Saturday, August 1, 2026
How do we make it easier for them to receive support before they reach a crisis?
How do we make it easier for them to receive support before they reach a crisis?
Cannabis use during pregnancy linked to cardiovascular disease
July 30, 2026 copy fromhttps://mykp.kp.org/en/news/ncal/cannabis-use-during-pregnancy-linked-to-cardiovascular-disease.html ( for learning purpose)
Cannabis use during pregnancy linked to cardiovascular disease
A recent Kaiser Permanente study suggests -
a higher risk of later hypertension and coronary heart disease for moms.
Pregnant people who used cannabis before or during early pregnancy had a higher risk of developing high blood pressure and coronary heart disease in later years, according to an analysis of nearly 350,000 Kaiser Permanente Northern California pregnancies.
“This study cannot prove that cannabis caused these outcomes, but the association remained after we accounted for important cardiovascular risk factors, including nicotine and alcohol use,” said lead author Kelly Young-Wolff, PhD, MPH, a research scientist with the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research (DOR).
The researchers were able to examine this question because Kaiser Permanente Northern California routinely screens patients for cannabis use as part of prenatal care.
The study used screening data collected from 2011 through 2023 and followed patients’ cardiovascular outcomes through 2023, for up to 13 years after pregnancy. Overall, 12% of patients reported cannabis use before pregnancy, and 7% reported cannabis use during early pregnancy (considered the first 8 to 10 weeks).
Compared with patients who did not use cannabis, those who used cannabis before or during early pregnancy had a 35% higher risk of developing hypertension and a 47% higher risk of coronary heart disease in the years after pregnancy. Coronary heart disease includes heart attack, angina (a type of chest pain), and coronary artery disease.
The researchers did not find an increased risk of arrhythmia (abnormal heartbeat), stroke, or blood clots among patients who used cannabis before or during early pregnancy.
The analysis accounted for other risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including self-reported nicotine use, documented tobacco smoking, and nicotine replacement therapy prescriptions. Overall, close to 9% of patients in the study used nicotine. Among the patients who used cannabis, 27% also used nicotine. The increased risk of hypertension and coronary heart disease was seen in both pregnant patients who did or did not use nicotine.
The findings offer information physicians can use when counseling pregnant patients, said co-author Jamal S. Rana, MD, a cardiologist at the Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center and DOR adjunct investigator.
“There’s not enough awareness about cannabis posing health risks in pregnancy, and this study adds a new dimension to our prevention efforts,” Dr. Rana said.
Other research has suggested that THC, the main psychoactive compound in cannabis, can cause inflammation of the endothelial lining of heart arteries, Dr. Rana said.
Young-Wolff said the topic warrants further research.
“The large cohort and universal prenatal screening give us unusually strong data,” she said. “But we still need studies that can look at mode of use, frequency, product potency, and changes in cannabis use over time.”
More Kaiser Permanente Northern California research about pregnancy and cannabis use
Teddy bears can make health care warm and fuzzy
Teddy bears can make health care warm and fuzzy
for learning purpose
Kavin Desai, MD, monitors the heart of a teddy bear “patient” at the Oakland event.
Building trust in the community
At the clinic, children move from table to table with their toys. Each “patient” goes through a different part of a checkup, just like a real doctor’s visit.
At one station, a toy might have its heartbeat listened to. At another, it might get a pretend shot or a bandage. Some toys even need “surgery,” where volunteers stitch up small tears.
Instead of using complicated medical terms, the clinic uses simple, fun language to help kids understand what is happening. Children can “treat” their toys while learning simple health habits, such as drinking water, staying active, and eating healthy foods.
“It was all designed at the level that kids could understand,” said Dr. Moore.
Kaiser Permanente teams in Oakland were inspired by the Hayward Teddy Bear Clinic. The Oakland clinic will be part of the “Bless the Block” community event, which brings health screenings, school supplies, and other free resources and services to hundreds of families.
Nailah Thompson, DO, an internal medicine physician at Kaiser Permanente Oakland, who is helping lead the upcoming event, said she’s glad to see the return of these clinics.
“It’s powerful to see physicians out in the community, always committed to the whole community,” Dr. Thompson said.
Wednesday, July 8, 2026
Uber Record your rides for shared peace of mind
Record your rides for shared peace of mind
We’ve heard from riders that they feel more confident knowing a trip is recorded. It sets a professional tone and encourages respectful behavior for everyone in the car.*
Set it up
Your Record My Ride questions, answered:
How does recording work?
Your phone works like a built-in dashcam— no extra cost, setup or hardware needed
When does recording start and stop?
Recording only happens during trips, so off-trip conversations are never recorded.
Will my phone calls be recorded?
No. Recording pauses automatically if you receive a call, so personal conversations are never captured.
Is Uber listening as the recording is happening?
Nope, the recording is encrypted and Uber cannot listen to or watch the recording unless it is attached to a safety report.
Do riders know I’m recording?
Yes, riders are notified before the trip starts when recording is on, which can help encourage more positive interactions.
Friday, July 3, 2026
changes to how wire transfers and ACH (external bank transfers)
This is a service update email from Bank of America explaining changes to how wire transfers and ACH (external bank transfers) will work in their Mobile and Online Banking system starting in July.
Sunday, June 14, 2026
Thursday, May 7, 2026
This is Starlink’s Global Privacy Policy
This is Starlink’s Global Privacy Policy. It explains how Starlink may collect, use, share, protect, and keep your personal information.
2. How do they collect your personal information?
Starlink may collect information from you when you use their website, app, account, or Starlink service. This can include your name, email, address, payment details, device information, and service usage.
3. How and why do they use your information?
They may use your information to provide internet service, manage your account, process payment, give customer support, improve services, send updates, follow laws, and protect security.
4. Who do they share your information with?
They may share your information with service providers, payment processors, legal authorities, business partners, or other companies when needed. It does not always mean they sell your information, but they may share it for service or legal reasons.
5. How do they protect your information?
They use technology, physical security, and company rules to protect your data. They also encrypt information sent to and from Starlink equipment. But they say no system is 100% safe.
6. Your privacy rights
You may have the right to see, update, delete, restrict, or object to the use of your personal information. To request this, you can email: privacy@spacex.com. They may ask you to prove your identity first.
7. Children’s privacy
Starlink says they do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If they find out they collected a child’s information, they will delete it.
8. Data retention
They keep your personal information as long as needed. Starlink account information is usually kept for the life of the account plus 2 years, unless the law requires longer.
9. Third-party websites
If Starlink links to another website, Starlink is not responsible for that website’s privacy rules. You should check the other website’s privacy policy.
10. Changes to the policy
Starlink can update this policy. If you keep using Starlink after updates, it means you agree to the new policy.
11. Contact
For privacy questions, email privacy@spacex.com.
Mail address: SpaceX, 1 Rocket Road, Hawthorne, CA 90250.
Important part:
This policy says you can opt out of some marketing emails. It also says you may be able to opt out of using your data for AI model training by going to your user settings.
Sunday, April 26, 2026
5 Inventions That Failed Spectacularly
From the wheel to the light bulb, innovation has played a central role in the story of human civilization. But history’s inventors also left behind a trail of misfires, failures, and downright disasters. Here are five ideas that promised to make life better, safer, or more efficient, but turned out to be spectacular flops.
Baby Cages
In the early 20th century, crowded cities such as New York and London grappled with widespread tuberculosis. At the time, one common treatment was fresh air, prescribed by figures including the influential pediatrician Luther Emmett Holt. In his 1894 book, The Care and Feeding of Children, Holt wrote that babies exposed to fresh air enjoyed better appetites, brighter cheeks, and improved health.
Enter the baby cage — a wire enclosure fastened to an open window, which allowed apartment dwellers to suspend infants several stories above city streets to “air them out.” The first U.S. patent was granted to Emma Read of Spokane, Washington, in 1922, though the idea had circulated earlier. The baby cage briefly caught on, notably among members of the Chelsea Baby Club in London. Even Eleanor Roosevelt used one for her infant daughter Anna, until a horrified neighbor threatened to call the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Baby cages declined in the second half of the 20th century, largely due to safety concerns.
X-Ray Shoe Fitters
In the 1940s and ’50s, shoe stores across the U.S. offered customers a peek inside their shoes. The shoe-fitting fluoroscope was a wooden box that displayed real-time moving X-ray images of customers’ feet. Invented by Boston physician Jacob Lowe in 1919, the device was originally designed to diagnose foot problems in World War I veterans, and was repurposed for retail use after the war.
Though the X-ray technology was real, the device was essentially a marketing gimmick to help shoe sellers boost sales by lending the fitting process a scientific veneer. But that was the least of the invention’s issues — the fluoroscopes emitted dangerous doses of radiation that far exceeded the maximum safe daily dose. As a result of growing awareness around the dangers of radiation, shoe-fitting fluoroscopes were banned by the late 1950s.
Thomas Edison’s “Little Monsters”
Even the illustrious Thomas Edison had his flops. In 1890, the inventor unveiled the world’s first talking doll, a technological milestone that combined phonograph technology with the classic toy. The 4-pound, 22-inch doll had a porcelain head, wooden limbs, and a tin torso that housed a miniature phonograph. Turning a crank on the doll’s back played wax recordings of nursery rhymes such as “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and “Jack and Jill.”
Unfortunately, Edison’s dolls didn’t speak so much as screech. Due to the low recording volume, the women voicing the rhymes were required to scream into the recorder, resulting in creepy recordings that upset customers. The dolls were also plagued by durability issues and were prone to breaking. Parents complained, children were terrified, and many of the 2,650 dolls sold were returned. Within weeks, Edison withdrew them from the market, ruefully calling them his “little monsters.” Today, Edison’s “monsters” are considered rare collector’s items and have been displayed at the Smithsonian.
The Isolator
Science fiction pioneer Hugo Gernsback — founder of Amazing Stories magazine and namesake of the Hugo Awards — was also a prolific inventor. In 1925, he introduced one of his strangest creations: the Isolator, a helmet designed to eliminate distractions and maximize focus.
Made of wood and felt, the helmet completely enclosed the wearer’s head, leaving only narrow slits for vision. After realizing that people became drowsy inside the helmet after 15 minutes, partly due to oxygen deprivation, Gernsback added an oxygen tank connected to the helmet by a tube. He claimed the device was 75% efficient and predicted it would be a “great investment” for anyone in need of focus. Though the Isolator never caught on, its spirit lives on in noise-canceling headphones and focus apps.
Anti-Bandit Bag
In the 1950s and ’60s, inventors sought clever ways to foil thieves — and few were as dramatic as the Anti-Bandit Bag. One of the most famous versions was debuted by French Canadian inventor John H.T. Rinfret in 1963. Rinfret, inspired by his experience of being robbed, designed a bag with a spring-loaded handle, which enabled the carrier to launch the bag’s contents all over the place in the event of a robbery.
Other anti-bandit bags spewed smoke and dye or triggered shrieking alarms when snatched. One model, aptly named the “Arrestor,” clamped onto the thief’s hand and blasted out three 12-foot telescoping metal rods, preventing the robber’s escape. None of these designs reached mass production, likely due to their unwieldiness, dubious efficacy, and potential to be triggered accidentally.
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