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UT Austin researchers create nanoscale Longhorn using DNA origami
UT Austin researchers folded DNA into a nanoscale Longhorn, demonstrating a breakthrough that could help deliver cancer drugs more precisely and speed up the production of advanced materials.
UK health regulator approves Novo Nordisk's weight-loss pill
Britain's medicines regulator approved Novo Nordisk's weight-loss pill on Thursday, giving patients a new needle-free treatment option and bolstering the Danish drugmaker's first-to-market lead against U.S. rival Eli Lilly .
Heart Health Biotech Kardigan Seeks $373.3 Million in US IPO
Kardigan Inc. is seeking to raise $373.3 million in a US initial public offering to help fund three late-stage drugs that target cardiovascular diseases.
A $25 million lifeline in Philly for unhoused drug users with major health challenges
After years bouncing between emergency rooms and the street, patients get wraparound services through Project HOME’s recovery collaborative.
Data: Deadly overdose deaths drop for 3rd consecutive year in RI
Deadly drug overdoses statewide have dropped 50% since 2022, according to new data released by the Rhode Island Department of Health.
Genetically modified worms can now produce and deliver drugs inside a living body, scientists say
In a proof-of-concept lab experiment, scientists demonstrated that intestinal parasites could make and release therapeutic agents inside a living host.
New OMB rule could break science in the United States
The drug that saved your mother. The treatment your doctor recommended. The clinical trial that bought someone you love more time. None of it was inevitable. It required a system built to operate outside politics and sustained over decades, because science doesn’t operate on the timeline of a politician. That system is now under direct threat. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has proposed a new rule to regulate all federal grants, not just science, but housing, education, defense, NASA and everything in between, that would fundamentally change how research is conducted in the United States. There have been a lot of fires in the past 16 months, and if everything is an emergency, nothing is an emergency. But this is a very big deal. These rules would strip away the independence that has kept science from becoming a political tool. The good news is there’s still something we can all do. How the grant system was designed to work When I was a new faculty member, I was full of millions of ideas, so I sat down and wrote an NIH proposal. I worked on it for months and thought it was so good. Then I sent it to my mentor. It came back covered in comments. Places where my reasoning wasn’t as airtight as I’d thought, methods that could be stronger, gaps in my thinking that I had been too close to the work to see. It stung, as honest feedback always does, but peer review almost always makes the work better. In fact, it’s the backbone of how American science has functioned for generations. At NIH, submitted proposals go to a panel of scientists who have experience in the field. These are the people who can read research methods and spot their weaknesses, who understand when an experiment is designed well and when it isn’t. Applications are scored rigorously, and often only the top 3-20% of proposals receive funding. The people making funding decisions are required to justify them based on these reviews. To be clear: this is not a perfect system, and good science still goes unfunded more often than any of us would like due to limited resources. There is also criticism that peer review may undervalue bold ideas that are risky but could have high payoffs. But the peer review system is nonetheless a meaningful part of the grant selection process. While thoughtful and careful changes could improve the system, the changes being proposed by OMB will not make things better. The rule that could change everything Through this OMB proposal, the system that helps decide what gets funded is being dismantled. There are many troubling elements buried in this proposal, but three provisions stand out in particular. Each would be damaging alone. Together, they would change what kind of science gets done in America, and who it serves. 1. Political appointees would decide which science gets funded, and peer review would be explicitly sidelined or ignored. The guidelines your doctor follows, the standards that determine what’s in your air and water, the drugs that get approved for your family: all of it starts with a funding decision. Right now, that decision is made by scientists who can evaluate whether the work is actually sound and whether it could move the needle forward. Under this proposal, funding decisions could be made by political appointees. The careful, expertise-driven review process that shapes grant funding would be effectively sidelined. That means that a poorly designed study could get funded simply because someone in a political office liked the sound of it, while rigorous, important work doesn’t get funded because it no longer aligns with the administration’s priorities. In other words, critical work that benefits all of us could now be missed just because it has become politically inconvenient. 2. Grants could be canceled at any point, without warning, in the middle of ongoing work. Say your tax dollars have been paying for a cancer study for two years. The grant was awarded for five years, so the team is mid-experiment. There are three additional years’ worth of answers that could change how the disease is treated for hundreds of thousands of people. With this new rule, the federal government could cancel the remaining funding tomorrow, walk away from the commitment it made with your money, and have no legal obligation to finish what it started. This is a huge waste of money. There are rarely other sources of funding for this work, which means the team, the graduate students, postdocs, and research staff who have dedicated years of their careers to this project could lose their jobs. Patients who have contributed their time to studies may not see it turn into useful learnings for others. Every hour of work already completed could result in nothing useful. Science can take decades to get to tangible outcomes. It needs a stable funding system to flourish. 3. Researchers would have a harder time communicating their findings without pre-approval from the federal government. There is a saying from Sir Mark Walport: “Science isn’t finished until it’s communicated.” Science is no use to anyone if it is kept locked away in the labs that produced the data. The proposed rule could make communicating research findings harder in a number of ways: Make it harder for scientists to widely share their findings in scientific journals. Publication costs, including journal fees that allow for broad public access, could not be paid for by federal funds which is often how scientists pay these costs. Restrict researchers from engaging publicly about how their findings should inform policy or public health guidelines. This would restrict scientists from doing the work that transforms years of lab work into decisions that actually affect people’s lives. Make it harder for scientists to attend conferences. Conferences would now need to be approved by the federal agency at the time of grant award. This disadvantages conferences or publications that are not politically aligned. Conferences are a key way in which scientists learn about work happening in their field so they can collaborate and build on each other’s findings. What good is science with a muzzle? The long-term impact These changes could (and hopefully would) be reversed under the next administration. But by then, damage has been done. Once projects are halted or denied funding by political appointees, people leave their science careers for other paths or even leave the country to do their amazing science elsewhere. You cannot pause a scientific study the way you pause a subscription you decided isn’t useful anymore. You cannot freeze a research team that depends on salaries to feed their families, causing a scramble for replacement funding that, in most cases, simply does not exist. When the money stops, everything stops, and all the work in progress and its potential are lost. Despite all of the language about reducing waste, fraud, and abuse, this new proposed rule increases the administrative burden tremendously. Every researcher watching this unfold will make a rational decision: don’t start anything that will take a decade to finish. This includes not building a team around funding that could vanish, or asking the big questions that need patience and stability to answer. The most consequential science, the kind that produces the treatments and the breakthroughs that reach your doctor’s office twenty years from now, is exactly the science that would be abandoned first. This is still a proposal, so we can all do something Some worry this rule is already a done deal. But by law, OMB is required to open a public comment period. Those comments matter because they inform members of Congress, they can be used in litigation, and they create a public record. So here’s what you can do: Submit a public comment. The public comment period on this proposed change is open until July 13. Anyone can submit a comment, and OMB is required to respond to substantial ones. Each comment must be different to count as distinct; identical comments will be counted only once. Comment as an individual, not on behalf of your organization. Here’s a full resource to help you, with useful examples, but in general: Share a story about how science or federal funding has benefitted you or is involved in your work. Are you or someone you loved a cancer survivor? Do you know someone with Alzheimer’s? Have you received NIH/NSF or other federal funding? All of these can be stories you use to highlight why you care. Explain why you’re worried about these proposed changes. You can use the wording found here or in other resources to help you. Ask them to withdraw this proposed rule. Contact your elected representatives. Congress allocates money to federal agencies to spend, and it has oversight of how that process works. You can let your representatives know this proposed change concerns you and ask them to intervene. There are levers they can push that can help at this moment. Let others know why federal funding matters. This isn’t just about science, but ALL federal grants, including for education systems, defense projects, and more. The process, including the importance of federal funding, is invisible to many. We can all make it more visible by sharing how science benefits us and why we value it. You can also share this article, or any of the resources linked here, to help spread awareness! Bottom line We are quickly losing ground in scientific research in the U.S. More changes, like the proposed rule by OMB, would decimate our ability to conduct research here, leaving us all worse off: fewer treatments for pancreatic cancer, less research on pollution impacts, fewer answers for patients with rare disease, and more unaddressed health needs. The impact will be very real for all of us, regardless of where we stand politically. Using our voices for science is more important than ever. Love, LM Big thanks to Dr. Megan Ranney for reading this over and providing brilliant insights, as always. Dr. Liz Marnik, PhD, is Executive Director of The Evidence Collective at YLE and a science communicator and immunologist working at the intersection of public trust, science, and public health. You can find her on Substack, LinkedIn, Instagram and Threads. Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE) comprises a team of experts, ranging from physicians to immunologists to epidemiologists to nutritionists, working together with one goal: to “Translate” ever-evolving public health science so that people are well-equipped to make evidence-based decisions. The YLE suite of newsletters reaches over 475,000 people across more than 132 countries. This newsletter is free to everyone, thanks to the generous support of fellow YLE community members. To support the effort, subscribe or upgrade below: Subscribe
3 ways GLP-1 drugs could be getting better
Drug companies are racing to catch up to Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, seeking to require fewer shots or reduce side effects.
City Files Suit Regarding Proposed Business
The City of Greenville has filed a lawsuit in Bond County Circuit Court against the company and three individuals who proposed a sports bar/restaurant business in the former Watson’s Drug Store building on the Greenville square. Named as defendants are W.G.O. Investments, LLC, and member managers of the developer, Joseph Gira, Tim O’Donnell and Dan
Diabetes drug could slash risk of fatal heart condition in one group, scientists reveal
A diabetes drug called dapagliflozin may help prevent heart failure in people with genetic variants linked to cardiomyopathy, a new study finds.
Some drugs 'fail' because of unrealistic testing conditions, scientists discover
A drug once dismissed as ineffective suddenly worked—when scientists tested it under more realistic conditions that mimic the human body. In this surprising new discovery, Northwestern University scientists ...
Can California afford to cover Ozempic for public employees?
California may require CalPERS health plans to cover Ozempic and other GLP-1 weight-loss drugs. The insurer warns it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
Trouble Ahead For GLP-1 Drugs As Health Plans Stop Paying
Half of U.S. employers and health plans are balking at paying for GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Zepbound and Wegovy for weight loss and obesity treatment, a new report shows.
Highly effective prevention drug arrives in South Africa, which has world’s highest HIV burden
South Africa is rolling out lenacapavir, a twice-yearly injectable drug for HIV prevention that the president calls a turning point in a country with the world’s highest burden of HIV.
GSK to Buy Nuvalent for $10.6 Billion in Oncology Push
The acquisition is set to give GSK ownership of three drug candidates for lung cancer, two of which are currently under review by the FDA for approval this year.
What a study at odds with Trump officials’ health guidance found on alcohol limits
The federally commissioned report was published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.
A drug may help people on GLP-1 meds preserve muscle
In a clinical trial, an experimental antibody reduced lean-mass loss in people on a GLP-1 drug. Whether that improves health is unclear.
Scientists found a new Alzheimer’s trigger and a drug that stops it
Researchers have identified a new Alzheimer’s target and created an experimental compound that blocks a damaging process inside brain cells. In mice, the treatment slowed nerve cell loss, reduced Alzheimer’s-related changes, and even appeared to promote healthier aging.
Alzheimer's Awareness Month: The Science Is Moving Fast
Explore the latest Alzheimer's research on the APOE e4 gene variant, new FDA-approved antiamyloid drugs, and how routine vaccines help reduce risk.
Once-Weekly Drug Demonstrates Promising Dual Benefits in Obesity and Metabolic Health
/PRNewswire/ -- New data highlight the potential benefits of survodutide, a once-weekly injectable therapy targeting both the glucagon and glucagon-like...
The next goal for weight loss drugs? Fewer injections
Pfizer and Amgen are working on new GLP-1 shots designed to be taken once a month rather than weekly.
Ozempic and similar weight-loss drugs linked to 30% lower breast cancer risk
A large study found that women taking GLP-1 drugs, the medication class behind Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound, were about 30% less likely to develop breast cancer. Researchers say the findings are promising but not yet proof, and clinical trials are now being planned to test whether these drugs could help prevent breast cancer.
What Serena Williams' GLP-1 use means for longevity and performance
Serena Williams is part of a growing cohort of people using peptides like GLP-1 drugs for longevity, recovery, and performance — not just weight loss.
Weed removal business helps local find the right path
FAIRMONT – While the Curly Leaf Pondweed issue in Fairmont has affected many, removing it has helped one resident stay clean and keep the lakes clean. Dominic Hill of ClearShore Solutions said he was a troublemaker in his younger years and struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. That all changed four years ago when he […]
U.S. Supreme Court sides with generic drug maker for severe hypertriglyceridemia agent icosapent ethyl
The decision clears the way for Hikma Pharmaceuticals' sale of icosapent ethyl in the U.S. market.
This NYC LGBTQ+ Health Clinic Is Giving Away the Ultimate Pride Month Survival Kit
Callen-Lorde is offering LGBTQ+ New Yorkers free kits packed with HIV prevention medication, sexual health supplies, and overdose reversal drugs throughout June.
This NYC LGBTQ+ health clinic is giving away the ultimate Pride Month survival kit
Callen-Lorde is offering LGBTQ+ New Yorkers free kits packed with HIV prevention medication, sexual health supplies, and overdose reversal drugs throughout June.
Federal funding ends for fentanyl test strips as Ohio public health agency supplies run low
The Trump administration is now prohibiting the use of federal funds to purchase fentanyl test strips, one of the harm reduction tools available to combat the opioid epidemic. Columbus Public Health says once its current stock runs out, it will be difficult to purchase more.
E-bike safety; lung cancer treatment and prevention; keeping CMA Festival attendees safe; plus other stories with Vanderbilt Health sources
WKRN News 2 interviewed Jeffrey Upperman, MD, FACS, Professor and Chair of the Department of Pediatric Surgery and Surgeon-in-Chief of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, about e-bike related injuries following the recent death of a Brentwood High student and a proposal to require safety training before students could ride a bike on a school campus in Williamson County. Fabien Maldonado, MD, MSc,Professor of Medicine and Thoracic Surgery, was on WTVF News Channel 5‘s live studio show, “Openline,” with host Ben Hall, to discuss lung cancer, treatment and prevention. WSMV’s “Today In Nashville” program hosted Vanderbilt LifeFlight paramedic/flight nurse practitioner Tony Smith to talk about safety for the CMA Festival. The New York Times reporter Carl Zimmer interviewed James Crowe, MD, Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Antibody Therapeutics, for a story about the race to find vaccines and treatments as Ebola spreads. The Vanderbilt Health News release about the pilot clinical trial conducted by Vanderbilt Health and Cumberland Pharmaceuticals Inc., that confirms the safety of ifetroban and supports the further development of the drug to prevent cancer metastasis, was picked up by Reuters, Stock Titan,and others. Women We Admire has named Lee Ann Liska, President and Chief Operating Officer, to its list of top women leaders of Nashville for 2026. Radiology Business, Aunt Minnie, Bioengineer, and Imaging Technology News covered the study from Consuelo Wilkins, MD, MSCI, the Mildred Thornton Stahlman Professor in Rural Health and professor of Medicine in the Division of Geriatric Medicine, that found Black and Hispanic people, while known to be far more apt to have dementia, are significantly less apt than other racial and ethnic groups to show Alzheimer’s pathology on brain scans. STAT News interviewed Deva Sharma, MD, Transfusion Medicine & Hematology-Oncology, for a story about more patients requesting unvaccinated blood and what it means for the medical system at large. Yahoo! Health reporter Korin Miller interviewed Gitanjali Srivastava, MD, Director of Obesity Medicine, for a story about how semaglutide and tirzepatide compare. William Schaffner, MD, Professor of Preventive Medicine, was quoted by several news outlets about public health issues, including: NBC News (new COVID vaccinations); Medscape (pneumonia and sepsis); and CNN (protection from contagious viruses). Shelbyville Times-Gazette is repurposing Jessica Pasley’s July 2025 Vanderbilt Health News story on tick-borne illnesses as a front-page story.
Brain-Targeted Drug Discovery Barriers Drive Deep Science Ventures and Medicines Discovery Catapult Deal
According to the World Health Organization’s Global Status Report on Neurology, over 40% of the global population is living with CNS diseases.
State Health Plan to vote on price hikes for older state workers, retirees
People on the Medicare Advantage version of the State Health Plan could soon face higher drug prices, copays and deductibles as the state struggles to pay for rising healthcare costs.
Scientists discover why ozempic may not work for some people
Scientists have identified genetic variants that may make some people less responsive to GLP-1 drugs used to treat Type 2 diabetes. Roughly 10% of the population carries these variants, which appear to cause a mysterious form of "GLP-1 resistance." In several clinical trials, carriers were significantly less likely to reach healthy blood sugar targets while taking GLP-1 medications.
LAPD and feds conduct drug-busting operation in fentanyl hotspot MacArthur Park
The Los Angeles Police Department and federal agents are working on a joint operation targeting "illegal narcotics activity" in MarArthur Park, a hotspot for fentanyl sales and use, on Thursday afternoon, authorities said.
The Supply Side: Grocery business responds to GLP-1 use
The rising use of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs is reshaping consumer spending, which impacts food retailers and suppliers. About 1 in 8 U.S. consumers use drugs that reduce appetites and curb...
Utah Medical Board scolded for going rogue with AI criticism
In this edition of STAT Health Tech: An update on the Utah pilot that uses a chatbot to renew drug prescriptions, AI scribes for patients, and more.
Scientists finally crack an “undruggable” pancreatic cancer target and nearly double survival
For decades, pancreatic cancer has been one of the most lethal cancers, with few effective treatment options. A new drug, daraxonrasib, targets the KRAS mutation that fuels most pancreatic tumors—something many scientists once thought couldn't be done. In a major clinical trial, the treatment nearly doubled survival for patients with advanced disease and reduced the risk of death by 60%.
Trump’s Disappearing Hair-Loss Drug Fuels Fresh Health Mystery
Trump’s medical report suggests he is no longer taking the anti-balding medication.
Trump took a hair-loss drug for years. It’s no longer on his medical records.
The president's past doctors said he used Propecia, a drug to stem hair loss. The White House has been pointedly silent on whether he is still taking it — a reflection of the gaps in Trump's recent health reports.
People taking common sleep drug may not realize they're too impaired to drive, study finds
A study found quetiapine reduced obstructive sleep apnea events but tripled attention lapses and impaired driving the next morning, researchers say.
Lilly, BioNTech Warn German Health Reforms Could Hurt Investment
Eli Lilly & Co. and BioNTech SE joined a growing chorus of drugmakers warning that proposed healthcare reforms in Germany risk undermining investment the country.
A 23-year-old got candid about how medication ruined her sex life. How common is that?
SSRIs can be life-changing for people struggling with mental health issues, but for others, these drugs caused PSSD. What is it? Experts explain.
Popular GLP-1 weight-loss drugs linked to lower risks of addiction and overdose
A massive study of more than 600,000 U.S. veterans suggests that popular GLP-1 drugs such as semaglutide may do far more than help with diabetes and weight loss—they could also fight addiction itself. Researchers found that people taking these medications were less likely to develop substance use disorders involving alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, cocaine, opioids, and other drugs, while those already struggling with addiction experienced fewer overdoses, hospitalizations, emergency visits, and drug-related deaths.
This new diabetes pill burns fat without the downsides of Ozempic
Scientists have developed an experimental diabetes and obesity pill that works in a completely different way from drugs like Ozempic. Rather than reducing hunger, it activates metabolism in skeletal muscle, helping lower blood sugar and increase fat burning while preserving muscle mass. Early clinical results suggest the treatment is safe and well tolerated.
Health insurer Cigna will stop covering GLP-1 weight loss drugs in its employee health plan
CNBC's Becky Quick reports on the latest news.
Illinois hospitals urge Pritzker to quickly sign bill before Eli Lilly cuts off drug discounts
Illinois’ hospital association contends the move by Eli, which has also been threatened by the other large, global GLP-1 manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, is simply an unnecessary roadblock.
Fixing in sport: The Relegation King – ‘Only politics and drug trafficking are more lucrative than match-fixing’
The Athletic's eight-month investigation into fixing looks at the way one fixer sought to destroy Brazilian clubs from the inside
The science around GLP-1 drugs and cancer is suddenly getting a lot more interesting
Studies released in recent weeks are fueling optimism — and fresh questions — about GLP-1 drugs' potential role in cancer prevention and treatment.
Mixed federal messages on drug checking leave North Carolina harm reduction programs in limbo
Public health workers say new restrictions on drug-checking supplies come as street drugs become more contaminated and unpredictable.
The Science Behind the Quest for a Non-Peptide Oral Weight Loss Drug A
A combination of human and artificial intelligence has paved the way for a GLP-1 agonist that is effective when taken by mouth.
Sheinbaum tells US ambassador to avoid political interference in drug trafficking dispute
Mexico’s president says ambassadors must avoid political affairs after Ron Johnson’s post on drug trafficking dispute
US FDA proposes using existing science to speed up gene therapy development
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday proposed allowing makers of cell and gene therapies targeting rare and life-threatening diseases to use existing scientific knowledge to expedite development.
Deep Science Ventures and MDC partner to accelerate brain treatments
New collaboration aims to break barriers in brain‑targeted drug discovery
GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic show promise for more than weight loss. But what’s science vs hype?
Ozempic-style drugs have been flagged as possible treatments for cancer, dementia, endo, addiction and more. An expert explains what the evidence really says.
Ebola outbreak: How health workers are treating patients and staying safe in DR Congo
There are currently no approved drugs that target Bundibugyo - the species of Ebola responsible for this outbreak.
'Transformative' pancreatic cancer drug doubles survival time
People with advanced pancreatic cancer taking an experimental daily pill lived nearly twice as long as those receiving chemotherapy infusions
Medicare’s mum on GLP-1s, and Massachusetts sues United
We've been asking Medicare for weeks about the cost of giving seniors $50 obesity drugs.
Weight Loss Drugs Listed By Health Insurers Aren’t Necessarily Covered
Inclusion of weight loss drugs on insurer formularies is a meaningful step towards expanding access. But having a product listed doesn’t necessarily mean it’s covered.
Apotex Health Seeks to Raise Up to C$1.2 Billion in IPO
Canadian generic drug manufacturer Apotex Inc. is looking to raise C$1.2 billion ($868 million) in an initial public offering in Toronto, the company said Monday.
Right-Wing Firebrand Surges Into Colombia Runoff, Shaking Political Establishment
Abelardo de la Espriella, a rich lawyer who promises an iron-fisted crackdown on drug thugs, finishes ahead of ruling movement’s leftist hopeful.
Experimental drug shows promise against deadly pancreatic cancer
A novel pill helped people with advanced pancreatic cancer live longer, researchers reported Sunday, raising hopes of long-needed better treatments for one of the deadliest types of cancer.
Why Trump reversed course to fast-track psychedelic drugs for mental healthcare
President Donald Trump is trying to fast-track research into psychedelics as treatments, creating new opportunities and risks.
‘Landmark’ pancreatic cancer drug keeps patients alive for twice as long
The highly anticipated results of a clinical trial for the pill, daraxonrasib, have been released, giving doctors hope for treating the stubbornly lethal disease.
Science & Medicine: A pill that slows aging? San Antonio researchers are putting it to the test
Rapamycin may be able to help older adults live longer, healthier lives. Studies of mice suggest the drug may even reverse hardening of the arteries. Researchers at UT Health San Antonio have launched a clinical trial to see if the drug can restore the biological activity of older adults to levels more typical of younger people, and, if so, how much does it take to do it?
U.S. Military Kills 3 on Boat Suspected of Drug Trafficking
Around 200 people have now been killed in the attacks since last year, in an operation critics say has failed to slow the smuggling of cocaine.
Red Wing business owner facing drug charges
A search warranted carried out at Red Wing Glass Friday morning resulted in police finding nearly five pounds of suspected methamphetamine and a large amount of cash.
Cisco exec says adopting AI is like 'surgery without the drugs'
Liz Centoni, Cisco's chief customer experience officer, is working to reinvent her 20,000-employee division for the AI era. "It's painful," she says.
An experimental GLP-1 pushes the limits of weight loss. There are risks.
Eli Lilly is developing the the most powerful GLP-1 drug yet. But how much weight loss is too much?
Single infusion of controversial drug changed severe depression symptoms within hours, study finds
Researchers say a single intravenous ketamine infusion can rapidly relieve severe depression and suicidal thoughts when traditional antidepressants fail.
Weight-loss drugs like GLP-1s are easy to buy online raising overdose and safety concerns
Many telehealth companies have emerged in recent years offering easy access to GLP-1 weight loss drugs as demand has exploded.
DCAT Awards Grants To Student Scientists at the 2026 Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair - DCAT Value Chain Insights
The Drug, Chemical & Associated Technologies Association (DCAT) has awarded $30,000 in grants to student scientists of six projects who participated in the Regeneron International Science & Engineering Fair (Regeneron ISEF), the…
‘Has He Been Drugged?’
In a new memoir, Jill Biden recounts her husband’s calamitous debate night.
France to reimburse weight-loss drugs from mid-June, health minister says
France will reimburse the cost of weight-loss drugs for severely obese patients from mid-June, Health Minister Stephanie Rist said on Thursday in an interview with TF1 channel.
New depression treatment targets the immune system instead of the brain
A surprising new approach to depression treatment is showing early promise — not by targeting brain chemicals, but by calming the immune system. In a small clinical trial, researchers found that an anti-inflammatory drug normally used for rheumatoid arthritis appeared to ease symptoms in people with hard-to-treat depression, while also reducing fatigue and anxiety and improving quality of life.
Enhanced Games offers $10 million prize to sprinter who breaks Bolt's 100m record
Enhanced Games organizers said on Wednesday they will offer a $10 million bonus to any man who breaks Usain Bolt's 100 metres world record at their 2027 event, sharply increasing the financial stakes for the controversial, drug-friendly competition.
Expected NC budget won’t restore GLP-1 weight-loss drug coverage for state employees, treasurer says
State Treasurer Brad Briner doesn’t expect North Carolina lawmakers to include funding in the upcoming budget to restore State Health Plan coverage of GLP-1 drugs for weight loss, as costs and competing budget priorities keep the benefit off the table.
Prasugrel after PCI outperforms other common antiplatelet drugs
"Prasugrel provided the optimal balance between efficacy and safety," researchers noted in a new meta-analysis.
Powering drug discovery with analytical chemistry
Advances in analytical instrumentation are helping researchers study drug behavior, improve biomedical research, and train the next generation of scientists.
Healthy Returns: Eli Lilly makes a new push into vaccines – here’s what to know
The drugmaker announced it will buy three privately held vaccine makers in deals worth almost $4 billion combined.
Russia summons Czech envoy over Orthodox cleric's drug arrest
The once-powerful bishop denies links to narcotics trafficking
Watch Lilly Gets Back Into the Vaccine Business With New Deals
Eli Lilly & Co. is buying three clinical-stage vaccine developers for as much as $3.8 billion as it looks to become a leader in infectious diseases. The drugmaker has been using cash from its obesity drugs to expand into other disease areas. Bloomberg's Gerry Smith reports.
Drug-testing bill gains momentum
A bill to prohibit medically unnecessary and nonconsensual drug testing of pregnant and postpartum women and newborns is gaining momentum in the state Legislature.
At the Enhanced Games, drugs don’t get athletes banned. They could get them rich.
The inaugural Games took place Sunday in Las Vegas, where aging Olympians competed for large payouts, most of them after having taken cocktails of performance-enhancing drugs.
A Powerful H.I.V. Drug Lands in Zambia. But Will It Reach Those Who Need It?
Lenacapavir, which protects people from H.I.V. infection with twice-yearly shots, is arriving in a country where the health system has been hollowed out by American aid cuts.
USC scientists discover a hidden Alzheimer’s trigger and a possible way to shut it down
USC researchers have identified potential new drug compounds that may reduce the brain inflammation linked to Alzheimer’s disease, especially in people with the high-risk APOE4 gene. The compounds target cPLA2, an enzyme that seems to fuel harmful inflammation while also being important for normal brain activity.
5 more things to know about 3 hospitals’ $250M case against CVS
Last week hospitals owned by three big health systems filed suit against CVS Health. The trio filed separately, but all accuse the corporation of robbing them of funds they’re owed through the federal 340B drug pricing program.
One-and-Done Heart Disease Prevention? Scientists Show It May Be Possible.
A single infusion of an experimental gene-editing drug seemed to reduce LDL long-term in a small trial. The results may point to something “curative,” one expert said.
One-and-Done Heart Disease Prevention? Scientists Show It May Be Possible.
A single infusion of an experimental gene-editing drug seemed to reduce LDL long-term in a small trial. The results may point to something “curative,” one expert said.
Common heart drug taken by millions found useless
A massive international study could upend 40 years of heart attack treatment. Researchers found that beta blockers—routinely prescribed after uncomplicated heart attacks—offered no real benefit for patients whose heart function remained normal, despite being given to millions worldwide. Even more surprising, women taking the drugs faced a higher risk of death, repeat heart attack, or hospitalization for heart failure compared to women who didn’t receive them.
Scientists discover why Ozempic and Wegovy weight loss eventually plateaus
New NIH research reveals that semaglutide sparks different responses inside appetite-controlling brain cells, offering fresh insight into why GLP-1 weight-loss drugs don’t work the same for everyone. Scientists also found a possible way to extend the drugs’ effects, potentially helping patients push past weight-loss plateaus.
Cancer nearly left my kids without a mom. Funding cuts may halt the science that saved me.
Jenney Bitner: I'm not a scientist or policy expert. But I know that the drug that kept me alive for my children was built on a foundation of public investment.
Experimental Alzheimer’s drug could reduce alcohol withdrawal damage, researchers say
Researchers say an experimental Alzheimer's drug may calm brain inflammation linked to alcohol withdrawal, potentially reducing relapse and neural damage.
How the Silicon Valley-backed steroid Olympics aim to get everyone hooked
As biohacking gains momentum among elites including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Peter Thiel-backed Enhanced Games aims to normalize longevity drugs through a Vegas sports spectacle. Critics call the premise dangerous and unethical.
Pancreatic cancer seemed ‘undruggable,’ then scientists cracked a key target
An experimental pill has shown unprecedented success, upending conventional wisdom about the disease.
Pancreatic cancer seemed ‘undruggable,’ then scientists cracked a key target
An experimental pill has shown unprecedented success, upending conventional wisdom about the disease.
AI scans 400,000 Reddit posts and finds hidden Ozempic side effects
By analyzing over 400,000 Reddit posts, researchers discovered that users of popular GLP-1 weight-loss drugs frequently discussed unexpected symptoms like menstrual irregularities, chills, and hot flashes. The findings suggest AI could turn social media into a powerful early-warning system for spotting side effects that clinical trials may miss.
Wegovy linked to rare “eye stroke” that can cause sudden blindness
A new analysis is raising concerns about Wegovy, the blockbuster weight-loss drug, after researchers found it may carry the highest risk of a rare “eye stroke” that can cause sudden vision loss. The study, based on millions of FDA side-effect reports, found the risk signal was nearly five times stronger for Wegovy than for Ozempic, despite both containing semaglutide.
Science news this week: Laotian 'death jar', climate change threatens rice crops, and an asthma drug treats tough cancer
May 23, 2026: Our weekly roundup of the latest science in the news, as well as a few fascinating articles to keep you entertained over the weekend
Bond breakout? Big effects of bad data. Immigration and thermostatic politics & dad-chat is coming for dad-books.
Thank you for opening your Chartbook email. Anna Airy, A Shell Forge at a National Projectile Factory, Hackney Marshes, London, 1918 Bond breakout - John Authers Across the developed markets, bond markets are staging a slow-motion car wreck. Looking at the drastic moves in the US, Japan, the UK and France, Barclays’ Ajay Rajadhyaksha commented: “Last week, long bonds broke. Not in one country. In all of them. Simultaneously. Four countries. Four different political systems. Four different central banks. But the same trade — “get me out of duration!”” Each country has its own contributing political problems, but the uniformity of the shift out of long-term bonds with high duration makes clear that something broader is afoot. For Rajadhyaksha, it is “simple and uncomfortable.” The developed world “has too much debt, too little fiscal discipline, and no political appetite for fixing either.” If there’s a trigger, it has been the Iran war and the resulting shock to oil supply. Source: Bloomberg G7 countries are now borrowing at rates that were enjoyed by EM in the early 2020s For contributing subscribers only. Subscribe Trade between China and Russia has grown in recent years For contributing subscribers only. Subscribe Big effects of bad data A decade ago nearly nine in ten Americans, when approached, agreed to fill out the Current Population Survey, which is administered to about 60,000 households each month and asks about, among other things, employment. Fewer than seven in ten do so now (see chart 1). For the Consumer Expenditure Survey, which tries to capture 3,700 households monthly, the response rate is down from 68% to 40%. … When the information becomes less reliable, investment decisions get more difficult to make. Some may be delayed, creating a potential drag on the economy. A new working paper by Nicholas Bloom of Stanford University, Erica Groshen, former head of the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) now at Cornell University, and Duncan Hobbs and Michael Strain of the American Enterprise Institute, a think-tank, hazards an estimate. Preserving trust in “the integrity and quality of official statistics”, the authors claim, generates economic benefits of about $25 for every $1 spent on the BLS, the agency with an annual budget of $700m that is responsible for many of these data. To arrive at their conclusion the quartet analysed an ignoble episode in the BLS’s recent history. On August 1st 2025 Donald Trump sacked Erika McEntarfer, appointed as the agency’s commissioner by his predecessor, Joe Biden. The president alleged, without evidence, that the BLS’s steep downward revision to recent jobs numbers had been “RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad”. In fact, it was the wanton dismissal that looked bad in the eyes of many observers. In the following seven days there was a 50% leap, relative to the week before, in the average value of the index of Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU), which tracks the number of articles mentioning such uncertainty that are published daily in American newspapers. This was a discernible jump even when compared to the chaos caused by Mr Trump’s trade war in April 2025 and his real one in Iran in the past two months (see chart 2). Based on Mr Bloom’s earlier study with other colleagues of the EPU’s impact on business investment, industrial production and employment, the authors estimate that the jump reduced American GDP by over $100bn (0.3%) and non-farm payrolls by 168,000 (0.1%). Source: The Economist Immigration and thermostatic politics (Sarah O’Connor in the FT) A strange thing happened a year and a half ago. No sooner had Americans elected Donald Trump as president on an explicitly anti-immigration platform than US public opinion began to swing much more favourably towards immigration. … to political scientists who study “thermostatic” politics, this development is no surprise at all. Public opinion often moves against the prevailing party, especially if they are perceived to have gone “too far” in one direction. The phenomenon was first explored in the 1990s with reference to fiscal policy, but in recent years it has been particularly evident in the realm of immigration policy. While these swings in opinion polls can make it seem as if people don’t know their own minds, they can be a useful democratic check on governments by sending bright flashing warning lights when policies stray too far from the public’s comfort zone. The problem comes when politicians misinterpret those signals. When people tell pollsters they want less immigration, or think it is bad for the country overall (or the converse), they are often expressing an opinion about how things appear to be going in that moment relative to their preferences, rather than a deep shift in their underlying views. According to Alexander Kustov, a political scientist, most Americans’ views are quite stable and moderate: they support immigration that is controlled and in the national interest, and oppose flows that are disorderly or under-enforced. In the US, he argues the Trump administration over-interpreted dissatisfaction with high immigration under Joe Biden, and implemented policies that went too far for many voters. “People don’t necessarily change their idea about their ideal immigration policy, but they can react to what the government is currently doing,” he told me. “A lot of people are not happy with what the Trump administration are doing — right now we’re not talking about border enforcement, we’re talking about people not just getting harassed, but killed.” But similarly, he added, pro-immigration advocates would be making a mistake to interpret the recent, more favourable swing towards immigration as a deep-seated ideological shift in attitudes. The recent history of UK immigration policy offers another cautionary tale. After the 2016 Brexit referendum, public concern about immigration fell. This was partly because net migration statistics declined, but also because people felt a sense of catharsis and control, says Sunder Katwala, director of British Future, a think-tank. By 2019, the public ranked immigration as only the ninth biggest issue of concern, according to Ipsos polling. But when the Conservative government liberalised visa routes for students and care workers between 2019 and 2022, that helped net migration to surge. And so, too, did public concern. Today’s Labour government has implemented another sharply restrictive turn in immigration policy. As Kustov and researcher Caitlyn Yates argue, thermostatic public opinion should be a useful check on politicians. Instead it seems to have helped to magnify the pendulum swing in the UK. The government over-interprets and overreacts to a change in public opinion, which reacts in turn, prompting a sudden swing the other way. Source: Financial Times HEY READERS, THANK YOU for opening the Chartbook email. I hope it brightens your day. I enjoy putting out the newsletter, but tbh, what keeps this flow going is the generosity of those readers who clicked the subscription button. If you are persuaded to click, please consider the annual subscription of $50. It is both better value for you and a much better deal for me, as it involves only one credit card charge. Why feed the payments companies if we don’t have to. Subscribe Anna Airy, Shop for Machining 15-Inch Shells: Singer Manufacturing Company, Clydebank, Glasgow, 1918 Racing for a vaccine … we have been here before! The deadly Ebola outbreak in two African countries driven by a virus species with no vaccine has triggered an urgent search for a potential jab, in a test of troubled global efforts to avert threats posed by emerging diseases. A World Health Organization advisory group is due to would meet on Tuesday to recommend candidate jabs to prioritise for clinical trials, the global health body said. It will assess data including an analysis by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Cepi), which was set up after failures in the international response to a previous Ebola crisis. The latest Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda has infected hundreds of people and killed more than 80, health authorities say. Cepi’s reaction will be a crucial indicator of its progress towards its wider goal of producing vaccines for pandemic threats in just 100 days, despite steep cuts to international health funding. “If there was ever a time that we could show the world why Cepi is needed and show the world why the 100-day mission is needed, it’s now,” Nicole Lurie, the organisation’s executive director for preparedness and response, told the FT. “We’re happy to accept that responsibility, but obviously we need help from partners — particularly financial help in the long run.” DR Congo and Uganda would make the final decision on whether to press ahead with any vaccine candidates endorsed for clinical trials by the WHO experts, the global health body said. “Other ethical and community acceptability issues will be considered,” said the WHO, which declared the latest outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday. “This will be important to make sure that the trial, if it happens, will be adequately communicated to the population.” Lurie said Cepi had provided information from a survey of research teams and companies working on drugs that might be effective against the Bundibugyo virus behind the outbreak. The organisation hoped soon to announce partners in the quest for a jab, she added, although she declined to give a timescale for when one might be developed. Cepi’s Nicole Laurie said global health bodies were ‘getting some live-fire drills’ with hantavirus and the latest Ebola outbreak. The hunt for a vaccine should be helped by scientific advances including the use of artificial intelligence to find drugs active against viruses, Lurie said. Existing jabs against the Zaire Ebola virus responsible for many previous outbreaks might provide a basis for tackling the Bundibugyo species, she added. “We’ll see how far and how fast we can get,” Lurie said, adding that Cepi had done preliminary work recently on a possible jab for the rat-borne hantavirus responsible for a recent fatal outbreak on a cruise ship. “Both with hantavirus and now with Ebola, [we] are getting some live-fire drills.” Source: Michael Peel in the Financial Times Dad-chat is coming for dad-books. (By Pamela Paul and Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg in the WSJ) They were the go-to gifts for Father’s Day: a book about some little-known chapter of World War II, the sweeping narrative of a shipwreck, perhaps the latest presidential biography. These days, dad books are a dying breed. Nonfiction book sales have been in decline for the past four years, and are now the most challenged segment of the print book market. Publishers say certain types of books still fare well—including celebrity memoirs and religious titles. But in recent years, print sales in such categories as biography, current affairs and business and economics—what publishers refer to as “serious nonfiction” and which tend to resonate especially with men—have fallen considerably. Sales of nonfiction print titles were down nearly 8% through May 9 this year, and sales of books about politics and current affairs were down 19%, according to book tracker Circana BookScan. Publishing has long been subject to cyclical changes, with trends in format and genre taking over bookshelves in grand sweeps. (Remember the adult coloring-book craze? Or the stratospheric rise of romantasy?) But many in publishing believe the decline in serious nonfiction is more existential. “The trend couldn’t be clearer,” said Jonathan Karp, the former chief executive of Simon & Schuster and publisher of the new Simon Six imprint. “This is a sea change and people should wake up and realize we’re living in a new world.” One culprit for the shift: a new media diet for fans of more serious nonfiction. … Sixty-two percent of men and 54% of women consumed a podcast in the prior month, according to a recent survey by Edison Research at SSRS, up from 46% and 39%, respectively, in 2023. “When we have internal meetings to talk about this problem, it always comes around to podcasts,” said Jonathan Burnham, president and publisher of the Harper Group at HarperCollins Publishers. “The man who wants to read American history is now tuning into one of the many good podcasts about history that lends the quiet attention to a serious subject he’s looking for. It makes the idea of sitting down with a 700-page Ron Chernow book less appealing. You’ve scratched that itch.” Source: Wall Street Journal Remarkable report by Novara from the nationalist rally in London in mid May. Anna Airy, Leopard Moth and Plums, 1915 If you’ve scrolled this far, you know you want to click: Subscribe
People with eating disorders are taking GLP-1s and doctors are alarmed
Providers said they are encountering patients seeking treatment for anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder who are taking GLP-1 drugs.