Saturday April 5, 2025
HEALTHCARE
Tariffs send healthcare industry into ‘unchartered waters’ | MedTech Dive
The inclusion of medical devices in the Trump tariffs stands “in stark contrast to the historical pattern of strategic exemptions of lifesaving and life-sustaining devices,” Morningstar analyst Debbie Wang wrote in a note published Thursday.
Former Medtronic CEO Criticizes RFK Jr.'s HHS Leadership
The former medtech executive noted that severe cutbacks to NIH research will ultimately have a “very negative impact” on discovering new drugs; cuts at FDA will “inevitably slow the new drug approval process”; cuts at CMS will slow the reimbursement process."
FDA OKs first at-home test for 3 STIs | MedTech Dive Visby Medical’s at-home diagnostic, which can be purchased without a prescription, tests for chlamydia, gonorrhea and trichomoniasis.
Exercise as an anti-aging intervention to avoid detrimental impact of mental fatigue | ScienceDaily
Research uncovers hidden spread of one of the most common hospital-associated infections | ScienceDaily Research has found that C. diff spreads more than three times more than previously thought. C. diff can spread covertly from surface to surface and remain undetected for weeks until it infects a patient. The
An antiviral chewing gum to reduce influenza and herpes simplex virus transmission | ScienceDaily Low vaccination rates for influenza viruses and the lack of an HSV vaccine underscore the need for a new approach to reduce viral transmission. Researchers have now used a clinical-grade antiviral chewing gum to substantially reduce viral loads of two herpes simplex viruses and two influenza A strains in experimental models.
Exposure to wildfire smoke linked with worsening mental health conditions | ScienceDaily Exposure to fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) from wildfire smoke was associated with increased visits to emergency departments (ED) for mental health conditions, according to a new study.
Differences in the distribution of certain proteins and markers in the brain may explain why some people first experience vision changes instead of memory loss in Alzheimer's disease, finds a new study.
PSYCHOLOGY
Convince me, control me | Science (BOOK)
ZOOLOGY
Bonobo Calls Are More like Human Language Than We Thought | Scientific American
We humans concoct never-before-heard sentences with ease, embedding phrases within phrases to express the wildest ideas we can dream up (“the purple pangolin that waltzed across the ballroom had a flaming pineapple on its nose”). Such abilities seem unrivaled in the animal world, but a new study suggests they’re not entirely absent: bonobos, our closest living relatives, create combinations of calls that seem to share key aspects of human language.
MEDTECH
New Heart Pump Challenges J&J's Impella
Supira Medical’s percutaneous ventricular assist device uses a smaller introducer sheath diameter than the only commercially available device and can pump significantly more blood.
Titanium: biocompatibility, durability and cost-efficiency continue to improve - MedTech Intelligence Titanium has become a vital material in modern medicine due to its strength, light weight, corrosion resistance, and exceptional biocompatibility with high long-term success rates and minimal risk of rejection. Its non-ferromagnetic nature makes it MRI-safe, and its durability supports better healing outcomes compared to materials like stainless steel.
NEUROSCIENCE
20 years of histone lysine demethylases: From discovery to the clinic and beyond - ScienceDirect In eukaryotic cells, DNA is wrapped around histones to form nucleosomes and compacted into a structure termed chromatin. Each nucleosome is comprised of two copies of each histone, H2A, H2B, H3, and H4, and is wrapped with 146 base pairs of DNA.
AI
How can science benefit from AI? Risks? | ScienceDaily
Researchers from chemistry, biology, and medicine are increasingly turning to AI models to develop new hypotheses. However, it is often unclear on which basis the algorithms come to their conclusions and to what extent they can be generalized. A publication now warns of misunderstandings in handling artificial intelligence. At the same time, it highlights the conditions under which researchers can most likely have confidence in the models.
The study compared initial AI treatment recommendations to final recommendations of physicians who had access to the AI recommendations but may or may not have reviewed them.