April kicks off with a launch of new products that you do not want to miss! Today Hellmann’s announced their new Butterfinger mayonnaise, a mash-up of Butterfinger chocolate and peanut butter candy bars with traditional mayonnaise. Pringles went to social media to reveal their move to expand into personal health products with Pringles Sour Cream & Onion Body Wash. Ear bud technology took a giant leap with JLab’s announcement of the Invisibuds, an invisible earbud that will allow you to listen to your favorite music or stream without anyone knowing.
Interested in any of these products? Sadly, none of these are available. These and many others were in celebration of April Fools’ Day – a day for practical jokes and tricks!
On a serious note, tomorrow is World Autism Awareness Day. In December 2007, the United Nations unanimously passed a resolution establishing April 2nd each year as World Autism Awareness Day. The aim of World Autism Awareness Day is to spotlight the need to improve the quality of life for individuals with autism as well as to recognize their accomplishments. The term autism was changed to autism spectrum disorder in 2013 by the American Psychiatric Association to include other conditions such as Asperger syndrome. However, some people prefer to use the term autism as they dislike the negative meaning implied by the word “disorder” in autism spectrum disorder.
Research suggests that there is not one cause of autism, but multiple factors such as genetics and environment. While much is still to be learned, research has established that neither vaccine nor vaccine ingredients cause autism. Click here to learn more about this.
This Weekend Reading Series begins with Real News, with current news on a variety of healthcare related topics. In Don’t Be Fooled, you will find articles on health and science misinformation including the use of Ivermectin for treating Covid-19. Next explore the articles in No Fooling on decreasing healthcare costs, reducing depression and more. Finally, do not miss For Real? and my favorite based on personal experience – serious injury risk higher for horse riding than for football, motor racing, or skiing.
I hope you enjoy the following:
1. Real News
- WebMD: Feds Launch ‘One-Stop’ Website for All COVID Resources
- Kaiser Health News: Delays for Autism Diagnosis and Treatment Grew Even Longer During the Pandemic
- ScienceDaily: ‘We’re more alike than we might think’ – New study suggests autistic and non-autistic people share more in common
- Axios: Study: Pregnancy nearly doubles risk of breakthrough COVID
2. Don’t Be Fooled
- New York Times: Ivermectin Does Not Reduce Risk of Covid Hospitalization, Large Study Finds. “At some point it will become a waste of resources to continue studying an unpromising approach,” one expert said.
- Science: Detecting Bullshit: Studying the spread of misinformation should become a top scientific priority, says biologist Carl Bergstrom
- The Conversation: In order to be saved from misinformation, we need to be exposed to it
- PatientEngagementHIT: Medical Misinformation Exposure Reduces Patient Health Literacy
3. No Fooling
- Healthcare Dive: US health spending growth decelerated in pandemic’s second year
- Iowa State University: Exercise may reduce depression symptoms, boost effects of therapy
- University of MI Health: More adults are falling every year, despite prevention efforts
- Axios: Shortages stretch across health care supply chain
4. For Real?
- How-To Geek: Gmail Was the Best April Fools’ Day Joke of All Time
- Eureka Alert: Serious injury risk higher for horse riding than for football, motor racing, or skiing. Click here for link to full study
- Axios: Pure maple syrup — from New Mexico
- Smithsonian Magazine: Researchers Are Closer to Creating Hypoallergenic Cats Using CRISPR Technology
Enjoy your weekend!
Best,
Suzanne
Suzanne Daniels, Ph.D.
AEPCPresident
P.O. Box 1416
Birmingham, MI 48012
Office: (248) 792-2187
Email: [email protected]
