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UPI
8 hours ago
- Health
- UPI
Scientists develop brain implant to turn thoughts into speech
Stanford University scientists have developed a brain implant designed to "hear" and vocalize words a person with severe paralysis is imagining in their mind. File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo For the first time, scientists have created a brain implant that can "hear" and vocalize words a person is only imagining in their head. The device, developed at Stanford University in California, could help people with severe paralysis communicate more easily, even if they can't move their mouth to try to speak. "This is the first time we've managed to understand what brain activity looks like when you just think about speaking," Erin Kunz, lead author of the study, published Thursday in the journal Cell, told the Financial Times. "For people with severe speech and motor impairments, brain-computer interfaces capable of decoding inner speech could help them communicate much more easily and more naturally," said Kunz, a postdoctoral scholar in neurosurgery. Four people with paralysis from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or brainstem stroke volunteered for the study. One participant could only communicate by moving his eyes up and down for "yes" and side to side for "no." Electrode arrays from the BrainGate brain-computer interface were implanted in the brain area that controls speech, called the motor cortex. Participants were then asked to try speaking or to silently imagine certain words. The device picked up brain activity linked to phonemes, the small units that make up speech patterns, and artificial intelligence software stitched them into sentences. Imagined speech signals were weaker than attempted speech but still accurate enough to reach up to 74% recognition in real time, the research shows. Senior author Frank Willett, an assistant professor of neurosurgery at Stanford, told the Financial Times the results show that "future systems could restore fluent, rapid and comfortable speech via inner speech alone," with better implants and decoding software. "For people with paralysis attempting to speak can be slow and fatiguing and, if the paralysis is partial, it can produce distracting sounds and breath control difficulties," Willett said. The team also addressed privacy concerns. In one surprising finding, the BCI sometimes picked up words participants weren't told to imagine -- such as numbers they were silently counting. To protect privacy, researchers created a "password" system that blocks the device from decoding unless the user unlocks it. In the study, imagining the phrase "chitty chitty bang bang" worked 98% of the time to prevent unintended decoding. "This work gives real hope that speech BCIs can one day restore communication that is as fluent, natural and comfortable as conversational speech," Willett said. More information Learn more about the technology by reading the full study in the journal Cell. Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
UPI
6 days ago
- Health
- UPI
Appeals court: Arkansas can ban gender-affirming care for minors
Participants walk up Market Street in the 55th annual San Francisco Pride Parade in San Francisco on Sunday, June 29, 2025. An appeals court on Tuesday permitted Arkansas to enforce its gender-affirming care ban for minors. File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo Aug. 13 (UPI) -- A federal appeals court has ruled that Arkansas may enforce its ban on minors receiving gender-affirming care, overturning a lower court's decision that found the law unconstitutional. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit issued its ruling Tuesday, stating the lower court erred in June 2023 when it struck down Arkansas' Save Adolescents From Experimentation Act for violating the First Amendment and both the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause. It said the lower court's ruling was incongruent with a recent Supreme Court decision that upheld Tennessee's gender-affirming care ban for minors. "Because the district court rested its permanent injunction on incorrect conclusions of law, it abused its discretion," the appeals court ruled. Arkansas' Republican attorney general, Tim Griffin, celebrated the ruling. "I applaud the court's decision recognizing that Arkansas has a compelling interest in protecting the physical and psychological health of children and am pleased that children in Arkansas will be protected from risky, experimental procedures with lifelong consequences," he said in a statement. Gender-affirming care includes a range of therapies, from psychological, behavioral and medical interventions with surgeries for minors being exceedingly rare. The medical practice has been endorsed by every medical association. Despite the evidence and the support of the medical community, Republicans and conservatives, often with the use of misinformation, have been targeting gender-affirming care amid a larger push threatening the rights of the LGBTQ community. Arkansas passed the SAVE Act in 2021, but then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson vetoed it that same year, calling the ban a "product of the cultural war in America" that would interfere with the doctor-patient relationship. The GOP-majority legislature then overrode his veto, making Arkansas the first state to pass a bill banning gender-affirming care for minors in the United States. Four transgender minors and their parents then challenged the law, saying it violated their rights, resulting in the 2023 ruling overturning the ban, which marked a victory in the fight for LGBTQ healthcare until Tuesday. "This is a tragically unjust result for transgender Arkansans, their doctors and their families," Holly Dickson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, said in a statement. "As we and our clients consider our next steps, we want transgender Arkansans to know they are far from alone and we remain as determined as ever to secure their right to safety, dignity and equal access to the healthcare they need." The ruling comes as Republicans seeking to restrict transgender healthcare have gained a support in the White House with President Donald Trump who has implemented several federal policies that align with their efforts. On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order making it federal policy that there are only two genders, male and female, both of which were determined at "conception." He has also banned transgender Americans from the military and has sought to bar transgender athletes from competing on teams and in competitions that align with their gender identity. Twenty-six states and the territory of Puerto Rico have banned gender-affirming care for minors, according to the Movement Advancement Project.
UPI
24-07-2025
- Health
- UPI
'Significant evidence' ties air pollution with dementia, study finds
Smoke from fires in Northern California covers the Bay Bridge in San Francisco in 2020. A British study published this week appears to strengthen the suspected link between long-term exposure to air pollution and the risk of dementia in the elderly. File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo ST. PAUL, Minn., July 24 (UPI) -- British researchers said Thursday they've found "significant evidence" of a long-suspected link between air pollution and dementia after studying data from nearly 30 million people across four continents. The authors of a paper published in The Lancet Planetary Health reviewed data compiled from 32 studies that involved more than 29 million participants, mostly from high-income countries in Europe, North America and Asia, as well as Australia, to "provide more robust overarching conclusions" about the suspected connection. After crunching the numbers from those studies, University of Cambridge researchers said they had identified a "positive and statistically significant association" between dementia and long-term exposure to three types of air pollutants: fine particulate matter with diameters of 2.5 microns or less, nitrogen dioxide, and soot from sources such as vehicle exhaust emissions and burning wood. They also concluded the risks of dementia go up as the levels of exposure increase, especially for the tiny particulate matter, which is so small it can be inhaled deeply into the lungs. For such "PM2.5," every 10 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m³) of long-term exposure increases an individual's relative risk of dementia by 17%, they found. To put that into perspective, they noted the average roadside measurement for PM2.5 in central London in 2023 was 10 μg/m³. Similarly, for every 10 μg/m³ of long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide, the relative risk of dementia increased by 3%, while the dementia risk jumped by 13% for each 1 μg/m³ of soot exposure. The study, which was funded by the European Union's scientific research arm, also noted that while traffic-related air pollution is common in cities in high-income countries, "marginalized groups" from low- and middle-income nations and communities not included in the analysis tend to have higher exposures to air pollution and are likely at even greater risk. Senior author Dr. Haneen Khreis of Cambridge's MRC Epidemiology Unit said the findings provide "further evidence to support the observation that long-term exposure to outdoor air pollution is a risk factor for the onset of dementia in previously healthy adults." She added that the mounting evidence makes the case for cleaner air even stronger -- not only for the sake of human health but also for the ability of care systems to cope with the exploding numbers of Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia. The 57 million people already affected worldwide are expected to almost triple to 153 million cases by 2050, and reducing that avalanche of future illness will require "less burning of fossil fuels, a move to renewable clean energy, a move to clean transportation options, such as walking and cycling, and enacting climate change mitigation strategies," Khreis told UPI in emailed comments. "A coordinated effort would be a multisector, systems-level response -- not unlike how we've approached other public health crises." She and her Cambridge colleagues two years ago created an interactive "evidence map" of hundreds of possible urban policy interventions available by geography to reduce traffic-related emissions and air pollution, which they set up as an aid for planners to become aware of options of which they may not have been previously aware. "There are indeed many options available," Khreis said. "But in short, we need a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach that views air pollution mitigation as an upstream intervention for brain health, and so many other outcomes that are now convincingly linked to air pollution. We need political will and courage to address this health hazard." Suspected in brain inflammation Scientists has been seeking to establish a definitive link between air pollution and dementia for a decade, as several previous studies have suggested such a connection. For instance, the British government's Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants reviewed nearly 70 studies in human populations and reported in 2022 that "it is likely that air pollution does contribute" to a decline in mental ability and dementia in older people, although they qualified that more research is needed before recommendations could be issued "with confidence." The 2024 Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, intervention and care, meanwhile, identified air pollution as one of 14 modifiable risk factors for dementia. Most theories about the link center around how air pollution can trigger inflammation in the brain and "excessive oxidative stress," in which the body's ability to combat free radicals with antioxidants is overwhelmed. There is "a wealth of expanding literature that investigates this question," Khreis said, noting that some research indicates the ultrafine particles may be able to bypass the blood-brain barrier and enter the brain directly via the olfactory nerve, thus triggering inflammation. Indirectly, these inhaled pollutants can trigger systemic inflammation and immune responses, such as when they enter the circulatory system and travel to solid organs. The particles can cross into the brain and disrupt microglial function and promote amyloid-β plaque formation, which is associated with dementia, she said. Experts comment Experts and other researchers who have looked at the possible link between air pollution and dementia, but were not connected to the current study, weighed on its findings when contacted by UPI. Dr. Isolde Radford, senior policy manager at the British charitable group Alzheimer's Research U.K., agreed that air pollution "is not just an environmental issue -- it's a serious and growing threat to our brain health. If no one were exposed to air pollution, there would be three fewer cases of dementia for every 100 people who develop it now." She called the current study a "rigorous review [that] adds to mounting evidence that exposure to air pollution -- from traffic fumes to wood burners -- increases the risk of developing dementia," and specifically noted marginalized groups are often exposed to higher levels of pollution, yet remain underrepresented in research. "Future studies must reflect the full diversity of society -- because those most at risk could stand to benefit the most from action," Radford added, calling on the British government to institute a "bold, cross-government approach to health prevention -- one that brings together departments beyond health ... to take coordinated action on the drivers of dementia risk" and move up existing timelines to produce cleaner air. Dr. Hao Chen, a researcher at Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital in China and author of a recent study linking atmospheric pollutants with the progression of cardiometabolic disorders and subsequent dementia, called the Cambridge paper an important document. "This is a landmark study that significantly advances our understanding of the link between air pollution and dementia," he told UPI in emailed comments, noting it is "the largest and most comprehensive meta-analysis to date, significantly advancing previous reviews by including new pollutants and rigorous bias/certainty assessments." It reinforces the findings of the 2024 Lancet Commission, he said, adding, "The public health implications are profound. The findings suggest that efforts to reduce air pollution -- particularly from traffic and industrial sources -- could play a crucial role in lowering the global burden of dementia. "Investing in cleaner air is not only beneficial for respiratory and cardiovascular health; it is a critical investment in protecting our brain health and cognitive longevity. This research provides a compelling, evidence-based mandate for policymakers worldwide to implement stricter air quality standards as an urgent dementia prevention strategy," Chen said. Victoria Williams, an assistant professor of geriatrics and gerontology, and noted Alzheimer's disease researcher at the University of Wisconsin, said the findings suggest "a moderate level of certainty that outdoor air pollution exposure increases risk for dementia, with the studies included considered to be at minimal risk for bias." Since there is currently no cure for dementia, "prevention is key to reducing its overall incidence in our society," she added. "Thus, minimizing exposure to air pollution does reflect a promising strategy in reducing the overall burden of dementia," and unlike other known risk factors linked to lifestyle choices such as smoking and a poor diet, societal action could make a difference. "Limiting exposure to ambient air pollution is well adept to being addressed at a policy level where reductions can offer broad protective effects to a society as a whole," Williams said.
UPI
22-07-2025
- Health
- UPI
DOJ drops challenge to Tennessee's gender care ban for minors
Participants walk up Market Street in the 55th annual San Francisco Pride Parade in San Francisco on Sunday, June 29, 2025. On Monday, the Justice Department dropped a lawsuit challenging Tennessee's ban on minors receiving gender-affirming medical care. File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo July 22 (UPI) -- The Justice Department has dismissed a Biden-era lawsuit challenging Tennessee's law banning gender-affirming care for minors, as the Trump administration continues to attack the rights and medical care of transgender Americans. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that her department's Civil Rights Division dismissed the lawsuit in a statement Monday that said the Justice Department "does not believe challenging Tennessee's law serves the public interest." Gender-affirming care includes a range of therapies, including psychological, behavioral and medical interventions, with surgeries for minors being exceedingly rare. According to a recent Harvard study, cisgender minors and adults were far more likely to undergo analogous gender-affirming surgeries than their transgender counterparts. Every major American medical association supports gender-affirming care for both adults and minors, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, the largest national medical association. Despite the support of the medical community and evidence of its efficacy, gender-affirming care and this marginalized community continue to be targeted by conservatives and Republicans with legislation. Tennessee enacted Senate Bill 1 in March 2023 to prohibit healthcare professionals from prescribing puberty blockers or hormones to minors to treat gender dysphoria, which attracted a lawsuit from the Justice Department under President Joe Biden, arguing the law violated the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, as all other minors continued to have access to the same procedures and treatments. The conservative movement targeting the healthcare of transgender minors has since gained a supporter in the White House with the re-election of President Donald Trump. Since returning to power, Trump has implemented an agenda targeting transgender Americans, including directing the federal government to recognize only two sexes determined at "conception," restricting gender-affirming care for youth and banning transgender Americans from the military. Last month, the conservative-leaning Supreme Court ruled 6-3 against the Biden administration's complaint to overturn the Tennessee law. The ruling fell along ideological lines, with the conservative justices voting for the law to stand. The liberal justices dissented. "By retreating from meaningful review exactly where it matters most, the Court abandons transgender children and their families to political whims," Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in her dissent. "Tennessee's ban applies no matter what a minor's parents and doctors think, with no regard for the severity of the minor's mental health conditions or the extent to which treatment is medically necessary for an individual child." Bondi on Monday said the Supreme Court made "the right decision." Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division said that by dismissing the lawsuit, they "undid one of the injustices the Biden administration inflicted upon the country."
UPI
18-07-2025
- Business
- UPI
Water pollution issues on the rise in England
Employees from Thames Water work to shut off a broken water main in London in July 2012. The U.K. Environment Agency announced Friday that the company was responsible for several incidents of pollution in 2024. File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo July 18 (UPI) -- The British government announced Friday that water company pollution issues in England have seriously jumped, to 2,801 incidents in 2024 from 2,174 in 2023. In a press release, the U.K. Environment Agency, or EA, said that it conducted more than 4,000 inspections of water company assets and found that 24% of sites examined last year were deemed noncompliant. Any water company found to be noncompliant will face enforcement actions, the agency said. According to the EA, three water companies were responsible for 81% of occurrences in 2024, and that all nine water and sewage companies in England combined for what it deemed to be overall deficient performance. The EA declared that of the 81% pollution offenses in 2024, the most are linked to Thames Water, which was found responsible for 33 of them. Southern Water caused 15 and Yorkshire Water, 13. EA Chairman Alan Lovell announced in the press release that "We have made significant changes to tighten our regulation of the water industry and ensure companies are held to account." "With a dedicated larger workforce and increased funding, our officers are uncovering and acting on failures to comply with environmental law," he added. The Water [Special Measures] Act, which was signed into law in February, gives the EA more power to act against any water companies found responsible for pollution. One measure currently under consideration would be to fine such companies to repay any money spent on enforcement.
