Day: May 22, 2023

Study clarifies hearing problems in older adults

May 22, 2023 Published by Futurity (National Geo)

A new study sheds light on why some adults develop hearing problems.

By some estimates, hearing loss affects at least 50% of the population after 75 years of age.

While congenital hearing impairment—usually presenting in childhood—results from rare mutations, hearing problems in adults are likely due to the cumulative effect of polygenic risk and environmental factors.

Recent genome-wide association studies have uncovered several risk genes implicated in hearing issues in adults, however some factors still have not adequately been investigated by large-scale genetic studies.

For instance, there is limited information about why hearing problems among older adults are more common, more severe, and with earlier onset in men than in women. It is uncertain how hearing-related polygenic risk translates among people of diverse ancestral backgrounds.

While environmental risk factors such as noise exposure and tobacco smoking are known to increase the risk of hearing impairment, the molecular mechanisms underlying these associations are unclear.

The new study, published in Genome Medicine, greatly expands the understanding of a person’s predisposition to age-related hearing problems.

Researchers sampled nearly 750,000 adults and identified 54 risk variants—including 12 novel variants—that could contribute to hearing problems. They also highlighted how hormonal regulation may play a role in the differences between hearing problems in men and women.

Analyzing multiple ancestry groups, the researchers demonstrated that polygenic risk in hearing problems is shared across human populations. They also determined genes involved in brain development interact with sex, noise pollution, and tobacco smoking in relation to their associations with hearing problems.

“Our results support that large-scale genetic studies are useful instruments to understand the biology and the epidemiology of hearing problems in adults,” says senior author Renato Polimanti, associate professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine.

Overall, the findings contribute to identifying possible molecular targets for drug development and define novel strategies to identify older adults at risk of losing their hearing.

The study could lead to changes in how older adults with hearing problems are assessed and treated. Hearing loss can impair communications, and that can result in social isolation with major health, psychosocial, and economic consequences, reducing the quality of life of those affected.

Additional coauthors are from Harvard University; the University of California, San Diego; and Yale. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders funded the work.

Source: Christopher Gardner for Yale University

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NAACP president scolds CNN over citing Black voter support for DeSantis: 'Wrong and misleading'

May 22, 2023 Published by Fox News

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) President Derrick Johnson scolded CNN over exit polling that showed 13% of Black voters supported Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., during his 2022 re-election.

On Monday’s “CNN This Morning,” co-host Sara Sidner asked Johnson about the poll, noting it was “not a small number” of Black voters who backed DeSantis for governor.

“Well, I have never seen an accurate exit poll in 30 years. Nor have you, nor have that network. And I’m surprised that you would repeat an exit poll number. Exit polls are historically wrong and misleading. Therefore, whatever the number or percentage of individuals who voted for him, that’s prior to these bad policies. Now we are living in the reality of an individual whose governing. How someone campaigns and how they govern are two different realities. Now we are witnessing firsthand how he’s governing. And he’s governing to a small vocal minority of the community, not the majority interests of Florida nor is he governing towards the future of Florida, which will not look like the small minority that he’s speaking to in this moment,” Johnson said.

Sidner argued that while they both didn’t “love” the polling, it was a “measure.”

NAACP President Derrick Johnson joins CNN’s “CNN This Morning” on Monday. (Screenshot/CNN/CNNThisMorning)

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“Derek Johnson, you and I don’t love the polling, but it is a measure. The best measure that we can often get, because we can’t talk every single person in the state, but I appreciate you coming on. I appreciate you stating your thoughts on why you’re putting this advisory in place,” she said.

Johnson responded, “it’s not about love/hate the polling, it is an inaccurate measure that people stopped using, because it has been so inaccurate over the last 30 years.”

The NAACP issued a formal travel advisory against Florida on Sunday, arguing that the state “has engaged in an all-out attack on Black Americans” and other minority groups.

“Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals,” the formal advisory on the NAACP’s website said. “Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color.”

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD – APRIL 21: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks during The Heritage Foundation 50th Anniversary Celebration at the Gaylord National Harbor Resort on April 21, 2023 in National Harbor, Md. (Photo by Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images) (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

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Florida’s NAACP chapter first issued a warning to Black Americans in March, urging them to stay away from the state.

DeSantis responded to a question from a reporter about the Florida chapter’s warning in March and said it was a “joke.”

The Florida governor also dismissed their warning as a “stunt.”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis calls on a member of the media at a press conference at the American Police Hall of Fame & Museum in Titusville. (Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Sidner also asked Johnson what he hopes to accomplish through the travel advisory.

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“Well, we have talked to our members in the state of Florida, partner groups, individuals in the large African-American communities. And so for many, they were asking, what should we do? And we understand that many conventions are going to be held in Florida. So we are advising our members and others that if you go, be cautious of how you operate in the state, that if you have another choice to hold your convention, consider a place outside of Florida. But also, let’s — if you have to go there, let’s support the local community as we prepare to change the political landscape. We didn’t end here overnight. It was because of the election. So we have to prepare for the next election, so we can get rid of him once and for all,” Johnson said.

Hanna Panreck is an associate editor at Fox News.

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'My wife's going to make me charge more': Michael Block jokes about hourly rate for lessons after PGA Championship fairytale

May 22, 2023 Published by CNN

CNN
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This was uncharted territory for Michael Block.

Playing in the final round of a major, paired alongside one of the greats of the game, was like a dream for the 46-year-old who works full-time as a golf instructor. And that was before he drilled a hole-in-one.

On the 15th hole on the final round of the 2023 PGA Championship, from 151 yards, Block sent his ball straight into the hole and, in turn, sent the crowd wild. Even his playing partner, former world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, seemed in shock.

“I hit it good, but I didn’t see it go in and Rory stops all of a sudden. He turns around, he’s got his arms open and is coming and giving me a hug,” Block told CNN’s This Morning.

“I’m going: ‘What is going on right now?’ He goes: ‘It went in the hole.’ I was like: ‘You’ve got to be kidding, right now under these circumstances that it went in the hole.’ Crazy.”

Block and McIlroy embrace after their final rounds at the 2023 PGA Championship.

The moment was a crowning one on what was a weekend that catapulted him from outsider to household favorite.

With a critical par save at the end of his final round, Block finished with a share of 15th place, earning him an automatic spot at next year’s event, as well as $288,333 in prize money.

To put that into perspective, that is almost four times his previous highest payout.

In describing the moment, Block reference the 1996 movie “Tin Cup” which sees Kevin Costner play a golf professional working at a driving range who tries to qualify for the U.S. Open to win the heart of his successful rival’s girlfriend, per IMDB.

“It is a “Tin Cup” moment without a doubt. I am a club pro, I teach golf, I’m the head golf professional at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club in Mission Viejo,” he said.

“And for me to be out with these guys, Rory McIlroy on Sunday, Justin Rose on Saturday, and to have the Rochester people out here that are the biggest supporters of golf I have ever seen in my life was absolutely unbelievable and it was a dream come true.”

But it was the whole weekend which meant so much to Block.

Block celebrates after his hole-in-one on the 15th hole during the final round of the PGA Championship.

The major was his 25th PGA Tour start – he had made four cuts in those 24 previous events, with his best tour finish being tied for 69th at the 2014 Sanderson Farms Championship.

As he made his way off the final green, his spot at next year’s event secured, Block was met with a vice-like hug from his wife. He said she “almost choked” him such was the force of the hug.

To cap off a memorable trip to Rochester, New York, Block was given sponsor exemptions into two upcoming PGA Tour events – the Charles Schwab Challenge this week and RBC Canadian Open in June.

In a touching moment, which the PGA Tour tweeted, Block and his wife broke down into tears as they received their invite to the Charles Schwab Challenge.

Being emotional wasn’t something he was accustomed to, but the tears have flowed over the last 24 hours, he said.

“She hadn’t seen me cry outside of one other time in my life until this week and I literally woke up on my bed crying this morning, it was pretty crazy,” he said.

Understandably, the new additions to his calendar has meant teaching back at his club in California is going to have to wait.

And Block is hoping his students will understand his reason for canceling this week’s lessons as he flies to Fort Worth, Texas.

Block celebrates with spectators after hitting a hole-in-one on the 15th hole.

“I won’t be back at work until next week so I need to cancel a couple lessons. It’s a good thing. I think they understand why. I think they understand why I can’t teach them tomorrow,” he said.

Five days ago, Block was a club pro working full-time as a golf instructor, charging $150 dollars for a lesson. Now, he thinks there might be pressure to up those rates.

“I have a feeling my wife is going to make me charge more,” he joked.

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