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In the last two years, there has been a rapid rise in scams in India and a lot of people have lost their hard-earned money after trusting strangers for financial advice. Be it a fraudulent app, being added to a shady WhatsApp group, or receiving phone calls from strangers that sound too good to be true, many cases have come to light. Now, in a new incident, a doctor from Thane, Maharashtra, was misled by three Karnataka-based suspects who promised earnings via a municipal contract to supply medical equipment, costing him ₹3.84 crore. Despite investing over a three-year period, he saw no returns and reported the crime to the Naupada police, who have registered a case but made no arrests. Thane doctor tricked by false municipal contract According to a PTI report, a 39-year-old doctor in Thane, Maharashtra was deceived by three men from Karnataka. These fraudsters offered him lucrative returns through a supposed municipal contract for supplying medical equipment. Convinced by the promise of reliable profits, the doctor began investing heavily in December 2020, making significant contributions until March this year. The doctor’s substantial investment – totalling ₹3.84 crore – was made over multiple transactions from December 2020 and March this year, in anticipation of high returns that never materialised. Suspicion finally arose after the doctor had seen no profits despite his repeated investments. Recognising he may have been defrauded, he reached out to the Naupada police station, who registered a case under charges of cheating. While no arrests have been made so far, authorities have launched an investigation to track down the perpetrators and recover the funds if possible. A police official told PTI, "The man approached police after he did not get profits or any return on investment. We have registered a case of cheating but have not arrested anyone." Ahmedabad gynaecologist duped in <keyword id="21361161" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="stock-market-scam" source="keywords">stock market scam</keyword> In a similar incident, a gynaecologist from Ahmedabad lost ₹1.1 crore to a scam that began with a social media advertisement. Attracted by the potential for substantial stock market returns, the doctor engaged with a group promising expert tips and was subsequently added to a WhatsApp group where members shared investment insights. Through this group, he was introduced to a web link for stock and IPO investments, along with an application that required his banking details and identification documents. A PTI report revealed that the doctor’s initial investment of ₹50,000 yielded a profit of ₹10,000, which he successfully withdrew. This initial success encouraged him to make larger investments, transferring ₹1.1 crore through multiple transactions in pursuit of higher gains. When he later attempted to withdraw his funds, he was unexpectedly asked to pay 20% of his total profits. After refusing this demand, he was removed from the WhatsApp group and realised the extent of the deception. He contacted Cybercrime police in February, and after months of waiting, a formal case was registered against unknown suspects under charges of breach of trust and cheating, alongside provisions of the <keyword id="20003647" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="information-technology-act" source="keywords">Information Technology Act</keyword>.

Thane doctor gets cheated of ₹3.84 crore, was promised high financial returns by 3 men

The healthcare startup Forward bet the future of its business on a spaceshiplike mall kiosk in Roseville, California.Launched in 2017 by several high-profile executives from Google and Uber, Forward set out to disrupt primary care with tech-enabled, ultramodern clinics. In mid-2023, it shifted its attention to a new offering: an AI-powered doctor-in-a-box.Replete with ultraviolet lighting and floor-to-ceiling screens, the metallic "CarePods" let patients get a doctor visit sans the doctor — directing patients to take their own blood, sequence their DNA, and test for diseases like COVID-19, all without speaking with another human."If Elon has the self-driving car, well, this is the autonomous doctor's office," Forward CEO Adrian Aoun told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/12/08/carepod-forward-doctors-office-telehealth-telemedicine">Axios</a> in late 2023.Today, Forward's first CarePod is gone. Where the kiosk used to sit in the center of the Roseville Galleria mall, two strips of blue painter's tape lie stuck to the shiny marble floor.The startup announced Tuesday it would close its doors, just a year after raising $100 million in a Series E funding round to power its CarePods rollout. That fundraise took its total funding to over $650 million.Forward sent a late-night email to its patients on Tuesday, obtained by Business Insider, announcing it would immediately shutter all its locations, cancel scheduled visits, and cut off access to its mobile app. The startup said its clinical team would be available by email until December 13 for remaining patient support.Eleven former Forward employees spoke with BI before the closure on the condition of anonymity to avoid retribution from the company. They painted a picture of a startup that bet the house on its bold, new healthcare technology, with little to show for it a year later.Fewer patients than the company had hoped jumped at the chance to try out the CarePods, six former employees said. Logistical challenges in setting up the kiosks forced Forward to delay core parts of its strategy, like launching CarePods in big markets such as Chicago and New York City.Meanwhile, the technical problems mounted. Automated blood draws routinely failed. Lab test offerings were withdrawn. And patients kept getting trapped inside the CarePods.Forward said in November 2023 it planned to scale to launch <a target="_blank" href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/15/forward-health-carepod-ai-doctor/">3,200 CarePods in a year</a> — 12 months later, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=505445618923153">it said it had launched five</a>. Immediately prior to its closure, only two CarePod locations were listed on its website.Facing sluggish growth, Forward laid off a significant portion of its staff in March, seven former employees said. Two former employees told BI that, at that time, the startup was set to run out of money in less than a year.The startup's abrupt closure points to the perils of its high-growth ambitions and dogged "tech-first" approach to the notoriously complex healthcare industry — a case of AI-fueled style over substance.Forward did not respond to multiple requests for comment.<div type="image" title="Forward San Francisco clinic" height="2705" width="3607" msid="115264594" hostid="261" sizebytes="342990"></div>Adrian Aoun originally made his name at Google as Larry Page's right-hand man, leading special projects for the tech giant after the company bought his first AI startup, newsgathering platform Wavii, in 2013.When he launched Forward in 2017, Aoun <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/forward-new-york-city-healthcare-2018-11">positioned</a> the startup's health clinics as a doctor's office crossed with an Apple Store. The startup began with a membership model that offered patients complete primary care for $150 a month. (The company never accepted insurance.)Upon entering a clinic, subscribers faced a Star Trek-teleporter-esque full-body scanner, a platform <a target="_blank" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/miguelhelft/2017/01/17/meet-forward-an-ex-googlers-plan-to-reinvent-healthcare/">Forward said</a> takes a patient's vitals and runs them through its proprietary artificial intelligence to detect symptoms.While the scanners helped attract new patients to the clinics, the flashy tech simply took basic vitals that clinicians could easily measure manually — for instance, the scanners take a patient's temperature by using <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&amp;v=727194414435413">infrared-thermal-energy mapping</a>, rather than with a thermometer. Three former employees said the scanners often recorded incorrect data, which forced clinicians to retake information like a patient's blood pressure or heart rate."The aesthetics drew people in and kept them there," one of those former employees said. "But the scanners don't actually do much."<div type="image" title="The body scanner in Forward's Washington DC clinic." height="3024" width="4032" msid="115264592" hostid="261" sizebytes="226616"></div>Forward operated more than a dozen of these healthcare clinics across the US prior to its closure. BI visited two, in Washington, DC, and San Francisco, in the weeks leading up to it shutting down. The clinics were sleek and glossy, with iPads built into the wall, a shiny white body scanner awaiting its next patient, and no front desk.Both locations were eerily empty in the past few months. BI went to Forward's Washington location once and its San Francisco location twice and glimpsed one patient in all. The Washington clinic was silent; after about 10 minutes, a medical assistant emerged to greet the reporter who was wandering the halls and calling out for an employee. The clinicians at both locations declined to speak with BI.Forward hadn't opened any new clinics in the past year. Four former employees said the startup closed at least two clinics since the CarePods launch: in Dallas and Bellevue, Washington.Forward had also been cutting costs at its clinics for months. Forward started declining to pay for any lab tests it couldn't do in-house, according to documents viewed by BI — meaning a wide variety of tests previously available to members, including several STI tests and key hormonal measures like thyroid tests, are no longer covered by the startup.Last year, the startup stopped paying for genetic tests through 23andMe, a service it had touted since its inception. It cut smaller services from at least some of its clinics, too, like skin-tag and mole removal using too-expensive liquid nitrogen, three former employees said.Those former employees said Forward leadership told them the startup was closing its clinics, at least partly, so Forward could focus on the CarePod.<div type="image" title="Empty patient room hallway at Forward Washington DC clinic." height="2705" width="3607" msid="115264588" hostid="261" sizebytes="323756"></div>When Forward launched its first CarePod in November 2023, Aoun suggested he wanted to replace the type of care he'd spent the past six years building his business on."I don't even believe a doctor's office should exist," he told <a target="_blank" href="https://affiliate.insider.com?h=3acc9e8edc97399cb8cdec8f5b777978cd910840dcd952e16a865f3ed0717e7e&amp;postID=6734ba00d4b5ffeb6fd37907&amp;postSlug=healthcare-startup-forward-shutdown-carepod-adrian-aoun-2024-11&amp;site=bi&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theinformation.com%2Farticles%2Fhealthcare-without-health-workers-a-unicorn-pivots-to-an-ai-doctor-in-a-box">The Information</a>.Eleven former employees told BI that Forward went all in on its CarePods, pivoting nearly all of its marketing materials and resources away from its clinics.After Forward launched its first CarePod in Roseville, just outside Sacramento, in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/inno/stories/news/2023/04/24/forward-carepod-westfield-galleria.html">summer 2023</a>, it <a target="_blank" href="https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2023/12/11/ai-doctor-chandler-arizona-carepod-artificial-intelligence">announced</a> its second later the same year, this one in Chandler, Arizona. The startup began offering a CarePod-only membership, without access to its clinics, for $100 a month.<div type="image" title="Adrian Aoun, Forward founder and CEO" height="3840" width="5120" msid="115264585" hostid="261" sizebytes="290970"></div>The CarePods came with many financial and logistical challenges, former employees told BI.Each CarePod, with its state-of-the-art technology, was extremely expensive to manufacture, six former employees told BI. Four former employees said the earliest two CarePods cost the startup more than $1 million each to produce.And CarePods were a hard sell to landlords. The miniature free-standing clinics were still subject to building codes, but they lacked the scale or customer base to prove they're worth placing in a mall or office building.The biggest CarePod launch Forward promised, in Chicago's Willis Tower, never materialized. Two former employees said the startup faced logistical challenges with the building, which forced Forward to halt the rollout indefinitely.The five CarePods Forward <a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/forward/videos/505445618923153/">launched</a> are a far cry from the 25 the startup sought in its initial launch, let alone the 3,200 CarePods Forward hoped to scale to in a year, per TechCrunch.<div type="image" title="Empty atrium in the Roseville Galleria mall where Forward's first Care" height="4284" width="5712" msid="115264596" hostid="261" sizebytes="751040"></div>While Forward's $100 million Series E funding round and CarePods launch drew plenty of headlines, some former employees said patients rarely expressed the same enthusiasm."I would get people saying it looks like something from 'Black Mirror,'" one former employee said.Three former employees said patients would frequently get stuck inside the CarePods, especially in 2023 and early 2024.Former employees also said some of the CarePods' self-service offerings, like its blood draws, didn't work as advertised.Forward's blood draws, which the startup said could be used for tests such as cholesterol measures that necessitate a smaller amount of blood, directed patients to place a device on their arm that the startup said could painlessly break the skin and extract blood. But those blood draws were routinely failing to collect even the small amount of blood necessary for those tests through the first half of this year, the three former employees said.While clinicians are trained to draw blood precisely to get the right amount, one of the former employees said patients would often place the autonomous device on a part of their skin where it couldn't draw enough blood. That former employee estimated that self-service blood draws were failing well over half the time.<div type="image" title="Decor in Forward's Washington DC clinic" height="2857" width="3810" msid="115264599" hostid="261" sizebytes="487854"></div>Forward's messaging during the CarePods rollout left some of the startup's employees feeling frustrated, too. Four former employees said they felt Aoun's suggestions that doctors are inefficient and replaceable in the wake of the CarePods launch were disrespectful to the medical professionals who work in Forward's clinics.After the public's initial fascination with CarePods wore off, three former employees, including two former sales staffers, said the CarePods teams struggled to draw new customers and rarely hit their sales targets. In March, four months after the CarePods' public launch, Forward slashed its workforce, seven former employees said.As Forward burned through cash, the startup faced a challenging fundraising environment, with many investors leaning away from late-stage investments and countless generalist investors <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/digital-health/digital-health-funding-settles-down-2023-fewer-deals-smaller-check-sizes">stepping back from healthcare deals</a>. Aoun always eschewed the idea of selling Forward to another company, former employees said.It's unclear when Forward officially decided to shutter. As recently as Tuesday morning, Forward was still sending marketing emails to prospective customers offering discount rates to sign up for its services, per emails reviewed by BI.Most former employees BI spoke with said they still believed in Forward's mission. Many said they were drawn to the startup explicitly because they wanted to expand access to quality healthcare under Aoun's direction. Several employees told BI that the CarePod felt "ahead of its time."In the Roseville Galleria, there's no longer any sign that Forward's first CarePod ever stood in the mall's atrium, surrounded by stores like Pandora, Uniqlo, and Kids Foot Locker.An employee at a neighboring pretzel stand remembered the "AI doctor thing," which he said closed around September.Businesses that set up shop in that atrium don't typically stay long, he added. The mall plans to build a playground in the CarePod's place.

Inside Forward's failed attempt to revolutionize the doctor's office with AI

<ul class="summary-list"><li>I moved from the US to Canada for my husband's job and family.</li><li>Little did I know, that move would help me grow my family in ways I couldn't have foreseen.</li></ul>I met my <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/traditional-wife-made-first-move-husband-bible-belt-2024-10">future husband</a> in a coffee shop in New York City where I was on a blind date for a column I was writing for Jane Magazine.Sitting across from me was the cutest and sweetest Canadian I had ever seen. It wasn't long before we moved in together and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/things-to-talk-about-before-getting-engaged-2021-10">got engaged</a>.His company was based in Toronto. Most of his family was also in Canada. So, after getting married, we decided to try <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/we-moved-to-canada-not-perfect-but-prefer-over-us-2024-11">living in Toronto</a> full-time and soon became serious about having kids.I gave birth to my firstborn, a boy, when I was 40 and spent the first few months on paid maternity leave. It wasn't until I went back to work a few months later that I noticed the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/health/how-to-check-for-breast-cancer">lump in my right breast</a>.<h2 id="c84de569-622b-40dc-8350-b4970d027820">Best cancer robbed me of giving birth, again</h2>Luckily, the breast cancer hadn't spread and was relatively easy to treat. But the treatments prevented me from being able to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/workplace-fertility-benefits-employee-recruiting-retention-2024-8">carry another baby myself</a>.I looked at my almost 10-month-old son and knew I wanted to give him a sibling.My sister was my rock in life — especially as I navigated all the doctor's appointments and tests after my <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/my-breast-cancer-diagnosis-affected-my-sex-life-and-confidence-2024-11">cancer diagnosis</a> — and I wanted my child to have that same support in life.Adoption was an option. But I had also <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/woman-used-frozen-embryo-to-conceive-baby-20-years-later-2023-7">frozen my embryos</a> a few years prior as a backup plan in case my husband and I couldn't have kids. Those healthy embryos were at a fertility clinic just a few blocks away.My husband and I decided to try the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/concurrent-surrogacy-people-paying-hundreds-of-thousands-to-have-twiblings-2024-7">surrogacy route</a>.<h2 id="02f8b858-2a9f-424f-9c63-55ff2d432f52">I could not have afforded surrogacy if I'd still lived in the US</h2><div type="image" title="young child with blonde hair in blue pajamas holding a newborn" height="3024" width="4032" msid="115420583" hostid="261" sizebytes="523976"></div>We knew very little about surrogacy in Canada. What we did know was that, unlike in the US, commercial surrogacy was illegal. In Canada, you could not pay anyone to carry your child.We explored <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/surrogate-paid-22500-and-30000-twice-said-experience-was-empowering-2024-6">options in the US</a> but didn't have upward of $100,000 to go that route.After Canadian surrogacy agencies yielded few prospects, we took to social media and shared our story in several surrogacy Facebook groups.Within days, we had a few responses and one very viable lead: a lovely woman in Quebec who had done this successfully once before and was excited to explore another surrogacy journey.Much like my <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/health/sex-relationships/first-date-ideas">first date</a> with my now husband, I immediately connected with our potential surrogate upon our first meeting.We spent all day at a spa near her home, laughing and getting to know each other. I met her husband and their three amazing kids, and by the following day, we were discussing the next steps.<h2 id="81bbe14a-15b4-4347-9cfa-392d2e934b96">The surrogacy wasn't cheap</h2>We never paid our surrogate a flat fee for carrying our baby, but there were still pregnancy-related expenses that we were responsible for.To start, I paid for her lawyer and mine, as well as an additional lawyer in Quebec, as the law in the province stipulated I had to technically "<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/adoption-is-my-first-choice-for-motherhood-2022-1">adopt</a>" my <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.quebec.ca/en/famille-et-soutien-aux-personnes/grossesse-parentalite/grossesse-autrui/surrogacy-inside-quebec#c265524">own child</a>. These expenses, alone, amounted to about $8,000.Our surrogate also had to take leave from her job early due to health issues, and we were obligated through our contract to cover some of her salary.The lawyers also decided upon a monthly amount that was legally reimbursable for pregnancy-related expenses such as prenatal massages, physiotherapy, and travel expenses to and from doctor's appointments.Regardless, we were thrilled to be able to pay for it all. This woman was doing a remarkable thing for our family.Plus, even with all the expenses incurred from flights, lawyer fees, medications, and monthly expenses, the total was nowhere near what it would have been in the US.<h2 id="6e5c3c5a-197b-4cf5-9e26-61b8f1444822">We've kept in touch with our surrogate</h2>Our surrogate is the godmother of the baby she carried and one of my dearest friends.We even have birthdays within a day of each other and are currently making plans for a belated celebration, allowing ourselves some girl talk and Netflix binging.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/more-young-women-getting-breast-cancer-two-potential-reasons-2024-10">Having breast cancer</a> was horrible, taking both my breasts and fertility from me. But <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moving-to-canada-from-us-pros-cons-heathcare-home-prices">living in Canada</a> gave me the chance to grow our family, something we could've never afforded had we stayed in the US.Now our family is complete, and we are so grateful to both our surrogate and the country we live in for helping us make that happen.

I moved from the US to Canada for my husband. But living here is what helped me afford my second child.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Iran has given Russia short-range ballistic missiles, the US said.</li><li>That will give it more flexibility and firepower to hit the front lines.</li></ul>With Iranian ballistic missiles, Russia has a flexibility that could be a big problem for Ukraine. It can hammer front-line positions with cheap <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-ballistic-missiles-iran-greater-flexibility-ukraine-us-warns-2024-9">Iranian weapons</a> while reserving its more expensive weapons for other targets at depth.From a cost-benefit perspective, low-value Ukrainian targets on the front lines aren't ideal for expensive, sophisticated precision-guided missiles, stockpiles that are consistently strained as is.The delivery of cheaper Iranian missiles creates new options. "Russia's focus is probably going to be on using those to do sort of the short tactical battlefield targets," Timothy Wright, a missile technology expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), told BI.<h2 id="6af626de-33ac-451c-95fe-99caef61c2d1">New missiles</h2>Two European defense officials told <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/iran-deliver-hundreds-ballistic-missiles-russia-soon-intel-sources-say-2024-08-09/">Reuters</a> in August that they expected Iran to deliver hundreds of Fath-360 short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, as well as some Ababil close-range ballistic missiles. The Pentagon confirmed the Fath-360 delivery in September.Fath-360s, Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said, are believed to have a range of about 75 miles. Ababils have a range of around 53 miles, according to the IISS.It is not clear if Russia has used either system yet. Reuters <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-withheld-launchers-missiles-sent-russia-sources-say-2024-09-21/">reported</a> in September that Iran did not include launchers for the Fath-360 missiles in the deliveries, so it may not have the capacity to fire them yet.But presumably they intend to use them. Wright said that Russia's plan is probably to "get the Iranian stuff on board so they can go after stuff within the immediate periphery of the front lines."Fabian Hofffman, a doctoral research fellow with the Oslo Nuclear Project, told BI "Iranian missiles, by lack of their own range, are restricted to front-line targets for sure." He said the Iranian missiles "allow Russia to put even more pressure on front-line targets."<h2 id="de3eb5c7-6c62-405d-80d4-15adcb1a8937">Freeing up Russian missiles</h2>Ryder, the Pentagon spokesman, said in September that the Iranian missiles "would enable Russia to employ this capability while preserving its longer-range capabilities for use throughout the battlefield, thus deepening Russia's arsenal." Russia could focus on striking the targets it's already been striking, like civilian targets, he said.Other targets for Russian missiles could be high-value Ukrainian systems in the rear. It isn't clear exactly to what extent Iran's ballistic missiles will free up other Russian precision munitions for other targets, but Hoffman said it is clear that "the overall volume is going to increase." That gives Russia options.<div type="image" title="A Russian Iskander missile launcher is seen in August 2022 outside Moscow. These missiles were destroyed in a Ukrainian drone attack overnight." height="2363" width="3500" msid="115297259" hostid="261" sizebytes="275658"></div>Fabian Hinz, an IISS missile expert, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.iiss.org/online-analysis/missile-dialogue-initiative/2024/09/iranian-missile-deliveries-to-russia-escalating-military-cooperation-in-ukraine/">argued</a> in a September analysis that using shorter-range Iranian missiles could free up Russia's Iskander missiles, which have a longer range, "for additional attacks against targets in Ukraine's depth." He said that "while these Iranian missiles may not introduce a new capability to Russia's war effort, they will offer increased flexibility and, most importantly, additional quantity."<h2 id="eda11e7d-e6a6-4beb-851a-f258b8181bfe">Russia-Iran ties</h2>Russia has significantly deepened its relationship with Iran since it invaded Ukraine in February 2022, as well as North Korea, from <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-new-north-korean-missiles-made-this-year-ukraine-2024-9">which Russia has also received tactical missiles</a>. These new missile purchases from Iran are a continuation of that trend, helping Russia get additional weaponry and letting Iran aid a country that opposes the West.Hinz also wrote in his analysis that Russia's missile purchase highlights its "continued inability to produce adequate quantities of comparable domestic systems." That's where North Korea and Iran come in.He pointed to Russia's purchase of North Korean KN-23 missiles, which he said did not offer abilities beyond what its own Iskander missiles can do "but add additional mass to the battlefield."The full picture of Russia's defense manufacturing capabilities is unclear, but many Western experts and intelligence agencies have, at times, pointed to Russia's inability to make enough missiles and other ammunition to meet its needs.<div type="image" title="Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un" height="2800" width="4208" msid="115297256" hostid="261" sizebytes="856310"></div>Iran's Fath 360 missiles <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/iran-ballistic-missiles-to-russia-questionable-accuracy-2024-9">do not appear remarkably accurate</a>, but Russia having more weaponry deepens the threat to Ukraine. It also fits with Russia's tactic of using overwhelming numbers of poorer-quality equipment and poorly trained soldiers to try to wear the Ukrainians down.Ukraine, meanwhile, has urged allies to give it more missiles and air defense systems so it can hit Russian targets and shield its critical systems and infrastructure. Wright said that Ukraine's international partners have given it "fairly small numbers" of missiles.But the re-election of former President Donald Trump puts the amount of help it can get from the West going forward into question, as Trump, while he has not announced any concrete plans, frequently criticizes US aid to Ukraine, arguing simply that he wants to end the war.

Russia's new Iranian missiles could make the front lines in Ukraine far more dangerous

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Russia enacted a new decree on Wednesday that limits payouts for injured soldiers based on their wounds.</li><li>Soldiers with less severe wounds now have their $30,000 payout knocked down to $10,000, or even $1,000.</li></ul>The Kremlin introduced new restrictions on Wednesday to medical payouts for Russia's wounded troops, swiftly enacting a decree that allows only those with severe injuries to receive a promised $30,000.Previously, Russia had pledged at the start of its war on Ukraine that those wounded in the fighting were to <a target="_blank" class="" href="http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67903">each be given</a> a one-time payout of 3 million rubles, or about $30,000.But Russian leader Vladimir Putin's <a target="_blank" class="" href="http://publication.pravo.gov.ru/document/0001202411130002">new instruction</a> on Wednesday reduces that payout to $10,000 for less severe injuries and $1,000 for other cases.The decree was approved by Russia's prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin, who leads the country's parliament, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="http://government.ru/news/53298/">put into law</a> at 4 p.m. on the same day.By the Kremlin's new guidelines, soldiers will only receive the full $30,000 if they suffer "Section I" injuries, or those that endanger their life or health or may cause significant damage to their organs.These include severe spinal injuries, brain damage, rupturing of genitalia, rib fractures, broken limbs, or damage to organs such as the lungs or kidneys.Less severe injuries that qualify a soldier for $10,000 are listed under "Section II." These are deemed temporary wounds such as minor fractures, concussions, first- and second-degree burns to the eyes, ankle fractures, and gunshot wounds that don't affect organs.Russia still holds to a law signed by Putin in March 2022 that entitles those who die in the war to about 7.4 million rubles, or $75,000, as well as 5 million rubles, or $50,000, to their families.Those wounded and deemed "unfit for duty" are also entitled to another 2.96 million rubles on top of their injury payout.The new decision comes about a week after Russian media reported that authorities had been discussing revising injury compensation.Anna Tsivileva, a Russian deputy defense minister, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.rbc.ru/politics/05/11/2024/672a11d59a794786953f7d8d">told reporters on November 5</a> that doctors and hospitals had said the payouts didn't account for the severity of soldiers' injuries.Meanwhile, mounting casualties from <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-hoped-force-russia-pick-between-2-fronts-chose-both-2024-11">Russia's grinding advance in Ukraine's east</a> have likely ballooned the cost of the payouts to the wounded and the families of those killed. The UK estimated that as many as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-suffered-1500-average-casualties-a-day-october-uk-official-2024-11">1,500 Russian soldiers</a> were killed or wounded on average for every day of October.In July, two Western-based researchers estimated that Russia would have to spend about <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russias-payouts-war-casualties-takes-6-percent-annual-budget-researchers-2024-7">2.3 trillion rubles</a>, now worth about $23 billion, in payouts for the dead and wounded. That was about 6% of the country's entire budget for 2024.The Kremlin's press service did not respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours by Business Insider.

Wounded Russian troops had their medical payouts cut back in one swift move from the Kremlin

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Brittany Patterson's 11-year-old son walked to a local dollar store alone without telling her.</li><li>A stranger called the cops, concerned he might be in danger, though he said he was OK.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Brittany Patterson, 41, a real-estate broker and mom of four from Fannin County, Georgia. It has been edited for length and clarity.My cellphone rang at lunchtime on October 30, 2024, near the end of my 14-year-old son Evander's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/doctor-shares-tips-for-being-heard-during-medical-visits-2023-3">doctor's appointment</a>. It was the police.The sheriff's deputy asked if I knew that my youngest son, Soren, who was about to turn 11, was alone in our downtown area. "No," I said.It turned out he'd walked just under a mile from our house in the woods where he's homeschooled. The deputy wanted to know why he was there, how he got there, and why I didn't know where he was.<h2 id="80f69f87-6b5d-48bc-b647-b92c6dab7a51">The police brought him home</h2>I was annoyed with Soren for going into town without telling me or other family members first, but I wasn't panicking. I told her that I knew the roads and that he was mature enough to walk there without incident.The deputy said it wasn't safe because it was a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/most-dangerous-roads-highways-world-2021-6">dangerous road</a>. She said all kinds of things could have happened, including being kidnapped.Fifteen minutes later, as I rushed home from the doctor's, my dad called to say the police had dropped Soren off. My mom and I chastised him for leaving the house without telling us where he was going and how long he was going to be.We discussed what had happened. Soren was supposed to accompany me to the appointment, but he wasn't there when I called out to say it was time to go.I figured he decided that he wanted to stay. I wasn't concerned because I knew we'd be back in about an hour and a half.We live on a rural 16-acre compound that includes our house, which contains an in-law suite for my dad, who's always home. My mom and sisters live in a building that's a three-minute walk away. The kids — we also have two daughters, Enola, 16, and Selah, 12 — always go back and forth between the properties.<h2 id="f4bd4cd2-f9dc-4501-a63c-168e5e0c346e">We grew up with a lot of independence</h2>My husband Josh works as a superintendent of schools in Montana. We were both <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-mom-lived-in-denmark-compares-american-and-nordic-parenting-2024-10">raised with a lot of freedom and independence</a>. We're free-range parents who want the same kind of life for our children. They're allowed to go back into the woods and dig and build forts. They ride their dirt bikes or walk over to the neighbor's house, where there's a nice flat spot to play basketball.Soren told me he'd gotten bored that lunchtime and just wanted to go for a walk. He walked into our small town of 370 people along the verge of the road — which has a speed limit of 25 to 35 miles an hour. He wandered through the gas station to say hi to his friend's grandma, who works there.She wasn't around, so <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/worked-new-dollar-general-started-falling-apart-before-it-opened-2023-11">he went into the Dollar General</a>. He was on his way back home when a lady <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/abandoned-post-offices-photos-history-2020-8">outside the post office </a>called him over to her car.<div type="image" title="A family posing inside a giant lighted holiday ornament." height="2268" width="3024" msid="115270349" hostid="261" sizebytes="408012"></div>"She asked if I was OK, and I said I was," Soren told me. She asked him who his mom was, and he told her my name. Then he got a little nervous — he didn't feel like he should be talking to her — and just walked away. I guess that, at some point, she called the police.I didn't fuss at Soren for walking to the Dollar General because I think that's fine. I fussed at him for not letting me know that he was going when leaving the property. It was a communication thing. He apologized, and we moved on with the afternoon.<h2 id="f0d5bd22-611e-4ef4-ae59-71964716e3ab">I was arrested</h2>Around 6:30 p.m., the deputy sheriff and another officer knocked on our door.I opened the door and held my finger up, asking if they could give me a moment to end my phone call with my client. "You need to step outside now," the deputy said. They asked me to turn around and put my hands behind my back. Soren was sitting right there watching this whole thing.They said that I was under arrest on a charge of reckless conduct and took my phone.At the station, they fingerprinted me. They stripped me down and made me change clothes into an orange jumpsuit. They scanned my body and took my mug shot.I was only in there for an hour and a half. My mom and sister paid $500 for me to be <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/date-asked-me-to-post-bail-for-him-2023-9">released on bail</a>, and I was back home by 8:30 p.m.On Halloween, a case manager from the Division of Family and Children Services visited our home and spoke to the kids, my mom, my sister-in-law, and my dad.<h2 id="c1c0be20-a38f-43bc-a764-b12a29bf4e97">I was asked to sign a safety plan</h2>The next day, I contacted David DeLugas, the founder of <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__parentsusa.org_&amp;d=DwMFaQ&amp;c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&amp;r=AhsXuq61LSf9ONOz2FqVCWNi_6wlXzjX7EkJk9i4a_M&amp;m=uGEjrCTYW0kC3XPjlZTDSnHAlmwgqqqehpLIb1H6ER4yldng9J9kwNCirDnhMg67&amp;s=1DHhL3QqSmE0g1NOy-dcq9GymTkkx9R7gbqUWGhjy5E&amp;e=">ParentsUSA,</a> a nonprofit that often provides pro bono legal support to parents wrongly accused of child neglect.The case manager texted me on November 5 because she wanted to stop by to go over a so-called safety plan. It required me to delegate a "safety person" — presumably my mom — to be a "knowing participant and guardian" and watch over the children when I wasn't there. Under her supervision, I also needed to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/teens-tracking-app-locations-not-stalking-good-parenting-2024-2">download a tracking app </a>onto Soren's phone so I could monitor his location.DeLugas, an attorney, explained the pros and cons of me signing — or not signing — the safety plan.I decided that it was better not to sign it. I knew the potential risk — that the deputies could push the issue and maybe even try to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mom-had-kids-taken-away-after-a-misdiagnosis-2022-6">have my children removed from my home</a> — so it's scary.But I feel it's more important to stand up for what we believe in. My kids are all supportive of that decision because we've talked about everything that's been going on. We know the maximum punishment could be a $1,000 fine and up to a year in jail. DeLugas is helping us dispute the charges.Meanwhile, friends and family have said they're concerned because they sometimes leave their kids alone at home or their kids go out for walks like Soren. They wonder now if they'll have cops show up because of it.None of us wants the government telling us how to raise our children.Editor's note: Business Insider verified Patterson's account through documents. We contacted the Division of Family and Child Services in Georgia and the assistant district attorney handling Patterson's case for comment on whether the charges are being dropped. They have not yet responded. The Fannin County Sheriff's Office said it did not comment on pending cases.

My 11-year-old walked less than a mile away from home. I was arrested and charged with reckless conduct.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Supplements marketed to improve longevity are booming.</li><li>But longevity doctors say, actually, less is more when it comes to flashy supplements.</li></ul>Renew your mitochondria. Rejuvenate your cells. Bring back that youthful muscle strength. Improve your fertility.Over the past several years, a plethora of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nestle-and-loreal-are-betting-on-urolithin-a-longevity-supplement-2024-10">new supplements</a> have emerged on the scene, promising to boost human longevity and preserve youthfulness. Now, longevity doctors are scrambling to get people to slow down."In our clinic, we are de-prescribing," Dr. Andrea Maier, a leading longevity doctor who runs both a private and a public longevity clinic in Singapore, told Business Insider. "We first have to diagnose what's wrong, what somebody needs, and that might differ."Maier, also a professor of medicine and functional aging at the National University of Singapore, is one of several longevity medicine doctors who told BI that they are recommending patients <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/supplement-expert-doesnt-take-supplements-eats-vegan-2023-11">stop taking many of the supplements</a> they have learned about online."People think that more helps more, and it's not the case," Dr. Evelyne Bischof, who practices longevity medicine in China, Switzerland, and Israel, told BI. "There are interactions, there are side effects."Bischof and other longevity medicine practitioners say the trend toward overdoing it has been supercharged in recent years by more aggressive and flashy online marketing of longevity supplements. Ads on Facebook, books by longevity influencers, along with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/equinox-40000-membership-optimize-longevity-health-years-2024-5">gyms</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rich-people-obsessed-longevity-luxury-hotels-iv-drips-mri-scans-2024-10">resorts</a> are touting antiaging fixes.According to a recent <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/the-trends-defining-the-1-point-8-trillion-dollar-global-wellness-market-in-2024">McKinsey survey</a>, demand for healthy aging products is soaring; 70% of American consumers across all age groups are spending more in this category than they used to post-pandemic.Doctors like Maier and Bischof say supplements can slowly build up to dangerous health issues, impacting vital organs like the kidneys and the liver or interacting with other drugs and supplements in toxic combinations.Increasingly, they are seeing concerning results from blood, urine, and other tests on patients who take many different products.<h2 id="ac30069c-c621-4f87-835b-6cece95b1fb0">Overdoing supplements can hurt your health</h2><div type="image" title="hand with lots of different supplements in it" height="3449" width="5142" msid="115111811" hostid="261" sizebytes="403768"></div>In the past, patients typically hadn't invested in healthy aging supplements on their own. They would learn about them for the first time from their <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-a-longevity-clinic-executive-physical-2024-5">longevity medicine</a> doctor, said Bischof, who serves patients at hospitals in Shanghai and Tel Aviv, as well as in her own VIP concierge longevity medicine business.Things have shifted since the pandemic. In the public clinic where she works in Israel, she estimates that 20% of patients come in with a laundry list of longevity supplements in their regimen, most of them too highly dosed."Five years ago, it was really the opposite," Bischof said. "It was trying to convince a patient to actually take a supplement — besides the vitamins."In her practice, she has seen through clinical testing how supplements can build up in vital organs. One 40-year-old patient who "really overdid" his longevity supplement doses had a biological age four years older than his actual age, as measured by his blood. He also had suboptimal kidney function.He didn't want to quit taking the pills (Bischof did not name the products), but his subsequent blood tests were only looking worse and worse, and his biological age kept creeping up.Eventually, Bischof was able to convince the patient to stop taking his longevity supplements. "And, of course, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-biological-age-is-reverse-aging-possible-2023-2">biological age</a> reversed," she said.Others have noticed the same trend.Pharmacologist Myriam Merarchi, founder and CEO of the Swiss fertility and biological age testing company Beyond Genomix, sees a lot of "biohackers" wanting to test their telomeres, since telomere health is tightly correlated with aging. The ones with a "suitcase" full of supplements tend to have horrible results."You take 50 pills a day that are interfering with every metabolic pathway of your cells," Merarchi said. "Of course!"<h2 id="df59810c-9839-43c6-9998-cedfc378ce6a">The interactions doctors worry about</h2><div type="image" title="Maier with a dog on the couch" height="1772" width="1181" msid="115111809" hostid="261" sizebytes="156708"></div>Longevity supplements are a booming market. Popular new products touted on TikTok and Instagram include <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-nad-longevity-supplement-hollywood-uses-prevent-aging-2024-7">NAD boosters</a> (a popular antiaging supplement among the Hollywood elite), <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nestle-and-loreal-are-betting-on-urolithin-a-longevity-supplement-2024-10">urolithin A</a> (ostensibly boosts cellular health, improves muscle strength, and slows aging), and coenzyme Q10 (a popular antioxidant for fertility and aging).Doctors are also seeing a lot of alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG). The compound, being <a target="_blank" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37217632/">studied clinically</a> as a potential antiaging supplement, is one of the main ingredients in a new $49 "Longevity Mix" sold by tech biohacker Bryan Johnson.Dietician Naras Lapsys, chief clinical officer at Chi Longevity, a private clinic in Singapore, says many people are piling these newer pills on top of older, popular longevity supplements. That could be resveratrol (used for heart health) or spermidine (touted as being good for rejuvenating cells)."If you're taking a longevity supplement, there's no evidence to suggest at all taking one is good and therefore two is even better and three is even better again," Lapsys said. "A good starting point is to strip down to a lesser number and start measuring."Someone who's dehydrated regularly might want to think twice before taking a supplement like NMN, which can <a target="_blank" href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.04.09.588624v1.full.pdf">build up in the kidneys</a> and cause inflammation. CoQ10 can make blood thinners less effective, and resveratrol might <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/integrative-medicine/herbs/resveratrol">help hormonal cancers</a> like breast cancer thrive and proliferate."If you are just taking supplements because a book has told you or an influencer has told you, if we think about levels of evidence, that sits pretty low," Lapsys said. "Test, don't guess."<h2 id="5a439981-0ef7-46e4-98d0-bdda1f648469">Experts recommend a personalized, data-driven approach</h2>All of this is deeply personal. One patient might benefit from getting more calcium, while another could benefit from ditching their B vitamins."I understand that not everybody can get a doctor," Bischof said. "We're trying to say, just educate yourself on what could be the side effect and how — a little bit — to track it."For patients who are excited about longevity supplements, Bischof recommends cycling them, taking one for a few months, and then pausing instead of taking them continuously throughout the year.When you are taking a new kind of longevity supplement, you should keep tabs on how it is affecting your health in specific ways. Is your <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vo2-max-explained-what-is-good-how-improve-2024-3">VO2 max</a> improving? Do you have fewer colds during flu season than you used to? These are the kinds of simple check-ins that can help determine if a supplement is doing something for you."Have at least one marker that you can follow, an objective marker, to make sure that it's actually helping you," Bischof said. "Do not take something where you think it might help. You need to have an objective measure that will confirm that it works for you at this dose, at this frequency, at this age, in your current situation."

Longevity doctors are scrambling to get patients to stop taking flashy, expensive supplements

The effects of poisonous gases that leaked from the <keyword id="23933468" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-Carbide" source="keywords">Union Carbide</keyword> factory in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal 40 years ago were seen in the next generations of those who survived the tragedy, a former government forensic doctor has said. At least 3,787 people were killed, and more than five lakh were affected after a toxic gas leaked from the pesticide factory in the city on the intervening nights of December 2 and 3, 1984. Speaking at an event held by organisations of gas tragedy survivors on Saturday, Dr. D. K Satpathy, former head of the forensics department of Bhopal's Gandhi Medical College, said he performed 875 post-mortems on the first day of the disaster and witnessed 18,000 autopsies the next five years. Sathpathy claimed Union Carbide had denied questions about the effects of poisonous gases on unborn children of women survivors and said effects would not cross the placental barrier in the womb in any condition. He said blood samples of pregnant women who died in the tragedy were examined, and it was found that 50% of the poisonous substances found in the mother were also found in the child in her womb. Children born to surviving mothers had the poisonous substances in their system, and this affected the health of the next generation, Sathpathy claimed and questioned why research on this was stopped. Such effects will continue for generations, he said. Satpathy said it was said that MIC gas leaked from the Union Carbide plant, and when it came in contact with water, thousands of gases were formed, and some of these caused cancer, blood pressure, and liver damage. Rachna Dhingra of <keyword id="24137747" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bhopal-Group-for-Information-and-Action" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Bhopal Group for Information and Action" meta.hostid="83" meta.entityid="Bhopal Group for Information and Action">Bhopal Group for Information and Action</keyword> said Satpathy, who carried out most autopsies, and other first responders in the 1984 disaster, including the senior doctors in the emergency ward and persons involved in mass burials, narrated their experiences during the event. Rashida Bee, president of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh, said a poster exhibition covering every aspect of the disaster will be held till December 4 to mark the 40th anniversary of the tragedy. An anniversary rally will be organised, with a focus on global corporate crimes such as <keyword id="20335495" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="industrial-pollution" source="keywords">industrial pollution</keyword> and climate change, she said.

Bhopal gas tragedy: Effects of leak seen in next generation of survivors, says ex-forensic doctor

Doctors in India are grappling to diagnose and treat unexplained and persistent symptoms of <keyword id="9814327" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="long-covid" source="Orion">long Covid</keyword> patients due to limited guidelines, whereas researchers have flagged inadequate studies on the condition. With the <keyword id="19896311" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="world-health-organization" source="keywords">World Health Organization</keyword> declaring an end to <keyword id="19896627" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid" source="keywords">Covid</keyword> as a global <keyword id="416511" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="health-emergency" source="Orion">health emergency</keyword> in May last year, focused efforts are underway around the world to estimate the burden of long Covid among the population. The condition refers to the set of lingering symptoms affecting varied body parts and persisting well beyond the acute Covid infection period, including cough, muscle and joint pain, fatigue, brain fog and difficulty in focusing. The viral disease is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. While studies have suggested that about a third of those moderately or severely infected are likely to suffer from long Covid, region-wise though, incidence could vary. A study by researchers, including those from <keyword id="19988007" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="harvard-medical-school" source="keywords">Harvard Medical School</keyword>, US, estimated that 31 % of the once-infected people in North America, 44% in Europe, and 51% in Asia, have long Covid, which is "challenging the healthcare system, but there are limited guidelines for its treatment". It was published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases in September. In India, however, studies on long Covid are few and far between. One such study by Maulana Azad Medical College in New Delhi, conducted from May 2022 to March 2023 on 553 patients who had recovered from Covid, found that about 45% had lingering symptoms, persistent fatigue and dry cough being the most common. "There is limited exploratory research on the long Covid syndrome with scarce data on long-term outcomes," the authors wrote in the study published in the journal Cureus in May this year. Understanding the long-term effects of the virus is important for developing management strategies, optimising healthcare delivery, and providing support to recovered Covid patients in the community, they said. Dr Rajesh Sagar, Professor of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, said, "Looking at the current state of long Covid studies in India, it is too premature to say that we understand the condition well enough to know how to diagnose or treat it." Animesh Samanta, assistant professor at School of Natural Sciences in <keyword id="19897094" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shiv-nadar-university" source="keywords">Shiv Nadar University</keyword>, Greater Noida, said, "While studies in India highlight the growing recognition of neurological complications in long Covid patients, more focused research on neuroinflammation is needed." Doctors, too, have reported a rise in patients complaining of symptoms that they did not have pre-Covid. "People who never had <keyword id="6465125" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="asthma" source="Orion">asthma</keyword> in the past, post-Covid, with every viral infection, they get a long cough, shortness of breath and wheezing, which require the use of <keyword id="31257" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="inhalers" source="Orion">inhalers</keyword> or nebuliser," senior consultant Dr Neetu Jain, who runs a post-Covid care clinic at Pushpawati Singhania Hospital and Research Institute, New Delhi, said. Dr Arun Garg, chairman, Neurology and Neurosciences, Medanta-The Medicity, Gurugram, said he was noticing a spike in stroke cases among young patients not suffering from known risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity. "Similarly, we are seeing more cases of encephalopathy (swelling of the brain) without reason and having a confused state of mind following one or two days of fever. Their MRI scans show no changes. These patients have increased significantly after Covid," he said. In the absence of medical guidelines to diagnose long Covid, doctors are having to resort to broad, non-specific tests and questionnaires to gauge a patient's 'quality of life'. Studies have shown that the fatigue experienced in long Covid is similar to that in cancer patients, with a quality of life similar to patients of Parkinson's disease. "We really do not have any test to diagnose long Covid, even though it is definitely a clinical diagnosis. We diagnose long Covid for people who had at least moderate to severe infection, following which they could never regain the quality of life pre-Covid. Checking for inflammatory markers like C-reactive proteins (CRP) can support the diagnosis," Dr Jain said. "Other than routine blood tests that measure inflammation, we do antibody tests to look for direct markers. In many of these patients, we are finding rare antibodies which are very new to us and were not there pre-Covid," Dr Garg said. Inflammation persisting despite recovery from acute Covid infection is thought to lie at the heart of long Covid. However, tests to measure this specific immune response are lacking, even as researchers have been working in this direction worldwide. One such effort comes from Shiv Nadar University, where a team led by Samanta has developed a fluorescent probe capable of detecting inflammation in brain cells that can arise due to Covid infection. The probe measures nitric oxide levels in brain cells, especially in human microglia cells, where increased NO levels are linked to the SARS-CoV-2 infection. Microglia are immune cells in the brain that fight disease and help maintain brain health. Lysosomes within microglia, which help clear foreign disease-causing agents like the SARS-CoV-2 virus, produce nitric oxide as part of an immune response to infection. The probe detects nitric oxide produced in lysosomes in response to infection and thereby allows for a measurement of inflammation levels. This examination method can provide "qualitative information on infection status", said Samanta, corresponding author on the study published in the journal Analytical Chemistry in American Chemical Society. He explained that patients with pre-existing conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis (an autoimmune disorder) could exhibit prolonged neuroinflammation and loss of brain cells following Covid infection. While the probe has shown efficacy in cell cultures, animal studies would need to be done, before testing it in humans, Samanta said. Looking at the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, the study by Harvard Medical School had found that 587 clinical studies were conducted on long Covid, of which about 53% (312) were testing potential treatments. Most of these were found to be conducted in the US (58), followed by India (55) and Spain (20). The trials looked at interventions including physical exercise, psychotherapy, and pharmacological ones such as paxlovid and fluvoxamine. However, "to date, only 11 of these 312 studies have published their results that were not confirmative," the researchers wrote. The team called for studies to look into sleep disorders which were rarely included in the registered clinical studies. Further, interventions targeting the biological processes responsible for long Covid are needed but currently lacking, they said.

Doctors struggle to treat long Covid patients in India; researchers point to inadequate studies

<ul class="summary-list"><li>I gave my daughter a name traditionally chosen for boys.</li><li>People in my family questioned the choice, but I don't regret it.</li></ul>Before I gave birth to my third child, we did not want to know the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/my-husband-kept-sex-of-our-baby-secret-from-me-2023-3">sex of the baby</a>. It was the first time we'd waited. Not knowing was like a cool secret that we could savor and hold until we met our latest addition. Of course, it also meant picking two names. We liked Kyle for a girl and Brooks for a boy."Kyle is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/woman-has-gender-neutral-name-has-mixed-feelings-about-it-2023-2">a boy's name</a>," my family said when I brought it up.I disagreed."Kyle is just a name — a really cool name. It is also the name we are choosing," I countered.<h2 id="1a0ee24b-a2da-438e-aa44-852c10311696">People make assumptions about why we chose the name</h2>I had the same fight about my second child, a girl we named Cameran. Of course, most people referred to her as Cami while she was growing up. That's why no one had much to say about her name. She had a feminine nickname, which seemed to satisfy everyone. I never worried either way or questioned for a second the choices I made when it came to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/choosing-perfect-kid-names-sign-inspiration-2024-8">naming my kids</a>. When I met them, I knew we had made the right decision."Did you name her for Kyle Richards?" people would ask. They somehow thought naming her after a reality star made her name more valid or meaningful. I always responded with a sigh as I shook my head."Oh, I've never heard it used for a girl except for her," they'd say. This was always followed with, "Normally, it's a boy's name."This always confused me. Kyle Richards certainly wasn't the only famous female woman with the name. In the 1940s, there was a television actor named Kyle MacDonnell. Her first name was Ruth, but she went by Kyle professionally. I didn't name my daughter after her either, though.<h2 id="6faae533-c058-4a75-844d-3bb7c3d3ae59">I've always loved similar names for girls</h2>I suppose I had always been drawn to traditionally <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/woman-has-gender-neutral-name-has-mixed-feelings-about-it-2023-2">masculine names for girls</a>. James and Ryan were among my favorites. My husband, Craig, had a nephew named Ryan, which knocked that name off our list."Everyone will think she's a boy," my grandmother warned. I'm sure she was hoping to deter me. Talking me out of things fell to her because not only did I value her opinion, but she was a little bit scary, even when I became an adult. I would not budge, though. Neither would Craig. The only other <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/baby-name-consultant-how-choose-unique-child-2024-2">name we had toyed with</a> for a girl was Cullen. My family didn't like that one either. "Well, that name is just weird," my grandmother said.Of course, my grandmother wasn't wrong about people assuming my daughter was a boy, which somehow made it even more annoying when it happened. Fast-forward a few years to doctor's appointments and classroom attendance. "We wanted to confirm your appointment for Kylie," they would say in the reminder call we always received before annual well-checks."I don't correct them," Kyle would tell me after someone inevitably called her by a name they perhaps thought better fit a young lady. The idea of my daughter going by a different name bothered me, but not as much as her own hatred for the name did. "I wish Kylie were my name. At least it's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/woman-male-name-fred-unusual-challenges-2024-2">not a boy's name</a>."<h2 id="93f3a6d0-b51b-47cd-aeb2-a824e6275db8">I hope one day my daughter loves her name as much as I do</h2>While a part of me understands why my daughter takes issue with her name, I hope one day she learns to appreciate how different it is. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thebump.com/b/kyle-baby-name">According to The Bump</a>, Kyle was ranked 4,600 for girl names in 2023.She is also the only female Kyle in her school, though for her this is part of the problem. She prefers her friend's names. Niamh (pronounced Neve) and Calia, her two closest friends, have unique names."They are also feminine, and no one mistakes them for boys," my daughter has told me on more than one occasion."I guess I dream of someday, in the near future, when Kyle can appreciate how much we loved the name and still do. Maybe one day, when she <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/naming-expert-shares-baby-names-destined-for-success-2024-8">names her own child</a>, she'll get it. While that's years away, I'll just have to wait and see while I continue to correct people when they assume she is a boy simply because of her name.

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