Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
The Boston Globe: She Hated Her Fifth-Grade Teacher. Decades Later, An Unexpected Reunion Unfolded At The Edge Of Life And Death.
This is the story of an earnest English teacher and the precocious 10-year-old who hated him. It’s about how that girl grew up to pull off several lifetimes’ worth of death-defying feats. And how, a few weeks ago, she performed the most spectacular one of all. More than 40 years after Montana Miller left her fifth-grade nemesis behind, she gave him a gift that she hoped would save his life. (Abraham, 5/19)
The New York Times: Military Bases Are Rife With ‘Forever Chemicals.’ New Mexico Wants Them Cleaned Up.
The state is leading the country’s reckoning with PFAS. The outcome of its suit against the federal government will affect how courts treat more than 15,000 other claims nationwide. (Nazaryan, 5/19)
The New York Times: How A Funding Pause Derailed An Artificial Heart For Babies
James Antaki’s efforts to develop a baby’s heart were close to success when his federal funding was cut off. The grants were eventually restored; rebuilding what was lost wasn’t so easy. (Bajaj, 5/18)
The New York Times: Neanderthal Dentistry, And The Scientist Glad Not To Have Experienced It
The prehistoric hominins “apparently were very adept at what we would consider invasive medicine,” said the anthropologist John Olsen. (Lidz, 5/19)
AP: An Argentine Organization Finds Homes For Unwanted Lab Rats
A group of people watched three albino rats leap from small baskets into a big cage on Sunday as other rodents hid in makeshift tunnels or searched for applesauce offered by their keeper through the bars at an indoor hall in the Argentine capital. It’s Ratapalooza, an annual Buenos Aires event that promotes the adoption of rodents raised in animal facilities or used for research in science labs — once the animals are no longer useful, have outlived their purpose or are just surplus stock. (Calatrava and Pisarenko, 5/18)
