National

After years of sharp declines in sleep-related infant deaths in the U.S., progress has slowed considerably, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns in a new report.

Key stat: Roughly 3,500 infants die from sleep-related issues in America annually. The causes range from SIDS and accidental suffocation in cribs to deaths from unknown causes. Despite intensive public education efforts, only half of mothers say they receive “safe sleep” advice from healthcare providers during pre- and post-natal visits, CDC said.

A high-profile, national public education campaign to raise awareness about the risks of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome contributed to dramatic decreases in sleep-related infant deaths during the 1990s. But in recent years the rate of these deaths has held fairly constant. 

Despite intensive “safe sleep” public education efforts, CDC found that roughly 1 in 5 mothers were still placing their infants to sleep on their side or stomach. 

More than half of mothers reported that they at least occasionally allowed infants to sleep in the same bed with them.

More than a third said they put loose or soft materials in their infants’ cribs. Unsafe sleep practices tended to be more prevalent among mothers who were younger than 25, black or poorly educated.

Be smart:  Here are some of the key “safe sleep” practices recommended for infants by the American Academy of Pediatrics:

Place infants on their backs during sleep times (including naps).

Make sure infants are sleeping on a firm surface.

Don’t let infants sleep with soft objects or loose bedding.

Parents shouldn’t sleep in the same bed with their babies.

Unsafe sleep practices lead to 3500 infant deaths each year

Newborn babies sleep in a hospital nursery.

Newborn babies sleep in a hospital nursery. Photo: Tommaso Di Girolamo / AGF / UIG via Getty Images

Science

Public health

Health Care

After years of sharp declines in sleep-related infant deaths in the U.S., progress has slowed considerably, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="warns in a new report." data-vars-click-url="https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/index.html" data-vars-content-id="131a14d7-b01b-4f63-bf82-fc45d2700a25" data-vars-headline="Unsafe sleep practices lead to 3500 infant deaths each year" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/index.html" target="_blank">warns in a new report.</a>Key stat: Roughly 3,500 infants die from sleep-related issues in America annually. The causes range from SIDS and accidental suffocation in cribs to deaths from unknown causes. Despite intensive public education efforts, only half of mothers say they receive “safe sleep” advice from healthcare providers during pre- and post-natal visits, CDC said.

The U.S. faces a range of health care flashpoints — unaffordable drugs, opioids, vaping — as we debate whether to adopt universal care. For now, the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land, but Republicans want to issue it a final death blow.

Health

In an interview Monday, Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov reported bacteria had been found on the outside of the International Space Station (ISS) — and it hadn't been there when the ISS modules launched. Instead, the microorganisms swabbed from the cracks and crevices of the space station had come from outer space, he said.

But, but, but: The details of the analysis are so far thin. And, in a previous mission, bacteria from Earth made it to the space station via a tablet, supporting the possibility of contamination this time, too. Recent research also seems to indicate microbes can get kicked high above Earth in space dust and by other space weather events, which offers another very plausible reason for how bacteria wound up on the ISS hull.

The bottom line: The bacteria probably came from Earth itself. "Microbes are still partying at 9 miles up and have been found as high as 47 miles above the surface," Mary Griggs wrote in Popular Science.

Bacteria found on space station likely came from Earth not outer space

Here's the more mundane truth about the announcement.

The International Space Station seen from space shuttle Atlantis in 2011. Photo: NASA

In an i<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="nterview Monday," data-vars-click-url="http://tass.ru/opinions/interviews/4757149" data-vars-content-id="32a88bee-380e-4bb6-a0a3-09156edd4f93" data-vars-headline="Bacteria found on space station likely came from Earth not outer space" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="http://tass.ru/opinions/interviews/4757149" target="_blank">nterview Monday,</a> Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov reported bacteria had been found on the outside of the International Space Station (ISS) — and it hadn&#x27;t been there when the ISS modules launched. Instead, the microorganisms swabbed from the cracks and crevices of the space station had come from outer space, he said.But, but, but: The details of the analysis are so far thin. And, in a previous mission, bacteria from Earth made it to the space station via a tablet, supporting the possibility of contamination this time, too. R<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="ecent research " data-vars-click-url="http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/ast.2017.1662?journalCode=ast&amp;" data-vars-content-id="32a88bee-380e-4bb6-a0a3-09156edd4f93" data-vars-headline="Bacteria found on space station likely came from Earth not outer space" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/ast.2017.1662?journalCode=ast&amp;" target="_blank">ecent research </a>also seems to indicate microbes can get kicked high above Earth in space dust and by other space weather events, which offers another very plausible reason for how bacteria wound up on the ISS hull.The bottom line: The bacteria probably came from Earth itself. &quot;Microbes are still partying at 9 miles up and have been found as high as 47 miles above the surface,&quot; <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Mary Griggs wrote in Popular Science." data-vars-click-url="https://www.popsci.com/alien-bacteria-international-space-station" data-vars-content-id="32a88bee-380e-4bb6-a0a3-09156edd4f93" data-vars-headline="Bacteria found on space station likely came from Earth not outer space" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.popsci.com/alien-bacteria-international-space-station" target="_blank">Mary Griggs wrote in Popular Science.</a>

Some languages have a word for green, others don't. Nearly all have one for red. A new study across 100 different languages suggests whether colors are assigned a name depends on how useful the label is.

Red, yellow, orange and other "warmer" colors are easier to precisely communicate than "cooler" ones like green and blue because there tend to be more words for warmer colors. That's because warm colors tend to describe objects whereas cool ones more often apply to backgrounds.

The researchers also found being able to name an object a specific color is more useful in industrialized parts of the world where an object's color can be what distinguishes it from others (i.e. green shirt v. blue shirt).

Why it matters: While the researchers at MIT, the National Institutes of Health and the University of Rochester didn't resolve the question of whether color is universal or shaped by individual cultures, their research suggests across languages the naming colors depends on how useful it is in communicating.

Interesting note: The researchers also compared the naming of colors in Tsimane' — a language spoken by the non-industrialized, indigenous Amazonian Tsimane' people — to colors for objects in English and Bolivian-Spanish. They discovered the Tsimane' were less likely to use color in reference to familiar objects compared to English and Spanish speakers, which seems to indicate the use of color for natural objects may not be as important to the Tsimane' people as it is for people in more industrialized parts of the world. "Industrialization, which creates objects distinguishable solely based on color, increases color usefulness," the researchers wrote.

Go deeper: The researchers say they are going to repeat the experiment with populations that live in different colored landscapes like snowy or desert regions. The Atlantic notes some limitations of the study:  in some languages color conveys something other than hue (for example, calling a banana green indicates it is unripe) and "most languages don't have a single term for the concept of color" which could make it difficult to replicate the study across cultures.

Why there are so few words for blue

A new study suggests it has to do with how a color name is used. 

Some languages have a word for green, others don&#x27;t. Nearly all have one for red.<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text=" A new study" data-vars-click-url="http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1619666114" data-vars-content-id="41c68c49-4c57-49d8-a4fd-428a24e62165" data-vars-headline="Why there are so few words for blue" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="http://www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1619666114" target="_blank"> A new study</a> across 100 different languages suggests whether colors are assigned a name depends on how useful the label is.<ul><li>Red, yellow, orange and other &quot;warmer&quot; colors are easier to precisely communicate than &quot;cooler&quot; ones like green and blue because there tend to be more words for warmer colors. That&#x27;s because warm colors tend to describe objects whereas cool ones more often apply to backgrounds.</li><li>The researchers also found being able to name an object a specific color is more useful in industrialized parts of the world where an object&#x27;s color can be what distinguishes it from others (i.e. green shirt v. blue shirt).</li></ul>Why it matters: While the researchers at MIT, the National Institutes of Health and the University of Rochester didn&#x27;t resolve the question of whether color is universal or shaped by individual cultures, their research suggests across languages the naming colors depends on how useful it is in communicating.

President Trump's budget would end direct U.S. financial support for the International Space Station in 2025. 

Why it matters: Even though the president's budget, as described by the AP, was "obsolete even before it was made public,"  the proposal will fuel an important debate about the future of public and private sector-funded space science. 

The U.S. has spent more than $80 billion to support the ISS, a high-profile model of international and public-private sector cooperation. The White House has said it wants to end U.S. spending (roughly $4 billion a year) as soon as possible and transfer that burden to the private sector.

To ease America’s exit from direct support of the space station, the Trump administration proposes “a new $150 million program [that] would begin support for commercial partners to encourage development of capabilities that the private sector and NASA can use.” In short, their plan is to try to entice commercial space companies in the United States to take over the federal government's role in the ISS.

"No one wants a repeat of the ‘Shuttle gap’ where we find ourselves today dependent on Russian for our astronauts to travel to and from space.”

Jeff Manber, CEO of NanoRacks, the first company to own its own hardware on the space station

The debate: “The conversation we do need to have is [about] the space station’s long-term future and the potential for our thriving commercial sector to embrace, run, and eventually pay for its upkeep," said Phil Larson, who served as President Obama’s lead space expert at the Office of Science and Technology Policy and is now a University of Colorado professor. 

Larson, who has also worked for Elon Musk’s SpaceX team, notes that the ISS has worked well as a model for both international and public-private sector cooperation at a time when such collaborations are difficult to manage. “Rather than having a stark cutoff date without a plan for the future, any ISS transition should include conversations with our international and private-sector partners. The space science work being done on the ISS is critical for any deep-space exploration plans,” he says. 

Bottom line: NASA may need to stay involved in the ISS beyond 2025 in order to leverage private investment. “It’s not just the life of the space station that is vital, but the entire support structure," Manber said.

The debate over the space station's future

An image of the International Space Station taken from the Space Shuttle Discovery during a 2001 mission. 

An image International Space Station taken from the Space Shuttle Discovery during a 2001 mission. 

NASA

Space

President Trump&#x27;s budget would end direct U.S. financial support for the International Space Station in 2025. Why it matters: Even though the president&#x27;s budget, as <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="described by the AP" data-vars-click-url="https://apnews.com/7cc61088695e4ce5b5dcbd999ad77927/Trump-aims-for-moon,-pulls-back-on-space-station,-telescopes" data-vars-content-id="c46741cf-d7d1-4363-ad4f-edbcaa86debc" data-vars-headline="The debate over the space station&#x27;s future" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://apnews.com/7cc61088695e4ce5b5dcbd999ad77927/Trump-aims-for-moon,-pulls-back-on-space-station,-telescopes" target="_blank">described by the AP</a>, was &quot;obsolete even before it was made public,&quot; the proposal will fuel an important debate about the future of public and private sector-funded space science.

A look at the scientific breakthroughs changing the world, explorations in space and in worlds beyond our own and the threats posed to us by our own planet, both out of our control and of our own making.

The first baby has been born to a mother in the United States from a transplanted uterus as part of a clinical trial conducted at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, TX.

Why it matters: Although it may mean more options for parents who can’t have children due to medical reasons or complications, it also raises some ethical questions.

The procedure is complicated, risky, and still experimental. It may be difficult to explain that risk adequately to women in order to receive informed consent for the procedure. But that shouldn’t halt progress on it, the trial's principal investigator Giuliano Testa argued on NPR this week.

There are also potential risks to the baby in a procedure that is still experimental. One is the use of strong immunosuppresive drugs in the mothers.  Liza Johannesson, who pioneered the procedure in Sweden where eight babies have been born to mothers with transplanted uteruses in recent years and who has now joined the Baylor team, tells NPR: “Females have been giving birth after kidney and liver transplants for many, many years on immunosuppressive drugs. So we know what the effect of immunosuppressive drugs has on pregnancies, on babies, on recipients.”

The cost: Testa estimates $200,000 - $250,000, which could limit who can receive the procedure. And, there are other safe and less costly options including surrogacy and adoption. “We have other options that are safer for the fetus and the would-be mom. I’m not ready to say ‘Don’t do it,’ but you have to really proceed with caution here," bioethicist Arthur Caplan from the New York University School of Medicine told STAT in 2016, after the first uterus transplant in the U.S.

The complicated ethics of womb transplants

The delivery of a baby born to a woman who received a uterus transplant at Baylor University Medical Center.

The delivery of a baby born to a woman who received a uterus transplant at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. Photo: Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas

Medicine

The first baby has been born to a mother in the United States from a transplanted uterus as part of <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="a clinical trial conducted at Baylor University Medical Center" data-vars-click-url="https://www.bswhealth.com/uterus-transplant" data-vars-content-id="d112643a-30c7-46a5-a877-9deb7e3cd8b1" data-vars-headline="The complicated ethics of womb transplants" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.bswhealth.com/uterus-transplant" target="_blank">a clinical trial conducted at Baylor University Medical Center</a> in Dallas, TX.Why it matters: Although it may mean more options for parents who can’t have children due to medical reasons or complications, it also raises some ethical questions.

Jeff Nesbit (contributor)

Stories

The debate over the space station's future

Unsafe sleep practices lead to 3500 infant deaths each year

The complicated ethics of womb transplants

Bacteria found on space station likely came from Earth not outer space

Why there are so few words for blue