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Good morning. I was captivated by this article exploring the life of tweens in America, reflecting on my own experiences as a former tween and journalist. A particularly amusing moment involved a tween asking her friend, the story’s main focus: “You’re still getting interviewed?”
What the FDA has lost
In the previous year, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed approximately 3,500 employees from the FDA. He now plans to recruit over 3,200 new staff, including reviewers and investigators. However, replacing the expertise and experience of those who left, many of whom served for decades, will be a significant challenge.
Lizzy Lawrence of STAT spoke with six of these former officials about their demanding roles and experiences at the FDA. Richard Pazdur, a seasoned oncology regulator, remarked, “I didn’t leave the FDA. The FDA left me.”
Lawrence’s report highlights the substantial loss of expertise at the agency. Besides Pazdur, she interviewed other former regulators, such as AI policy expert Tala Fakhouri, drug safety specialist Mary Ross Southworth, and Julie Tierney, who led the biologics and vaccines center.
1 in 10
This represents the proportion of LGBTQ+ youth who attempted suicide in the last year, as per the Trevor Project’s seventh annual survey, which surveyed over 16,000 LGBTQ+ individuals aged 13 to 24 in the U.S. These young people have historically faced elevated mental health risks. As the Trump administration continues to limit gender-affirming care, the survey indicates that transgender and nonbinary individuals without access to hormones are nearly twice as likely to attempt suicide as those who have access.
Following President Trump’s executive order on “gender ideology,” which sought to define biological sex as binary, gender identity data was largely removed from federal monitoring systems, including the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. This makes the Trevor Project one of the few organizations still collecting data on young transgender individuals.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. For TTY users: Use your preferred relay service or dial 711 then 988.
Remembering ‘the father of modern cardiology’
Larry Altman, a physician and former medical reporter, finds it hard to overstate the impact of Eugene Braunwald, a cardiologist who passed away last month at 96. Altman often referenced Braunwald’s edited medical literature and found him a valuable interviewee. In a First Opinion essay, Altman reflects on Braunwald’s transformation of modern medical practices, even amid a scandal affecting his lab.
Early in their conversations, Braunwald shared his two primary future goals with Altman: to develop genuine methods to prevent heart attacks and minimize heart damage during an attack, and to expand Harvard’s medical campus in Boston, where heart transplants were not yet performed in the early 1980s. More on Braunwald’s significant legacy can be found here.
Hospital shootings steadily increased since 2000
The frequency of hospital shootings has risen over the years, with nearly a third potentially preventable through weapons screening, according to an analysis of over 300 news articles published this week in JAMA Network Open. The most incidents occurred in large hospitals, urban areas, and the south.
The graph illustrates an increase from around 6 incidents annually in 2000 to 34 in 2024. Hospitals have struggled to address the growing violence threat, with researchers focusing on screening as a possible solution. A separate survey of hospital security leaders revealed that 48% used metal detectors at some entrances, though comprehensive use was less common.
Why hantavirus isn’t the next pandemic
Media coverage has been extensive regarding the hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship off Africa’s western coast, reminiscent of early Covid-19 pandemic fears. However, STAT’s Helen Branswell assures staff that this isn’t a repeat of the Diamond Princess incident.
Scientists and public health professionals are closely monitoring the situation to learn more about hantavirus transmission. Despite its scientific importance, the outbreak does not pose widespread risk. Helen Branswell of STAT provides further insights into expert perspectives on the situation.
What a discovery of ‘dark proteins’ could mean
Since the invention of ribosome profiling in 2009, scientists have used it to explore the cellular mechanisms of organisms such as bacteria, yeast, and mice. Many encountered novel mini-proteins linked to genome areas not previously known to produce proteins. These “dark proteins” were often dismissed as cellular noise. However, some researchers suspected more significance.
Systems biologist Sebastiaan van Heesch and his team have identified thousands of these mini-proteins and begun deciphering their functions. Some play crucial roles in cell division and DNA repair, while others are unique to cancer cells, displayed on their surfaces. Megan Molteni from STAT delves into the potential implications of this discovery.
What we’re reading
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Babies are bleeding to death as parents reject a vitamin shot given at birth, ProPublica
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In a milestone for ALS, a treatment helps some patients improve, New York Times
- Trump administration’s drug strategy is at odds with recent actions on funding, policy, STAT
- RFK Jr. clears path for minors’ use of tanning beds, much to the dismay of dermatologists, Los Angeles Times
- Why the FDA is authorizing fruit-flavored vapes, STAT
