@elizabethcooney.bsky.social
Reporter at statnews.com covering cardiovascular and metabolic disease. Running for my life. LizC.22 on Signal
Fascinating research reported by Andrew Joseph at @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2026/09/17/r...
Why do ‘never-smokers’ get lung cancer? In some cases, rare genetic variant may be a factor
Researchers have identified a very rare genetic variant that is associated with higher odds of lung cancer in "never smokers."
statnews.com
Reporting a story earlier this month, I learned astronauts are "tactical athletes." I learned more from Ben Levine about his research showing the importance of exercise for heart health during spaceflight -- and on Mars one day. www.statnews.com/2026/09/15/h... www.statnews.com/2026/09/03/t...
Exercise — and echocardiograms — in space protected astronauts’ hearts in study
If humans journey to Mars in 2035, exercise will be critical to keeping their hearts strong in microgravity.
statnews.com
Breaking, from @jonathanwosen.bsky.social and @aniloza.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2026/09/14/c...
Judge blocks Trump administration plans to limit visa length for grad students, postdocs
A federal judge halted a Trump administration plan to place a four-year cap on the kinds of visas used by graduate students and postdocs
statnews.com
Here's a surprise, from @jonathanwosen.bsky.social: www.statnews.com/2026/09/09/k...
Leukemia drug data suggested a different way to treat diabetes. A new biotech will test that idea
Caspian Therapeutics, is launching with $50 million in financing to develop menin inhibitors for diabetes and other cardiometabolic diseases.
statnews.com
“We really wanted to focus, at least from the clinical perspective, on one big hard problem, and heart failure is about as hard as it gets,” Haider Warraich told STAT's Mario Aguilar. www.statnews.com/2026/09/09/a...
ARPA-H to invest $62 million to develop FDA-authorized AI to help treat heart failure
ARPA-H, the government agency that funds cutting edge health research, plans to commit $62.7 million to develop artificial intelligence bots that direct treatment of heart failure.
statnews.com
Three months later, the story is not over. Sunday evening news: www.statnews.com/2026/09/06/a...
Not so fast: Diabetes association panel not done reviewing ejections from its June meeting
The American Diabetes Association “continues to move from crisis to crisis to crisis,” says one of five members ejected from June conference.
statnews.com
The answer is elusive. Still, "“Every single overdose death is really a failure, because no one should die from an opioid-related overdose when we have an antidote,” Sarah Wakeman told @theresagaff.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2026/09/03/d...
Why are drug overdose deaths declining?
Naloxone and harm reduction measures may be helping to curb drug overdose deaths, a new report says.
statnews.com
Kids don’t get to choose their families — and vaccine-hesitant parents are not a single, monolithic, immovable bloc, @ericboodman.bsky.social writes about the thinking behind pediatricians' meet-and-greets. www.statnews.com/2026/09/03/v...
The pediatricians who take in vaccine-skeptical parents others won't
At a "practice of last resort," pediatricians prioritize allaying parents' vaccine concerns without hardline dismissals.
statnews.com
EMTs, firefighters, police officers, Marine pilots, Navy SEALS, Army engineers, and astronauts may be the most important athletes you’ve never thought of this way. What I learned from a new framework: www.statnews.com/2026/09/03/t...
‘Tactical athletes’ get new guidance for cardiovascular fitness
Tactical athletes, a category of people first recognized in the early 2000s, also need distinct kinds of health care.
statnews.com
In 2010, I covered an Ig Nobel ceremony celebrating using a remote-controlled helicopter to collect whale snot, treating asthma symptoms with a roller-coaster ride, and proving microbes stick to bearded scientists. Can't make this up. Or see this years's in the U.S. www.statnews.com/2026/09/02/i...
The Ig Nobel Prizes, long held in the U.S., head to Europe due to Trump policies
For the first time since they began, the Ig Nobel Prizes, a satirical version of the Nobel prizes, is being held overseas.
statnews.com
In the latest turn of this story, ADA members removed from the group's June conference question the independence of the not-yet-public review. More here: www.statnews.com/2026/09/01/a...
ADA review of members’ expulsion denies group censored opinions, called in police
A review of findings from a five-person committee is being sent to the ADA board for action, STAT has learned, but it appears unlikely to quiet the controversy.
statnews.com
“Americans should have access to the best available scientific evidence and recommendations from the physicians and medical experts who care for them," Bruce Gellin, from the Vaccine Integrity Project’s board of advisers, said. @helenbranswell.bsky.social reports: www.statnews.com/2026/09/02/v...
Doctors groups release vaccination guidelines ahead of respiratory illness season
Ahead of respiratory illness season, professional organizations have issued guidance on flu, Covid, and RSV vaccines.
statnews.com
Don't miss this one, from @isabellacueto.bsky.social and Lauren Chan: www.statnews.com/2026/09/01/m...
As MAHA champions nutrition, it’s ignoring the experts, dietitians say
A key aspect of the Make America Healthy Again agenda could be hampered by a shrinking and underpaid workforce of registered dietitians.
statnews.com
A @statnews.com exclusive from me: Marc Tessier-Lavigne, who resigned as Stanford president in 2023 after a misconduct investigation, has posted more than 3,000 words and released emails to refute claims he published fraudulent results and orchestrated a cover-up. www.statnews.com/2026/08/27/m...
Former Stanford president releases emails to rebut fraud and cover-up allegations in new book
Marc Tessier-Lavigne released new details from his research and travel in an attempt to refute allegations in a new book that he published fraudulent results.
statnews.com
Don't miss this exclusive from @jonathanwosen.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2026/08/27/m...
Former Stanford president releases emails to rebut fraud and cover-up allegations in new book
Marc Tessier-Lavigne released new details from his research and travel in an attempt to refute allegations in a new book that he published fraudulent results.
statnews.com
Some lawmakers are listening, @danielpayne.bsky.social reports. Part 2 of "Unraveled." www.statnews.com/2026/08/27/h...
Hospitals are plotting a long-shot push to roll back $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts
Inside health systems' efforts to mitigate massive funding cuts.
statnews.com
Still early days, but “If confirmed, Shingrix could prevent hundreds of thousands of cardiovascular events in the USA alone, and may be the first vaccine that protects the heart and the brain,” study author Maxime Taquet said. www.statnews.com/2026/08/26/s...
Newer shingles vaccine linked to lower heart disease risk, ‘natural experiment’ shows
Oxford researchers call shingles shot first vaccine protecting both heart and brain. Lower heart disease risk follows study showing reduced dementia risk.
statnews.com
When it comes to predicting heart attacks and strokes, what matters the most: a number, a picture, or both? What two studies tell us: www.statnews.com/2026/08/26/c...
On the fence about a statin? In borderline cases, calcium scans could be a tiebreaker
The increasingly popular coronary artery calcium scan is helpful in guiding statin use in only a small share of cases, new studies find.
statnews.com
“It is the most exciting time to invest in women’s health I’ve ever seen in my two decades in venture capital," Elizabeth Bailey told me. “Doing the right thing scientifically is also translating into the right value-creation opportunity,” said Lucy Pérez. www.statnews.com/2026/08/26/w...
When it comes to women’s health, money talks
Women's health experts suggest a 'reverse pitch' approach to endometriosis, osteoporosis, and autoimmune treatments, stressing the profit potential.
statnews.com
This is "unusual," experts told @aniloza.bsky.social at @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2026/08/25/r...
Comments on OMB research rule mysteriously removed from federal website
Some comments on a proposed OMB research rule have been mysteriously removed from a public-facing government webpage.
statnews.com
Rural states are the first to feel it. @danielpayne.bsky.social at @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2026/08/25/r...
How Trump's cuts are reshaping America’s health system
A scramble to prepare for massive federal cuts across the health care system is hitting rural states like Maine particularly hard.
statnews.com
Taxpayers and people working in the public sector share the struggle of soaring costs, @bobjherman.bsky.social explains in his latest for the Out of Pocket, Out of Reach series at @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2026/08/18/p...
How health care costs are undermining America’s public-sector employers
Politicians are contemplating raising taxes and cutting benefits as the cost of health care for government workers surges.
statnews.com
Remember leptin? Early days for sure, but if confirmed in clinical trials, this biotech says theirs would be the first “leptin sensitizer in a pill.” As in putting the chemistry of exercise into a daily tablet, Viswa Colluru, Enveda’s founder and CEO, said. www.statnews.com/2026/08/18/e...
A pill that mimics exercise? Early results on drug designed to maintain both weight loss and muscle mass
Colorado biotech Enveda reports preliminary results on a drug to help people maintain weight loss after GLP-1 use. Just don't call it exercise in a pill.
statnews.com
Really? How the food industry is scrambling to improve its image, via @sarah-todd.bsky.social at @statnews.com: www.statnews.com/2026/08/18/f...
Doritos as farm-to-table snacks? Big Food, under duress, gets creative
Doritos in the classic nacho cheese flavor have 27 ingredients, including not just familiar ones but also a number of additives and preservatives.
statnews.com
Breaking: Three sources confirmed to @statnews.com that the FTC and a group of attorneys general are looking into EHR giant Epic's practices for potential antitrust action. Read more about the context, including the counts that the FTC is probing on, from me and Casey Ross: 🖥️🩺
Epic’s alleged anti-competitive practices under scrutiny from federal, state investigators
Epic Systems is the subject of a broad inquiry into its business practices, people who were contacted by FTC investigators told STAT.
statnews.com
NEW: A followup to our Commure investigation from yesterday: The company has terminated its programs that pay partners for referring its products. Read more @statnews.com from me and @caseyross.bsky.social: 🩺🖥️
Commure terminates payments under its customer referral programs tied to AI products
Commure, which develops and sells AI products to clinics, has terminated a program that paid for referrals to new customers.
statnews.com
Story is really important given pharma push to loosen U.S. Phase I trial regulations so U.S. can be more "competitive" with China.
@elizabethcooney.bsky.social · 2mo agoExclusive from Jason Mast and Brian Yang at @statnews.com who write "the disclosure raises concerns about the quality and transparency of China’s more lightly regulated pathway for drug trials." www.statnews.com/2026/08/05/c...
Exclusive from @sarah-todd.bsky.social at @statnews.com: www.statnews.com/2026/08/05/s...
Senate inquiry suggests Trump administration softened kratom and tobacco policies in quid pro quo
The Senate investigation includes RFK Jr. as well as the heads of Reynolds American and kratom company Botanic Tonics, asking for written responses and documentation by Aug. 31.
statnews.com
