News & Articles
Color’s July Newsletter, Spectrum – Color
Linda Jiang
Color’s monthly newsletter, Spectrum, helps you stay up to date on living a healthy life with the latest in health & wellness, genetics, and cancer. If you found this information interesting, sign up for our monthly Health Notes here.
Health & Wellness
You Know You Should Use Sunscreen. But Are You Using It Correctly?
New York Times, by Daniel Victor
Look, we’re not here to nag. We all know we’re supposed to use sunscreen more reliably than we probably do. Instead of hounding you again, we asked experts for tips on skin cancer prevention and using sunscreen that you’re less likely to have heard …
12 Ways to Improve Your Health in Just One Minute
Time, by Jessica Migala
No, you don’t have to devote every minute of your life to getting healthy. Sometimes just one minute will do. All it takes to adopt new good-for-you habits is a bit of creativity and a willingness to do them whenever — and wherever — you can …
Artificial Sweeteners Don’t Help People Lose Weight, Review Finds
NPR, by Katherine Hobson
The theory behind artificial sweeteners is simple: If you use them instead of sugar, you get the joy of sweet-tasting beverages and foods without the downer of extra calories, potential weight gain and related health issues …
Genetics
This Rare Medical Condition Makes You Love Everyone
National Geographic, by Simon Worrall
A child that can’t stop hugging people, has no fear of strangers, and loves everyone equally — sounds beautiful, right? Not always. People with Williams syndrome, a rare genetic condition, face problems every bit as challenging as those with autism …
In South Asian Social Castes, a Living Lab for Genetic Disease
New York Times, by Steph Yin
In certain states in southern India, anesthesiologists know to ask anyone undergoing surgery whether they belong to the Vysya, a regional group traditionally associated with traders and businesspeople. Anecdotally, medical workers know that some people with Vysya ancestry …
After Four Years, It Took a Geneticist a Few Hours to Unravel a Boy’s Puzzling Illness
Stat News, by Allison Bond
From the moment the boy was born on a muggy Texas afternoon in May 2012, his parents, doctors, and nurses knew something wasn’t quite right. From the size of his head to the way he held his body, he wasn’t normal — but it wasn’t clear exactly why …
Cancer
Study Sheds Light on the ‘Other’ Breast Cancer Genes
CNN, by Jacqueline Howard
When Samantha Golkin-Nigliazzo was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 30, she wasn’t surprised. Instead, it was the results of her subsequent genetic tests that left her in shock. Though only about 7% of women with breast cancer are diagnosed before the age of 40 …
‘Living Drug’ That Fights Cancer By Harnessing Immune System Clears Key Hurdle
NPR, by Rob Stein
A new kind of cancer treatment that uses genetically engineered cells from a patient’s immune system to attack their cancer easily cleared a crucial hurdle Wednesday. A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee unanimously recommended that …
Clinical Trials for Cancer Could Use More Older People
Washington Post, by Judith Graham
More than 60 percent of cancer patients are older adults — and that will rise to 70 percent by 2040. Yet seniors are underrepresented in clinical trials, making it difficult to assess how treatments are likely to help or harm them …
