Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR’s daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
Wondering why the sky has been so weird? Blame Canadian wildfire smoke. Expect the orange, milky, hazy sky to stick around the next few days. Meteorologist Danielle Noyes has more here about how the smoke will affect everything from our health to the heat
Testing, testing:Could a blood test one day become routine for assessing your risk of Alzheimer’s disease? In a study out today, Mass General Brigham researchers say a specific biomarker, called p-tau217, shows promise for predicting Alzheimer’s. Their research found that cognitively unimpaired adults — as in, those without Alzheimer’s symptoms — with very high levels of p-tau217 had a 38% risk of developing impairment over the next five years, and an even higher risk over a decade. But don’t march into your doctor’s office for a test just yet. Researchers caution that right now, this test is not recommended for people without any symptoms. Still, lead author and MGB neuroscientist Rachel Buckley told WBUR’s Fausto Menard the research is promising. “These are our first steps. They’re extremely exciting,” she said. “They’re very helpful for guiding where we go next, but they’re not the final step, and we still have to do more work.”
- The test: Right now, a test like this is only given to people with suspected cognitive symptoms, and is often paired with other testing, like brain scans, to confirm a diagnosis.
- The caveats: Buckley told Fausto that even if someone asymptomatic showed high p-tau217 levels, there’s very little anyone can do for them. That’s because there are no real treatments to prevent Alzheimer’s in cognitively unimpaired adults. But …
- The future: Buckley hopes that soon, there will be preventive treatments for Alzheimer’s, and the blood test could become a useful tool in clinicians’ toolboxes. “I feel optimistic that in the next 12 to 18 months we’ll be telling a very different story,” she said. Someday, this test could be used similarly to how common blood tests, known as A1C tests, help guide diabetes diagnoses, Buckley said.
A change at the top:The state’s largest teacher’s union has new leadership taking the helm today. The Massachusetts Teachers Association elected two educators who have organized strikes within their own districts to the top roles, WBUR’s Suevon Lee reports. Incoming president Matt Bach, a history teacher at Andover High School, told Suevon he plans to prioritize initiatives around debt-free higher education and the push to legalize teacher strikes. “We’re going to continue the social justice work that MTA does and make sure that we have a society that values public education and students and families and all of the services that come out of that,” he said. (Bach replaces current president Max Page, who was term limited.) Also starting her term as vice president is Deb Gesualdo, a music educator from Malden.
- It’s illegal for teachers to strike in Massachusetts, but that hasn’t stopped several communities from striking in the last few years. (Andover educators went on a three-day strike in 2023, while Malden teachers walked out for a day in 2022). Unions have faced financial penalties for striking, but say it’s worth it. The MTA has unsuccessfully pushed for lawmakers to legalize public employee strikes.
No swimming:It’s a bad week for beach closures, what with the excessive heat. But more than 40 beaches across Massachusetts are closed, mostly due to high levels of bacteria. They include Mingo in Beverly, Merrymount in Quincy and Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester. The state updates its water quality dashboard hourly, so you can check to see if anything changes
- If bacteria wasn’t enough to worry about, there are also rip currents. The National Hurricane Center has warned of a high rip current risk along beaches in southeastern Massachusetts, the Islands’ south-facing beaches and the eastern Cape shore. Essex, Suffolk and Plymouth county beaches are under a moderate risk.
- A high risk means life-threatening rip currents are likely, and swimming is unsafe for all levels of swimmers. Moderate risk means rip currents are possible, and swimmers should remain in shallow water.
- If you feel yourself getting stuck in a rip current, don’t try to swim directly back to the beach. Instead, swim parallel to the shore to escape the current, then at an angle toward the beach.
P.S. — Now that “Widow’s Bay” is over, how about watching something else filmed in Massachusetts? WBUR’s CitySpace is hosting a screening this Friday of “The Thomas Crown Affair,” as part of its Set in Boston series. Following the film, WBUR critic Sean Burns will talk with investigative journalist-turned-crime novelist Hank Phillippi Ryan. Intrigue!
WBUR Today: Boston’s Morning Newsletter
