Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
White House Launches Microbes Initiative To Ultimately Improve Human Health, Longevity
USA Today: White House Launches 'Microbiome' Initiative To Study Beneficial Bacteria
The White House will announce a new initiative Friday to kick start research into the microbes that shape life on Earth — including those in plants, animals, water, soil and air — as part of an effort to fight disease, grow more food and even reduce the greenhouse gases fueling climate change. With $121 million in federal dollars and $400 million in private funds, the National Microbiome Initiative will bring together researchers from a variety of disciplines. Government researchers will be joined by organizations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the University of Michigan and JDRF, formerly known as the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. (Szabo, 5/13)
The Associated Press: National Project To Harness Microbes For Health, Environment
We share our bodies and our surroundings with teeming communities of microbes that are crucial to the health of people and the planet, and now the Obama administration is beginning a major project to better understand those invisible ecosystems — even control them. (Neergaard, 5/13)
