Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: FDA Nominee Danced Around Abortion Questions, But There's No Doubt Where She Stands; What Did We Learn From The 2001 Anthrax Attacks?
Stat: FDA Commissioner Nominee Heidi Overton Is Ignoring The Science On Abortion Drug
On Thursday, the Senate health committee met with Heidi Overton, nominee for commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. When asked about her views on mifepristone, a key abortion medication, Overton danced around the issue. As the CEO of Reproductive Futures, a legal organization advocating for reproductive rights, I am deeply concerned. Overton’s anti-abortion views are crystal clear. As FDA commissioner, she would have a chance to implement them and do serious harm. (Julie F. Kay, 9/25)
Stat: I Worked On The CDC Investigation Of The Anthrax Letters. 25 Years Later, Are We Ready For The Next Biothreat?
Twenty-five years ago, as the country still reeled from Sept. 11, the first of two batches of anthrax-laden envelopes were mailed from New Jersey to news media and congressional offices. All told, the letters caused 22 cases of anthrax disease, leading to five deaths; prompted considerable fear in the U.S.; and cost billions of dollars in response and recovery. (Daniel Jernigan, 9/26)
Stat: I Found A New Structure In The Heart
For more than a century, medicine has behaved as though we understood everything about the anatomy of the heart. As medical students, we memorize its chambers, valves, and vessels. As surgeons, we operate within its well-known boundaries. As cardiologists, we interpret heart images so familiar that they’re nearly invisible. (Subramaniam C. Krishnan, 9/28)
Undark: The Data Gap Undermining AI-Driven Biology
As the biotechnology industry pours billions of dollars into artificial intelligence–driven drug discovery and development, a foundational problem remains unsolved. A 2024 survey of biomedical researchers found that nearly three in four believe their field is gripped by a reproducibility crisis — the widespread inability of researchers to replicate study findings even when similar methods are used. (Jonathan Jacobs and Patrick Boyle, 9/25)
Stat: AI Bioweapon Threat Is Growing Faster Than Our Defenses
Earlier this month, Anthropic reported five cases in which people used its models for work that could support biological weapons development. The cases included help preparing a proposal for gain-of-function research on a mosquito-borne virus at a military institute and planning experiments intended to help bird flu get better at infecting mammals. Anthropic had no way to determine the intent behind this work but blocked it anyway. (Ashish K. Jha, 9/28)
