A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine identifies six promising practices to improve health care for individuals with social risk factors for poor health care outcomes, such as people who are in a low socio-economic position, reside in disadvantaged neighborhoods, identify as a racial or ethnic minority, or possess limited health literacy.

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine says that Medicare’s value-based payment programs could take into account social risk factors – such as low socio-economic position, residence in disadvantaged neighborhoods, or race and ethnicity – but any proposal to do so will entail both advantages and disadvantages that need to be carefully considered.

Joint statements from the national science academies of the G7 nations were delivered today to the Italian government in advance of the G7 Summit to be held in Taormina, Italy, at the end of May.

Summer is a chance for children and youth to continue developing, but for those living in disadvantaged communities, summertime experiences can lead to worse health, social, emotional, academic, and safety outcomes, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

President Trump speaks at the White House Friday. He is replacing an official who issued a report that found testing delays and equipment shortages at hospitals.; Credit: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

President Trump is moving to replace the Department of Health and Human Services watchdog whose office found severe shortages of medical supplies in hospitals as COVID-19 cases surged.

In a Friday night announcement, the White House named Jason Weida as its nominee to take the permanent inspector general post currently occupied by Christi Grimm, who's been in that role in an acting capacity since January.

A longtime staffer with Health and Human Services, Grimm was leading the inspector general's office in April when it issued a report chronicling testing delays — up to seven days in some cases — as well as severe shortages of supplies in hospitals amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Hospitals reported that they were unable to keep up with COVID-19 testing demands because they lacked complete kits and/or the individual components and supplies needed to complete tests," the survey of 323 hospitals found. "When patient stays were extended while awaiting test results, this strained bed availability, personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies, and staffing."

The report also recalled how one hospital had even resorted to making its own disinfectant.

Trump reacted to the report by calling its findings "wrong," asking to know the name of the inspector general and suggesting the report was politically motivated. He later took to Twitter to castigate Grimm and the report even further.

"Why didn't the I.G., who spent 8 years with the Obama Administration (Did she Report on the failed H1N1 Swine Flu debacle where 17,000 people died?), want to talk to the Admirals, Generals, V.P. & others in charge, before doing her report. Another Fake Dossier!" Trump tweeted in early April.

Grimm is a career official, not a political appointee, and began serving in the Office of the Inspector General in 1999.

The nomination of Weida — currently an assistant U.S. attorney — marks the latest replacement of a high-level watchdog by the president. A month ago, he fired the inspector general who raised concerns that eventually led to his impeachment. Days later, he removed the inspector general charged with overseeing the government's coronavirus response bill.

Sen. Patty Murray, ranking Democrat on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said that Trump's nominee "must not get through the Senate without ironclad commitments" to continue the agency's current investigations without political interference.

"We all know the President hasn't told people the truth about this virus or his Administration's response, and late last night, he moved to silence an independent government official who did," Murray said in a statement released on Saturday. "Anyone who demands less will be complicit in the President's clear pattern of retaliation against those who tell the truth."

Health and Human Services did not comment to NPR on Grimm's future role, but said in statement that the agency had been preparing "to assist a new Inspector General appointee over a year ago, when the previous presidentially-appointed and senate-confirmed Inspector General first announced his intention to retire from government service. We will continue to work conscientiously to support a smooth leadership transition."

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

Director Michael Apted (L) with Larry Mantle in the AirTalk studio.

This past Wednesday on "AirTalk," film director Michael Apted came in to talk with us about his eighth documentary in the series that's followed the lives of 13 people, beginning in 1964 when the kids were seven.  They've shared their stories with Apted every seven years, and he's clearly invested a lot of emotion into this project.

"56 Up" is wonderful for how it shows the mid-life evolution of the participants.  Apted includes scenes from earlier interviews, so that we see what aspects of today's 56-year-olds were present in childhood and what turns their lives have made over these years. 

"56 Up" is showing at the Nuart in West Los Angeles, and Apted will be doing Q-and-A at some of the screenings.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

The phrase ‘emerging risk’ has been widely used in scientific and business communities, but without consensus on how to define and govern such a risk. A new study proposes that risk emergence goes through four states, from ‘unknown unknowns’ to risks that are fully in the public domain. Understanding emergence as a process can help decision makers detect and manage risks on the basis of scientific evidence.

Scientists today announced the discovery of a new species of pterosaur from the Patagonia region of South America. The cranial remains were in an excellent state of preservation and belonged to a new species of pterosaur from the Early Jurassic. The researchers have named this new species 'Allkauren koi' from the native Tehuelche word 'all' for 'brain', and 'karuen' for 'ancient'.

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BT decided to showcase its technology by hosting a virtual media summit for AMEA and we knew that we could save money and invite more people if we made it virtual.

A new solar-powered desalination technology could help solve water shortage problems without any damage to the environment, according to researchers. They evaluated a prototype model and demonstrated that it could produce up to 12 litres of freshwater a day per m2 of equipment.

A new study has analysed water shortages around the world over the past two millennia. Population growth has been a significant pressure on supplies and will continue to increase in threat in future. Dealing with water scarcity will therefore increasingly require improved water governance, management and policy measures, which are fully integrated into societal development.

Direct messages on the desktop have been in the works for a while now.

To believe that China will have a significant advantage due to its population size requires us to believe that each additional user adds as much to an informational ecosystem as the first one.

“We request for your kind direction to the MHA on this very important recommendation from the industry which is duly considered and approved by the crisis management structure set up you – the Empowered Group of Technology and Data Management,” India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) Chairman Pankaj Mohindroo wrote in the letter.

Evidence to indicate that early exposure to environmental contaminants may result in a greater risk of serious disease later on in life has been presented by researchers in a new White Paper. Measures to prevent non-contagious illnesses, such as diabetes, asthma and cancer should therefore focus on the early stages in life, including the time spent in the womb, they suggest.

Ecotoxicity tests that are used to understand the impacts of chemical pollutants on aquatic organisms and ecosystems could be improved by including all life stages of the test animals. These are the conclusions of a study by Belgian researchers, who found that the apparent absorption of some pesticides by the dormant eggs of water fleas may have negative effects on the invertebrates’ later survival and reproduction, although the development and hatching of the eggs are not affected.

This study assessed the effects of herbicides on non-target plants in Denmark and Canada. The findings showed that some plants are more sensitive to herbicides in the reproductive stages of their life cycle and can experience delays in flowering and reduced seed production. The authors say future ecological assessments should consider reproductive outcomes.

Dangerously high air pollution in the vicinity of shipbreaking yards has been detected by a recent study, where the concentrations of toxic chemicals in the air were found to be above carcinogenic risk limits (as set by the World Health Organisation). The research, carried out in Chittagong, Bangladesh, noted that shipbreaking activities and the subsequent processing and treatment of materials – particularly the burning of waste — result in emissions of persistent organic pollutants (POPs).

Myke deals with disruptions, Grey had a successful summer, and they both discover the world's largest Youtuber.

When James Antonas and partner Kirilie Blythman bought their 1940s clinker-brick cottage in Coburg North in 2009, it was with their heads rather than their hearts.

A co-ordinated medical intervention that saw a distressed Jessica Marais rushed to a Sydney hospital by ambulance last weekend raises an important question: what can be done when repeat rehab fails?

Tim Murtagh grabbed his fourth five-wicket haul in the County Championship this season as Middlesex rolled Gloucestershire over for 137 to clinch victory inside three days at Merchant Taylors’ School.

Watford’s survival hopes have suffered another blow after they threw away a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 to ten-man Everton at the death at Vicarage Road.

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The rejuvenated Yunnan Garden, a sprawling open space of greenery, waterscapes and heritage landmarks, will officially open at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) on 13 February 2020. The 9-hectare heritage precinct – bigger than 12 soccer fields – preserves the Garden’s legacy while enriching it as an educational and recreation hub, making it a go-to place not just for the NTU community, but also for the residents who live in the wider Jurong neighbourhood....

Swedish start-up Flattr makes is an online tip jar of sorts.

The hashtag has started to trend as academics compete for cooler-than-you tweets. But you probably haven't heard of it.

Squeeze on in for a tour of the COMET, a 1960s Avalon camper transformed into a solar-powered mobile abode by Mariah Coz.

Instead of filling a storage space attached to their carport with junk, Craige and Jennifer Walters transformed it into a lovely tiny house for guests.

A family proves that even the most ramshackle out buildings can be transformed into cozy, habitable spaces with a bit of hard work and creative design.

Jim Motavalli shares his insights about electric vehicles in his new book, High Voltage: The Fast Track to Plug in the Auto Industry.

Sales of organic are growing and dairy farms are getting incentives to switch to organic farming. Is voting with our dollars actually working?

A world in need of faster computers, smarter phones and more energy-efficient light bulbs threatens to strain the small supply of rare metals used by the global

Earth probably formed in a hotter, drier part of the solar system than previously thought, which could explain our planet's puzzling shortage of water, a new st

In trendy Barnsbury, a quarter million pounds will get you a flat that's close to all the action and where the toilet is in the shower.

We all know blueberries are healthy. But you may be surprised at just how healthy they actually are!

The worldwide shortage of helium threatens many industrial, medical and military applications far beyond balloons.

The find is roughly 2 billion years older than any other known fungus fossil.

Guy Laramee's work speaks to the 'erosion of cultures' and our over-reliance on analytical knowledge, symbolized by the book.

As Greenpeace attacks Apple for the coal clouds firing its data centers, green grids from Iceland to Quebec are attracting some surprising new customers. All ki

Tour a "top-of-the-line" 1970s RV inhabited by a recovering shopaholic who has given up the garage sales for a simpler life that's not dictated by stuff.

The disease is in the news again, but this time, campylobacter jejuni is linked to puppies. We answer several questions.

NASA lost power on Sunday in California, delaying the launch of the IRIS sun observatory by one day.

Session cocktails and plant-based barbecue are the biggest food trends this summer.

Those helium-filled balloons you've seen bobbing in the breeze are the least important use of this critical element, especially since we don't have enough.

FoodShareFilter aims to sell its Instagram filter specially made for food pics and donate the money to an El Salvadorian charity.

UNESCO's World Heritage Committee has added 19 new locations to its list of World Heritage Sites and expanded the boundaries of another one.