Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
From KFF Health News - Latest Stories:
KFF Health News Original Stories
Baffling. Frustrating. Frightening. What It’s Like To Be Sued Over Medical Debt.
Patients’ experiences encapsulate breakdowns in a healthcare system that traps patients in debt. The industry’s key players blame one another.
Telehealth Booms as Demand for GLP-1s Surges and Questions Mount About Safety, Oversight
Many telehealth companies have emerged in recent years offering easy access to GLP-1 weight loss drugs as demand has exploded. Meanwhile, researchers and doctors are concerned that some of these online companies aren't properly screening or monitoring patients. “It gives a black eye to telemedicine,” one researcher said.
Amid Ebola, Hantavirus Outbreaks, Democrats Decry Trump’s Health Cuts
Infectious disease specialists say the viruses are unlikely to become pandemics, but some are still raising concerns about the federal health response and what it portends should a pandemic similar to or worse than covid occur.
Gounder Gives Lowdown on Ebola, Peptides, and Colorectal Screenings
KFF Health News' editor-at-large for public health discussed peptides, colorectal cancer screening, and Ebola in TV appearances this week.
Here's today's health policy haiku:
PREVENTIVE SERVICES COMPROMISED
There goes RFK,
— Catherine DeLorey
cutting another service.
So many will die.
If you have a health policy haiku to share, please Contact Us and let us know if we can include your name. Haikus follow the format of 5-7-5 syllables. We give extra brownie points if you link back to an original story.
Opinions expressed in haikus and cartoons are solely the author's and do not reflect the opinions of KFF Health News or KFF.
Summaries Of The News:
Administration News
Trump Signs Off On HHS' Adjusted Childhood Vaccine Schedule
The Hill: Donald Trump Backs HHS Overhaul Of Childhood Vaccine Schedule
President Trump is signing off on a decision from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) earlier this year to cut down on the number of required vaccinations for children. The president endorsed these adjusted immunization requirements in an executive order on Friday. Trump cited his administration’s commitment to “protecting religious liberty and parental authority” in the order. (Davis, 5/30)
ProPublica: How Trump Reversed Biden’s Crackdown On Guns
Marianna Mitchem grew up in the Denver suburbs, where she played high school soccer. One day in April 1999, her team faced off against a nearby rival, Columbine High. The next day, two teenagers went on a shooting rampage at Columbine, killing more than a dozen people. The massacre left an imprint on Mitchem. After graduating from Providence College, she joined the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. “Fearing for my friends and watching what was happening — you don’t forget things like that,” she told me. “I wanted to make a difference.” (MacGillis, 6/1)
On healthcare costs and cuts —
Politico: States Balk At The High Price Of Medicaid Work Requirements Amid Budget Crunch
The Trump administration is counting on Medicaid work requirements to save the government billions of dollars. But well before the rules formally go into effect Jan. 1, they’re costing already-strapped states millions or tens of millions to implement. State health departments are having to funnel resources into hiring more staff, paying for overtime, and upgrading their aging technology systems so they can determine which low-income residents are working, volunteering, caregiving, or studying enough hours to keep their Medicaid coverage. They are also building new systems to determine who is sick enough to qualify for an exemption. (King and Ollstein, 5/31)
Stat: Medicare's $50 Weight Loss Drugs Could Cost Taxpayers Billions
Millions of seniors may get $50-a-month Wegovy and Zepbound under Medicare’s new GLP-1 Bridge program. CMS has yet to reveal projected cost to taxpayers. (Herman, 6/1)
Also —
The Hill: GOP's Bill Cassidy Faces New Decisions On Bucking Donald Trump
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) finds himself in a unique position: scorned by President Trump and out of the running for reelection, but still in charge of the highly influential Senate health committee, which can block nominees to head three health agencies currently without permanent leaders. The next few months could determine whether his legacy is restraining the Trump administration’s more extreme elements or ultimately ushering them in, as his detractors have accused him of when he voted to confirm Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. despite his public reservations. (Choi, 5/31)
Politico: Montana Senator Wants Monkey Bite, And Lab Where It Happened, Investigated
Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana is asking for an inspector general’s review of a renowned federal research lab in his state after a monkey infected with Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever bit a worker there. The employee, whose name was never made public, was treated after the November 2025 incident, did not contract the lethal tick-borne illness and soon returned to work. But a conservative animal welfare group, White Coat Waste, and MAGA influencer Laura Loomer have since urged federal intervention. (Paun and Messerly, 5/29)
Outbreaks and Health Threats
Kenya Will Build US-Funded Ebola Facility, Despite Court Order Against It
Bloomberg: Kenya Pushes US-Funded Ebola Isolation Unit Despite Court Order
Kenya will proceed with a plan to establish an Ebola isolation and treatment complex at a military facility with US government funding, even after a court temporarily blocked the move. President William Ruto’s administration will build the facility at a US airforce base 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of the capital, Nairobi, the Health Ministry said in a statement. A Kenyan court last week ordered the government to reject the deal with the US after a human-rights group said the plan posed “grave health risks” to the public. (Nyambura, 6/1)
AP: Hundreds Of Youths Protest Outside Kenya's Ebola Quarantine Center For US Citizens
Hundreds of youths in Kenya’s central town of Nanyuki on Monday demonstrated against the establishment at the Laikipia Air Base of an Ebola quarantine center for American citizens exposed to the virus. ... Health Minister Aden Duale on Sunday said the quarantine center was for “everyone” and not exclusively for U.S. nationals. (6/1)
The global response —
Bloomberg: Ebola Outbreak Exposes Gaps In Global Pandemic Readiness, Ex-CDC Chief Says
The world is not “well prepared” for the next pandemic, Tom Frieden, the former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, citing the current response to the Ebola outbreak and cuts to US public health efforts. “This Ebola outbreak is not going to cause a pandemic, it’s not going to cause a significant risk to large numbers of Americans,” Frieden, the CEO of Resolve to Save Lives Inc., said on Bloomberg This Weekend. “It’s a stress test, and it’s a stress test the world is not doing well at. I would say so far we’re failing, and that bodes ill for the future.” (Roy, 5/30)
Politico: Ebola Response Puts Trump On Collision Course With Global Health Body
Donald Trump and the World Health Organization are teed up for another clash over infectious disease travel bans. Trump ignored the WHO’s advice, and its criticism of travel restrictions, when he closed the U.S. border to foreigners who’d recently been in China at the outset of the Covid pandemic, and he’s ignoring the U.N. agency again now, at the outset of what is already one of the worst Ebola outbreaks ever, by barring most travelers from the affected countries. (Gardner and Paun, 5/30)
NPR: How Aid Cuts Are Hampering The Frontline Response To The Ebola Crisis
One of the ways Leonard Musinguzi, the community and surveillance officer for the International Rescue Committee in Uganda, tries to combat misinformation is public health messaging. His organization distributes radio spots, posters, and information on hospital televisions meant to educate about the disease. However, governments like the United States have cut back their support for programs like the IRC's. That means Musinguzi has less money for the projects he wants to do. Before, he might have paid to place educational messages during five radio talk shows. Now, he said, "because of this reduced funding, you only have one." (Larson, Florido and Robbins, 5/31)
KFF Health News: Amid Ebola, Hantavirus Outbreaks, Democrats Decry Trump’s Health Cuts
The Trump administration’s deep cuts to federal health agencies have become a political liability after a deadly outbreak of hantavirus aboard a cruise ship and the spread of an even more fearsome disease, Ebola, in Africa. At least that’s the way many Democrats see it. They have seized on the situation to charge that the U.S. is ill prepared to respond to outbreaks — let alone a pandemic — after President Donald Trump slashed jobs and funding for public health infrastructure and pandemic preparedness. Infectious disease specialists have called on the White House to reverse cuts and rejoin the World Health Organization. (Armour, 6/1)
On the spread of Ebola —
CBS News: Two North Texas Counties Monitoring Travelers For Ebola Symptoms
At least two North Texas counties are monitoring travelers who have returned from Ebola‑impacted countries to ensure they are not developing symptoms of the virus. Tarrant County Public Health and Denton County Public Health said they are working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Texas Department of State Health Services to check on people arriving from three African nations: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and South Sudan. (Hudson, 5/29)
The New York Times: Inside The Ebola Epicenter, The Virus Rages With Little To Stop It
In the cramped, dilapidated Ebola ward, a 5-year-old boy languished on a bare mattress, a tissue stuffed into his nose to stanch the incessant bleeding. His father stood over him, eyes clouded with worry. A few beds away lay the body of Christiane Bahati, 21, who had died seven hours earlier but had not yet been taken away. Her shoes were still tucked under the bed, her wailing relatives gathered outside the ward doors. The body, covered by a thin sheet, was highly contagious. Yet hardly anyone in the ward was protected. (Walsh, 5/30)
Reuters: Ebola Recoveries Bring Signs Of Hope In DRC As Suspected Cases Emerge Outside Africa
Four nurses who were being treated for Ebola caused by the Bundibugyo strain of the virus have been discharged from a hospital in Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo after recovering from the disease, the World Health Organization said on Sunday. A laboratory worker had also recovered earlier this week, the agency said, bringing the total number of people who have recovered from the virus to five. However, suspected cases are being looked into in Brazil and Italy tied to travel to affected nations. (Abraham, 5/31)
Regarding hantavirus, measles, and vibriosis —
The Washington Post: Dispute Grows Over Monitoring Of Hantavirus Passengers Who Could Soon Return Home
U.S. officials are prepared to allow some of the 18 American passengers exposed to a unique strain of hantavirus to leave a special quarantine facility in Nebraska as early as Monday. But they are still negotiating with state officials over how closely the passengers should be monitored for the remainder of the 42-day quarantine after returning home, according to three people familiar with the response. The three people, like others interviewed for this account, spoke to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity to share internal deliberations. (Sun, Dennis and Roubein, 5/30)
CIDRAP: US Nears 2,000 Measles Cases As Scientists Note Brain Inflammation, Pneumonia In Hospital Cases
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today confirmed 31 new measles cases in a nationwide outbreak that has now reached 1,983 infections, as experts describe sometimes-serious symptoms that can warrant hospital stays, including brain inflammation and pneumonia. All but nine of the US infections are locally acquired, with the rest related to international travel. The total for all of last year was 2,288 confirmed cases. (Wappes, 5/29)
The Hill: Vibrio Season Is Here: How Can You Avoid The Flesh-Eating Bacterial Infection?
Vibriosis, an infection caused by a dozen types of vibrio bacteria that affects approximately 80,000 people per year, is expected to rise in the coming months. Vibrio bacteria live in coastal waters and their numbers multiply starting in May, explains the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bacteria can survive in salt water and brackish water (a mix of salt and fresh water). People most commonly get infected by eating shellfish, like oysters, but you can also be infected through contact if swimming with an open wound. (Martichoux, 5/30)
Mental Health
Social Media Giants Settle School Mental Health Lawsuit For $27M
Bloomberg: Meta, TikTok, Snap Inc. And YouTube To Pay $27 Million To Settle School Lawsuit
The world’s biggest social media platforms agreed to pay about $27 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a rural Kentucky school district that alleged their products are addictive and helped create a teen mental health crisis that drained school resources. (Carville, 5/30)
AP: Family Is Donating Claude Lemieux's Brain To Boston University's CTE Center
Claude Lemieux’s brain is being donated to the Boston University CTE Center to research the long-term effects of repetitive brain injuries, his family said Saturday in a statement released by daughter Claudia Lemieux Bishop. Lemieux died of suicide at age 60 on Thursday, according to authorities, after earlier in the week serving as the Montreal Canadiens’ torchbearer prior to a playoff game. He played nearly 1,500 NHL games with six teams from 1983-2009 and was known for his hard-hitting style and ability to perform in big games on the way to winning the Stanley Cup four times. (5/30)
A champion for children with disabilities dies —
The New York Times: Frank Hayden, Who Led Global Growth Of The Special Olympics, Dies At 96
Frank J. Hayden, whose research showing that intellectually disabled children benefited from athletics led members of the Kennedy family to ask for his help staging the first Special Olympics, and who then contributed to the Games’ astounding growth into a global movement, died on May 16 in Oakville, Ontario, near Toronto. He was 96. His death, in an assisted-living residence, was confirmed by his family. (Gabriel, 5/29)
Pharma and Tech
FDA Approves First-Ever Needle-Free Insulin For Kids 6 And Older
ABC News: Inhaled Insulin Now FDA-Approved For Kids 6 And Over With Diabetes
Taisie Seigrist, a 15-year-old track and cross-country athlete in Oklahoma, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes five years ago. “It was a big life shift,” Taisie’s mom, Jennifer Seigrist, told ABC News. “[She] spent a week in the hospital getting her blood sugars down and learning everything we could learn in a week, and … it's been a roller coaster.” Learning to manage her new diagnosis meant Taisie needed to learn how to dose and inject herself with insulin, a necessary but painful process. (Cobern, 5/29)
MedPage Today: Cardiac Amyloidosis Diagnosis Gets A More Extensive AI Model
Researchers unveiled a new multimodal artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm for cardiac amyloidosis (CA) diagnosis, a tool showing promise for greater accuracy and sensitivity in the real world. (Lou, 5/29)
Modern Healthcare: TAVR Market: Boston Scientific Targets Edwards Lifesciences' Lead
Boston Scientific Corp.’s $1.5 billion investment in MiRus LLC last week is the latest move by medtech vendors to capture hospital market share in the fast-growing cardiology segment. The transcatheter aortic valve replacement market is hot due to the rise in heart valve disorders. Health systems across the U.S. are launching and expanding structural heart programs, in part to offer the procedure. Medtech companies, meanwhile, are developing next-generation devices and competing for market leadership. (Dubinsky, 5/29)
KFF Health News: Telehealth Booms As Demand For GLP-1s Surges And Questions Mount About Safety, Oversight
Within 24 hours of injecting the first dose of a weight loss medication she received following a visit with a telehealth doctor, Karleigh McClain was admitted to the hospital, she said. The 31-year-old compliance consultant from Hendersonville, Tennessee, said she couldn’t stop vomiting. “Sunday morning, it all hits,” McClain recalled, as she described what happened that weekend in January. “I can’t keep anything down.” (Sausser and Rosenfeld, 6/1)
The New York Times: China’s Rise In Drug Development Looms Over U.S.
For decades, an annual gathering of oncologists has featured drug trials that were run mainly at American and European hospitals. But at this year’s meeting, which is being held in Chicago this weekend, the signs are everywhere of China’s ascendance as a powerhouse in drug development — and of the threat that many believe it poses to American biotechnology. The clearest sign: In what appears to be a first, one of the conference’s five coveted headliners is a presentation of a clinical trial conducted only in China. (Robbins and Kolata, 5/30)
Healthcare industry developments —
Modern Healthcare: Massachusetts Sues UnitedHealthcare Over Alleged Medicaid Fraud
Massachusetts sued UnitedHealthcare over allegations of fraud related to the commonwealth’s Medicaid program. The complaint, filed Friday by Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell (D) in Suffolk Superior Court, claims UnitedHealthcare allegedly received $100 million in overpayments from MassHealth over the course of 10 years. UnitedHealth Group’s UnitedHealthcare contracts with MassHealth to offer plans for seniors who are eligible for Medicaid and Medicare. (DeSilva, 5/29)
Modern Healthcare: Elevance Avoids Medicare Advantage Enrollment Freeze From CMS
Elevance Health has forestalled a federal freeze on its Medicare Advantage enrollments. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in March announced the suspension, saying the company allegedly submitted risk-adjustment data improperly for some of its members. CMS in a Friday letter wrote it “will not impose intermediate sanctions at this time” on Elevance Health because the insurance company submitted initial corrected risk-adjustment data and paid the federal government back for alleged Medicare Advantage overpayments. (5/29)
Stat: Executives Reveal Tech Initiatives At Summa Health After General Catalyst Acquisition
People across northeast Ohio are now receiving AI phone calls to help them prep for surgery and navigate care after they leave the hospital. It’s all part of the “transformation” plan that venture capital firm General Catalyst is implementing at Summa Health, the Akron-based safety-net hospital it bought in October. In some of the first media interviews since its parent company bought the health system, Health Assurance Transformation Company executives shed light on how the holding company is approaching its “transformation” of the hospital system and planning to share its innovations with more than two dozen of HATCo’s partner health systems. (Trang, 6/1)
Modern Healthcare: Hospital Construction Trends: Inpatient, Urgent Care Costs Rise
The healthcare construction and design pipeline is holding steady — with a few exceptions. Modern Healthcare’s 2026 Construction and Design Survey signals rising investments in standalone emergency departments and inpatient hospital projects. Demand may be softening, however, for urgent care facilities and behavioral health buildings. (Davis, 5/29)
KFF Health News: Baffling. Frustrating. Frightening. What It’s Like To Be Sued Over Medical Debt
When Christine Wood received a $12,000 bill from Bristol Hospital, she thought it must be a mistake. It was more than she and her husband made in a month combined. “I’m freaking out,” said Wood, who lives in a 1,700-square-foot home in Terryville, a village just outside Bristol, Connecticut. “I don’t understand it.” (Golvala, Carlesso and Levey, 6/1)
Cancer
Oncologists Can Now Offer Patients Hope In Fight Against Pancreatic Cancer
The Washington Post: Hotly Anticipated Pancreatic Cancer Drug Results Open New Era For Lethal Cancer
A pancreatic cancer drug more than four decades in the making has cracked one of the most stubbornly lethal cancers, extending people’s lives and keeping their tumors in check for twice as long as those on regular chemotherapy. The detailed results of the clinical trial, presented Sunday at a plenary session of the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s meeting in Chicago and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine, are some of the most hotly anticipated medical results in cancer in years. Oncologists who have traditionally had few options and little hope to offer patients are calling the results “unprecedented,” “compelling” and “spectacular.” (Johnson, 5/31)
NBC News: After New Drug’s ‘Unprecedented’ Results For Pancreatic Cancer, Doctors Look At Other Uses
Every single patient with advanced pancreatic cancer who walked into Dr. Zev Wainberg’s office told him they would rather take an experimental medication than endure another round of chemotherapy. Wainberg, co-director of UCLA Health’s GI Oncology Program, was leading a clinical trial of a new drug called daraxonrasib. All the study participants previously had chemotherapy that was starting to fail. (Edwards, 5/31)
Stat: Ultra-Low Doses Could Bring Costly Cancer Treatments To More Patients In Poorer Countries
What if the trick to getting cancer immunotherapy to parts of the world that can’t access it is simply lowering the dose? A lower-cost immunotherapy approach could extend survival for patients with advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in resource-limited countries, according to results presented Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. (MacPhail, 5/31)
KFF Health News: Gounder Gives Lowdown On Ebola, Peptides, And Colorectal Screenings
Céline Gounder, KFF Health News’ editor-at-large for public health, discussed recent warnings about research-grade peptides and new colorectal cancer screening guidelines on CBS News’ CBS Mornings on May 27. She also discussed the Ebola outbreak centered on the Democratic Republic of Congo and whether it’s expected to spread on May 26. (5/30)
In related developments —
The Wall Street Journal: Radiation Device Placed In Brain Cuts Tumor Recurrence, Boosts Survival
Brain tumors are one of the most devastating consequences of cancer’s spread—hard to treat and highly deadly. Scientists have found that using a radioactive implant precisely where a tumor was removed in the brain can help patients get their cancer treated more quickly and in many cases, live longer. (Martinez, 5/30)
The Washington Post: Cats Could Help Scientists Better Understand Human Cancer, Study Says
Louise van der Weyden is a dog person. But as a scientist who studies cancer in animals, she has turned her attention to cats in recent years. Insight into feline cancers has been like “a black box,” van der Weyden said, because scientists have known so little about them. But what she recently found after years of research surprised her: Cat cancers are similar to some human cancers, giving her hope for future advancement in treatments. “It’s a unique opportunity to help two species in one go,” van der Weyden said. (Melnick, 5/30)
San Francisco Chronicle: Brain Cancer Diagnosis Inspired Bay Area Artist’s Most Personal Work
It started with flashing lights. Vincent Serritella woke up the morning of Dec. 5 to dancing sparks in his vision. He wrote them off at first — he thought he was tired, spending too much time in front of a screen — but then, while typing at his computer, he noticed he couldn’t see his left hand. (Allday, 5/31)
Reproductive Health
Convicted Sex Offender Jeffrey Epstein May Have Used A Sperm Bank, Records Show
The New York Times: Jeffrey Epstein’s Sperm May Have Survived Him
Jeffrey Epstein died in 2019, but his genetic material may live on. Emails and records in the Epstein files released by the Justice Department indicate that Mr. Epstein had been banking his sperm for at least several years before his death, and that he did not want the cryobank to discard it if he died. (Mroz and Astor, 6/1)
HealthDay: Weed Use Tied To Higher Testosterone In Young Men, Study Finds
A new Swiss study links regular cannabis use to about 23% higher testosterone levels in young men, while raising fresh questions about male fertility, sperm health and potential hormonal biomarkers of weed exposure. (Thompson, 6/1)
On aging —
The Washington Post: Four Types Of Technology That Can Help You Remain Independent As You Age
Saul Morse had no idea when he equipped his house with smart home products that they would prove potentially lifesaving. The 78-year-old, who has post-polio syndrome and uses a wheelchair, had connected the Amazon Alexa in his bedroom to his contacts list, so when his wife had a stroke in their bedroom one night, and his phone was in another part of the house, he was able to use voice control to phone his adult children, who in turn called 911. (Amazon Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.) (Felton, 5/30)
AP: An Elder Companion Robot Is Helping A Couple With Disabilities Stay At Home
After outliving Booker T. Bones, their second service dog, Brenda and Brian Marquis still needed help with some of the more difficult parts of daily life. They found Robbie, a robot that rolls out of a hallway into their living room several times a day. “Do you want to exercise now? Please answer yes or no,” the caregiver robot asks 59-year-old Brian Marquis, who has been living with a traumatic brain injury since a 2012 car crash. “Yes,” he responds. Then he stands up as the robot’s googly-eyed digital screen “face” morphs into an exercise video that guides him through an afternoon workout. (O’Brien, 6/1)
Wellness trends —
The New York Times: Prized By ‘MAHA’ Influencers And Chefs Alike, Craft Flour Is On The Rise
Growing demand for fiber-rich grains is boosting the premium flour industry, which offers less processed, but pricier, alternatives to the classic grocery store brands. (Kronsberg, 6/1)
San Francisco Chronicle: Do Red Light Therapy Masks Actually Work? What Dermatologists Say
If you follow skin care or wellness trends, you’ve probably seen countless ads and posts about at-home red light therapy masks that claim to target a host of skin care woes, from acne to wrinkles and pigmentation. There is some science behind the hype. Years before it became a skin care trend, red light therapy was cleared by the FDA in 2007 to increase hair growth. Studies suggest it can have modest benefits for inflammation, wound healing, acne and sun damage. (Ho, 5/31)
NPR: Is Bovine Colostrum Really ‘Liquid Gold’ For Gut Health?
Known as "liquid gold," colostrum is the first milk that mammals produce after giving birth. And it's chock full of antibodies, proteins, vitamins and minerals that help build up a newborn's immunity and strengthen their gut lining. But this substance that's uniquely tailored for newborns is also receiving plenty of attention from adults who've taken to chugging bovine colostrum. (Daniel, 6/1)
Editorials And Opinions
Viewpoints: We Need Clearer Data On The Doctors Being Cut From Residency; Enhanced Games Weren't The Spectacle We Expected
Stat: Medical Schools Diversified. So Where Are All The Diverse Doctors?
Residency, a mandatory three- to seven-year apprenticeship, depending on specialty, is the sole gateway to board certification and independent medical practice in the United States. Failure to complete residency is not a temporary detour, but rather, a career-ending event for most people — one that is not uniformly experienced. (Vanessa Grubbs, 6/1)
The Washington Post: Las Vegas Enhanced Games Was A Doping Revolution That Fizzled
On the one hand, its founders present the Enhanced Games as a new “Apollo mission,” testing the limits of human performance and pushing the boundaries of human potential. On the other, they argued that what today’s enhanced athletes do isn’t really different from tactics used by previous generations. Promotional videos invoked the ancient Greeks, who supposedly used figs, mushrooms and plant seeds to sharpen performance. But it doesn’t take a scientist to understand that there is a difference between eating a fig and injecting EPO (erythropoietin), a hormone that is designed to increase red-blood-cell count, but can also raise the risk of stroke, heart attack, pulmonary embolism, blood clots and sudden cardiac death. (James Billot, 5/28)
Stat: The Ivory Tower Era Of Science Is Over
Science built an ivory tower when we needed a garden. The tower is beautiful — I mean that. It contains real knowledge and hard-won discoveries. But a tower is vertical, singular, closed. A garden is horizontal, distributed, open. And a garden is resilient precisely because no single point of failure can kill the whole thing. So let’s stop mourning the tower and tend what’s already growing. (Jonathan Jackson, 5/27)
Boulder Daily Camera: The United States May Be The Best Place To Build Universal Health Care
Universal health care is not a symbol of socialism; it is a guard of basic human dignity. In the United States, it could become something distinctly American: a practical system grounded in transparency, flexibility, and accountability. (Wei Zhang, 5/30)
Stat: The U.S. Military Medical Corps Needs A New Approach To Recruitment
Across the tri-service medical corps, encompassing the Army, Navy, and Air Force, the rate of recruitment has consistently struggled to keep pace with separations. A 2024 RAND Corporation study found that a larger-than-expected proportion of physicians are leaving after fulfilling their service obligations, citing pay disparity, administrative burden, and clinical skill degradation as key drivers. (Robert Krasner, 6/1)