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Veterans saw a spike in urinary, prostate, liver and blood cancers during nearly two decades of war, and some military families now question whether their exposure to toxic environments is to blame, according to a McClatchy investigation. McClatchy found that the rate of cancer treatments for veterans at Department of Veterans Affairs health care centers increased 61 percent for urinary cancers ⁠— which include bladder, kidney and ureter cancers ⁠— from fiscal year 2000 to 2018. The rate of blood cancer treatments ⁠— lymphoma, myeloma and leukemia ⁠— rose 18 percent in the same period. Liver and pancreatic cancer treatment rates increased 96 percent and prostate cancer treatment rates increased 23 percent. (Copp, Dasgupta and Wieder, 10/30)

The Ebola virus kills in terrifying ways, shutting down the body’s organs and draining victims of the fluids that keep them alive. In outbreaks, it has claimed as many as 9 in 10 patients. In a medical breakthrough that compares to the use of penicillin for war wounds, two new drugs are saving lives from the virus and helping uncover tools against other deadly infectious diseases. They were proven effective in a gold-standard clinical trial conducted by an international coalition of doctors and researchers in the middle of armed violence. (McKay, 10/30)

At least two children per woman—that’s what’s needed to ensure a stable population from generation to generation. In the 1960s, the fertility rate was five live births per woman. By 2017 it had fallen to 2.43, close to that critical threshold.Population growth is vital for the world economy. It means more workers to build homes and produce goods, more consumers to buy things and spark innovation, and more citizens to pay taxes and attract trade. While the world is expected to add more than 3 billion people by 2100, according to the United Nations, that’ll likely be the high point. Falling fertility rates and aging populations will mean serious challenges that will be felt more acutely in some places than others. (Tartar, Recht and Qiu, 10/31)

A healthy diet may help relieve the symptoms of depression. There is good evidence from observational studies that diet can affect mood, and now a randomized controlled trial suggests that healthy eating can modestly improve clinical levels of depression. (Bakalar, 10/30)

U.S. racial and ethnic diversity is ever increasing, but the medical representation of minority groups is not. A recent review of government-funded cancer research studies found that participants were disproportionately white, and fewer than 2 percent of these clinical trials focused on minorities specifically. (Wise and Kane, 10/30)

Steve Palmer has opened dozens of restaurants over the course of his career. He knows how to coax the best flavors out of a piece of fish, how to light a restaurant so all the customers look good and how to make a couple celebrating an anniversary feel special. But 18 years ago, he was so strung out on alcohol and cocaine that his boss at the restaurant where he worked gave him an ultimatum: Get treatment or get fired. (Severson, 10/31)

Walk into Mike Ryan’s office here on the orderly campus of the World Health Organization and you are in a train station. Staff members rush in to see the agency’s ruddy, fast-talking emergencies chief to seek guidance on the various disease outbreaks they are trying to end. People crowd into the office where a pair of assistants are stationed, waiting their turn. When Ryan’s door is closed, it’s not long before a hand is rapping on the other side. (Branswell, 10/30)

The commission held a public forum in mid-October to gauge what qualities it should look for when appointing Connecticut’s next chief state’s attorney. Many see the search as an opportunity for Connecticut to make even further strides on criminal justice reform and cut down on prison populations and racial disparities in the state’s justice system. There also is significant public interest in a chief state’s attorney who makes the roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists. (Lyons, 10/31)

Soon after calories were posted on fast-food menus, people cut back a little bit on what they ordered. But it didn't last. Customers at fast-food chains in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas ordered an average of 60 fewer calories per transaction in the weeks after the figures were displayed, according to a study published Wednesday in the medical journal, BMJ. That amounted to a 4% drop, and declines came largely from extras such as fries and desserts. (10/30)

Prescription ranitidine syrup, a form of the digestive aid sold over the counter as Zantac, has been recalled along with another over-the-counter brand sold at Winn-Dixie, Hy-Vee and other supermarkets. As with the previous recalls of versions of ranitidine, the problem is probable carcinogen NDMA (N-Nitrosodimethylamine). Neither private company testing nor the FDA testing has determined how much NDMA raises the chances of the consumer getting cancer. (Neal, 10/30)