December 20, 2024
(ProPublica) – Anthony Olson was told that he’d die without the treatment and to ignore a negative biopsy. He’s one of many patients who may have received harmful or unnecessary treatments from Montana oncologist Dr. Thomas C. Weiner, according to … Read More
December 20, 2024
(NPR) – A group of high-level managers at the Louisiana Department of Health walked into a Nov. 14 meeting in Baton Rouge expecting to talk about outreach and community events. Instead, they were told by an assistant secretary in the … Read More
December 20, 2024
(National Post) – A new report from Health Canada confirms that more than 60,000 lives have been lost to “medical assistance in dying” in Canada between 2016 and 2023. Euthanasia was supposed be the exception to the rule, but Canada … Read More
December 19, 2024
(The Guardian) – At the last minute, Zoë decided to call off her euthanasia. But how do you start over after you’ve said all of your goodbyes? Everybody gathered round the bed. Evelien was standing at the head. She had … Read More
December 19, 2024
(Wired) – WIRED is following every copyright battle involving the AI industry—and we’ve created some handy visualizations that will be updated as the cases progress. In May 2020, the media and technology conglomerate Thomson Reuters sued a small legal AI … Read More
December 19, 2024
(New York Times) – The Food and Drug Administration released final rules on labeling foods as “healthy,” tightening limits for sugar, sodium and saturated fat. The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday updated the definitions of the term “healthy” for … Read More
December 19, 2024
(The Atlantic) – For people with developmental disabilities like Michael, however, using chatbots brings particular and profound risks. His parents and I were acutely afraid that he would lose track of what was fact and what was fiction. In the … Read More
December 18, 2024
(Washington Post via MSN) – A panel of independent health experts recommended Tuesday against older adults using vitamin D and calcium supplements to prevent falls and fractures, citing inadequate evidence to support their effectiveness. The guidance from the U.S. Preventive … Read More
December 18, 2024
(CNN) – The US Food and Drug Administration has placed its most serious warning – a so-called black-box warning – on a drug used to relieve menopausal hot flashes. The FDA says women who are taking Veozah may need more … Read More
December 18, 2024
(Nature) – Paper on hydroxychloroquine led by French researcher Didier Raoult is second-most-cited study ever to be withdrawn. A study that stoked enthusiasm for the now-disproven idea that a cheap malaria drug can treat COVID-19 has been retracted — more … Read More
December 18, 2024
Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics (vol. 45, no. 6, 2024) is available online by subscription only. Articles include:
December 17, 2024
(Science) – Study on hydroxychloroquine by Didier Raoult and colleagues gets pulled on ethical and scientific grounds A 2020 paper that sparked widespread enthusiasm for hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment was retracted today, following years of campaigning by scientists who … Read More
December 17, 2024
(New York Times) – Drugmakers including Purdue Pharma paid pharmacy benefit managers not to restrict painkiller prescriptions, a New York Times investigation found. Why hadn’t the middlemen, known as pharmacy benefit managers, acted sooner to address a crisis that had … Read More
December 17, 2024
(Wired) – The proliferation of open drug dealing on Instagram, Snapchat, and X—as well as on encrypted messaging platforms Telegram and WhatsApp—has transformed the fabric of illegal substance procurement, gradually making it more convenient, and arguably safer, for consumers, who … Read More
December 17, 2024
(Wall Street Journal) – Concerns grow about so-called endocrine disrupters, found in everything from plastic packaging to toys and cosmetics Fertility rates around the world are declining, including in the U.S., where the total fertility rate last year fell to … Read More
December 16, 2024
(NBC News) – Balaji left OpenAI earlier this year and raised concerns publicly that the company had allegedly violated U.S. copyright law while developing its popular ChatGPT chatbot. “The manner of death has been determined to be suicide,” David Serrano … Read More
December 16, 2024
(Wall Street Journal) – Many on Wall Street see Adderall and Vyvanse as tools to plow through long hours of tedious work amid high-pressure competition Images of Wall Street’s rank-and-file blowing cash on illegal drugs and nightlife are well known, … Read More
December 13, 2024
(ProPublica) – Leaked internal documents show that the insurance giant is culling providers of applied behavior analysis from its network and scrutinizing the medical necessity of therapy. Advocates say the company’s strategy may be illegal. ProPublica has obtained what is … Read More
December 13, 2024
(Aeon) – What a 1970 experiment reveals about the possibility and perils of ‘head transplants’ [TED-Ed video] After decades of experimenting on animal brains, the US neurosurgeon Robert J White proposed executing a ‘whole body transplant’ on a rhesus monkey … Read More
December 13, 2024
(KFF Health News) – More and more minor interventions, however, have been rebranded and billed as surgery, for profit. These tiny interventions don’t yield huge bills — in the hundreds rather than the thousands of dollars — but, cumulatively, they … Read More
December 12, 2024
(New York Times) – The two solvents, known as Perc and TCE, cause kidney cancer and other ailments, and have been the subject of years of controversy. The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday banned two solvents found in everyday products … Read More
December 12, 2024
(Montana Free Press) – Hailed as a savior upon his arrival in Helena, Dr. Thomas C. Weiner became a favorite of patients and his hospital’s highest earner. As the myth surrounding the high-profile oncologist grew, so did the trail of … Read More
December 11, 2024
(Medpage Today) – Independent experts found unacceptable safety risk The British government on Wednesday indefinitely banned puberty blockers for children with gender dysphoria after independent experts found there was an unacceptable safety risk in prescribing the medication. The decision, which … Read More
December 11, 2024
(Stars and Stripes) – A proposal to ban health care coverage of certain medical treatments for the transgender children of service members has become a point of contention as the House readies this week for a vote on a defense … Read More
December 11, 2024
(Wired) – “People don’t always realize they are creating a human being and not a piece of furniture.” For years now, aspiring parents have been designing their children. Screening embryos for disease-causing genes during IVF, selecting their future baby’s sex, … Read More
