@kellieowens.bsky.social Alison Bateman-House, and I on whether AI technologies "will expand opportunities for historically overlooked patients or further concentrate attention on those already represented within existing data systems." www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Ethical and Epistemic Considerations for the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Ultra-Rare Disease Clinical Trials
Published in The American Journal of Bioethics (Vol. 26, No. 8, 2026)
tandfonline.com
🎉Some great news Congress appropriated $600M for Gavi, the organization that funds vaccines for half the world’s kids But the anti-vaxx activist RFK Jr froze the money—which would have caused an estimated 600,000 child deaths The State Dept will now over-ride RFK Jr & give Gavi the money 👏 1/2
"If there is a question to ask, then, it is this: Why does Musk get a pass? Why do politicians, journalists and commentators treat his far-right racist radicalism as a sideshow rather than the core of his political, ideological and industrial project..." www.nytimes.com/2026/07/29/o...
Opinion | Elon Musk Is a Menace to Society (Gift Article)
Why does the owner of X get a pass for what he says and does there?
nytimes.com
"The president now hopes alleviating autism could be part of his legacy" www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Trump Turns Up the Heat on RFK Jr. to Cut Back Childhood Vaccines
The president is focused on the shots’ alleged tie to autism, even though White House advisers wanted to tone down attention to the issue ahead of the midterms.
wsj.com
This is American news claiming that a Russian attack on Ukraine was a Ukrainian attack on Russia. The only way Russia wins this war is when we spread its propaganda, as we are doing here.
Ron Filipkowski@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · last wk.Why is ABC doing false stories based on Russian propaganda?
Midwives are uniquely positioned among clinicians to meet this moment.... [They offer] not a lecture, but a clinician who genuinely trusts them and meets them where they are." www.statnews.com/2026/07/27/m... via @statnews.com
How midwives like me can help fight medical misinformation
“I have come to believe that changing a mind is rarely the point. Planting a seed is,” writes nurse-midwife Mara Evans.
statnews.com
"Absent the emergence of federal guidance, health systems should align AI adoption with professional values rather than viewing AI primarily as a vehicle for efficiency." By Zach Griffen @runzach.bsky.social Kellie Owens @kellieowens.bsky.social and Lauren Taylor. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
The AI Regulatory 2-Step and Implications for Responsibilities of Health Systems
This Viewpoint discusses regulatory concerns surrounding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in health care and outlines how health systems can responsibly adopt AI in a policy vacuum.
jamanetwork.com
This just in: www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
Taylor Farms lettuce sample produced false positive for cyclospora, FDA says
The false positive was discovered when the agency again reviewed the results of a sample from Taylor Farms de Mexico. It doesn’t change the company’s earlier voluntary recall.
nbcnews.com
paris martineau@paris.nyc · 3w agoNew: Late last night, Taylor Farms quietly posted an official recall notice We now know that the parasite-linked iceberg lettuce was shipped to Walmart & food distributors in 27 (!) states It was for some reason still being sent out up until Thursday July 16 www.consumerreports.org/health/food-...
As OMB is working through comments WE NEED YOU! Use our action center to CONTACT CONGRESS INCESSANTLY: Fight2win.standupforscience.net Call, Email, sign up to volunteer and we can contact you with virtual constituent meeting opportunities. 3/
Stand up for Science
Stand up for Science
fight2win.standupforscience.net
A parent "contemplated buying a life insurance policy and committing suicide in the hope that the payout would take care of their loved ones." www.statnews.com/2026/07/13/f... via @statnews.com
As states absorb Medicaid funding cuts, family caregivers face financial ruin
Family caregivers of people with disabilities face a grim financial future as several states consider steep cuts to their wages.
statnews.com
I built a tool to help people write their comments easily. bsky.app/profile/drru...
Ruth Ann Crystal@drruth.bsky.social · 4w agoPlease write your comment on proposed OMB federal funding changes. 👉We can't let science grants be decided by political appointees. 👉We can't let federal funding for Head Start for kids or Meals on Wheels for seniors be cut without being able to appeal. DEADLINE: JULY 13 🔗 ombcomment.netlify.app
Quiet little announcement on CDC website: American aid worker has tested positive for Bundibugyo Ebola. Wonder where they will take this person — presumably not Kenya. Germany again? Or will they actually bring them to the US? www.cdc.gov/media/releas...
CDC Statement on Ebola Outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda: 7/10/26
CDC Statement on Ebola Outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda: 7/10/26
cdc.gov
So obvious when stated plainly, yet US doesn't see it. "Being proactive in a situation like this, where you have critically endangered and endemic island species, makes sense, if you’ve done your homework,' says ecologist John Gittleman of the University of Georgia." www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
As bird flu threatens, New Zealand vaccinates endangered birds
Arrival of H5N1 virus on Australian mainland triggers ambitious vaccination program
science.org
"[E]ven skeptics of diversity, equity and inclusion programs who might welcome a policy shift should understand the real cost of such deals. They coerce institutions into agreeing that the country's chief executive can interpret and enforce laws unilaterally, undermining the rule of law itself."
USA TODAY Opinion@usatodayopinion.usatoday.com · 4w agoOpinion: A private agreement with Yale would allow an end run around the courts and Congress. And the consequences would ripple far beyond the Ivy League.
Yet another reason to ❤️ NY. NYS DOH Announces Historic $544K Penalty Against Former Suffolk County Nurse Practitioner for Fraudulent Vaccination Practices" www.health.ny.gov/press/releas...
ALBANY, N.Y. (July 9, 2026) - The New York State Department of Health today announced it has imposed a $544,000 civil penalty against former Suffolk County nurse practitioner Julie DeVuono, who was found to have falsified vaccination records for 162 school-aged children. This is the largest civil penalty imposed for vaccination fraud in the Department of Health's 125-year history, exceeding a then-unprecedented $300,000 civil penalty imposed in Fall 2023.
health.ny.gov
"His wife has said that he relied on an inhaler for asthma, but ICE agents rejected her attempt to give them the device when he was taken into custody."
NBC News@nbcnews.com · 4w agoAn Afghan national who fought alongside U.S. forces has died from an allergic reaction while in ICE custody, one day after he was detained for deportation proceedings, his death certificate shows. www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
"The new OMB rule threatens to go even further...[with] restrictions on...travel, data sharing, and technical assistance that threaten to stifle international cooperation in science and education." Public comments til 7/13 here: www.regulations.gov/document/OMB... www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
The USA at 250: science in the new gilded age
“A republic, if you can keep it.” As the USA commemorates 250 years since the signing of The Declaration of Independence, the “if” in Benjamin Franklin's quip resonates more than ever. The present US ...
thelancet.com
Mindblowing, at least to this humanities person, and bravo to this: The scientists "founded a public-benefit institution called Biotic that hopes to advance the capabilities of the synthetic cell by making it available to other researchers." www.cnn.com/2026/07/01/s...
Scientists say they have built a basic component of life from scratch | CNN
Scientists say they have built a cell from scratch for the first time that feeds, grows and replicates like a natural cell, a breakthrough in synthetic biology.
cnn.com
The "largest antiabortion group in Texas is...proposing to target a narrow slice of women, those with medical licenses, by threatening to revoke their licenses if they are caught taking abortion pills." www.nytimes.com/2026/06/24/u...
Support Builds on the Right for Prosecuting Women Who Get Abortions
nytimes.com
The new commission "will convene experts from risk science, security, the social and political sciences, mathematics and computer science, and health to rethink a systems approach to misinformation and disinformation threats to human health and security." www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
The Lancet Commission on rethinking misinformation, health, and human security
The UN and the World Economic Forum have identified misinformation and disinformation as top global risks—ranking them as higher short-term threats than extreme weather, state-based armed conflict, an...
thelancet.com
Posting explainer of similar situation in 2020, after @lizzylawrence.bsky.social broke story about mystery VIP's "compassionate use" of retatrutide. W/ @artcap.bsky.social & Alison Bateman-House. www.statnews.com/2020/10/08/c... via @statnews.com
What President Trump's 'compassionate use' of a Covid-19 drug means — and doesn't mean
Much has been made about the president's ability to get compassionate use of a drug while more than 210,000 Americans have died from Covid-19, many because of the inability to access treatment or even...
statnews.com
"“I don’t want to be fighting subpoenas for the next two years instead of improving America’s health,” Kennedy told the congressional candidate. “For me, you know, there’s an immediate pragmatic reason for this phone call.” www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
RFK Jr. urged Iowa candidate to make deal to help GOP win House seat, per audio recording
The health secretary urged Iowa Libertarian candidates to drop out of key races to help Republicans keep control of Congress, according to interviews and a recording obtained by The Post. The effort h...
washingtonpost.com
Great piece on case's impact. A "controversial decision at the time, it established important ethical duties for health care providers, while enabling countless third parties to reduce their risks of potential harm." By@msararosenthal.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2026/06/25/t... via @statnews.com
How a 1976 murder case changed doctor-patient confidentiality
The Tarasoff case remains a pivotal marker in bioethics at the bicentennial as we now reach the country’s 250th birthday.
statnews.com
Can submit public comments here: www.regulations.gov/document/OMB...
Regulations.gov
regulations.gov
Gregg Gonsalves@gregggonsalves.bsky.social · last mo.OK, people. It takes 2 minutes to write a letter to Congress, a few extra if you personalize it. Russ Vought's attempt to take over ALL federal grant funding is anti-democratic and dangerous. We need MORE letters. Let's tip it over 2000 today. actionnetwork.org/letters/oppo...
OK, people. It takes 2 minutes to write a letter to Congress, a few extra if you personalize it. Russ Vought's attempt to take over ALL federal grant funding is anti-democratic and dangerous. We need MORE letters. Let's tip it over 2000 today. actionnetwork.org/letters/oppo...
Oppose OMB Proposal to Put ALL Federal Government Funding Decisions in the Hands of Political Appointees
On May 29, 2026, the Office of Management and Budget issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), OMB-2026-0034, Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance. The scope of this proposed regulation is...
actionnetwork.org
Eli Lilly gave extraordinary obesity drug access to a 79-year-old patient. Who was it? Learn more on preapproval access from CUPA (NYU Compassionate Use and Preapproval Access Working Group): tinyurl.com/phwuw7cr www.statnews.com/2026/06/23/e... via @statnews.com
Eli Lilly gave extraordinary obesity drug access to a 79-year-old patient. Who was it?
Exclusive: STAT has learned that Eli Lilly and the FDA allowed a 79-year-old to gain extraordinary access to an experimental obesity drug through the agency’s “compassionate use” program.
statnews.com
“These drugs aren’t yet approved for obesity in patients this young. And without further studies, it isn’t certain that young children can safely use the medications for weight loss without compromising a critical period of growth for their bones and brain.” @lisakearns.bsky.social
When Diets Don’t Work: Parents Turn to Wegovy for Elementary School Kids
Doctors are looking for better options given the growing awareness of the serious health risks tied to childhood obesity.
wsj.com
