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Good morning. With the multitude of daily tasks, are you finding it hard to feel excited about the moon mission? I am as well. Reading this and this yesterday helped me reconnect with that sense of wonder.
A new target for aneurysm drugs wins STAT Madness
An abdominal aortic aneurysm is a condition where part of the lower wall of the body’s main artery weakens, resulting in a bulging, enlarged section of the blood vessel. These aneurysms often go unnoticed until they rupture, which can be fatal. Currently, there are no medications available for treatment, but researchers at the University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center have identified a key factor in the condition that could lead to new therapies.
The study has been crowned the 2026 STAT Madness winner. The competition saw 64 teams compete in a month-long, bracket-style tournament celebrating biomedical research.
Read more from STAT contributor Brianna Abbott on the popular vote winner. Amanda Erickson from STAT, who edits this newsletter, has a report on the research our editors deemed the best discovery of 2025, which involves how the brain removes waste.
If you cap insulin at $35 a month, people with type 2 diabetes stick to treatment
Five years after implementing a $35 monthly cap on insulin for Medicare patients with type 2 diabetes, the results are overwhelmingly positive. A new study published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine analyzed data from 4.8 million patients before and after the cap was introduced. The study found a significant drop in out-of-pocket expenses and an increase in insulin usage, with blood sugar levels improving. However, there was a slight rise in severe hypoglycemia cases, where blood sugar falls too low.
The study’s authors noted that these results are clearer than those seen with some state programs, and they did not examine spending on other medications like GLP-1s.
The monthly spending cap was introduced due to insulin prices tripling between 2002 and 2013, as an editorial in JAMA Internal Medicine reminds us. Rachel Cohrs Zhang traced the credit battle between President Biden and then-former President Trump over making insulin more affordable, revealing it was actually a pharmaceutical company’s idea. Read her origin story from June 2024. — Elizabeth Cooney
More evidence abortion meds are safe OTC
While some Republicans in Congress are pushing to ban the abortion drug mifepristone and investigate its manufacturers, evidence continues to support the safety of over-the-counter availability for these medications. Since the pandemic, mifepristone and misoprostol have been accessible through virtual consultations. A recent study in JAMA Internal Medicine involved in-person visits to clinics where nearly 170 participants assessed their eligibility using a prototype over-the-counter package and drug facts label. Most (88%) correctly determined their eligibility, with more individuals erring on the side of caution by excluding themselves rather than incorrectly opting in. Larger studies are anticipated to meet FDA standards for over-the-counter status, as physician Sonya Borrero noted in an accompanying commentary, adding that the evaluation process may be influenced by the politicization of reproductive care.
How one quest to fight prejudice in biology classrooms ended
Brian Donovan, less than a decade into his science education career, made significant strides with a new approach to teaching high school genetics. His method went beyond the basics, focusing on the complexities of human genetic variation, and he rallied a coalition of educators, researchers, and geneticists around this concept. “What I really wanted was to take a sledgehammer to prejudice,” he told STAT’s Megan Molteni. “I was naive enough to think that we could teach genetics and actually make a real dent in this problem.”
Unfortunately, Donovan’s efforts came to an abrupt halt last April when the Trump administration canceled his National Science Foundation grants, deeming them as not aligning with administrative priorities. Now, Donovan is planning to apply for nursing school. Megan’s story delves into what science education will lose without Donovan’s contributions. Read more.
Half of U.S. adults are aerobically active enough
According to a new data analysis by the National Center for Health Statistics, 47.2% of American adults met federal guidelines for aerobic physical activity in 2024. This includes about 52% of men and 42% of women. The analysis suggests structural and societal inequalities, with people without disabilities, higher income, younger age, and who are white or Asian being more active than others.
These figures are significantly higher compared to 2020, a year marked by unique challenges to physical movement, when only a quarter of adults met both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity guidelines. To assess your own activity levels, the guidelines recommend at least 2.5 hours of moderate aerobic activity, or 1 hour and 15 minutes of vigorous activity per week.
How insurance works against addiction recovery
John Fomeche, an addiction medicine physician, emphasizes the importance of financial stability in addiction treatment. In a new First Opinion essay, he recalls a patient who was progressing well in recovery until her insurance premium tripled, threatening her continued support.
“This is the part of addiction medicine we rarely name out loud: Relapse is often engineered far upstream from individual choice,” Fomeche writes. Learn more about the real impacts of opaque changes such as premium hikes, formulary shifts, and prior authorization barriers.
What we’re reading
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Medical supplies are stuck in Dubai, as clinics around the world face shortages, NPR
- Health insurers score major win with higher 2027 Medicare Advantage rates, STAT
- These women had their breasts removed to thwart cancer. Then came the pain, KFF Health News
