Could your smartwatch read your mind?

Plus: Look what (viruses) the cat dragged in!

View this email online March 19, 2023 by Andrea Muraskin This week: Statins are effective at preventing heart disease, but more than a quarter of patients who use them report muscle pain. An alternative shows promise. Plus: Wearable brain sensors are coming, but how that data will be used, and by whom, remains murky. And: A look at how animals and humans share diseases, at home.  An alternative to statins prevents heart disease without the muscle aches Digital Vision./Getty Images If you’ve been on one or more medications, especially for a chronic condition, you know there is almost always a risk-benefit analysis. For example, my antidepressants make me more prone to dizziness and nausea. But if I have to give up reading on the train, that’s a worthwhile sacrifice for my mental health.  Problems arise when the cure feels worse than the disease, so to speak. Physicians routinely prescribe statins to patients with cardiovascular disease, or who have a risk factor such as diabetes or smoking – to lower rates of LDL cholesterol. These medications, with brand names like Lipitor and Crestor, have been shown to be highly effective. But up to 29% of patients who take statins report muscle pain, the drugs’ most common side effect. And the pain can be severe – think flu without the fever and congestion.  A new-ish medication developed as an alternative to statins proved its mettle in a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine this week. People who took daily doses of Nexletol for more than three years had about a 23% lower risk of having a heart attack, in that period, compared to those taking a placebo. And there were few, if any, muscle-related side effects.  Here’s what you need to know about the new statin-alternative for preventing heart disease. Plus: Statins vs. supplements: Study finds one is 'vastly superior' to cut cholesterol   Newsletter continues after sponsor message Neurotech could connect our brains to computers. What could go wrong? Yuichiro Chino/Getty Images In the 16th Century, peasants across German-speaking areas in Central Europe rose up against the aristocracy. They adopted as their rallying cry the folk song “Die Gedanken sind Frei,” meaning “My thoughts are free.” An English-language version popularized by Pete Seeger in the 1960s includes phrases like “my thoughts freely flower” and “my thoughts give me power.” But the original German lyrics are more cautious, like “I think what I wish, but always discreetly.” Peasants could be punished or killed for speaking out, but took comfort in knowing their thoughts were always private.  According to law and philosophy scholar Nita Farahany, the privacy of our brains should no longer be taken for granted. In her new book, The Battle For Your Brain, Farhany describes a near future in which wearable brain sensors track your brain activity, with the ability to determine whether you’re focused, distracted, or stressed.  Farahany says the growth of so-called “neurotech” presents serious privacy concerns. For example, employers could use neurotech to detect whether workers are focused on the task at hand, or if their minds are wandering. Law enforcement could use data collected by brain monitors to assist with criminal investigations. And she says there’s precedent, like when police in Connecticut presented a FitBit as evidence in a murder trial.  She tells NPR, now is the time to rewrite human rights law to protect individuals’ right to “cognitive liberty.” Read more about the growing field of neurotechnology and the risks our brains will be tracked. Also: Lasers, robots, and tiny electrodes are transforming treatment of severe epilepsy   Can we catch a new virus from a pet? A cat-loving researcher has a clue Ben de la Cruz/NPR; Lauren Migaki/NPR NPR’s science desk has been running a series about how some infectious diseases “spillover” from animals to humans, and one of our readers had a question that you might be wondering about too: can my pet get me sick?  In search of an answer to that quesiton, consider the story of an adventurous and generous cat named Gibbs. Every day, he would bring his human gifts: rodents, snakes, birds, frogs. That human was University of Florida virologist John Lednicky, and Lednicky decided to see what viruses Gibbs was bringing home too. He pulled a few ticks off the cat, took them to the lab, and identified a rare virus that sometimes leads to hospitalization for humans.  Lenicky says it’s likely humans pick up viruses from cats and dogs without knowing it. And pets catch viruses from humans, too. That doesn’t mean you should stop cuddling with your fur babies. But here’s what to know about the risks, particularly if your animal spends a lot of time outside.  Plus: A veterinarian says pets have a lot to teach us about love and grief Before you go:  Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Buffalo Wild Wings Listen: Does lowering drug prices lead to fewer new drugs? New Alzheimer's drug study left out those most at risk, critics say Why do batteries in e-bikes and scooters keep catching on fire? Are 'boneless wings' really wings? We hope you enjoyed these stories. Find more of NPR's health journalism on Shots and follow us on Twitter at @NPRHealth. All our best, Andrea Muraskin and your Shots editors Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to hear live radio from WUFT 89.1 (edit station). What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: shots@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? 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