats (namely, the Christians) allowing him to maintain control while stoking division. Fast forward to Trump. When the Covid-19 pandemic ravaged the nation during his first term, Trump followed Nero's script. He downplayed the threat, attacked the very experts tasked with saving lives and diverted attention away from his administration's failings by fuelling conspiracy theories and attacking "enemies of the people". When the Capitol was stormed on January 6, he performed other familiar acts from the Neronian play script: shifting blame, stirring up violence and offering no real leadership. Like Nero, Trump played to his base by offering it a version of reality that suited his narrative even as the Capitol teetered on the edge of chaos. Dio Cassius critiques Nero for his cruelty and his ability to manipulate the masses. He writes that Nero, though once beloved for his populist rhetoric, grew increasingly tyrannical and distrustful of the Senate as his rule progressed, thereby gradually alienating all who were of any worth. Trump, too, has waged war on institutions and attacked the press, the judiciary and anyone in the political establishment who dares to challenge his perspective and agenda. His war on institutions and the media mirrors Nero's attacks on those who disagreed with him. In both the Roman and American contexts, Nero and Trump, respectively, have viewed the control of information as the key to maintaining effective control and power. Both Nero and Trump are known for employing loyalists who carry out their whims without question. Nero's advisers were hand-picked for their ability to flatter, not challenge. Dio Cassius recounts that those senators who listened attentively to Nero and loudly cheered him were commended and honoured; the rest were denigrated and punished. Trump, too, surrounds himself with sycophants who serve his interests, even when it means sacrificing integrity or competence and seeks retribution against those who speak out against him. The parallels are uncanny: a leader who demands unwavering loyalty, punishes dissent and puts personal power above the good of the state. Perhaps the most striking similarity comes from Nero's final days. Suetonius famously records that as Rome burned around Nero, he declared, "What an artist dies in me!" His sense of grandeur and self-worth was such that, even in his destruction, he saw himself as a misunderstood genius. Trump, too, sees himself as both martyr and saviour. He is not just a politician: he is the sole voice of the "forgotten" people, misunderstood and persecuted. His defiance against legal accountability, his false claims of a stolen election and his relentless pursuit of revenge all point to a narcissistic sense of self-importance — just like Nero's. The most terrifying lesson from Rome is that the republic does not fall in one dramatic act. It dies slowly, from within, as the pillars of societal and institutional norms are eroded by a leader who sees them as obstacles to personal glory. Nero's reign left a legacy of division, cruelty and distrust. The United States risks the same fate under Trump. He does not just challenge the norms of democracy — he subverts them in an attempt to remake them entirely by rewriting reality to fit his vision. Rome survived Nero, but it did so at a cost. The empire was never the same after his reign. We are at a crossroads now, with Trump's rise threatening the same kind of moral and political decay. America has a choice: It can wake up to the lessons of Rome or continue down the path of political, social and economic decline. The flames are here — and they are being fed by the very leader who claims to "drain the swamp". The pillars of the American republic are still intact despite the assault on the Capitol, but the foundation is eroding. America may not yet be the Rome of 64CE, but with the smoke on the horizon looking strikingly similar, the fiddling has already begun. ■William J Dominik is an emeritus professor of classics at the University of Otago.
Medscape
15-05-2025
- Health
- Medscape
Lower FIT Cutoffs Could Cut Costs of CRC Screening
Multitarget stool DNA tests — which are becoming more popular in the United States — have shown increased sensitivity over fecal immunochemical tests (FITs) for early colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, however FITs can be more cost-effective, according to the results of a new study. 'Although our study is not and does not claim to be a comprehensive cost-effectiveness analysis, our results indicate there would be much to gain if the current trends of decreasing FIT use rates and increasing [multitarget stool DNA test] use rates in the United States could be reversed,' wrote Hermann Brenner, MD, of Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany, and colleagues. The main argument in favor of multitarget stool DNA test 'has been their higher sensitivity compared with FIT. However, as previously shown, essentially the same sensitivity and specificity could be achieved at no incremental cost by lowering the FIT positivity threshold,' the authors pointed out. In the study, recently published in the Annals of Internal Medicine , researchers compared screening test performance characteristics of a current multitarget stool DNA test (Cologuard, Exact Sciences) and a next-generation multitarget stool DNA test (Cologuard Plus, Exact Sciences) with a current FIT, using data from close to 170 patients. The sensitivity for CRC was 73.8% for FIT vs 92.3% for the current multitarget stool DNA test, and 67.3% vs 93.9% for FIT vs the next generation multitarget stool DNA test. The sensitivity for any advanced neoplasia was 27.7% vs 46.4% for FIT vs the current multitarget test, and 25.2% vs 45.6% for FIT vs the next generation multitarget test. However, specificities for no advanced neoplasia were higher for FIT at 94.9% and 94.8% compared with 86.6% for the current multitarget test and 90.6% for the next generation test. The researchers assumed a 60% uptake of colonoscopy after a positive result. Overall, the screening costs for each case of advanced neoplasia or early detected CRC were 7-9 times higher for the multitarget stool DNA tests than FIT-based screening tests, they reported. The costs per each additional early CRC case were more than $700,000 for both multitarget tests compared with FIT costs, they noted. The findings are limited by the observational design, but the results suggest value in the increased use of FIT if the positivity threshold was reduced, the researchers stated. 'The FIT cutoffs used in different countries vary widely, and the current practice in the United States that hinders use of quantitative information from FITs and flexibility in defining the positivity threshold should be reconsidered,' they concluded. Follow-up Is Essential to FIT Success The invasiveness of CRC screening tests remains a significant impediment to screening, said David A. Johnson, MD, professor of medicine and chief of Gastroenterology at Eastern Virginia School of Medicine, Norfolk, Virginia, in an interview. Stool-based testing can be done at home 'without the encumberments related to colonoscopy,' said Johnson, who was not involved in the study. However, stool-based testing, in particular FIT, is much less effective in detection of precancerous type polyps, and more of a colon cancer detection test. The goal of screening is cancer prevention rather than simply detection, but these tests are better than no screening, he added. The current study findings were not surprising, as the cost effectiveness of FIT in particular has been previously reported, albeit for the detection of CRC rather than precancerous polyps, Johnson told Medscape Medical News . As for the effectiveness, 'disparities for sensitivity trade off with specificity,' he said. This would mean earlier detection of lesions, as opposed to over-testing for lesions that are not really there. 'FIT testing has been extremely effective when done in well-directed programmatic and systematic testing,' Johnson told Medscape Medical News . 'Following up on noncompliance as well as colonoscopy for positive tests is critical to optimize outcomes for this approach or run the risks for adverse outcomes,' he said. The current study was limited by the potential impact of age and comorbidities on sensitivity testing, he noted. 'The assumptions for this present study would be subject to real world testing, which also might be subject to the demographic locations and insurance related factors for systematic testing and comprehensive follow-up.'
