Weekly Health Digest: E. Coli, Climate Change, and Good Pillows

California may be the source of the latest romaine lettuce E. coli outbreak

Maggie Fox

The latest romaine lettuce E. coli outbreak, which has so far made 32 people sick in the United States and Canada, likely originated in California, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA is working to remove all potentially contaminated lettuces from the market. The CDC is taking steps to improve labeling to make it clear when and where lettuce was harvested, but recommend steering clear of romaine lettuce in the meantime.

How can we improve a teen’s brain? One sleep study may have a simple answer – good pillows.

Adriana Galván

To address the issue of teen sleep deprivation, which leads to issues with learning, emotional systems, and self-control, researchers are suggesting is ensuring teens have good pillows. Even small changes in sleep quality and duration can improve how the brain processes information.

Climate change will shrink US economy and kill thousands, government report warns

Jen Christensen and Michael Nedelman

A new U.S. government report warns that the impact of climate change could result in the loss of hundreds of billions of dollars. In the worse case scenario, the U.S. could lose more than 10% of its GDP by the end of the century. David Easterling, director of the technical support unit at the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, said that the global average temperature is much higher and is rising more rapidly than anything modern civilization has experienced.

Exporting pain: U.S.-made medical devices cause serious injuries, pain overseas

Andrew W. Lehren and Emily Siegel

For many U.S. medical device companies, exporting their products has become very lucrative. However, at the same, these products are being regulated with minimal oversight by the FDA. With doctors in countries outside of the U.S. pushing and persuading patients to use these devices, the risk for patients continues to increase as these countries tend to perform even less evaluations of the devices than the U.S. It remains to be seen what will be done to increase regulation of these “export only” products.