Alcohol-linked cancer deaths doubled over three decades in America

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20260902/Alcohol-linked-cancer-deaths-doubled-over-three-decades-in-America.aspx Alcohol-attributable cancer deaths in the U.S. doubled between 1990 and 2023, a new study found. The study also revealed that alcohol-linked cancer deaths are not limited to older adults or liver cancer. Among adults ages 20 to 54, colorectal cancer was the leading alcohol-attributable cancer death in men, while breast cancer ranked first in women. The study also showed a growing burden from colorectal, esophageal, pancreatic and other cancers.

Immigrants face longer ICU stays after stroke in Canada

Among people who have a stroke in Canada, immigrants were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) at similar rates as long-term residents or people who were born in Canada, but they were more likely to have longer stays in the ICU, according to a study published September 2, 2026, in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20260902/Immigrants-face-longer-ICU-stays-after-stroke-in-Canada.aspx

Innovation vs. regulation? AI is revolutionizing biotechnology—but raising unintended risks and ethical concerns Chelsea Francek | September 2, 2026

https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/09/02/innovation-vs-regulation-ai-is-revolutionizing-biotechnology-but-raising-unintended-risks-and-ethical-concerns/ The recent announcement of novel, viable viruses created by artificial intelligence (AI) was celebrated as a major advance in the fight against antibiotic resistance. But it also raised urgent concerns about regulation.

Fact vs misinformation: An official EU guide to GMOs and gene-edited foods European Parliament | September 1, 2026

https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/09/01/fact-vs-misinformation-an-official-eu-guide-to-gmos-and-gene-edited-foods/ The rules governing new gene editing techniques for plants – called “new genomic techniques” (NGTs) – are being changed at EU level. Gene-edited plants will be divided into two categories, depending on the type and number of edits involved. Those with few genetic changes that could have occurred through conventional breeding techniques will be considered conventional plants, while the rest will have to follow the same strict rules as GMOs.

Viewpoint: Realpolitik environmentalism is on the horizon David Zaruk | September 3, 2026

https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/09/03/viewpoint-realpolitik-environmentalism-is-on-the-horizon/ When was the last time you heard someone call themselves an “environmentalist”? A decade ago, self-professed environmentalists would proudly claim to all in earshot that they cared for the environment, that they lived sustainably and answered to a higher calling as agents of change to make Mother Earth whole again. These martyrs for the cause identified themselves by their green choices and eagerly displayed their badges and totems. The implication, a decade ago, was that the rest of us were heathens, polluters and peasants.

Science Literacy Project Daily Digest Science Controversies in the Media ++++ ++++

Science Literacy Project Daily Digest Science Controversies in the Media How climate change could impact food safety Popular Mechanics https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/09/03/how-climate-change-could-impact-food-safety/ Climate change isn’t just fueling stronger storms and longer droughts — it’s also making the food on your plate riskier, as Popular Mechanics’ Darren Orf reports. A new review from researchers at Ethiopia’s Public Health Institute and Dambi Dollo University, published in the study in One Health Outlook, found that rising temperatures, shifting rainfall, and extreme weather are accelerating the spread of foodborne pathogens worldwide. Do-it-yourself, anti-aging wonder drug deception: No evidence yet metformin works Nautilus https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/09/03/do-it-yourself-anti-aging-wonder-drug-deception-no-evidence-yet-metformin-works/ Biohackers have long touted metformin, a cheap diabetes drug, as a secret weapon against aging. But a new review finds the evidence doesn’t yet back the hype, as Nautilus’s Jake Currie reports. Viewpoint: If Trump has his way, nitrogen oxide-polluting AI data centers will be exempt from air pollution rules The Guardian https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/09/03/viewpoint-if-trump-has-his-way-nitrogen-oxide-polluting-ai-data-centers-will-be-exempt-from-air-pollution-rules/ The Trump administration is moving to end public notification of air pollution from AI data centers, as Guardian reporter Tom Perkins reports. A proposed EPA rule would make it optional, rather than required, for developers to disclose how much nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, and other pollutants their generators and turbines will release under so-called “minor source” Clean Air Act permits. Death of a Chinese girl in a gene-editing trial raises concerns about China’s rush to become a biomedical superpower Science https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/09/03/death-of-a-chinese-girl-in-a-gene-editing-trial-raises-concerns-about-chinas-rush-to-become-a-biomedical-superpower/ Six-year-old “Mei” had Snijders Blok-Campeau syndrome, a disorder diagnosed in just 237 people worldwide, marked by developmental delays and simple speech. In March 2025, doctors at Shanghai’s Xinhua Hospital infused trillions of viruses carrying an experimental base-editing therapy into her spinal fluid to correct the mutation. Seven days later she died of a severe immune reaction — a death never made public, as Science and Retraction Watch reveal in a joint investigation by Brendan Borrell. Deadly ‘faith healing’ exemption: Idaho remains the only state shielding parents from prosecution for replacing medical care with prayer or spirits—even if their child dies Audrey Dutton | ProPublica https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/09/02/deadly-faith-healing-exemption-idaho-remains-the-only-state-shielding-parents-from-prosecution-for-replacing-medical-care-with-prayer-or-spirits-even-if-their-child-dies/ In Idaho, parents who say their faith prohibits lifesaving medical care for their children can’t be charged with child neglect or manslaughter. Supporters of this protection over the years have included lawmakers who voiced support for “traditional” Idaho values. Viewpoint: With Trump’s declining mental health and an incapacitated Mitch McConnell unlikely to return to the Senate, America’s gerontocracy needs a Public Physician The Atlantic https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/09/02/viewpoint-with-trumps-declining-mental-health-and-an-incapacitated-mitch-mcconnell-unlikely-to-return-to-the-senate-americas-gerontocracy-needs-a-public-physician/ Senator Mitch McConnell, 84, hasn’t spoken publicly since an ambulance took him from his Washington home on June 14th, 2026. In The Atlantic, geriatrician Rachael Bedard argues his opaque absence exposes a real gap in American government: no independent body checks whether aging officials are still fit to serve. Viewpoint: RFK Jr. and other vaccine denialists blame vaccines for a surge in severe autism. The surge is a myth—and here’s why Quillette https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/09/02/viewpoint-rfk-jr-and-other-vaccine-denialists-blame-vaccines-for-a-surge-in-severe-autism-the-surge-is-a-myth-and-heres-why/ Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. keep pointing to what they call an explosion of severe autism cases as proof that vaccines are poisoning American children, but the epidemiology doesn’t support the claim, as epidemiologist Geoffrey C. Kabat argues in Quillette. Trump has claimed that “large amounts of vaccine, large amounts of like vats of vaccine are currently pumped into your child’s body,” insisting rates were far lower when children received fewer shots. Kabat’s rebuttal: what has actually ballooned is the diagnosis, not the disorder. Can cloud seeding ease the deepening drought across the American West? New York Times https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/09/02/can-cloud-seeding-ease-the-deepening-drought-across-the-american-west/ A 26-foot tower resembling a football goalpost in Moab, Utah, pulses electrical charges into clouds — and its maker says that boosted snowfall in the La Sal Mountains 15 percent last winter, as Scott Dance reports for The New York Times. The claim, from Rain Enhancement Technologies, reflects a bigger Western bet: drought-stricken states, utilities and ski resorts are pouring millions into cloud seeding for more rain and snow.

Zero: That is the official American measles death toll for 2026. Here is what RFK Jr.’s CDC leaves out. Henry Miller | September 3, 2026

https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2026/09/03/zero-that-is-the-official-american-measles-death-toll-for-2026-here-is-what-rfk-jr-s-cdc-leaves-out/ The Centers for Disease Control’s weekly measles report is supposed to be a scientific record, not an opportunity to score political points. But this is the Trump administration, where everything, sadly, including science and health policy, appears to be driven by self-interest, personal grievances, and ideological litmus tests. Why should the current uproar over two measles-related deaths in Pennsylvania last month be any different?