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Marburg virus is notorious for its killing ability. In past outbreaks, as many as 9 out of 10 patients have died from the disease. And there are no approved vaccines or medications.

That was the grim situation in Rwanda just over a month ago, when officials made the announcement that nobody wants to make: The country was in the midst of its first Marburg outbreak. 

Now those same Rwandan officials have better news to share. Remarkably better.

“We are at a case fatality rate of 22.7% — probably among the lowest ever recorded [for a Marburg outbreak],” said Dr. Yvan Butera, the Rwandan Minister of State for Health at a press conference hosted by Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday.

There’s more heartening news: Two of the Marburg patients, who experienced multiple organ failure and were put on life support, have now been extubated — had their breathing tubes successfully removed — and have recovered from the virus.

“We believe this is the first time patients with Marburg virus have been extubated in Africa,” says Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization. “These patients would have died in previous outbreaks.”

The number of new cases in Rwanda has also dwindled dramatically, from several a day to just 4 reported in the last two weeks, bringing the total for this outbreak to 66 Marburg patients and 15 deaths.

“It’s not yet time to declare victory, but we think we are headed in a good direction,” says Butera. Public health experts are already using words like “remarkable,” “unprecedented” and “very, very encouraging” to characterize the response.

How did Rwanda — an African country of some 14 million — achieve this success? And what can other countries learn from Rwanda’s response?

Doing the basics really well

Rwanda is known for the horrific 1994 genocide — one of the worst in modern times. Since then, the country has charted a different path. In 20 years, life expectancy increased by 20 years from 47.5 years old in 2000 to 67.5 years old in 2021 — about double the gains seen across the continent. And Rwanda has spent decades building up a robust health-care system.

“The health infrastructure, the health-care providers in Rwanda — they’re really, really great,” says Dr. Craig Spencer, an emergency physician and professor at Brown University School of Public Health. Spencer specializes in global health issues and has been following the Rwandan outbreak closely.

There are well-run hospitals and well-trained nurses and doctors, he says. There are laboratories that can quickly do diagnostic testing. There is personal protective equipment for medical workers.

For this outbreak, there was the know-how and infrastructure to set up a separate Marburg treatment facility. That’s been a boon for other patients and medical staff, preventing exposure to the virus — which crosses over from bats to humans and can be transmitted through bodily fluids like blood, sweat and diarrhea.

And even though there aren’t approved medications to treat Marburg, patients in Rwanda have received good supportive care for all their symptoms — like the IV fluids critical for symptoms like high fevers, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

This stands in stark contrast to the response in past Marburg scenarios. For example, the Democratic Republic of Congo — next door to Rwanda — had an outbreak between 1998 and 2000. Dr. Daniel Bausch, now a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and an expert in tropical diseases like Marburg, provided care in that outbreak. He says what the country’s health centers were able to offer patients was rudimentary at best.

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Rachel Feltman: For Science Quickly, this is Rachel Feltman. The 2024 election is approaching fast, and we’re here to help you prep for your trip to the polls. Over the last few months, Scientific American’s editors have been reporting on how Donald Trump and Kamala Harris approach the science-related policy issues that impact our everyday lives. They’ve been talking to experts on topics like gun violence, health care, immigration, and more to help explain what a Trump or Harris presidency might mean for these issues in the years to come.

Today we’re going to be hearing from a few of those Scientific American editors about what they’ve learned. First up is Tanya Lewis, a senior editor who covers health and medicine, to give us a primer on how the 2024 election could impact reproductive rights.

Tanya Lewis: Trump and Harris have pretty starkly different views and records on this topic.

Trump has had a pretty big impact on abortion access. He’s appointed three Supreme Court justices that helped overturn Roe v. Wade, and that led to abortion bans or [substantial] restrictions in about half of all U.S. states.

[CLIP: Donald Trump speaks at September’s presidential debate: “We’ve gotten what everybody wanted: Democrats, Republicans and everybody else, and every legal scholar, wanted it to be brought back into the states.”]

Project 2025 is the conservative agenda that Trump has distanced himself from but which was actually written by many of his former colleagues. And that project basically supports the use of the Comstock Act to roll back abortion rights. It also calls for reporting data on individual pregnancies and abortions to the U.S. government.

Abortion bans actually affect things like routine pregnancy care or emergency care. There are already women who are dying because of miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies. Doctors [in some states] are scared of actually acting in these cases because they are afraid that they’re gonna face criminal charges.

Trump has falsely claimed that Harris supports abortion “after birth,” but that’s actually a meaningless term because abortion is not a legal thing that can happen after birth anywhere in this country.

Harris’s campaign has been much more focused on supporting reproductive rights, including abortion. The Biden-Harris administration actually signed several executive orders that protect abortion and abortion medication. The Biden-Harris administration has defended abortion access in a couple of different Supreme Court cases. One of them involved the approval of mifepristone, the abortion medication, by the [Food and Drug Administration], and another one involved emergency abortion care in Idaho.

The Biden-Harris administration expanded coverage of abortion-related travel and access to birth control under Medicaid, the government insurance program for low-income individuals. Harris has vowed to sign legislation that would protect abortion if she’s elected. Now, of course, this is dependent on whether or not Congress passes such legislation, which is somewhat unlikely in this environment.

[CLIP: Kamala Harris speaks at September’s presidential debate: “And I pledge to you, when Congress passes a bill to put back in place the protections of Roe v. Wade, as President of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law.”]

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Anaissa Ruiz Tejada/Scientific American

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Quincy Jones, Giant of American Music, Dies at 91

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Over time, excess consumption of these added sugars can increase the risk of health problems. Here’s how that may play out in various parts of your body.

The Mouth

The potential issues from added sugars start in your mouth. Here, certain bacteria break sugars down and produce acids, which can eventually erode your tooth enamel.

Your saliva is able to neutralize these acids, but if you keep consuming sugary foods and drinks throughout the day, it won’t be able to keep up. Acid levels will remain high, increasing your risk for cavities.

A diet high in sugary drinks like soda and juice can also change your mouth’s microbiome — increasing the number of acid-producing bacteria and decreasing the beneficial ones. That may make you even more susceptible to cavities.

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Hmmmmm…

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12

New Living Translation

⁹ This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. ¹⁰ He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. ¹¹ So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. ¹² Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil.

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Hmmmmm… Someone, please fact-check these statements from a post on X (formerly known as Twitter)!

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Great Idea… His advisor seems to be Joseph Goebbels! The Republican constituency is in political thralldom.  Below, is a compilation from several sources.

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Matthew 12:37

New Living Translation

37 The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.

 

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REPENTANCE PRAYER

Lord Jesus, for too long I’ve kept you out of my life. I know that I am a sinner and that I cannot save myself. No longer will I close the door when I hear you knocking. By faith, I gratefully receive your gift of salvation. I am ready to trust you as my Lord and Savior. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for coming to earth. I believe you are the Son of God who died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead on the third day. Thank you for bearing my sins and giving me the gift of eternal life. I believe your words are true. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus, and be my Savior. Amen

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The reformation of manners, the restoration of purity, the due administration of public justice, and the prevailing of honesty and fair dealing among men, are the strength and stability of any church or state. The confederate force of hell and earth will be renewing their assaults. As long as there is a devil in hell, and a persecutor out of it, God’s people must expect frequent alarms. (Matthew Henry)

 

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Mr. Mancinelli’s father, Alfred, was completely smitten with the star — or at least with the con artist impersonating her. He was convinced he was in a romantic relationship with Ms. Bliss, leading him to give up about $1 million in retirement savings (and his granddaughter’s college fund) to the impostor and a varied cast of online fraudsters he interacted with over several years.

When Mr. Mancinelli tried to intervene, moving his father’s last $100,000 to a safe account, Alfred sued him — his loyalty was to “Lexi.”

“There was nothing we could do to convince him,” said Mr. Mancinelli, 47, a chemical engineer in Collegeville, Pa. An elder care specialist deemed Alfred “really sharp,” he said, but lacking purpose.

Mr. Mancinelli and others who have tried to awaken their loved ones from this trance often feel powerless, even after they’ve done everything to shatter the fiction and protect their assets. They say it’s as if their parent had been brainwashed into a cult.

In some ways, they were: These victims were slowly groomed by con artists posing as love interests, investment advisers or government officials, among others. Once ensconced inside this bubble, they are unable or unwilling to acknowledge that they have become victims. Even when their own children are warning them of the con.

“Romance scams are the most pernicious,” said Darius Kingsley, head of consumer banking practices at JPMorgan Chase. Some victims have become confrontational after being told that their wires were not going to lovers but were being used for nefarious purposes.

“They don’t believe it,” Mr. Kingsley added, which means banks may need to shut down their accounts if the behavior continues.

Americans lost an estimated $12.5 billion to online criminals in 2023, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, including $652 million in losses tied to romance and confidence scams. Many more go unreported.

Technology has put just about everyone in scammers’ cross hairs, but older Americans are disproportionately targeted for some of the costliest cons, often because they are perceived to have more money, to have less familiarity with technology, and to be potentially experiencing cognitive decline. Still, fully competent people fall for scams, too.

“For many people, what is going on is they are looking to fulfill an unmet need for companionship, an unmet need for financial security, an unmet need for a purpose,” said Marti DeLiema, an interdisciplinary gerontologist and assistant professor at the University of Minnesota’s School of Social Work, who researches financial fraud and exploitation.

Victims are often caught up in fantasies created by perpetrators, isolating them from their real-life existence and families.

That’s what happened with Alfred Mancinelli, who had already endured tragic losses in his life. He and his wife lost their first child to leukemia when she was 3; then, he lost his wife when their boys were 9 and 14, raising them largely on his own. Later, he was forced into early retirement from his position as an electronic technician for Con Ed, the New York power company.

Chris Mancinelli said his father had “opened his heart” with some of his scammers, which may have played into how he was manipulated.

Before the Alexa Bliss impostor, Alfred sent money to someone called “Kate,” who said she had a sick 4-year-old daughter. He also sent money to “Anna,” who was helping a friend caring for unwell children.

“I believe they crafted stories that pulled on those heart strings,” Mr. Mancinelli said.

Alfred’s involvement in scams dated back to 2018, but worsened during the isolating days of the pandemic. By the spring of 2021, his once $900,000 nest egg had dropped to $128,000. Mr. Mancinelli estimates that most of his father’s money went to one or more Alexa Bliss impostors — her persona is frequently used in scams — and what seemed to be a satellite of associates.

His chat messages with the sham Alexa read like a soap opera. There were the battles with his son, whom he disowned, after Mr. Mancinelli tried to safeguard his money; other “evil” meddlers trying to spoil their relationship; and ongoing references to Vince McMahon, the former wrestling promoter, whom the fake Alexa accused of humiliating her after she refused his advances. But Alfred was always there, ready to extend emotional and financial support.

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“There was nothing we could do to convince him,” Chris Mancinelli said of his father, who lost nearly $1 million in savings to a cast of online fraudsters. Credit…Hannah Yoon for The New York Times

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Parents of tweens and teens like me are always in need of a brush up on current slang terms, such as lala bop, and rizz. Now, there’s another term making the rounds in middle and high schools, as well as on TikTok: “crashing out.” 

If you’re unfamiliar with the term, you’re not alone. Here’s your guide to what crashing out means and what to do about it.

What Does ‘Crashing Out’ Mean?

My 14-year-old explained “crashing out” to me as meaning “you’re going to flip out,” or “you can’t pull it together.” A popular TikTok also explains the term as essentially being an overreaction to a minor problem—like having your shoe stepped on. 

We may have called it something else, but kids (and adults!) have been “crashing out” since the beginning of human history. And there’s no denying that emotional regulation is a tough skill for people of all ages to master.

That’s especially true for tweens and teens, who are battling changing hormones, and pressures ranging from school to social media. Teens are also just learning how to navigate tough situations on their own, so “crashing out” happens. 

But sometimes “crashing out” becomes a habit, and a default response to problems big and small. In those cases, experts say it’s important for parents to step in.

Why ‘Crashing Out’ Happens

Many factors can lead to adolescents’ emotions becoming unmanageable—aka “crashing out,” says Kristie Tse, LMHC, a New York-based psychotherapist and founder of Uncover Mental Health Counseling.

“Hormones can amplify emotions, making small issues seem insurmountable,” she tells Parents. “External stressors like academic pressure, social media, and peer relationships exacerbate these challenges.”

Especially when left unaddressed, emotional dysregulation can result.1 But a lot of it also comes down to development.

“The brains and bodies of tweens and teens are in a dynamic state of growth and development, as are their abilities to regulate emotions, make well-thought-out decisions, and manage social, school, family, and personal pressures,” says Tom Milam, MD, MDiv, Chief Medical Officer of Iris Telehealth, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, and Attending Psychiatrist at Carilion Clinic.

Sanam Hafeez, PsyD, a New York City-based neuropsychologist and Director of Comprehend the Mind, adds, “Teens go through intense hormonal shifts in impulse control, and the prefrontal cortex—which regulates self-control—is still developing.”

How Parents Can Help Kids Avoid ‘Crashing Out’

Understanding the underlying emotions that cause kids to “crash out” can help prevent outbursts and encourage healthier emotional expression, according to Tse.

Meanwhile, modeling appropriate reactions to stressful situations is one of the most important things parents can do to help kids do the same.

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