Broomall, Pa -- This Pennsylvania family has a newfound passion, and it's making quite a statement in their backyard. The Meehan family is growing a giant pumpkin together! They'll be driving its estimated 2000 pounds to the State Fair of Virginia for a competition this weekend. At last year's State Fair of Virginia, they were champions in the Giant Pumpkin & Veggie Weigh Off for the Giant Pumpkin category. Their son Alex, who lives with autism, finds great focus and passion for this hobby.
The National Institutes of Health announced plans for the $50 million grant project this summer to "identify how existing treatments/interventions are used and better understand their outcomes to inform the design of future clinical studies." The funding comes after the administration had previously announced controversial plans to study autism, including a proposed database of individuals with autism comprised of information from sources ranging from pharmacy chains and hospitals, to wearable devices with health sensors, like smartwatches.
My 34-year-old daughter, Samantha, has already chosen the song she'll perform at her twin brother, Matt's, wedding in May next year. She's refining her version of Bette Midler's "Wind Beneath My Wings." Not that it needs refining: it was the highlight of her solo concert, "Daring to Dream," last month. The event was a sell-out, and there was rapturous applause. The crowd's appreciation of Samantha made me prouder than ever.
But while tapping into growing mistrust of mainstream medicine and promoting controversial autism theories could energize some disillusioned voters, it risks alienating people with the condition, their families, and experts who view his rhetoric as harmful and misleading. "It's a huge issue and going to be an important part of the midterm election," said Republican lobbyist Marty Irby, who previously represented the MAHA-aligned group Moms for America.
But now US researchers say that natural selection could have given rise to autism-associated genes, with behaviours associated with the disorder generally involving cognitive traits that are unique to humans. Writing in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution, experts at Stanford University discovered that the most abundant type of outer-layer brain neurons-called L2/3 IT neurons-evolved exceptionally quickly in humans compared to other mammals.
Americans are receiving medical guidance from President Trump and top health officials like Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that runs counter to mainstream medicine. For example, this week Trump linked Tylenol to autism despite little medical evidence. How are Americans meant to make important decisions about their health at this confusing moment?
Early in her career, when she was living in Nashville, Swift pronounced words with short vowels, a classic feature of a southern US accent. The twang faded as she moved from country into pop music, and the pitch got lower when she moved to New York City. Swift is no different from many other people who adapt their dialect throughout their lives, says linguist Alice Gaby.
According to Martin Makary, head of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the drug leucovorin will help hundreds of thousands of kids with autism. But a day after Makary praised leucovorin's powers at a White House event, some specialists are warning that the science to warrant Makary's enthusiasm is far from solid. Those researchers say that the drug's efficacy has not been established, that scientists don't know how much of the drug to give or how people should take it, and that safety data in children are lacking.
