Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Sarah Todd @sarah-todd.bsky.social · 5h

As more states legalize marijuana, mental health experts have raised concerns about THC's potential to trigger & exacerbate psychosis. A new study finds cannabis use rose by nearly 10% among people with psychosis post-legalization, writes @rosebroderick.bsky.social

www.statnews.com/2025/10/08/m...

More people with psychosis are using cannabis. Medical professionals are worried

THC is known to induce and exacerbate psychosis — and a new study finds that cannabis use has risen in people with the disorder after the drug was legalized.

www.statnews.com

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Sarah Todd @sarah-todd.bsky.social · 5h

Many patients don't think about supplements in the same way they do as drugs — but supplements can have very real side effects. "15 million American adults take a supplement that could potentially cause liver toxicity, like turmeric or red yeast rice."

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/w...

A Plea From Doctors: Cool It on the Supplements

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Sarah Todd

Amanda Katz @katzish.bsky.social · 10h

Horrific reporting from the AP on the Myanmar families watching their kids starve to death from Trump and Musk’s aid cuts apnews.com/article/myan...

Starving children screaming for food as US aid cuts unleash devastation and death across Myanmar

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly said “no one has died" because of his government’s decision to gut its foreign aid program.

apnews.com

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Sarah Todd @sarah-todd.bsky.social · 1d

ALSO congratulations <3

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Sarah Todd @sarah-todd.bsky.social · 1d

This happened to me too!! I really did not like it. (They gave me something for it once the baby was out!)

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Sarah Todd @sarah-todd.bsky.social · 1d

I wrote about how the rise of "clean medicine" and over-the-counter homeopathic products aimed at kids has created a climate where unfounded claims about Tylenol can flourish:

www.statnews.com/2025/10/07/t...

Parents are flocking to natural and ‘clean medicine’ brands. Medical experts are worried

Parents are flocking to natural and "clean medicine" brands for Tylenol alternatives and more, leaving medical experts worried.

www.statnews.com

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Sarah Todd @sarah-todd.bsky.social · 2d

Telehealth companies have found it's hard to profit from access to medical providers — but access to drugs is good business. @katiepalmer.bsky.social

www.statnews.com/2025/10/06/t...

From erectile dysfunction to weight loss, how telehealth got hooked on drug-first thinking

Marketing of on-demand telehealth prescriptions has rapidly become a constant presence for American consumers

www.statnews.com

Sarah Todd @sarah-todd.bsky.social · 6d

Pregnant women are excluded from many drug trials over concerns about the risks to the women and their babies. But as @lizzylawrence.bsky.social reports, the lack of data leaves the door open to confusion and misinformation.

www.statnews.com/2025/10/02/c...

Fights over Tylenol, SSRIs highlight the enduring lack of pregnant women in drug trials

Shutting pregnant women out of clinical trials to protect them and their babies has had the opposite effect, experts say.

www.statnews.com

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Sarah Todd @sarah-todd.bsky.social · 6d

This is a difficult read, but so important -- hundreds of patients claim a doctor sexually abused them between 2011-2023, while his colleagues protected him and institutions dragged out investigations while allowing him to keep practicing.

apps.bostonglobe.com/metro/invest...

Dr. Derrick Todd has been accused of abusing patients. He could have been stopped sooner.

Hundreds of women allege Dr. Derrick Todd sexually abused them over a decade. A Globe Spotlight investigation found the state’s medical establishment missed key warning signs.

apps.bostonglobe.com

Sarah Todd @sarah-todd.bsky.social · 8d

Sushi to go is one of the fastest-growing segments in supermarkets, popular among both men and women and appealing to health-conscious types. (I've been known to partake in grocery store sushi myself!)

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/d...

Sushi Is Bigger Than Ever in America. There’s One Main Reason.

www.nytimes.com

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Sarah Todd @sarah-todd.bsky.social · 8d

Enjoyed chatting with Here & Now about the perimenopause business boom:

www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2...

What is perimenopause and how effective are treatments?

The women's health market is flooded with apps, supplements and therapies that claim to treat the symptoms of perimenopause.

www.wbur.org

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Sarah Todd @sarah-todd.bsky.social · 8d

Sales of super-premium butter are on the rise, with one Vermont brand's flash sales of a $60-a-pound variety selling out within minutes. It's the allure of little luxuries: "a bit of a treat without going crazy," says one customer.

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

The Latest Little Luxury: Fancier, Fattier Butter

Elsewhere in the grocery store, shoppers are on the hunt for bargains. But sales of high-priced premium butter are growing.

www.bloomberg.com

Sarah Todd @sarah-todd.bsky.social · 8d

Journalists are supposed to develop personal brands. But sometimes it's hard to commit to a brand — or how we identify can change over time.

thewritethrough.substack.com/p/im-not-a-r...

“I’m not a reporter, but I’m still myself”: A longtime media reporter's shift to PR

Plus: Building a brand and figuring out your journalistic identity

thewritethrough.substack.com

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Sarah Todd @sarah-todd.bsky.social · 9d

About a month ago, my best friend asked: "Why is everyone I know talking about perimenopause?"

For STAT, I dove into the zeitgeist around perimenopause (the run-up to menopause, which can last for years) and the businesses capitalizing on the moment.

www.statnews.com/2025/09/29/p...

Perimenopause is the new buzzword in the business of women’s health

Perimenopause brings real symptoms and a booming market of supplements, apps, and therapies. What’s hype, what’s helpful, and what women need to know.

www.statnews.com

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Reposted by Sarah Todd

STAT @statnews.com · 14d

Parents may flock to a dietary supplement with the same key ingredient as leucovorin, which the FDA just approved for children with autism. But there are drawbacks.
www.statnews.com/2025/09/23/l...

FDA’s leucovorin approval could be a boon for supplement makers

Parents may flock to a dietary supplement with the same key ingredient as leucovorin, which the FDA just approved for children with autism. But there are drawbacks.

www.statnews.com

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Reposted by Sarah Todd

STAT @statnews.com · 15d

Trump repeatedly and forcefully issued direct medical advice during his autism announcement, in ways that went beyond presidential precedent.
www.statnews.com/2025/09/23/t...

In dispensing advice on Tylenol and autism, Trump takes on a new role: doctor in chief

Trump repeatedly and forcefully issued direct medical advice during his autism announcement, in ways that went beyond presidential precedent.

www.statnews.com

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Sarah Todd @sarah-todd.bsky.social · 16d

The USDA is ending its food insecurity survey, which supporters say is essential to tracking how many Americans struggle to get enough food on the table. Last year's 2023 survey showed a 3% increase from 2022 in food insecurity.

www.npr.org/2025/09/22/n...

USDA cancels survey tracking how many Americans struggle to get enough food

The Department of Agriculture said it will end a longstanding annual food insecurity survey. Experts say the move will obscure the effects of recent changes that will lead to people losing food aid.

www.npr.org

Reposted by Sarah Todd

The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 20d

Artists Sarah Cassidy and Akiva Leffert worked together to turn an abandoned New York City subway newsstand into a "dinosaur bodega" art installation, complete with dinosaur-themed magazines, snacks and a "cave for rent" advertisement.

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Sarah Todd @sarah-todd.bsky.social · 21d

Ritual pre-natal vitamins are trendy — but they're missing folic acid, the key ingredient for preventing neural tube defects. Instead, they use another kind of folate. But "there haven’t been any clinical trials showing that methylfolate prevents neural-tube defects."

www.thecut.com/article/fola...

Your Prenatal Vitamin Might Be Missing an Essential Ingredient

Trendy brands are selling supplements that are missing the one ingredient shown to prevent major birth defects.

www.thecut.com

Sarah Todd @sarah-todd.bsky.social · 21d

Ousted CDC director Susan Monarez says Kennedy told her he plans to change the childhood vaccine schedule this month: “He did not have any data or science to point to."

www.statnews.com/2025/09/17/c...

Ousted CDC director says Kennedy plans to change pediatric vaccine schedule

Ousted CDC director Susan Monarez told lawmakers that her boss, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., told her he plans to change the childhood vaccine schedule this month.

www.statnews.com

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Sarah Todd @sarah-todd.bsky.social · 22d

Surgeon general nominee Casey Means' ties to the supplement industry were already a cause of concern for some critics. New disclosures show how much money she made from promoting them (story by me and @isabellacueto.bsky.social):

www.statnews.com/2025/09/16/c...

Surgeon general nominee Casey Means discloses financial ties to supplement industry

Surgeon general nominee Casey Means earned hundreds of thousands of dollars promoting supplements, per new financial disclosure statements.

www.statnews.com

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Sarah Todd @sarah-todd.bsky.social · 28d

A lot of Americans — including doctors — wrongly think nicotine causes cancer. Public health experts worry this myth is stopping people who smoke from switching to products that would reduce their risk of cancer and other diseases:

www.statnews.com/2025/09/10/n...

How the myth that nicotine causes cancer is hurting public health

The myth that nicotine causes cancer is hurting public health, researchers say.

www.statnews.com

Sarah Todd @sarah-todd.bsky.social · Sep 5

"The reality is no one is going to care about seed oils or tallow if the product or meal is costing them 3x the price of what is readily available out there." www.snaxshot.com/p/people-don...

People Don't Give a Shit About Seed Oils

C-store cults, Whoop for poop, vegan protein water

www.snaxshot.com

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Sarah Todd @sarah-todd.bsky.social · Sep 5

"I couldn’t help but think it was exactly what the Trump administration wanted me to do: erase the background that is so important to me, and to my science."

www.statnews.com/2025/09/05/n...

I’m one of the Ph.D. students caught up in the cancelation of ‘diversity’ grants. I’m heartbroken

www.statnews.com

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Sarah Todd @sarah-todd.bsky.social · Sep 4

RFK Jr said at today's hearing that he's not taking away access to Covid shots. But as @matthewherper.bsky.social explains, pharmacies in 16 states are now restricting access:

www.statnews.com/2025/09/04/c...

Can anyone get a Covid shot if they want one? No

Can anyone get a Covid shot if they want one? It's not that simple.

www.statnews.com

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