Quickies: Online safe spaces, treating obese patients, and an index of stinging insects

Amanda June 23, 2016

1 9 1 minute read

The sisterhood of the traveling safe spaces – “…in an Internet where every woman can find her own version of sisterhood?—?or, barring that, start her own?—?a jaded eye knows no “safe space” can ever stay “safe” for long.”
In treating obese patients, too often doctors can’t see past weight – “Take for instance the findings of a recent survey on heart disease. Of 700-plus women who had a heart disease risk factor — things like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes — only 16 percent reported being informed of this risk by their doctors. Much more commonly, those at risk were told to lose weight, even though weight is not factored into risk predictions for heart disease.” From Julia.
The President just signed a law that affects nearly every product you use – “It updates the Toxic Substances Control Act, which had not been reauthorized since the Ford administration in the mid-1970s. The new law gives the Environmental Protection Agency more oversight and stronger tools to monitor chemicals that in some cases could cause cancer and other health problems in adults and children.” From Amy.
Ranking the pain of stinging insects from “caustic” to “blinding” – These are so poetic. “Rude, insulting. An ember from a campfire is glued to your forearm.”