Troy Farah

California, Illinois, Phoenix

Interim Science and Health Reporter at Salon

⬡:: from one source all things depend ⬡:: editor science + health @salon ⬡:: podcasts: @narcocast @kafkakhole ⬡:: tfarah✰https://t.co/kLdvlT8cKT ⬡::he/him ⬡:: https://t.co/tumWLvmMLb

Articles

Doctors raise alarm about rise in “sloth fever” infections linked to birth defects

1 month ago | yahoo.com | Troy Farah

A surge of infections from a tropical virus is raising alarm among public health officials because it appears to be causing birth defects similar to those associated with Zika virus. Known as Oropouche virus, it can trigger a fever that may cause pregnant people to miscarry or their babies to have birth defects known as microcephaly, or smaller than usual heads.
If the ultra-rich want to escape from reality - good riddance

2 months ago | salon.com | Troy Farah

I can sometimes get irrationally upset by movies with an incredible premise that is poorly executed. “The Creator,” for example, was nothing but mind-blowing concept art with zero plot or acting. Watching it made me mad that such beautiful trash was wasted. “Civil War” was so politically neutered, with such wooden characters, that it completely missed an opportunity to expound on the growing tensions in this country or how to navigate them.
First U.S. death from bird flu reported in Louisiana

Jan 6, 2025 | salon.com | Troy Farah

On Monday, the Louisiana Department of Health that a patient with a severe case of bird flu, caused by the H5N1 virus, had died from their infection, a first for the United States. The deceased was over age 65 and was reported to have underlying medical conditions. Even before the patient died, their case made headlines for several reasons: bird flu is raging across North America, swamping dairy and poultry farms and causing at least 66 human infections.
"Great tragedy": Deadly plane crash in Kazakhstan sparks conspiracy theories Russia did it

Dec 25, 2024 | salon.com | Troy Farah

An Azerbaijani airliner crashed into a fireball Wednesday near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau and the internet is abuzz with theories as to what caused it. A Kazakh official said 67 people were onboard and 38 people died, according to Associated Press. Some details are still emerging about the cause of the crash, but some are speculating that Russia may have shot the plane down.
Murdering health insurance CEOs will get us nowhere

Dec 6, 2024 | msn.com | Troy Farah

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Murdering health insurance CEOs will get us nowhere

Dec 6, 2024 | salon.com | Troy Farah

The brazen murder of a health insurance company CEO has shocked the public consciousness — but for some, it seems to be a relatively mild, pleasurable shock. Brian Thompson, the 50-year-old CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed on the sidewalk outside a hotel in midtown Manhattan hotel early on Wednesday morning. Much of the internet response to this news has been ambivalent, bordering on enthusiastic, rather than horrified.
“Execute the baby:” Trump falsely claims Harris and Walz support abortion after birth

Sep 10, 2024 | salon.com | Troy Farah

During Tuesday's presidential debate, former President Donald Trump falsely claimed that Democrats support abortions "after birth," which he called a form of "execution."When debate moderator and ABC News anchor Linsey Davis asked Trump about being "proud" of killing Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion and was overturned by the more recent Dobbs decision, he responded by accusing the former governor of West Virginia of allowing babies to be born and then killed.
Bat deaths linked to rise in infant deaths thanks to pesticide overuse

Sep 6, 2024 | salon.com | Troy Farah

In yet another example of the cascading effects of mass extinction and pesticide overuse, the decline of bats has been linked to a sharp rise in infant deaths. Over the last two decades, North American bats have been devastated by a fungal disease called white-nose syndrome that has massacred millions of the flying mammals. It infects their skin and causes them to awaken from their winter hibernation early, often either freezing or starving to death.
California becomes 14th state to detect bird flu in dairy cows

Sep 4, 2024 | salon.com | Troy Farah

On Monday, California became the 14th state to report outbreaks of bird flu in dairy cows. Some have wondered how the Golden State avoided an outbreak thus far in the bird flu crisis, after nearly 200 outbreaks have been reported from Colorado to Texas to Michigan. It’s especially puzzling given that California is the nation’s largest dairy producer.
Noah Lyles' collapse underscores our collective COVID denial

Aug 10, 2024 | salon.com | Troy Farah

The 2024 Olympic Games are serving up some less-than-subtle metaphors for how poorly we handle public health. Just after winning a bronze medal in the much-anticipated men's 200-meter race, U.S. sprinter Noah Lyles collapsed on the track in exhaustion — not just because he’d completed a brutal run in just 19.7 seconds, finishing third, but also because he was sick with COVID-19, a diagnosis that he’d concealed from others.