TASK DEFINITION: Given a paragraph, generate a claim that is supported by the given paragraph. 1) The claim must contain information from within the paragraph. 2) A sentence within the paragraph can be used as a claim. 3) The claim should not have contradictions within the paragraph. 4) The claim should be at most one sentence long.
PROBLEM: The test examines more than 2 million spots in a person's genetic code, seeking variants that individually nudge a person's obesity risk up by a tiny amount. The researchers drew on previously published data about those variants to create a risk score. A high score didn't guarantee obesity, nor a low score rule it out. But middle-aged people with scores in the top 10 percent were 25 times as likely to be severely obese as those in the bottom 10 percent, scientists reported in a paper released Thursday by the journal Cell. Those two groups were separated by an average weight difference of about 29 pounds (13 kilograms), researchers said. Analysis showed the genetic propensity to obesity began having an effect on weight around age 3. Up to about age 8, "you might be able to make a difference in the kids who are born susceptible to obesity," said one author of the study, Dr. Sekar Kathiresan of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. But it will take further research to see whether intervening would work, Kathiresan said. The results for middle age came from a study of about 288,000 people. Overall, the risk-score research included data from more than 300,000 people at various ages. Severe obesity was defined as a body mass index of 40 or more. Results show genetic inheritance "plays a large role in how heavy one gets," Kathiresan said. The risk score probably takes about half of a person's genetic propensity into account, he said, and it shows similar accuracy in predicting ordinary obesity, defined as a BMI of 30 or more. Even if one inherits a propensity for obesity, he said, "you still have control over your fate. You're not fated to be obese, but it's very clear those individuals who've inherited susceptibility have to work that much harder to keep the weight off." Among study participants with the highest scores, he noted, 17 percent were of normal weight. Other analyses show that people who remain lean despite an inherited propensity for obesity tend to eat better and have more physical activity than others with a high score who got fat. "So you can do something about it," he said. Ruth Loos, a professor of environmental medicine and public health who did not participate in the study, said the risk score explains more of people's genetic tendency than previous studies did. But she doubted it would be useful in a doctor's office. It is "never going to be a good predictor," said Loos, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai in New York. She noted that in one test of the score's predictive power, only 58 of the 371 subjects scoring in the top 10 percent ended up severely obese. And many other severely obese people didn't score in the top 10 percent, she said. Simply asking about family history of obesity would probably work better, she said. The large role of lifestyle in obesity means a purely gene-based predictor will never be perfect, she said. Kathiresan, a cardiologist, said the risk score is best seen as a risk indicator, like high cholesterol. Most people with high cholesterol don't get heart attacks, he said, but they do run a higher risk than others. Jason Boardman of the University of Colorado Boulder said genetic variants might affect body size indirectly, through an impact on lifestyles or other social and behavioral traits. Other research suggests the effect of genes on size depends on what kind of social and physical environment a person lives in, including such factors as access to unhealthy foods, he said in an email. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

SOLUTION: Study: Genetic test predicts middle-aged obesity risk.

PROBLEM: "I'd love to be in the bush, but I get more cases here," said veterinary rehabilitation specialist Nicci Wright. Wright founded the hospital two years ago with veterinarian Dr. Karin Lourens and since then has treated about 4,000 animals. With the expansion of Pretoria and Johannesburg, South Africa's capital city and its economic center, the animals indigenous to the region are being squeezed out by the rapid urbanization. The wildlife hospital mainly treats small mammals and raptors that are injured. There are about 160 animals on the small premises now, including half a dozen leopard tortoises, a toothless 12-foot python and an otter that was taken far from her natural habitat when someone tried to domesticate her as a pet. A Johannesburg resident arrives at the hospital, carrying a gray lourie in a cage made for much smaller domesticated bird. He found the large bird in the garden, attacked by his dogs, unable to fly after its tail and wing feathers were plucked out. Like in any hospital, nurse Alicia Abbott opens a file and transfers the new patient to a more comfortable setting so its treatment may begin. Most of the cages in the hospital are covered with towels to block the electric light from disturbing the animals. Along with physical injuries, many of them also suffer from trauma. Some species, like the endangered pangolin, show visible signs of post-traumatic stress disorder when they hear a male human voice or smell cigarettes smoke, a reminder of the poachers who hunt them, said Wright. "Everything is terrifying for them," she said. In a wooden crate on the hospital floor, a juvenile pangolin begins to stir, scratching against the box. It is feeding time and a volunteer will walk him on a nearby hill where the pangolin, which is a scaly anteater, animal to search for ants. Pangolins are one of the world's most heavily trafficked mammals because of demand for their scales in Asia. Another pangolin was recently sedated and checked by a sonogram scan to find that she was pregnant. Along with five staffers, the hospital relies on volunteers like Lauren Beckley, who lives nearby. Beckley cares for young primates like baboons and vervet monkeys, who cling to her after their own mothers have been shot or run over by humans. Other wildlife at the hospital include two newly born bush babies which are small nocturnal primates. One had been attacked by a cat and the other had fallen out of its nest. Once the animals are ready to return to the bush, Wright and her team work with nature reserves around the country to slowly introduce the animals into a new, safer, habitat.

SOLUTION: Johannesburg wildlife clinic saves animals hurt in city.

PROBLEM: The coffin, one of three brought the same morning, came hours after officials said 13 elderly residents had diedin the home since March 11 and that more than 80 others were believedto have the coronavirus. Most of the dead were aged over 90, an official at the regional healthauthority told Reuters. Authorities have not been able to establish the cause of death in most cases. "The deliveries are non-stop. There are going to be more on Monday," the delivery man said as he removed the casket's plastic cover. The facility in Paris' 12th district is one of several care homes across France to be hit by thecoronavirus outbreak. There have been large numbers of deaths too at retirement homes in Italy and Spain. Almost 1 million people reside in care homes in France. In the Paris region alone, the regional health authority saysthat 148 out of the 700 homes in its network have reported coronavirus cases and at least 61 residents have died. The Rothschild Foundation home in Paris was put on red alerton March 6 as the epidemic took hold. Staff were givenstricter entry protocols, told to wear gloves and masks atall times, disinfect everything and urged to isolate suspectedcases. "We knew it was coming. The first two people with symptoms weretested and then isolated, but once it was established that theyhad it, we stopped testing because it's then a cluster. Youcan't allow it to spread," said a health worker aware of the situation. Since then all residents have been confinedto their rooms where they are fed and washed. But whilethe number of new cases has slowed, the deaths continue. Executives at the home did not respond to Reuters phone calls seeking detailed information about what was happening in the home, but in a brief exchange, one executive described the situation at the facility as very tough. France's official coronavirus death toll stands at some 1,100 people, but that does not include deaths outside hospitals. Fatalities in nursing homes have surged recently with dozens of deaths reported across the country. "When you don't have enough staff andequipment and need to care for fragile people then itleads to a high mortality rate. When it enters into a nursinghome, you are going to see 20% of residents die," saidThierry Amouroux, a nurse and representative at the NationalUnion for Professional Nurses. Seniorcare home representatives warned the Health Minister in a letter seen by Reutersthat workers in the homes needed 500,000 masks. At least 100,000 people could die if the situation was not brought under control, they wrote. Jerome Larche, an intensive care doctor in Montpellier, whosecompany also operates care homes, said it was critical to avoid mass contaminations. "Mostof the residents can't be taken to intensive careso if there are contaminations, there will be deaths," Larche said. At the Bergeron-Grenier care home in western France, half of carershave opted to confine themselves within the home to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus. "Before, we were always afraid. No matter how careful wewere, we still had this fear of infecting our residents bybringing the virus from outside," administrative assistantPatricia Vandebrouck said.

SOLUTION:
'Delivering coffins non-stop': coronavirus stalks a Paris nursing home.