Following publication of a damning report on the dangers of gender transition procedures for children‚ Scotland officially is halting the prescription of puberty blockers and hormone drugs to minors. Scotland’s sole gender clinic for minors‚ Glasgow-based Sandyford Sexual Health Service‚ announced Thursday that it no longer would refer children under 18 to pediatric endocrinology to be prescribed puberty blockers or hormone drugs. Earlier this month‚ the U.K. government published The Cass Review‚ a much-anticipated report of nearly 400 pages compiled by an esteemed pediatrician‚ Dr. Hilary Cass‚ on gender transition procedures for children. Cass worked on the report for four years. “The reality is that we have no good evidence on the long-term outcomes of interventions to manage gender-related distress‚” the report declares. “This is an area of remarkably weak evidence.” Sandyford Sexual Health Service announced:. This service update follows research from NHS [National Health Service] England and the publication of The Cass Review while we work with the Scottish government to engage in research with NHS England that will generate evidence of safety and long-term impact for therapies. While this pause is in place‚ we will continue to give anyone who is referred into the Young People Gender Service the psychological support that they require while we review the pathways in line with the findings. The decision by Sandyford Sexual Health Service to “pause” prescriptions of puberty blockers and hormone drugs to children is in line with new guidance from National Health Service Greater Glasgow and Clyde. “On clinical advice‚ both NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Lothian deferred starting new patients on these treatments in mid-March 2024 in response to the position taken by NHS England and while the publication of The Cass Review was awaited‚” National Health Service Greater Glasgow and Clyde said in a written statement. “Following the publication of The Cass Review and having also received the support of the chief medical officer for Scotland‚ Sir Gregor Smith‚ the health boards formally paused treatment.” Last month‚ NHS England formally halted prescribing puberty blockers and hormone drugs to children‚ explaining: “Puberty blockers … are not available to children and young people for gender incongruence or gender dysphoria because there is not enough evidence of safety and clinical effectiveness.” NHS England warned that hormone drugs “cause some irreversible changes” and “may cause temporary or even permanent infertility.” The agency further noted: “There is some uncertainty about the risks of long-term cross-sex hormone treatment.” Instead of such prescriptions‚ NHS England explained that children diagnosed with gender dysphoria will have a range of psychological therapies available to them‚ including family therapy‚ individual child psychotherapy‚ parental support‚ or counseling‚ and “regular reviews to monitor gender identity development.” NHS England explained its new guidance by saying: “Most treatments offered at this stage are psychological rather than medical. This is because in many cases gender variant behaviour or feelings disappear as children reach puberty.” The groundbreaking report from Bass found that gender transition procedures for children are largely based on biased and even low-quality research. Additionally‚ the report found that there is “no evidence” that gender transition procedures prevent or reduce the risk of suicide‚ despite the common claims of many gender transition advocates; the prescription of puberty blockers and hormone drugs to minors may be dangerous; the majority of children diagnosed with gender dysphoria suffer from a host of often-neglected psychological co-morbidities; and the practice of gender transition procedures has been largely guided by “toxic” debate and discourse. As evidenced by Scotland’s change of course on puberty blockers and hormone drugs‚ The Cass Review is already bringing about what U.K. officials are calling a “fundamental change” in the gender transition industry. In the course of compiling her report‚ Cass investigated the Gender Identity Development Service at the Tavistock clinic in London. Her findings led the pediatrician to recommend that the government shut down the clinic immediately‚ almost two years before her final report was due. In particular‚ Cass was disturbed by Tavistock staff’s trend of placing children as young as 10 on regimens of puberty blockers or hormone drugs with little or no psychological oversight‚ sometimes after as few as three counseling sessions. Cass noted with alarm that about 96% of children referred to Tavistock were prescribed puberty blockers. “We echo the views of Dr. Hilary Cass that toxicity around public debate is impacting the lives of young people seeking the care of our service and does not serve the teams working hard to care and support them‚” Dr. Emelia Creighton‚ public health director for National Health Service Greater Glasgow and Clyde‚ said in a written statement. “The findings informing the Cass Review are important‚ and we have reviewed the impact on our clinical pathways‚” Creighton said. “The next step from here is to work with the Scottish government and academic partners to generate evidence that enables us to deliver safe care for our patients.” NHS Lothian’s executive medical director‚ Tracey Gillies‚ said: “The Cass Review is a significant piece of work into how the NHS can better support children and young people who present with gender dysphoria. Patient safety must always be our priority‚ and it is right that we pause this treatment to allow more research to be carried out.” Meanwhile‚ U.S. health officials have continued promoting gender transition procedures—including puberty blockers and hormone drugs—for children. Last year‚ a report named the U.S. an “outlier” in the field of protecting children from harmful gender transition procedures after France‚ Sweden‚ Finland‚ Norway‚ and the U.K. issued warnings against prescribing children puberty blockers and hormone drugs. A request filed under the Freedom of Information Act earlier this year resulted in an admission from Rachel Levine‚ assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services‚ that his claims that gender transition procedures for children are “lifesaving” and “necessary” were based entirely on a two-page document citing a single study conducted by an LGBT activist organization. Originally published by The Washington Stand The post Scotland Presses ‘Pause’ on Puberty Blockers‚ Hormone Drugs for Children appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Every so often‚ a molecule called acrylamide works its way back into the public sphere of attention‚ usually with warnings in tow about its presence in food and the apparent dangers it poses to our health. But how much of this is true‚ and should we be worried about it&;#63;What is acrylamide&;#63;Acrylamide is a natural by-product formed during high-temperature (above 120°C/248°F) cooking – such as frying‚ toasting‚ or roasting – of food products‚ particularly starchy ones. Its creator is the Maillard reaction‚ the process that leads to the browning of food and the resulting distinctive flavor‚ like those delicious burnt bits of lasagna.The chemical structure of acrylamide‚ also written as CH2=CHC(O)NH2 (C for carbon‚ H‚ for hydrogen‚ O for oxygen‚ and N for nitrogen).Image credit: Jurgis Mankauskas/Shutterstock.comIn this reaction‚ sugars and amino acids – often asparagine – react to form acrylamide‚ which is odorless and water soluble. When it’s in the body‚ acrylamide is broken down into another molecule called glycidamide.Which foods contain acrylamide&;#63;Acrylamide can be found in all sorts of cooked food products‚ but one of the biggest sources is thought to be fried potato products (especially those made with fresh potatoes) such as chips‚ French fries‚ and roast potatoes. It can also be found in toast – particularly if you’re inclined to burning it – cookies‚ cereals‚ and coffee.Does it pose a health risk&;#63;There’s an abundance of headlines suggesting (or sometimes declaring) that acrylamide in our food is bad for us and causes cancer. Many popped up after 2002‚ when the Swedish National Food Administration sounded a so-called “alarm” on the presence of acrylamide within food. Sales of chips in Sweden dropped by 40 percent in the week after the announcement‚ whilst a major chip producer in the country saw share prices fall. Then‚ a couple of months later‚ the status quo returned. It’s a good example of how the way science is communicated can have very real effects on people’s behavior.Despite the concerns raised by that announcement over 20 years ago‚ there’s simply not enough quality evidence – at least in humans – to directly support acrylamide causing cancer. That could be for a multitude of reasons‚ the first being that there’s been some difficulty in figuring out how much acrylamide people are taking in based on their reported diets.Then there’s the matter of ethical boundaries. “To really be able to be to say that this causes cancer you need to do clinical trials‚” Rashmi Sinha‚ a senior investigator at the National Cancer Institute‚ told Inverse. “But you can’t do clinical trials with things that are possible carcinogens.”That being said‚ there’s enough animal evidence that some authoritative bodies believe it warrants further investigation and to approach consumption with caution.For example‚ in studies of rat cells (as well as entire rats) there’s been evidence to suggest that acrylamide can lead to DNA or chromosomal damage and defects in the repair of that damage‚ common features that can lead to cancer. However‚ there have also been some toxicology studies that show humans and rodents both absorb acrylamide at different rate and metabolize it differently‚ so animal findings don’t necessarily translate to us. So what do the officials say&;#63; In 2015‚ the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) conducted a risk assessment of acrylamide in food. Evaluating the available scientific data‚ it delivered a scientific opinion on the matter‚ with the following conclusions:Animal studies demonstrate that acrylamide and glycidamide are genotoxic (DNA or chromosome-damaging) and carcinogenic (potentially cancer-causing).However‚ there’s limited evidence from human studies to suggest dietary intake of acrylamide increases our risk of cancer.The level of dietary exposure to acrylamide could be a concern – at least in terms of causing abnormal cell growth – for public health if further quality evidence in humans supports it.Current levels of dietary exposure to acrylamide aren’t of concern when it comes to other health issues.After a call to revisit those conclusions with new data‚ the EFSA reached the same scientific opinion in 2022. As for other parts of the world‚ whilst the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says that the risk isn’t clear‚ the US National Toxicology Program and the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) are of the opinion that dietary acrylamide does pose a human health concern.Reducing acrylamide in food (if you want to)Despite the evidence for human risk not being clear-cut‚ organizations still have advice on how to reduce the levels of acrylamide in food should people wish to do so.This can include choice of ingredients; for example‚ fried potato products made from potato dough (like Pringles – other deliciousness is available) instead of fresh potato are estimated to contain around 20 percent less acrylamide.When it comes to coffee‚ the type of roast can also make a difference – light roasts tend to contain more acrylamide than medium or dark roasts.Then there’s how people cook at home. Air fryers‚ which have shot up in popularity in recent years‚ are thought to produce around 30 to 40 percent more acrylamide than deep oil fryers‚ according to the EFSA. Concerns about their risks have been bubbling in headlines and social media‚ but given the lack of conclusive evidence about the health risks of acrylamide in the diet‚ you’re probably good to keep cooking your nuggets this way.Regardless of the cooking method‚ the UK’s Food Standards Agency recommends to “aim for a golden yellow color or lighter when frying‚ baking‚ toasting or roasting starchy foods”. That being said‚ if you’d like to continue eating burnt toast with reckless abandon‚ we’re not going to stop you.All “explainer” articles are confirmed by fact checkers to be correct at time of publishing. Text‚ images‚ and links may be edited‚ removed‚ or added to at a later date to keep information current.The content of this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice‚ diagnosis‚ or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

Who’s the ruler of the Andes&;#63; You might be thinking the seven countries they run through‚ or perhaps the mighty Andean condor. Both are wrong: it’s an absolutely massive‚ rare-blooming‚ and long-lived plant called Puya raimondii.What is Puya raimondii&;#63;The so-called “Queen of the Andes” belongs to the bromeliads‚ a family of plants that also includes the pineapple. While P. raimondii has some of the same spiky characteristics‚ it is a much‚ much taller plant. This giant can reach heights of up to 40 feet (12 meters)‚ making it the largest bromeliad in the world.It was first described by French naturalist Alcide d'Orbigny in 1830‚ though it wasn’t classified until 1874‚ when scientist Antonio Raimondi dubbed it Pourretia gigantea. It was later reclassified in 1928 into the genus Puya and received its species name in honor of Raimondi.Where is Puya raimondii found&;#63;If you hadn’t guessed from its nickname‚ this tower of a plant is found in the Andes‚ the world’s longest continental mountain range. However‚ P. raimondii is only endemic to its grassy regions in Peru and Bolivia‚ generally found at altitudes between 3‚000 to 4‚800 meters (9‚800 to 15‚700 feet) and facing north.Nearly half of the total population of P. raimondii can be found within a single place – Peru’s Titankayocc Regional Conservation Area‚ which is thought to be home to woods of more than 450‚000 of the plants. The remaining population usually tends to be far more scattered.What makes Puya raimondii special&;#63;Part of what makes the Queen of the Andes what’s been described as “charismatic” is‚ of course‚ its towering height‚ but there’s more to this plant than its giant status.There’s some suspicion amongst researchers that it could be “protocarnivorous”‚ meaning it can trap and kill small animals but can’t digest them. Though further research needs to be done to prove this theory‚ it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility. A species within the same genus‚ Puya chilensis‚ is also a suspected protocarnivore‚ with a taste for sheep.Puya raimondii blooms with an abundance of white flowers.Image credit: Galyna Andrushko/Shutterstock.comThen there’s the matter of its particularly long lifetime. P. raimondii can live longer than some humans‚ with a lifespan between 80 to 100 years. Pretty impressive‚ but that’s not all – despite potentially sticking around for a whole century‚ it only blooms once in its life and only does so right at the end of it.After creating a large display of white flowers and producing anywhere between 6 to 12 million seeds‚ P. raimondii pops it metaphorical‚ plant-based clogs. Its legacy‚ however‚ literally stands‚ as the plant can remain upright for several years after its death.

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The first No Rest for the Wicked patch notes are here‚ following a troubled launch that has seen the new RPG game land to ‘mixed’ Steam reviews. The ambitious ARPG blending the perspective and loot of Diablo with Dark Souls and Elden Ring style stats and combat has been a long-awaited passion project from developer Moon Studios‚ best known for the fantastic pair of Ori games. Despite a mostly positive response to its setting and concept‚ early performance issues and balance concerns have troubled players‚ but the dev is already hard at work with its first post-launch update targeting some major complaints. Continue reading No Rest for the Wicked patch notes address some of its top complaints

The principal duty of judges in the United States is to protect Americans from government overreach. Judge Merchan is doing the opposite.

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Archaeologists have discovered the burial of a woman with a rare &;quot;porcelain gallbladder&;quot; who was interred at the Mississippi State Lunatic Asylum's cemetery 100 years ago.