Our Work

Susan Brink on a growing health threat from teenage obesity

Our Susan Brink writes in The Washington Post that diagnoses of Type II diabetes have been surging among teenagers, an indictment of growing levels of obesity. It's a distrubing development, From her story:

As recently as the mid-1990s, Type 2 diabetes was almost exclusively a disease of adults. But apparently fueled by the childhood obesity epidemic, cases in people younger than 20 have ramped up from virtually zero to tens of thousands in the United States in little more than a decade. The children who have it are breaking new scientific ground: No one has any idea how they will fare over the course of a lifetime.

[ . . . ]

Today, about 3,700 Americans under the age of 20 receive a diagnosis annually of what used to be called “adult-onset” diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That relatively small number makes it a rare disease in children, but it represents a trend with larger ramifications.

“In a little more than 10 years, the numbers went from nothing to something,” says Larry Deeb, a pediatric endocrinologist and past president of the medicine and science division of the American Diabetes Association. “And that’s something to worry about.”

 

Scott Martelle on nuclear energy, and asking the right question

Our Scott Martelle had an op-ed piece heading into the weekend for the Sacramento Bee, spinning off the disasters in Japan and urging U.S. policy makers to question the wisdom of nuclear energy, given the potential for disaster. From his article:

Given the scope of what we don't know, and thus can't plan for, and the propensity for humans to screw up, it's hard to give weight to assurances that all is safe. And this is the problem with our local, regional and national reaction to the crisis in Japan. We should not be asking whether our reactors are safe. We should be asking, given the potential effects of a meltdown, whether we want to be playing this game of Russian roulette in the first place.

There is an argument to be made that the risk of environmental disaster from nuclear energy is preferable to the assured ecological degradation that comes from coal-fired plants. But that argument assumes an either/or scenario, that we can choose long-term environmental catastrophe from coal, or fire up the nuclear reactors.

We know those are not the only options.

Most of California is blessed with an enviable climate that promises intense, harnessable sunshine nearly every day of the year. There is no environmental risk to capturing solar energy, and it is indefensible that the state does not require all new buildings to include solar panels on the roofs. The state already is making strides toward tapping wind power, though more could be done.

Nona Yates: Deep research makes for more complete journalism

Our Nona Yates has long done the kind of work that helps good journalism soar, but that most people rarely know about. She's an ace researcher (she spent a lot of time digging out archived arcane details for national staff writers at the Los Angeles Times). So we're happy to spotlight a piece in which she is uncredited, but played a crucial role as researcher. It's a look by Entrepreneur.com at the innovations behind three up-and-coming companies.

It doesn't make much sense to quote the story here, which is our usual format, since when research is done well, and the writer uses it properly, you can't tell what the researcher dug up and what the reporter found on his or her own.

But such research is an integral part of the reporting process -- whether it be for journalism, annual reports or internal investigations. Knowing where to find the information is the first step, and Nona has been plumbing the depths of archives and databaes -- well, we won't get into years here.

But keep Nona in mind when you need a pro to figure out what's going on behind a current set of events.

Robin Rauzi, freelance editor, guides op-ed piece into print

We know, the headline doens't sound like much. But anyone who has ever tried to place an op-ed piece knows how hard it can be. Our Robin Rauzi, who also edits for the Zester Daily web site, edited this piece, which ran in the Los Angeles Times Op-Ed section. From the story:

This month, UNESCO is expected to designate for the first time one or more of the world's culinary traditions as an "intangible cultural heritage." The cultural category, established in 2003 as a supplement to the better-known category of "tangible heritage" (castles, cities, landscapes), was created to protect traditions in the developing world by encouraging tourism. Already the tango, Croatian lace-making and Sardinian pastoral songs have been chosen.

This year the leading culinary contenders — both repeat applicants — appear to be Italy, Greece, Spain and Morocco for the "Mediterranean diet," and Mexico for the indigenous cuisine of certain villages in the state of Michoacan. If UNESCO finally gives food the official heritage nod, it's likely that other organizations will follow its lead and make their own designations.

Should we cheer? Perhaps. It's good to see credit going to cooks who imbue a place with its identity, to make explicit what we all know — that cuisine is more than just ingredients and processes protected by denominations of origin; it's the totality of the eating tradition. And if recognition boosts tourism, which is what the heritage industry is all about, then that's good too.

At first blush, the UNESCO project for culinary heritage seems so self-evidently a good thing that only a grinch could grumble. On closer examination, though, it's plagued with problems, not the least of which is the very possibility of preserving cuisines.

Kris Lindgren on a brain-cancer patient's survival

Our Kris Lindgren, who writes for the University of California-Irvine media relations department, has this article up on their website about a young man with a deeply placed brain tumor -- and his successful fight against it. From her story:

On April 23, 2009, neurosurgeon Dr. Mark Linskey performed a stereotactic biopsy, a procedure requiring exceptional skill to extract bits of the one-inch tumor at the center of Fox’s brain. Dr. Ronald Kim, one of the region’s few neuropathologists, quickly identified the growth as a germinoma.

This definitive diagnosis enabled Bota to devise an aggressive treatment regimen. In May 2009, Fox began a first round of intensive chemotherapy.

“Tommy needed to stay in the hospital four different times over four months,” says Bota, who co-directs the cancer center’s Comprehensive Brain Tumor Program. “We had to support him with blood platelets.”

Radiation oncologist Dr. Jeffrey V. Kuo oversaw six weeks of radiation treatments that followed. Slowly, Fox's hair began to grow back and he started to put on weight. With the help of UCI trauma psychiatrist Dr. Andre Novac and the cancer center’s brain tumor support program, the young man continues to recover from what Bota describes as “the equivalent of going to war.”

Dave Warner on Pennsylvania, pot and medical use

Our Dave Warner has this piece in the Harrisburg (Pa.) Patriot-News on a new survey of Pennsylvanians' attitudes toward legalizing medical use of marijuana. From his story:

He’s in his 30s now, a man with serious health issues, never figuring he’d be in the position he is now: a regular marijuana user.

Back in his high school days, he remembers, he used to scorn the pot smokers. He was an athlete, and saw drug use as inconsistent with sports.

“I would make fun of those kids, call them potheads” said the Lehigh Valley man, who did not want his name published because he’s breaking Pennsylvania law nearly every day. “Now I guess I am.”

Tinker Ready on using drug therapy to fight overdoses

 Our Tinker Ready -- part of TJS's expanded roster of professional journalists -- has this radio piece on The Health Show, which aired recently on WAMC in Albany, New York. A full podcast is available on the site (linked above). This is the intro:

A drug overdose can happen anywhere. From the leafy suburbs to tough city streets, the number of young people dying from prescription drug and heroin abuse is rising nationally. Across the country, communities are coping with an increase in fatal overdoses fueled by access to OxyContin and other opiate-like painkillers. Now, Massachusetts and other states are trying a new approach that aims at keeping addicts alive until they can get sober. Tinker Ready reports.

Susan Brink on one doctor's evolution

Our Susan Brink has a piece in On Wisconson, the alumni magazine for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, on what can only be described as a physician's path of enlightenment that began with a dying man's case of the hiccups. From her story:

The hiccups wouldn’t stop. It was August of 1996, and an elderly stroke victim lay dying in his home in the small town of Driggs, Idaho. But he could have no rest. He was stricken with a relentless case of hiccups, robbing him of comfort. The episode gave David Rakel, the man’s physician and neighbor, a memorable lesson in the importance of watching, listening, and heeding the desires of his patients. Drugs, the main weapon in Rakel’s medical arsenal, made the dying man groggy and unaware, and still the hiccups continued. Family members suggested acupuncture. Like many conventional, or allopathic, Western physicians, Rakel was skeptical. But he figured acupuncture would do no harm. “I humored them. I said, ‘Sure. Why not?’ ” It worked. The acupuncturist came. The hiccups went away without sedation. “He was able to die with loving family around him and a sense of peace. It was a beautiful death,” says Rakel, now a UW-Madison professor of family medicine.

Karen Chaderjian, Leslie Carlson and Brett Levy team up to produce booklet for nonprofit VSI

Former Los Angeles Times page designer Tom Trapnell and Journalism Shop members Karen Chaderjian, Leslie Carlson and Brett Levy teamed up to produce a 28-page booklet for nonprofit Venture Strategies Innovations. The booklet contains the organization’s “four-year plan to bring effective and affordable health technologies to women in the developing world.”

VSI focuses on populations of women who too often die from complications of pregnancy, childbirth and abortions. VSI has offices in Irvine and Berkley, California.

Working closely with VSI, Tom and Leslie designed the booklet, which is being distributed in both a print and digital PDF format. Karen content and copy edited the booklet, while Brett oversaw the printing of the 1,000 copies at a professional print shop.

Janet Wilson on new research on the line between 'senior moments' and Alzheimer's

Our Janet Wilson, who has been doing work for UC Irvine, has a piece up on research into the difference between "senior moments and Alzheimer's. From her piece:

Now, with the help of Burns and other volunteers aged 18 to 89, the researchers have been able to identify for the first time in humans a long-hidden part of the brain known as the perforant path. The passage is believed to deteriorate gradually as part of normal aging and far more quickly as part of Alzheimer’s. Scientists have struggled for decades to locate the tiny pathway, which is linked to the hippocampus, a well-known center of memory.

The UCI researchers developed and used a new ultrahigh-resolution technique, outlined in a paper published June 28 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, to electronically peer through dense matter near the seahorse-shaped hippocampus.

Locating the perforant path and monitoring its deterioration could distinguish normal aging from dementia much sooner than other methods, offering relief to absent-minded folks. The information could also be useful to drug companies and doctors testing Alzheimer’s treatments.

“The nice thing about this is we may be able to predict Alzheimer’s very early,” says Stark, who often inserted his own gleaming bald pate into the MRI to help develop their scanning techniques. “Let’s say you’re a drug company, and you think you’ve got a potentially effective treatment for slowing Alzheimer’s. You want to try it on people in the most preliminary stages of that disease, not those just experiencing normal aging.”