Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Next Generation Of Sutures Could Use More Compatible Yarn Grown From Human Skin, Researchers Say
CNN: Yarn Made From Human Skin Could Soon Be Stitching Up Your Wounds
It may sound like a gruesome detail from a dystopian movie, but a team of scientists believe yarn grown from human skin could soon be used to stitch up surgical patients and repair organs. The researchers say their "human textile," which they developed from skin cells, can be used for knitting, sewing and even crochet, and can aid a number of medical procedures. The string-like substance would have the ability to "truly integrate into the host's body," the team from the University of Bordeaux in France said. (Picheta, 2/5)
NBC News: Immune Therapy Tweak Offers New Hope To Blood Cancer Patients
In that small preliminary trial, the results of which were published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, nearly two-thirds of the patients, all of whom had cancer so advanced that just a decade ago there would have been no hope for them, went into complete remission. Cox was among that two-thirds. The new treatment involves tweaking a type of therapy called CAR-T that helps the immune system home in on cancer cells. Those tweaks appear to have made it more effective than its predecessor while also leading to fewer side effects, the study found. (Carroll, 2/5)
Politico: Imagine Dragons Frontman To Talk LGBTQ Advocacy With Democrats
Early-morning caucus meetings after the State of the Union address are not usually the best-attended of the year. But that might change this year. The House Democratic Caucus on Wednesday will host Dan Reynolds, the lead vocalist of the Grammy award-winning band Imagine Dragons, to discuss his advocacy work for LGBTQ youth in his home state of Utah, according to people familiar with the planning. (Ferris, 2/4)
CBS News: There Are More Homeless Students In The U.S. Than People Living In Dallas
More than 1.5 million U.S. public school students experienced homelessness during the 2017-2018 school year, according to a National Center for Homeless Education report released in January. The number is the highest recorded in over ten years and represents a population larger than the estimated total population of Dallas. The number of students experiencing homelessness spiked by 15% between 2015 and 2018, the three most recent school years covered in the report. In the 2015-2016 school year, 1,307,656 students were reported as homeless, compared to the 1,508,265 students in 2017-2018 year, according to the report. (Garrand, 2/4)
Philadelphia Inquirer: An African American Breast Cancer Survivor Shows The Way For Patients And Researchers
It’s not unusual for cancer survivors to channel their hard-won insights into advocacy work. Still, Yvonne McLean Florence, 57, stands out as a soft-spoken dynamo who closes gaps between the worlds of researchers, patients, nonprofits, and policy-makers. (McCullough, 2/5)
