1: The Cherry on Top of Neurofibromatosis 1

A cross-sectional study of 259 patients found cherry hemangiomas were significantly more common in people with neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) than controls (48% vs 18%) and appeared at a younger age. Alongside café-au-lait spots, freckling, neurofibromas and Lisch nodules, the findings suggest cherry hemangiomas may be a common but previously unrecognized vascular feature of NF1.

2: Massage Holds Its Own for Goopy Baby Eyes

A noninferiority RCT of 160 infants with congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction compared standardized lacrimal sac massage with surgical probing. After 3 months, purulent discharge resolved at the same rate in both groups, with no serious complications. The findings support massage as an effective, noninvasive first approach for helping open obstructed tear ducts.

3: The Screen Time Conversation Goes Both Ways…

A cohort study of 747 children followed screen use and language development from ages 5 to 7. Surprisingly, children’s own screen use wasn’t strongly associated with language growth, but greater parental smartphone use was linked to slower growth in receptive vocabulary. Children who already owned a device at ages 4 to 5 also started with lower vocabulary and grammar scores. The takeaway? The screen-time conversation may need to include mom and dad’s phones, too.

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A good year — or a few — can leave a healthy amount of cash sitting inside your professional corporation. But if $200,000 is parked in a chequing account earning next to nothing, inflation alone could quietly chip away $4,000 to $6,000 of its purchasing power every year.

So, where should it go?

The answer depends on what the money is for. A portion belongs somewhere accessible — six months of operating costs, upcoming tax installments, equipment you're planning to buy. That money needs liquidity, not growth. But surplus cash you won't need for years? That's a different conversation entirely — and leaving it idle is its own kind of risk.

For incorporated physicians, the options aren't quite the same as they are personally. Corporate investing accounts have different rules, different tax treatment, and different implications for your overall compensation strategy. Getting that right is worth the conversation.

Your corporate cash worked hard to get there. Wealthsimple can help you figure out where it should go next — and make sure it's actually working for you.

Summer’s almost over and, sigh, it’s back to the grind. But there’s always time to sneak in a fall escape. 🍂

Cancer risk at cruising altitude

What happened: A new study found that flight attendants and pilots have a higher risk of dying from radiation-linked cancers, raising questions about what decades spent at cruising altitude may be doing to flight crews.

Why it matters: Ionizing radiation is a known carcinogen, and exposure increases at altitude because there’s less atmosphere shielding people from high-energy cosmic radiation. A JAMA Internal Medicine study analyzed more than 12 million death certificates with occupational information. Of more than 500 occupations examined, flight attendants had the highest proportion of deaths from radiation-related cancers, with pilots close behind.

Compared with the general population, flight attendants had about 50% higher odds of dying from these cancers, while pilots had about 36% higher odds. And radiation may not be the only factor at play.

But: The study still has some extra baggage. It can show an association, not prove cosmic radiation caused the excess cancer deaths, and occupations recorded on death certificates may not always have been accurate. Flight crews also face another potential carcinogenic exposure: years of circadian disruption from irregular schedules and crossing time zones.

And despite the known exposure, the US currently has no federal occupational dose limits or routine radiation-monitoring requirements for aircrew. Canada isn’t much further ahead: Transport Canada recommends airlines track and manage cosmic-radiation exposure, with a suggested annual limit of 20 mSv, but those measures remain voluntary.

Bottom line: The findings add to concerns about the long-term health effects of working at altitude and may give physicians another occupational exposure worth asking about. Researchers say more work is needed to untangle how much of the excess risk comes from cosmic radiation versus other features of life in the air. For doctors with pilots or flight attendants in their practice, “What do you do for work?” may carry a little more weight than it seems.

1: 🤖 AI may be getting better at predicting what comes next for your patients. Harvard researchers have developed a machine-learning model that estimates a patient’s risk of 348 diseases using existing health records and genetic risk data. Trained and validated on more than 683,000 patient records, it updates predictions as patients age and outperformed established cardiovascular and breast cancer risk models. It’s only been tested retrospectively, but researchers say it could eventually help physicians spot disease earlier and rethink who gets screened, and when. Curious what made the cut? Check out the full list in the study.

2: 🥬 Food recalls are having quite a summer. In Canada, prepared foods sold at Whole Foods were recently recalled over possible Salmonella contamination, while the US has seen major recalls and outbreaks involving everything from eggs and lettuce to blueberries and jalapeños. It certainly feels like we’re hearing about contaminated food more often, but are foodborne illnesses actually becoming more common? Experts say there’s more going on than meets the eye. So, is our food getting riskier, or are we just getting better at catching it?

3: 🇨🇦 Looking for a clinical trial in Canada just got easier. Health Canada has launched a new Canadian Clinical Trial Search Portal, swapping out its old clinical trials database with a much more searchable tool. Physicians and patients can look for authorized trials by disease, drug, trial status, province, city or approval date, with information on trial locations, eligibility basics and links to fuller registry records. It currently covers drug trials approved since April 2013, and it’s regularly updated with new trials and status changes. Curious what’s recruiting near you? Try the search yourself.

⌚ Save: $750 on a Garmin fēnix 8 smartwatch, currently $699.99 at Best Buy. The 47mm multisport watch packs an AMOLED display, GPS and advanced training and fitness tracking for running, cycling, hiking and more.

🍁 Travel: somewhere worth seeing when the leaves turn. These Canadian destinations put on some of the country’s best fall colours, from Québec’s brilliant reds and oranges to golden aspens in Alberta and the changing forests of Vancouver Island. With peak colour arriving at different times across the country, consider this your reminder that fall getaway season is almost here.

🍅 Make: your way through that end-of-summer tomato haul with Ina Garten’s go-to recipes for when her garden is overflowing. There’s a ridiculously simple summer garden pasta, roasted tomato-basil soup and a flaky tomato-and-goat-cheese crostata. 

📚 Learn: how to spot and treat genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM), which affects an estimated 84% of postmenopausal women within 6 years of menopause, yet roughly half receive no treatment. This free 30-minute course covers quick screening across genital, sexual and urinary symptoms, plus evidence-based treatment options and practical ways to start a conversation patients may not bring up themselves.

🎬 Watch: why solving a medical mystery doesn’t always lead to a cure. In this TED2026 talk, science communicator Saloni Dattani explores a frustrating question: if we understand so much more about disease, why aren’t there more cures?

First clue: Pit left by an acne scar

Need a rematch? We’ve got you covered. Check out our Crossword Archive to find every puzzle we’ve ever made, all in one place.

Think you crushed it? Challenge your physician friends to beat your time.

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