Hacker News with Generative AI: Public Health

Air pollution still plagues nearly half of Americans (npr.org)
Air in the U.S. has gotten cleaner for decades, adding years to people's lives and preventing millions of asthma attacks, but nearly half of Americans still live with unhealthy air pollution, a new report finds.
Air Pollution, Public Health, Environment, United States
5 points by clumsysmurf 20 hours ago | 0 comments
AI Bests Virus Experts, Raising Biohazard Fears (time.com)
A new study claims that AI models like ChatGPT and Claude now outperform PhD-level virologists in problem-solving in wet labs, where scientists analyze chemicals and biological material.
Artificial Intelligence, Science, Biology, Bioethics, Public Health
31 points by rbanffy 2 days ago | 28 comments
How effective and safe are measles vaccines? (ourworldindata.org)
Data from large meta-analyses show that measles vaccination is highly effective and safe, reducing the chances of getting measles by 95%.
Vaccines, Measles, Public Health, Data Analysis, Science
5 points by salonium_ 3 days ago | 1 comments
How safe is the air to breathe? 50M people in the US don't know (phys.org)
In 2024, more than 50 million people in the United States lived in counties with no air-quality monitoring, according to a new study from researchers in the Penn State College of Health and Human Development.
Air Quality, Public Health, Environment, Data, Research
9 points by pavel_lishin 3 days ago | 5 comments
Anti-Vaxxers Are Grifting Off the Measles Outbreak and Claim Bioweapon Caused It (wired.com)
Anti-vaccine activists with close ties to US health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are falsely claiming that the measles public health crisis in Texas is caused by a “bioweapon” targeting the Mennonite community.
Health, Misinformation, Conspiracy Theories, Public Health
25 points by mohi-kalantari 4 days ago | 7 comments
Swill Milk Scandal (wikipedia.org)
The swill milk scandal was a major adulterated food scandal in the state of New York in the 1850s. The New York Times reported an estimate that in one year, 8,000 infants died from swill milk.
Food Safety, History, Public Health, New York
5 points by croes 5 days ago | 4 comments
Lab leak – True origins of Covid-19 (whitehouse.gov)
COVID-19, Science, Government, Public Health
16 points by binarno_sp 7 days ago | 33 comments
"Lab leak" marketing page replaces federal hub for Covid resources (arstechnica.com)
After obliterating the federal office on long COVID and clawing back billions in COVID funding from state health departments, the Trump administration has now entirely erased the online hub for federal COVID-19 resources.
Politics, Public Health, COVID-19, Government
15 points by pmags 8 days ago | 0 comments
Trump Halts Data Collection on Drug Use, Maternal Mortality, Climate Change, Etc (propublica.org)
By slashing teams that gather critical data, the administration has left the federal government with no way of understanding if policies are working — and created a black hole of information whose consequences could ripple out for decades.
Politics, Data Collection, Government, Public Health, Climate Change
25 points by hn_acker 8 days ago | 2 comments
FDA making plans to end its routine food safety inspections, sources say (cbsnews.com)
The Food and Drug Administration is drawing up plans that would end most of its routine food safety inspections work, multiple federal health officials tell CBS News, and effectively outsource this oversight to state and local authorities.
Food Safety, Government, Regulation, Public Health
12 points by pmags 8 days ago | 2 comments
A deadly E. coli outbreak hit 15 states, but the FDA chose not to publicize it (nbcnews.com)
An E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce ripped across 15 states in November, sickening dozens of people, including a 9-year-old boy in Indiana who nearly died of kidney failure and a 57-year-old Missouri woman who fell ill after attending a funeral lunch. One person died.
Food Safety, Health, Public Health, Government Regulation, News
24 points by perihelions 8 days ago | 6 comments
The Dutch Love Their Bicycles. Helmets? Not So Much. (nytimes.com)
Cyclists comprise the highest number of road fatalities in the Netherlands. The country has introduced a campaign to promote helmets, but many cyclists are not convinced.
Cycling Safety, Netherlands, Public Health
6 points by bookofjoe 8 days ago | 2 comments
CDC struggling to fight raging measles outbreak after deep funding, staff cuts (arstechnica.com)
In now-rarified comments from experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an agency official on Tuesday evening said the explosive measles outbreak mushrooming out of West Texas will require "significant financial resources" to control and that the agency is already struggling to keep up.
Public Health, Measles, CDC, Funding Cuts, Government
12 points by voxadam 10 days ago | 1 comments
High time to tackle drug-resistant fungal infections (nature.com)
To combat long-overlooked fungal pathogens, researchers and regulators must embrace innovative science and policy.
Science, Healthcare, Public Health, Drug Resistance
137 points by pmags 10 days ago | 45 comments
WHO: Member States conclude negotiations on draft pandemic agreement (who.int)
After more than three years of intensive negotiations, WHO Member States took a major step forward in efforts to make the world safer from pandemics, by forging a draft agreement for consideration at the upcoming World Health Assembly in May.
Health, International Organizations, Pandemics, Public Health
4 points by Anon84 10 days ago | 0 comments
Prevalence and Early Identification of ASD Among Children Aged 4 and 8 Years (cdc.gov)
Prevalence of ASD among children aged 8 years was higher in 2022 than previous years.
Children's Health, Public Health, Statistics
3 points by bookofjoe 10 days ago | 1 comments
CDC cruise inspectors laid off as ship arrives in Fla with norovirus outbreak (tampabay.com)
All full-time employees in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vessel Sanitation Program were laid off last week, even as a cruise ship arrived in Miami with another norovirus outbreak among passengers and crew.
Public Health, Norovirus, Cruise Ships, Layoffs
18 points by howard941 12 days ago | 0 comments
Revolt brews against RFK Jr. as experts pen rally cries in top medical journal (arstechnica.com)
Health experts took to one of the country's leading medical journals to pen searing rebukes of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s first weeks as the country's top health official—and they called upon their colleagues to rise up to fight the misinformation and distrust they allege Kennedy, a long-time anti-vaccine advocate, is fomenting.
Health, Politics, Misinformation, Science, Public Health
48 points by rbanffy 13 days ago | 3 comments
CDC denies help for lead poisoning in Milwaukee schools due to layoffs (cbsnews.com)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has rejected a request from health officials in Milwaukee for help with a lead poisoning investigation, after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. eliminated the agency's response team.
Public Health, Lead Poisoning, Government, Layoffs, Milwaukee
15 points by perihelions 14 days ago | 3 comments
Shingles vaccine found to cut dementia risk by 20% (newatlas.com)
Taking advantage of a unique public health policy in the UK, a new study has found that receiving the shingles vaccine reduces dementia risk by 20%.
Health, Medicine, Public Health, Vaccines, Dementia
8 points by dreadsword 14 days ago | 3 comments
The Story of Fluoridation (nidcr.nih.gov)
It started as an observation, that soon took the shape of an idea. It ended, five decades later, as a scientific revolution that shot dentistry into the forefront of preventive medicine. This is the story of how dental science discovered-and ultimately proved to the world-that fluoride, a mineral found in rocks and soil, prevents tooth decay. Although dental caries remains a public health worry, it is no longer the unbridled problem it once was, thanks to fluoride.
Science, Public Health, Dentistry, History
4 points by helloworld 15 days ago | 1 comments
"Not Just Measles": Whooping Cough Cases Are Soaring as Vaccine Rates Decline (propublica.org)
While much of the country is focused on the spiraling measles outbreak concentrated in the small, dusty towns of West Texas, cases of pertussis have skyrocketed by more than 1,500% nationwide since hitting a recent low in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Public Health, Measles, Pertussis, Vaccines
15 points by hn_acker 15 days ago | 0 comments
CDC's cruise ship inspectors laid off amid bad year for outbreaks (cbsnews.com)
All of the full-time employees in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Vessel Sanitation Program are now off the job, multiple officials tell CBS News, gutting the agency's ability to investigate outbreaks and conduct health inspections on cruise ships.
Public Health, Cruise Industry, Government, COVID-19
10 points by croes 15 days ago | 0 comments
FDA reverses on telework after layoffs and resignations threaten basic operation (federalnewsnetwork.com)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Weeks after ordering all Food and Drug Administration employees back into the office, the agency is reversing course, allowing some of its most prized staffers to work remotely amid worries that recent layoffs and resignations could jeopardize basic functions, like approving new medicines.
FDA, Telework, Government, Public Health, Workforce
26 points by toomuchtodo 15 days ago | 6 comments
Ontario schools begin suspending students who aren't fully vaccinated (cbc.ca)
Ontario, Education, Vaccination, COVID-19, Public Health
20 points by amichail 16 days ago | 0 comments
Major Flaws in 2025 Meta-Analysis on Fluoride and Children IQ Scores (osf.io)
Science, Public Health, Research, Children's Health, Fluoride
103 points by jandrewrogers 17 days ago | 84 comments
154M lives and counting: 5 charts reveal the power of vaccines (nature.com)
Vaccines have made several deadly diseases a thing of the past.
Public Health, Science, Vaccines, Data Visualization
6 points by gnabgib 18 days ago | 0 comments
RFK Jr says he plans to tell CDC to stop recommending fluoride in drinking water (apnews.com)
Public Health, Fluoride, Drinking Water, Politics
16 points by hbcondo714 18 days ago | 0 comments
Vaccination is not a "personal choice" (weaponizedspaces.substack.com)
Leaders at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reportedly buried a report last week — produced by their own experts — warning that the risk of measles is higher in areas near outbreaks where vaccination rates are lower.
Public Health, Vaccination, Measles, CDC
8 points by rbanffy 19 days ago | 10 comments
CDC's top laboratory on STDs is shut by Trump administration (statnews.com)
At a time when the world is down to a single drug that can reliably cure gonorrhea, the U.S. government has shuttered the country’s premier sexually transmitted diseases laboratory, leaving experts aghast and fearful about what lies ahead.
Public Health, STDs, US Government, Science, Health
157 points by pmags 19 days ago | 96 comments