Taylor Swift Talks Medtech
MD+DI (Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry) Senior Editor Point of View (POV) geeks out over the pop star’s MedTech comments during Swift’s recent appearance on the New Heights podcast
Trump Finds New Way to Tariff Medical Devices via Section 232: The Trump Administration has launched a Section 232 investigation into imported medical devices, targeting cardiovascular, diabetes, and imaging equipment for national security concerns.
Trump Finds New Way to Tariff Medtech: The Trump Administration has launched a Section 232 investigation into imported medical devices, targeting cardiovascular, diabetes, and imaging equipment for national security concerns.
Apple snails regrow their eyes – and may help humans do the same: Human eyes are masterpieces of biological engineering; however, once damaged, they cannot rebuild themselves. Golden apple snails, by contrast, routinely replace an entire camera-type eye within a month.
Apple snail’s eye regeneration could aid human therapy: A study in Nature Communications has found that golden apple snails have the ability to regrow their eyes, in a process that shares anatomical and genetic similarities with humans. Researchers using CRISPR-Cas9 to study gene function during regeneration found that genes such as pax6 are crucial for eye development. The research could lead to therapies for vision loss in humans by activating dormant regenerative genes.
This Physician-Scientist Is Taking on Trump on Behalf of Disadvantaged Communities
Researcher challenges grant cuts: Pulmonologist Neeta Thakur, a Researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, is leading a legal challenge against the federal government’s suspension of grants for research deemed to have a diversity, equity, and inclusion component. Thakur’s research on wildfire smoke and its impacts on underserved communities was disrupted by the funding cuts; however, she won a preliminary injunction and the grants were temporarily reinstated.
Trump’s autism initiative embraces little-tested vitamin as a treatment: FDA to approve leucovorin despite questions about whom it might help
Trump’s autism initiative touts a little-tested vitamin as treatment: As part of a highly anticipated announcement in which U.S. President Donald Trump outlined his administration’s approach to what he called the “crisis of autism,” federal officials said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would approve a drug called leucovorin, a form of folate, as “the first FDA-recognized treatment pathway for autism” — an unusual move for a pill only tested in a few small studies.
Immune-dodging cells could give diabetes treatment a shot in the arm: In first human test, genetically modified pancreas cells injected into patient’s arm evade immune attack, produce insulin
First patient gets CRISPR-edited insulin cells in diabetes trial: A Swedish man with type 1 diabetes became the first person to receive CRISPR-edited pancreatic cells that produce insulin while avoiding immune rejection, allowing the cells to survive for at least three (3) months without the need for immunosuppressive drugs, according to a study in The New England Journal of Medicine. Developed by Sana Biotechnology, these cells had key immune-stimulating proteins removed and were enhanced with a protective protein, CD47, using CRISPR technology.
Peacock feathers can be lasers: Tail feathers can emit narrow beams of light, a first in the animal kingdom
Peacock feathers can emit laser beams, study finds: Microscopic structures in the eyespots of peacock feathers can act as natural laser cavities, emitting faint beams of yellow-green light when energized with dye and external illumination, according to a study in Scientific Reports. Although peacocks are unlikely to use these laser emissions themselves, the discovery highlights how animal biology can inform the development of new biophotonic tools for imaging, diagnostics and other medical applications.
Healthy babies born in Britain after scientists used DNA from three people to avoid genetic disease
Babies free of mitochondrial disease born via DNA from three people: Eight healthy babies have been born in Britain using a technique that incorporates DNA from three people to prevent mitochondrial diseases. The technique involves transferring genetic material from the mother’s egg into a donor egg with healthy mitochondria, and it is permitted in the UK and Australia but not the United States.
Panel urges FDA to remove boxed warning on women’s hormone therapy
FDA advisers suggest removing boxed warning from certain estrogen products: An advisory panel has recommended that the FDA remove boxed warnings from labels of vaginal estrogen products, citing a lack of data to support the warnings and noting that they discourage use. The warnings, which highlight risks for breast cancer, blood clots, and stroke, were introduced following a 2002 study of estrogen’s effects on women in menopause.
Ageing is linked to inflammation; however, only in the industrialized world: Inflammation, thought to be a driver of age-related disease, does not worsen with age in some Indigenous communities.
Inflammation and aging may not be universally linked: A study in Nature Aging that included nearly 3,000 adults across Italy, Singapore, Bolivia and Malaysia found that chronic inflammation increases with age and is tied to illness only in industrialized populations. Among Indigenous groups, inflammation remained stable with age and showed no link to common age-related diseases, challenging long-held assumptions about aging.