The Dose: Tick Talk
Ticks, Male Contraceptives, & Baby Guts...
Welcome to The Dose! We’re delivering bi-weekly health and science updates right to your inbox, and we’re including some humor, art, and fun along the way.
Big tick energy… You can watch or listen to our latest episode of the podcast, and it’s quite timely given that summer is almost upon us. Jess and Andrea are chatting about tick prevention, tick checks, & tick removal. And if you’re looking for some extended content, check out the two-part episode we previously did, which included a deep dive on Lyme disease myths and misconceptions. You can listen to part 1 here and part 2 here.
From big tick energy to… male contraceptives… IYKYK! Currently, condoms and vasectomies are the only options for male contraceptives. However, a hormonal gel by the name of Nesterone has passed the phase 2 trial process. Nesterone works by prohibiting sperm production, but it also promotes healthy sexual function and sex drive. You can read more about it here.
Those with kids may not be surprised at this next story, but those without kids might be referencing the story above. (See what we did there?) A 5-year study that explored the diaper contents of 600+ healthy Danish babies made a pretty large discovery. More than 200 unknown viral families, along with thousands of new virus species. These discoveries are incredibly important to the conversations surrounding our gut microbiome and our immune system. Read more here.
We’re closing out this issue with a shout out to a member of our team, Katie S. She recently had an article published in STAT News, discussing the trend of health coaches and their regulation (or lack thereof). Great work, Katie! You can read her article to learn more. Katie also worked on an infographic we created, on the same topic. Health coaches are becoming increasingly popular, but spoiler alert, they aren’t what they seem!
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