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Teenagers sexting each other might not make their mental health worse or make them act more badly toward others

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Teens’ mental health problems have been linked to sexting in the past, but a new study calls this idea into question. It says that trying to stop teens from sexting might not help prevent mental health problems after all.

Most people who have been through the teen years remember how important and difficult they were. As a person hits puberty, their body changes from that of a child to that of an adult. This happens along with many other health and mental changes. During this time, our social relationships, especially those with our peers, tend to become more important to us. This can spark romantic and sexual interest.

The rise of technology has brought about more changes and pressures that teens have to deal with. Smartphones and other digital media are now popular places to meet new people and try new sexual experiences. This can lead to things like “sexting,” which is a general term for sending, receiving, and forwarding sexually explicit messages and pictures online. Since then, the number of teens who sext has gone up and down, but in the last few years, it has stayed the same.

There are some problems with sexting, even though it’s a normal part of modern life. People may share sexual images without permission or be forced to make them, and they may make sexual discrimination worse. On the other hand, some worry that sexting may be linked to more teens having mental health issues. But most of the research that has been done so far has been cross-sectional, which means it only shows what was going on at one point in time. They don’t take into account the fact that people who sext and people who don’t may already be different.

This is where a new study comes in. Norway researchers looked at long-term panel data to see if high scores on sexting are really linked to depression and behavior issues, and if so, how does poor mental health affect changes in sexting over time?

They got the information from MyLife, a long-term study that looks at the health and growth of Norwegian teens. The researchers studied a group of 3,000 teenagers (ages 15 to 19) who participated in at least one of three tests between 2019 and 2021. At each time point, the researchers used standard questionnaires to look at sexting, depression symptoms, and behavior.

Three questions based on the Pennsylvania Youth Risk Behavior Study were used to measure sexting. People were asked how often they shared or sent sexual photos or videos, and the answers ranged from “never” to “every day or almost every day.” A nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire that was tailored to teens was used to measure depression symptoms. The questions covered things like low mood, sleep problems, and lack of energy. Questions about stealing, bullying, and breaking things were used to measure behavior problems.

The study found that the percentage of teens who sext changed over time. At the first point in time, 30.5% of girls said they did it, 36.7% said they did it at the second, and 33.7% said they did it at the third. In contrast, 33.1% of boys said they sexted at the first point, 29.9% said they did it at the second, and 21.6% said they did it at the third. At the same time, it looked like girls had more signs of depression than boys did, and boys had more behavior problems than girls.

A random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) was then used on the results.

The authors of the paper say, “This method separates differences between individuals (between-person effects) from the effects of changes around the individual’s average level (within-person effects).”.

In practice, this means that the team could look into whether changes in one variable can predict changes in other variables over time in the same person. The results showed that there were no significant effects on depression symptoms in each person. This was true for both boys and girls.

The team writes, “High sexting scores compared to a person’s average at one time point don’t seem to be linked to depression symptoms being higher than the person’s average at the next time point.”

An interesting finding was that girls who had behavior problems at one point were also more likely to sext later on. This suggests that behavior problems may cause more sexting than the other way around. It was found that “there were no significant associations between conduct problems and sexting for boys.”

“The analyses give us new information that can help us figure out how sexting and mental health affect teens in a complicated way.” “We found no evidence to support sexting as a cause of mental health getting worse over time,” the team said.

The study does have some flaws, though. First, the questionnaires didn’t tell the difference between consenting and non-consensual sexting. Non-consensual sexting could have different effects on mental health than consenting sexting. Another problem was that teens couldn’t take part until their parents gave their permission. Because of how sensitive the survey was, this may have caused bias in the answers.

The results are still interesting, though.

The team said, “This longitudinal study adds to previous cross-sectional research on sexting among teens by showing that these sexual behaviors are not indicative of the onset of depressive symptoms or behavior issues.” “Our data show that teens who sext more often have worse mental health, but the results do not show that sexting causes more depression and behavior problems over time.”

“One important thing our results show is that efforts to stop teens from sexting probably won’t help keep them from getting mental health problems.”

They say that instead of focusing on programs that try to stop teens from sexting, more should be done to teach them about how important it is to get sexual consent and respect someone’s privacy when they do this.

You can read the paper in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

 

As Editor here at GeekReply, I'm a big fan of all things Geeky. Most of my contributions to the site are technology related, but I'm also a big fan of video games. My genres of choice include RPGs, MMOs, Grand Strategy, and Simulation. If I'm not chasing after the latest gear on my MMO of choice, I'm here at GeekReply reporting on the latest in Geek culture.

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A recently identified strain of deadly fungus poses a significant risk to public health

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Researchers have recently discovered a new group of Candida auris, a potentially dangerous pathogen. The finding increases the total number of identified clades of the fungus, which is a newly emerging superbug resistant to multiple drugs, to six.

Candida auris is a strain of yeast that has the potential to cause serious illness and is frequently impervious to antifungal drugs. While individuals who are in good health generally do not fall ill, the transmission of the disease is highly prevalent within medical institutions and poses a significant risk to individuals with compromised immune systems. The yeast can induce a variety of conditions ranging from superficial infections of the skin to more severe and life-threatening illnesses, such as bloodstream infections. Due to its high level of resistance to multiple drugs, treating it can be challenging, and in some cases, even impossible.

The authors state that the pathogen is a significant global public health threat due to its widespread distribution, resistance to multiple drugs, high ability to spread, tendency to cause outbreaks, and high mortality rate. Although infections are still relatively uncommon, there has been a significant increase in cases in recent years.

Previously, the fungus had been categorized into five distinct clades, each located in different geographic regions: South Asia, East Asia, Africa, South America, and Iran.

In April 2023, doctors from the Singapore General Hospital identified a patient carrying a unique strain of C. auris as part of a routine screening program, adding it as the most recent clade to be discovered. Typically, these cases arise from individuals who have recently traveled, but this particular patient had not traveled outside the country for a period of two years, which raised some concerns.

Upon conducting a genetic analysis of the strain, the researchers determined that it did not align with any of the five known clades of the fungus. Therefore, it can be concluded that the strain belongs to a previously unidentified, sixth clade. Subsequently, they conducted tests on strains obtained from previous patients and identified two additional isolates of this particular group of C. auris in Singapore, as well as another isolate in Bangladesh.

The extent of the new clade’s prevalence and its potential to cause invasive infections and outbreaks remains uncertain at present. However, the researchers emphasize the importance of promptly identifying and controlling it in order to safeguard patient well-being.

“The ramifications of this breakthrough transcend the confines of the laboratory.” “Given the recent discovery of the sixth Candida auris clade, it is imperative to enhance surveillance capability or create new methods to strengthen existing surveillance strategies. This will enable health care facilities to closely monitor its emergence and effectively control its spread,” stated Dr. Karrie Ko, co-first author of the study.

Fortunately, the cases described in the study remained vulnerable to all antifungals that were tested. This should alleviate concerns about a pandemic similar to the one depicted in The Last Of Us. However, it is evident that the threat of C. auris is persistent. Therefore, additional efforts are required to identify new strains, monitor their spread, and control any negative clinical consequences.

The research is published in The Lancet Microbe journal.

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Medicine and Health

What makes your chest hurt when something makes you jump?

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Have you ever been scared so badly that you grabbed your chest? You feel like someone or something just zapped you behind the sternum. As you rest, you lean against the wall and think about why your friend is such a jerk and why you can feel it in your chest whenever you get scared.

People often use words like “heart-stopping” when they write fiction about fear, but the science of fear tells us that this isn’t what’s happening because it wouldn’t make sense. Our bodies are getting ready to deal with an impending threat when we’re scared, and going into cardiac arrest wouldn’t help us get very far if a lion was after us.

What do we do when we’re scared?
The sympathetic nervous system is what gets you excited when something makes you jump. It’s a tool inside our bodies that releases hormones and changes the way our bodies work to get us ready for the fight-or-flight response.

One important part is adrenaline, which is also known as epinephrine. The adrenal glands squeeze it out into the blood. The heart starts beating faster, sending more blood to your muscles and organs right away. Because they need all the oxygen they can get if they want to get away from a dangerous animal.

How do you feel when you go for a run?
Anyone who has ever used an EpiPen knows how bad it is to feel a sudden rush of adrenaline. It’s a stress hormone that makes you feel nervous and anxious, like you would before doing a bungee jump. Getting a rush when you think about a traumatic event from the past can be a sign of PTSD.

A medicine called adrenaline is used because it can help people who are having a medical emergency. If you have anaphylaxis from an allergen like peanuts, this can help because it can open your airway. Because it changes the strength and speed of heartbeats, it is also sometimes used to help people who are having a cardiac arrest.

When your adrenaline level goes up quickly, you may feel shaky, your heart beat quickly, and your chest get tight. When you add in the fact that you’re more alert, you become very aware of the changes in your body. This is especially clear when you’re not in danger, like when your partner surprised you at home when you thought you were alone.

When you’re scared, your sympathetic nervous system usually kicks in, which is normal. But, some heart conditions can get worse when you’re scared. Should anyone be having chest pain or ongoing discomfort, they should see a doctor. In the end, it is possible to be so scared that you die.

This article is not meant to be a replacement for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment from a trained professional. If you have questions about a medical condition, you should always talk to a qualified health professional.

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Medicine and Health

The Lacks family is suing again over her “stolen” cells

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The family of Henrietta Lacks has filed a new lawsuit against two sizable drug companies for using her genetic material without her consent.
In the US District Court for the District of Maryland, Lacks’ living relatives are suing Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Novartis Gene Therapies, Inc., Viatris, Inc., and its subsidiary, Mylan Pharmaceuticals. They say the companies have used the “stolen” HeLa cell line to make hundreds of patents and have made a lot of money from it.

The suit wants the money made from using these cells to be “rightfully transferred” to Henrietta Lacks’s estate.

Novartis and Viatris chose to sell Henrietta Lacks’ living genetic material. Lacks was a black grandmother, community leader, and woman whose doctors took her tissue without her knowledge or permission, according to Chris Ayers, an attorney at Seeger Weiss LLP who is representing the Lacks family.
Ayers added, “We will keep looking for justice for Mrs. Lacks and her family.”

Henrietta Lacks died on October 4, 1951, from cervical cancer. She was 31 years old. Some of her cells are still alive today. A doctor at Johns Hopkins Hospital took a sample of her cervical cells without her knowledge just before she died. They were doing a cancer check. It was seen that her cells kept multiplying quickly, even after most of the cells in other samples would have died without their host.

Because scientists saw the potential, they found that these cells could be a cheap and easy way to help researchers do more research. The “HeLa immortal cell line” is what scientists call these cells, and they are very useful for biomedical research.

Over 75,000 scientific studies around the world have used these cells, which amount to about 55 million tons. They have been very important in making progress in areas like polio vaccines, cancer treatments, HIV/AIDS treatments, and much more.

All of this was done, though, without Lacks’ knowledge or permission. For many years, her family also didn’t know that the cells were being used for business.
Selling HeLa cells for money brings up important issues in medical ethics and genetics. As a black woman living in America in the 1950s, Lacks’ case shows how medical racism still affects minorities who aren’t getting enough help.

Even though a lot of people know about these problems, HeLa cells are still used in medical research for profit, which makes some companies a lot of money.
“Now that everyone knows Henrietta Lacks’ story, it’s shocking, but not surprising, that drug companies like Novartis and Viatris are still making money off of the deeply unethical origins of HeLa cells and the disturbing history of medical racism,” said Chris Seeger, another lawyer for the family.

A historic deal was made by Lacks’ family in 2023 after they sued Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., another biotech company, in the US District Court for the District of Baltimore. During that time, the lawyers said that the settlement was only the beginning and that there could be many more lawsuits about the use of HeLa cells.

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