Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
Gene editing promised a revolution, but biotech layoffs, stock slumps, and industry struggles reveal a stark reality: CRISPR is hard to do profitably. (Mast, 2/6)
After more than three decades of planning and a $250 million investment, Lykos Therapeutics鈥 application for the first psychedelic drug to reach federal regulators was expected to be a shoo-in. Lykos, the corporate arm of a nonprofit dedicated to winning mainstream acceptance of psychedelics, had submitted data to the Food and Drug Administration showing that its groundbreaking treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder 鈥 MDMA plus talk therapy 鈥 was significantly more effective than existing treatments. (Jacobs and Nuwer, 2/4)
The nursery at RiverSpring Residences in the Bronx is a sunny, inviting space outfitted with a bassinet, a crib with a musical mobile, a few toys, bottles, picture books for bedtime reading and a rack of clothing in tiny sizes. The other morning, Wilma Rosa was there trying to soothe one of its cranky, small charges. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the matter, baby?鈥 she crooned, patting the complainer鈥檚 back. 鈥淵ou OK? I want you to go to sleep for a little while.鈥滿s. Rosa, 76, a memory care resident in assisted living, visits the nursery daily. She has had plenty of experience with babies. (Span, 2/1)
Doctors warn about their physical side effects, but they can also have unexpected effects on intimacy. (Miller, 2/2)
Is there a benefit for healthy people to track their blood sugar? Measuring blood sugar has joined sleep and exercise tracking as wellness trends, with some longevity experts claiming that reducing fluctuations throughout the day can help protect against heart disease, even for people who don鈥檛 have diabetes. Continuous glucose monitors, or CGMs, are small devices that track blood sugar in real time and can tell wearers how their bodies are reacting to stress, food, sleep or exercise. (Syal, Venkatesan and Tobia, 2/2)
An analysis of news reports by The Washington Post found that at least 477 people 鈥 90 percent of them students 鈥 were arrested in the two weeks after the Georgia massacre at Apalachee High. That鈥檚 nearly 100 more than in the aftermaths of the three previous mass school shootings combined. (Cox and Natanson, 2/3)
Over the last three months, The New York Times collected data on Helene鈥檚 deaths from county coroners and state officials, and interviewed family members. The findings revealed that rain, which led to flooding and landslides, was the most deadly part of the storm, followed by wind, which toppled trees. And they showed that most of the deaths happened in counties where the risk of hurricane fatalities had been considered low, according to data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. (Fortin, Nostrant, Taft and Underwood, 2/4)