Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
First Neuralink Patient Appears Online, Mind-Controlling His Computer
Elon Musk鈥檚 Neuralink introduced the first patient to receive its brain-computer implant, a 29-year-old diving-accident victim who showed during a livestream that he can now move a computer cursor using the device. ... Moving a computer cursor isn鈥檛 a big technical leap for brain-computer interfaces. An older brain chip first implanted in a human in 2004 also helped a paralyzed person move a cursor with only their thoughts. But the older chip must be attached to a device on the outside of the brain to transmit data, requiring wires protruding through the skin. Another notable feature of Neuralink鈥檚 presentation was that Noland Arbaugh was multitasking: playing chess while speaking about his experience getting the implant. Prior demonstrations of brain-computer interfaces have required dedicated attention to a particular task. (Winkler and Corse, 3/20)
In other biotech and pharmaceutical news 鈥
Scientists have long known that pulse oximeters are less accurate when used for people with dark skin tones 鈥 and now, a new report offers some insight into just how much more inaccurate these fingertip clamps can be. (Howard, 3/20)
Scientists in a prominent cancer lab at Columbia University have now had four studies retracted and a stern note added to a fifth accusing it of 鈥渟evere abuse of the scientific publishing system,鈥 the latest fallout from research misconduct allegations recently leveled against several leading cancer scientists. A scientific sleuth in Britain last year uncovered discrepancies in data published by the Columbia lab, including the reuse of photos and other images across different papers. (Mueller, 3/20)
The military found more than 1 in 4 essential medicines are at "very high risk" because of their reliance on Chinese ingredients or their unknown origins. (Millman, 3/20)
Johnson & Johnson has accused a long-standing employee of taking thousands of confidential files about commercial strategies as he left for a similar job at Pfizer, according to lawsuit filed in a federal court in New Jersey. (Silverman, 3/20)