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Deaths now outnumber births among white people in more than half the states in the country, demographers have found, signaling what could be a faster-than-expected transition to a future in which whites are no longer a majority of the American population. The Census Bureau has projected that whites could drop below 50 percent of the population around 2045, a relatively slow-moving change that has been years in the making. But a new report this week found that whites are dying faster than they are being born now in 26 states, up from 17 just two years earlier, and demographers say that shift might come even sooner. (Tavernise, 6/20)

New genetic tools are making it easier and cheaper to engineer viruses and bacteria, and a report commissioned by the Department of Defense has now ranked the top threats posed by the rapidly advancing field of "synthetic biology." One of the biggest concerns is the ability to recreate known viruses from scratch in the lab. That means a lab could make a deadly virus that is normally kept under lock and key, such as smallpox. (Greenfieldboyce, 6/19)

Leonid Peshkin calmly strokes his father’s thin, white hair. He gently exercises the old man’s arms to activate his muscles and get the blood flowing. He speaks, voice raised to reach him through the fog of age, poor hearing, and illness. “Papa,” he asks in their native Russian, “are you in pain?” ... The younger Peshkin, 48, studies the genetics of aging at Harvard Medical School in Boston. A broad-shouldered man with a twinkle always lurking in his brown eyes, Peshkin has been obsessed with aging since childhood because he worried that his father — then as old as other kids’ grandparents — would soon pass away. (Weintraub, 6/20)

Exercise could improve the life expectancy of adults who survive cancer as children, even if the activity begins years after treatments end, according to an inspiring new study. But the study also finds that many survivors rarely, if ever, move much.In one of the most stirring success stories of modern medicine, many childhood cancers are now treatable, including types that once would have been fatal. (Reynolds, 6/20)

Screen time is often considered the enemy when it comes to teaching kids to be active and well-behaved. But should all forms of media be considered equal? Research being presented Tuesday finds that for 9- and 10-year-old children taking part in a study of brain development, greater social media use, such as using scrolling through Instagram and texting, was associated with some positive effects, including increased physical activity, less family conflict and fewer sleep problems. (Watson, 6/19)

Dr. Adel Mahmoud, an infectious-disease expert who played a vital role in the development of lifesaving vaccines, died on June 11 in Manhattan. He was 76. His death, at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital, was caused by a brain hemorrhage, his wife, Dr. Sally Hodder, said. (Grady, 6/19)

A recent survey of more than 20,000 U.S. adults suggests that most Americans struggle with an emotional state of loneliness, and it’s an issue that has serious health implications. ... The impact of technologies such as social media loomed large during the conversation. Dr. Dixie Meyer, an associate professor in Saint Louis University’s Medical Family Therapy Program, emphasized the importance of “monitoring how you use” such platforms. (Hemphill, 6/20)

A national network of clinics claims it offers a miraculous procedure to treat diabetes, but many in the medical community are not convinced. Special correspondent Cheryl Clark from inewsource tells the story of a couple in rural Montana who believed in the treatment and even invested in opening their own clinic, before its founder was arrested on federal public corruption charges. (Clark, 6/19)