The U.S. Is Purging Chinese Cancer Researchers From Top Institutions
Peter Waldman, Bloomberg
The NIH and the FBI are targeting ethnic Chinese scientists, including U.S. citizens, searching for a cancer cure. Here’s the first account of what happened to Xifeng Wu.
House votes to overturn Trump administration ban on fetal tissue research
Lev Facher, Stat News
House lawmakers on Thursday voted to overturn the Trump administration’s recent decision to ban federal funding for biomedical research involving human fetal tissue. Democrats prevailed in a 225-193 vote divided roughly on party lines, slipping the amendment from Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) into a broader 2020 spending package. But the maneuver is largely symbolic.
Joe Biden Said He Did Not View Abortion ‘As a Choice and a Right’ in 2006
Stephanie Saul, The New York Times
In a newly unearthed video from 2006, Joseph R. Biden Jr. said he supported Roe v. Wade but did not view abortion as “a choice and a right” — remarks that raise further questions about how he views abortion rights as he runs for the Democratic presidential nomination and faces pressure over his position on the issue.
WHO likely to declare Ebola an international emergency: experts
Stephanie Nebehay, Reuters
The World Health Organization (WHO) should and is likely to declare an international emergency over the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has now spread to Uganda, experts said as a WHO advisory panel met on Friday.
Despite new law, Austin Planned Parenthood clinic to stay open
Chuck Lindell, The Statesman
Planned Parenthood’s $1-a-year lease of a city-owned building in East Austin can continue until 2039 despite a new state law that prohibits business dealings between local governments and the organization. Senate Bill 22, signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott last week, takes effect Sept. 1 and will ban cities from “any transaction” with an abortion provider or its affiliates — including leases, sales and donations of real estate, goods and services.
Maine making public, private insurers cover abortions
The Associated Press
A bill requiring public and private insurance companies to cover abortion is now law in Maine with Democratic Gov. Janet Mills’ signature Thursday. The new law will take effect in 90 days and requires all insurers that cover prenatal care to include coverage of abortion. The proposal faced pushback from Republicans and a handful of Democrats who argued against taxpayer-funded abortions.
Efforts to save new moms clash with GOP’s Medicaid cuts
Renuka Rayasam and Brianna Ehley, Politico
The push to address the soaring U.S. maternal morality rate is colliding with a broader, more ideological public health imperative: Republican-led efforts to scale back Medicaid. The safety net program pays for half of all births in the nation.
New evidence points to possible cause of puzzling paralysis in kids
Maggie Fox, Stat News
Researchers say they have strong new evidence that a virus is involved in a rare and puzzling polio-like condition that began affecting children in the U.S. about five years ago. The researchers hope their work will lead to a better test for the paralyzing condition, called acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), which has been diagnosed in more than 500 kids since 2014.
Prosecutors drop Flint, Michigan water charges over ‘flawed’ probe
Andrew Hay, Reuters
Michigan prosecutors on Thursday dropped all criminal charges over the deadly contamination of the city of Flint’s water, saying a more thorough investigation was needed before they could proceed with the case. The charges were brought by the Office of Special Counsel (OSC), a federal prosecutorial agency, and were based on an investigation that state prosecutors described as “flawed.”
Fecal Transplant Is Linked to a Patient’s Death, the F.D.A. Warns
Denise Grady, The New York Times
The agency said two patients received donated stool that had not been screened for drug-resistant germs, leading it to halt clinical trials until researchers prove proper testing procedures are in place.
Bonds Extend Rally With Gold as Stocks Retreat: Markets Wrap
Namitha Jagadeesh, Bloomberg
Global bonds rallied on bets that interest rates will fall as trade frictions jeopardize global economic growth, while U.S. equity futures slid with European stocks following a mixed session in Asia. Oil edged lower after Thursday’s surge on the heels of a suspected attack on tankers in the Gulf.
Why Air Ambulance Bills Are Still Sky-High
Rachel Bluth, Kaiser Health News
In April 2018, 9-year-old Christian Bolling was hiking with his parents and sister in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, near their home in Roanoke. While climbing some boulders, he lost his footing and fell down a rocky 20-foot drop, fracturing both bones in his lower left leg, his wrist, both sides of his nose and his skull.
Hospital Mergers a Side Effect of Surprise Bills Plans, CBO Warns
Shira Stein, Bloomberg Law
Hospital consolidation could increase under a Senate proposal to clamp down on unexpected, expensive medical bills, the Congressional Budget Office warned in a preliminary assessment. While several economists disagreed with the nonpartisan budget office’s assessment, the finding could complicate Senate efforts to tackle surprise medical bills because Congress doesn’t want to be perceived as driving more hospital mergers.
What Medicine Can Learn From Doctors And Researchers With Disabilities
Susie Neilson, NPR News
Bonnielin Swenor has devoted her life to studying visual impairment in older adults. But for a long time, she didn’t often discuss the motivation fueling her work — that she herself has low vision.
Sanders and Cummings, citing ‘polite f-u letters,’ urge feds to step up probes of generic makers
Ed Silverman, Stat News
As dozens of states pursue numerous generic drug makers for price-fixing, a pair of prominent lawmakers have complained to the Justice Department about a “lack of enforcement” and asked the agency to accelerate its own investigation into the companies. In a letter sent to the feds on Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) also asked the Justice Department to probe whether 14 generic drug makers obstructed their own 2014 investigation into “suspicious” price increases for several generic medicines.
Global Blood’s sickle cell disease drug heads to the FDA, but questions about patient benefit still linger
Adam Feuerstein, Stat News
Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT) said Friday that its once-a-day pill for sickle cell disease boosted levels of oxygen-carrying hemoglobin in a little more than half of the patients treated in a Phase 3 clinical trial — results that will allow the company to file soon for accelerated approval for the treatment in the U.S.
Juul-sponsored study shows secondhand vaping emissions are much less toxic than cigarette smoke
Ashley Turner, CNBC
E-cigarette leader Juul said new research in a small study shows emissions from vaping devices are significantly less toxic than secondhand smoke from cigarettes. The study, which is being presented in Poland on Friday, found about 99% less formaldehyde and carbon monoxide in the air exhaled by e-cigarette users than by traditional smokers.
Dexcom CEO teases a diabetes collaboration with Apple Watch
Tyler Clifford, CNBC
Dexcom will launch a number of upgrades for its G6 diabetes system over the next year, including its direct-to-Apple Watch version, CEO Kevin Sayer said Thursday. Apple CEO Tim Cook earlier this year said he wanted to leave a mark on the health care industry under his tenure at the iconic technology giant. The collaboration between the two companies would allow diabetes patients to track glucose on Apple’s top wearable device.
Researchers recruit more than 20,000 people for Facebook-based genomics project
Shraddha Chakradhar, Stat News
One of the biggest challenges that researchers have traditionally faced is getting enough people to participate in studies. And patient recruitment also takes up a big portion of research funding.
Philips upbeat on digital care as patients warm to data sharing
Bart H. Meijer, Reuters
Dutch health technology company Philips expects sales at its digital care business to grow this year as patients see the benefits of sharing more medical data with doctors, Chief Executive Frans van Houten told Reuters.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal: The Story of My Abortion
Pramila Jayapal, The New York Times
What it taught me about the deeply personal nature of reproductive choice.
Genes for Good: Engaging the Public in Genetics Research via Social Media
Katharine Brieger et al., The American Journal of Human Genetics
The Genes for Good study uses social media to engage a large, diverse participant pool in genetics research and education. Health history and daily tracking surveys are administered through a Facebook application, and participants who complete a minimum number of surveys are mailed a saliva sample kit (“spit kit”) to collect DNA for genotyping.
