Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
Each week, KFF Health News finds longer stories for you to enjoy. Today's selections are on aging, autoimmune diseases, Zyn, CES 2025, and more.
The New York Times:
What Matters More For Longevity: Genes Or Lifestyle?
When Dr. Nir Barzilai met the 100-year-old Helen Reichert, she was smoking a cigarette. Dr. Barzilai, the director of the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, recalled Mrs. Reichert saying that doctors had repeatedly told her to quit. But those doctors had all died, Mrs. Reichert noted, and she hadn’t. Mrs. Reichert lived almost another decade before passing away in 2011. How much of a person’s longevity can be attributed to lifestyle choices and how much is just luck — or lucky genetics? It depends on how long you’re hoping to live. (Smith, 1/8)
Stat:
German Research Team’s Discoveries Open New Possibilities For Patients With Autoimmune Diseases
German researchers, led by Georg Schett, achieved lupus remissions using CAR-T therapy, offering new hope for other autoimmune disease treatments. (Joseph, 1/9)
Bloomberg:
Zyn’s Online Hype Risks Leading To The Nicotine Pouches’ Downfall
Zyn represents success for Philip Morris’ “smokeless” strategy and also a major challenge: How can the company sell cigarette alternatives that aren’t so tempting it gets in trouble for hooking kids? (Huet, 1/2)
CNN:
From Heart Attacks To Dealing With Death: The Life Of A Cruise Ship Doctor
Break your leg hundreds of miles from the nearest hospital or have a heart attack, and you might not be so pleased to be offshore. Of course, every cruise ship has a medical center — but how big is it — and what do they do in there? Are the doctors general practitioners or is it more like the ER? And if worst comes to worse — what happens if a passenger dies onboard? Dr. Aleksandar Durovic, who’s spent the past 20 years as a medic on cruise ships, says that a doctor’s life on the high seas is very different from one on terra firma. (Buckley, 1/8)
The Washington Post:
Can 35 Roommates Cure Loneliness? This Co-Living Housing Firm Thinks So.
Washingtonians are likelier to live alone than residents of any other major U.S. city, according to a recent study — a recipe for loneliness that one European company sees as a business opportunity. Brussels-based Cohabs is buying up properties in D.C. with the aim of converting them into “co-living” spaces, where as many as 36 housemates will share common areas, events and — according to the firm’s marketing — a cure for urban loneliness. (Wiener, 1/7)
The best and worst new health products —
The Washington Post:
CES 2025: The Best And Weirdest New Tech Products So Far
Here’s what stood out at CES — the most useful, weird and wonderful new tech from the world’s largest consumer electronics show in Las Vegas. (Hunter, 1/7)
AP:
The ‘Worst In Show’ CES Products Put Your Data At Risk And Cause Waste, Privacy Advocates Say
Not all innovation is good, according to a panel of self-described dystopia experts that has judged some products as “Worst in Show.” (Parvini, 1/9)
