As Ebola Outbreak Widens, Trump Has Yet to Outline a Plan
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ebola outbreak is on track to become the largest ever recorded, yet the Trump administration has offered no coherent plan for protecting Americans at risk. While the United States maintains 13 specialized treatment centers for repatriated patients, it cannot quarantine citizens abroad or block their return. The administration has already sent one infected physician to Germany and six potentially exposed Americans to Europe for monitoring. A proposed 50‑bed quarantine facility in Kenya has been delayed by a court ruling, leaving a gap in interim care.
Frank Hayden, Who Led Global Growth of the Special Olympics, Dies at 96
Frank J. Hayden, a Canadian physical‑education professor whose 1964 research demonstrated that children with intellectual disabilities benefit from athletics, died at 96. His findings convinced Eunice Kennedy Shriver to enlist him in planning the inaugural Special Olympics in 1965, setting the...
Genetic Scores Are Booming. But Will Anti-Discrimination Laws Cover Your DNA?
Polygenic risk scoring, a fast‑growing branch of personalized medicine, uses thousands of DNA variants to estimate an individual’s chance of developing diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, or cancer. While the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) prevents employers from firing...
Ebola Crisis Sparks Debate Over Global Health Double Standards
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighboring Kenya has sparked a heated debate over the speed and leadership of the global response. The World Health Organization faced criticism from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and...
Supreme Court Continues Access to Abortion Pill by Mail, for a Few Days
The U.S. Supreme Court, through Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., extended a temporary stay that keeps the abortion pill mifepristone available by mail nationwide until 5 p.m. on May 14. The pause follows an emergency petition by the drug’s manufacturers to block...
RFK Jr. Is Driving a Vast Inquiry Into Vaccines, Despite His Public Silence
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., despite public silence, has tasked the FDA, CDC and private data contractors with a comprehensive study of whether vaccines contribute to chronic illnesses such as asthma, allergies and autoimmune disorders. The inquiry, led by biostatistician Martin Kulldorff, the...
A Long, Strange Trip: How the G.O.P. Came to Embrace Psychedelic Drugs
President Donald Trump dramatically reversed a long‑standing Republican opposition to psychedelics by ordering federal agencies to accelerate research into substances such as LSD, peyote, MDMA and ibogaine. The shift was highlighted in an April 18 Oval Office ceremony where Trump...
N.I.H. Reinstates Employee Put on Leave After Criticizing Trump Research Cuts
NIH program director Jenna Norton, a key organizer of the June 2025 Bethesda Declaration that condemned Trump-era cuts to medical research, was reinstated this week after a whistle‑blower complaint alleging retaliation. Norton had been placed on paid leave in November when...
U.S. Government Will Stop Paying for Test Strips to Detect Deadly Drugs
The Trump administration announced that SAMHSA will stop paying for fentanyl test strips, reversing a policy that began in 2021. The agency says the strips encourage drug use, prompting a letter to states and grant recipients. The change unsettles programs...
Thanks to GLP-1s, Obesity Experts Are Trying to Understand ‘Food Noise’
New GLP-1 obesity drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound have been found to silence the internal “food noise” that drives constant thoughts about eating. Patients describe a dramatic reduction in cravings and mental chatter about food after starting...
Cellular Rejuvenation Has the Potential to Reverse Aging
Researchers have identified a natural cellular rejuvenation process that resets embryonic cells to a youthful state within two weeks, effectively erasing parental age markers. Over the past two decades, labs have revived skin cells from 90‑year‑olds and rejuvenated diseased mice,...
The Rich and Powerful Want to Live Forever
Powerful leaders and tech magnates are increasingly investing in life‑extension technologies, from organ‑replacement to cellular rejuvenation. Recent viral footage allegedly captured Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussing personal desires for immortality, underscoring how longevity has become...
The Help That Many Older Americans Need Most
The New York Times highlights how community health workers (CHWs) are stepping in as the U.S. faces a shortage of medical professionals and a rapidly aging population. In rural Oregon, CHW Sandy Guzman assists isolated seniors with transportation, housing navigation,...
New PEPFAR Data Show Worrying Declines in Testing and Treatment for H.I.V.
New data from the State Department reveal that the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) treated roughly the same number of patients in Q4 2025 as in Q4 2024, but experienced sharp declines in HIV testing and new diagnoses. Testing dropped...
RFK Jr. Shifts Tone on Vaccines in Congressional Hearing
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shifted his stance, stating the measles vaccine is safe and effective for most people and safer than contracting measles. He acknowledged the vaccine may have saved two Texas children who died earlier this year....