| | | | |  | | By Ruth Reader, Erin Schumaker, Carmen Paun and Ben Leonard | | | | |  Teens find the virtual realm just as captivating as adults do. | AP | Even girls think their social media use is out of control. That’s according to a new survey of more than 1,300 girls, ages 11 to 15, from Common Sense Media, which offers age-based reviews of movies, TV shows, books, games and online content. Girls’ lament: — The children surveyed said they use the Chinese-owned video-sharing site TikTok more than other platforms, averaging 2 hours and 39 minutes a day. — Nearly half of those TikTok users feel addicted to it or regularly use it longer than they intended. — 1 in 3 kids feel compelled to use the instant-messaging service Snapchat daily. — Nearly 60 percent said a stranger contacted them on Instagram or Snapchat in a way that made them uncomfortable. — More than half agreed that kids shouldn’t have access to Snapchat, TikTok or Instagram until they’re 13 years old, echoing the opinion of Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. Even so: The youths also reported positive effects, like being able to connect with a community of like-minded individuals and access mental health content. Why it matters: State and federal policymakers are debating the future of social media regulation. Last month, a House panel bombarded TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew with questions about whether kids who use his site are more prone to suicide, self-harm and disordered eating. California has passed a law requiring social media companies to design their apps with child protections in place, while Utah recently passed a law requiring social platforms to verify their users age and restricting anyone under 18 from using social media between 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. Some other states, including Arkansas, Louisiana, New Jersey, Ohio and Texas, are considering new rules.
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Rosslyn, Va. | Ben Leonard | This is where we explore the ideas and innovators shaping health care. Human mothers are not the only ones struggling with breastfeeding. An orangutan mom at the Metro Richmond Zoo didn’t know how to do it, either. So a woman showed her. Share any thoughts, news, tips and feedback with Ben Leonard at bleonard@politico.com, Ruth Reader at rreader@politico.com, Carmen Paun at cpaun@politico.com or Erin Schumaker at eschumaker@politico.com. Send tips securely through SecureDrop, Signal, Telegram or WhatsApp. Today on our Pulse Check podcast, your host Ruth talks with Katherine Ellen Foley, who attended the World Vaccine Congress this week, about the transition drugmakers will need to make to sell their Covid vaccines in the commercial market as well as the world of next-gen vaccines.
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Taking ecstasy and common depression medications at the same time is a bad idea. | Getty Images | Some tout the psychedelic drug MDMA as a promising treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. But there’s a crucial caveat: Those who could benefit might not be able to try it. That’s because people taking some standard PTSD and depression drugs, like Prozac, shouldn’t take them alongside MDMA, also known as ecstasy or molly. They don’t mix: MDMA and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors like Prozac prompt the brain to release serotonin, a chemical that plays a key role in mood. But overloading on serotonin can lead to a drug reaction called serotonin syndrome, with symptoms ranging from shivering and diarrhea to muscle rigidity, fever and seizures, according to the Mayo Clinic. Why it matters: In 2020, there were 14.8 million adults who had at least one major depressive episode and 13 million people with PTSD, according to federal data. The FDA has approved only a few drugs for treating PTSD, and many patients using them don’t respond to the treatment or relapse after feeling some initial benefit. Also, tapering off SSRIs takes time and can cause side effects, including depression relapse and electric shock sensations in the brain. What’s next: Biotech startup Transcend Therapeutics, which raised $40 million in venture capital in February, is studying whether the compound methylone could offer MDMA's benefits with less risk for people taking SSRIs. “MDMA, despite its very encouraging and promising early results, might not be scalable to the level that we’d all like to see,” Benjamin Kelmendi, Transcend co-founder and chief scientific adviser, told Erin. Earlier this year, Kelmendi and fellow researchers published a study in the journal Frontiers in Psychology in which they injected rats with methylone and saw rapid, robust and long-lasting antidepressant-like effects.
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Operation Warp Speed was slow compared to the pace of vaccine development some scientists say is possible. | John Cairns| University of Oxford via AP | Having a safe and effective vaccine within 100 days of the outbreak of a new virus with pandemic potential is an ambition of the U.S.-backed Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. Adam Hacker, CEPI’s head of global regulatory affairs, spelled out what scientists must do at the World Vaccine Congress in Washington this week: — Analyze virus families to learn as much as possible about the diseases they could cause and how they work — Have assorted types of vaccine technologies available such as mRNA, vector-based and protein-based — Design clinical trials to test vaccines against the potential viruses that could cause an outbreak Lost opportunity: Hacker pointed to the recent outbreak of the Sudan strain of Ebola in Uganda, where vaccine candidates weren’t ready to test when the disease began to spread. Though multiple vaccines were theoretically ready for testing in the field, they weren’t packaged to go, and bureaucratic hurdles prevented quick deployment. Uganda successfully brought the disease under control with lockdowns and social distancing, but lives were lost. | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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