Category: In the Lab
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STAT+: Prime Medicine to seek approval for gene-editing treatment after two-patient trial
STAT+: Prime Medicine to seek approval for gene-editing treatment after two-patient trial Prime Medicine said Tuesday it will ask the Food and Drug Administration to approve a gene-editing treatment that has been given to only two patients. The application will test an agency that has promised to speed new gene-editing treatments to patients but has…
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Henrietta Lacks’ estate settles with Novartis over the ‘stolen cells’ that advanced science
Henrietta Lacks’ estate settles with Novartis over the ‘stolen cells’ that advanced science Novartis has settled a lawsuit by the estate of Henrietta Lacks that alleged the pharmaceutical giant unjustly profited off her cells, which were taken from her tumor without her knowledge in 1951 and reproduced in labs to enable major medical advancements, including…
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STAT+: Nature Medicine to investigate study that found cancer treatment is better in morning
STAT+: Nature Medicine to investigate study that found cancer treatment is better in morning The notion that oncologists could boost immunotherapy responses simply by giving infusions in the morning, rather than late afternoon, is an attractive one. So when a clinical trial published in Nature Medicine this month showed that lung cancer patients treated in…
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STAT+: NIH Director Bhattacharya to lead CDC after O’Neill’s exit
STAT+: NIH Director Bhattacharya to lead CDC after O’Neill’s exit WASHINGTON — National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya will take on leadership of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on an acting basis, an administration official not authorized to speak publicly confirmed to STAT. Bhattacharya is taking the role after the previous acting…
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Students, faculty mystified as NSF turns back applications for prestigious fellowship program
Students, faculty mystified as NSF turns back applications for prestigious fellowship program When Kulindu Vithanachchi’s phone lit up with an update from the National Science Foundation about his application for a high-profile early-career fellowship, he couldn’t wait to open the message, hopeful for big news. But not this news. Vithanachchi, a University of Arizona undergraduate…
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STAT+: ‘Moonshot’ agency ARPA-H lays off staff meant to commercialize breakthroughs
STAT+: ‘Moonshot’ agency ARPA-H lays off staff meant to commercialize breakthroughs ARPA-H, the “moonshot” biomedical agency established under the Biden administration, laid off staff last week, according to two people familiar with the matter. The cuts largely hit staff responsible for operations and for commercializing the technologies the agency supports, the people said, leaving scientific…
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STAT+: Federal judge dismisses lawsuit against academic publishers over unpaid peer review
STAT+: Federal judge dismisses lawsuit against academic publishers over unpaid peer review A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by researchers alleging that major publishers of academic research conspired to create a set of illegal and anticompetitive business practices that exploit the scientific workforce. Scientists claimed that publishers had violated the Sherman Act, a…
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STAT+: DeepMind releases AlphaGenome source code, aiming to improve its AI predictions of gene regulation
STAT+: DeepMind releases AlphaGenome source code, aiming to improve its AI predictions of gene regulation When the world’s scientists finally pieced together a first draft of the human genome in 2003, one of the biggest surprises was just how little of it — only about 20,000 genes — are involved in the business of producing…
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STAT+: Unfilled vacancies have depleted NIH advisory councils, key players in grant approvals
STAT+: Unfilled vacancies have depleted NIH advisory councils, key players in grant approvals Since President Trump took office last January, only one new member has been added to the NIH advisory councils, key panels that make final recommendations on what research to fund at universities and medical centers, depleting their ranks as current members’ terms…
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Trump administration cuts up to $1.9 billion from mental health and addiction treatment programs
Trump administration cuts up to $1.9 billion from mental health and addiction treatment programs The federal agency that oversees mental health and addiction treatment on Tuesday made major cuts to programs across the behavioral health field, according to eight sources with knowledge of the decisions. While the exact funding cuts enacted by the Substance Abuse…
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STAT+: Key scientist from Baby KJ team launches startup to scale personalized CRISPR medicines
STAT+: Key scientist from Baby KJ team launches startup to scale personalized CRISPR medicines In between bites of thin, crispy slices of pizza at Berkeley’s Pizzeria da Laura, gene editing researcher Fyodor Urnov and venture capitalist Johnny Hu began hatching a plan for a different kind of CRISPR company. It was spring 2024 and Urnov,…
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Genetic variant appears to protect some people against certain blood cancers
Genetic variant appears to protect some people against certain blood cancers Over time, hematopoietic or blood stem cells can quietly acquire mutations that push them to divide just a little more aggressively, creating a larger group of clones in the bone marrow. In a fraction of people with this phenomenon, called clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate…
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Trump’s marijuana reclassification could boost research, broaden access
Trump’s marijuana reclassification could boost research, broaden access President Trump on Thursday signed an executive order directing the federal government to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule III substance, marking a major milestone in American drug policy and choosing sides in the debate between advocates for more research and drug policy hawks. Under the new classification,…
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STAT+: NIH funding rates for early-career researchers plunged in 2025, new data show
STAT+: NIH funding rates for early-career researchers plunged in 2025, new data show A Trump administration change to how the National Institutes of Health awards grants has reduced early-stage investigators’ odds of securing funding, new data from the agency show. During the 2025 fiscal year, 18.5% of early-stage researchers who applied for grants equivalent to…
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Dana-Farber to pay $15 million to settle Justice Department lawsuit over manipulated data
Dana-Farber to pay $15 million to settle Justice Department lawsuit over manipulated data Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, one of the nation’s premier cancer research and treatment centers, is paying $15 million to settle a lawsuit claiming that some of its top researchers authored papers containing manipulated data. In its settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice,…
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STAT+: NIH specifies how grant reviewers should ensure alignment with Trump priorities
STAT+: NIH specifies how grant reviewers should ensure alignment with Trump priorities Signaling a move toward the next phase of change, leaders at the National Institutes of Health have sent new guidance to its staff on how to further move its $39 billion portfolio in alignment with the Trump administration’s priorities. The seven-page guidance, sent…
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Myocarditis is a rare but real Covid vaccine side effect. A new study sheds light on what might cause it
Myocarditis is a rare but real Covid vaccine side effect. A new study sheds light on what might cause it While extensive studies have found Covid-19 vaccines to be safe, effective, and to have saved millions of lives during the pandemic, these shots come with a rare but real risk of inflamed heart muscle, or…
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STAT+: At ASH, Terns looks like rival to Novartis with drug for chronic myeloid leukemia
STAT+: At ASH, Terns looks like rival to Novartis with drug for chronic myeloid leukemia This is the online version of ASH in 30 Seconds, STAT’s report from the American Society of Hematology meeting. Sign up for the email version here. It rains in Florida. A lot. This ASH meeting started sunny and wonderful, but quickly…
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NIH funding cuts have affected over 74,000 people enrolled in experiments, a new report says
NIH funding cuts have affected over 74,000 people enrolled in experiments, a new report says NEW YORK — Over 74,000 people enrolled in experiments have been affected by the National Institutes of Health’s funding cuts, according to a new report. Between the end of February and mid-August, funding ceased for 383 studies that were testing treatments for conditions…
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STAT+: FDA chiefs offer roadmap to expand custom gene-editing treatments like Baby KJ’s
STAT+: FDA chiefs offer roadmap to expand custom gene-editing treatments like Baby KJ’s Top Food and Drug Administration officials on Wednesday detailed a roadmap for approving the world’s first personalized gene-editing treatments. The perspective, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, comes six months after researchers announced they had crafted a custom gene-editing treatment…
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STAT+: Does coffee mix with AFib, and other new data from heart meeting
STAT+: Does coffee mix with AFib, and other new data from heart meeting This is the online version of AHA in 30 Seconds, the latest from the American Heart Association’s scientific sessions. Hello from New Orleans. Coming from Boston, running on the River Walk this morning felt balmy, not as shockingly hot and humid…
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New AHA leader sees AI as way to address cardiology’s blind spot: women
New AHA leader sees AI as way to address cardiology’s blind spot: women NEW ORLEANS — Stacey Rosen is a cardiologist who has been coming to American Heart Association meetings for 30 years. Executive director of Northwell’s Katz Institute for Women’s Health, she is also senior vice president of Women’s Health at Northwell, a professor…
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James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers When biologist James Watson died on Thursday at age 97, it brought down the curtain on 20th-century biology the way the deaths of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson on the same day in 1826 (July 4, since the universe apparently…
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Autoimmune responses found in ALS, pointing to a new way to view the deadly disease
Autoimmune responses found in ALS, pointing to a new way to view the deadly disease Researchers have found that patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis have autoimmune responses, a finding with the potential to reshape how scientists think of the devastating and complex neurologic disorder. A team led by scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology…
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STAT+: Anthony Letai of Dana-Farber is front-runner to lead National Cancer Institute
STAT+: Anthony Letai of Dana-Farber is front-runner to lead National Cancer Institute Anthony Letai, a cancer researcher and oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard University, has emerged as a leading candidate to be the next director of the National Cancer Institute, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the situation. The NCI…
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What the evidence tells us about Tylenol, leucovorin, and autism
What the evidence tells us about Tylenol, leucovorin, and autism Could Tylenol, one of the most ubiquitous medicines in the U.S., be linked to some cases of autism spectrum disorder when taken during pregnancy? And could leucovorin, a form of folic acid, improve the verbal ability of some people with autism spectrum disorder? Those are…
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Winner of mRNA Nobel Prize says ACIP member’s claim that Covid vaccines persist is “absolutely impossible”
Winner of mRNA Nobel Prize says ACIP member’s claim that Covid vaccines persist is “absolutely impossible” On Thursday and Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held a meeting of its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a key panel that gives the CDC’s director guidance about what vaccines to recommend to the public. The…
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STAT+: HHS to have Rensselaer investigate question of autism-vaccine link
STAT+: HHS to have Rensselaer investigate question of autism-vaccine link WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Thursday its intent to fund among the first Trump administration-solicited research on a debunked link between vaccines and autism. The contract — which supports research to “investigate the association between vaccination and autism prevalence”…
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STAT+: Scientists who revolutionized cystic fibrosis treatment win prestigious Lasker Award
STAT+: Scientists who revolutionized cystic fibrosis treatment win prestigious Lasker Award Three scientists who revolutionized the treatment of cystic fibrosis and prolonged the lifespan of patients with the deadly disease have won the Lasker Award, one of the most prestigious awards in medicine. Vertex Pharmaceuticals researcher Paul Negulescu, former Vertex researcher Jesús (Tito) González, and…
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Robotic device could make intubation faster and easier for first responders, small study suggests
Robotic device could make intubation faster and easier for first responders, small study suggests It’s a long-standing challenge for first responders: Opening the airways of critically injured patients struggling to breathe often takes multiple attempts, costing crucial seconds. The problem caught David Haggerty’s attention when he was a graduate student, and he set out to…
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STAT+: House appropriators snub Kennedy, include mRNA vaccine funding in spending bill
STAT+: House appropriators snub Kennedy, include mRNA vaccine funding in spending bill WASHINGTON — House appropriators have snubbed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. by including an amendment in their 2026 spending bill that specifically funds continued messenger RNA vaccine research, despite his effort to roll it back. In August, Kennedy announced…
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STAT+: Trump administration restored funding for major diabetes study. The pause still set researchers back
STAT+: Trump administration restored funding for major diabetes study. The pause still set researchers back The Trump administration’s restoration of federal research funding to Columbia University has revived a landmark diabetes study that has tracked patients for nearly 30 years and vastly expanded understanding of the disease, its treatment, and its prevention. The study, which has been…
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HHS terminates NIH program aimed at diversifying biomedical workforce
HHS terminates NIH program aimed at diversifying biomedical workforce The Department of Health and Human Services is terminating a National Institutes of Health grant program that supports students from marginalized backgrounds in the biomedical sciences. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the elimination of the program — the Minority Biomedical Research Support Program —…
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STAT+: Trump administration launches investigation into Harvard’s federally funded research patents
STAT+: Trump administration launches investigation into Harvard’s federally funded research patents The U.S. Department of Commerce is opening an investigation into Harvard’s federally funded research programs amid allegations that it failed to follow the law, according to a senior administration official. In a letter sent to Harvard President Alan Garber on Friday, Commerce Secretary Howard…
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Lithium, a treatment for bipolar disorders, might be a key to Alzheimer’s disease
Lithium, a treatment for bipolar disorders, might be a key to Alzheimer’s disease A new study finds that the element lithium plays a crucial role in healthy brain function and suggests it could be used to treat Alzheimer’s disease. In a Nature study published on Wednesday, researchers found that the brain produces lithium, and that…
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STAT+: Using mRNA, scientists overcome a key challenge to HIV vaccines
STAT+: Using mRNA, scientists overcome a key challenge to HIV vaccines The decades-long push to develop an HIV vaccine has been riddled with setbacks. But researchers reported on Wednesday that they have managed to circumvent one of the longstanding challenges to developing protective shots against this complex and crafty virus. Scientists used a messenger RNA-based…
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New study advances theory on why most U.S. bird flu cases have so far been mild
New study advances theory on why most U.S. bird flu cases have so far been mild The H5N1 bird flu virus has historically extracted a heavy toll when it infects humans, with nearly half of confirmed cases ending in death over the past three decades. But of the 70 cases reported in the United States…
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Researchers sequence complex parts of human genome, expanding the future of precision medicine
Researchers sequence complex parts of human genome, expanding the future of precision medicine Complex regions of the human genome remained uncharted, even after researchers sequenced the genome in its entirety. That is, until today. Researchers decoded DNA segments involved in the development of diseases like diabetes and spinal muscular atrophy that had previously been considered…
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STAT+: Basic science publications have been falling for a decade. NIH budget cut would likely accelerate the decline
STAT+: Basic science publications have been falling for a decade. NIH budget cut would likely accelerate the decline The number of basic science papers published by recipients of National Institutes of Health grants has been falling since 2013, the year the agency’s budget was cut by 5%, according to a new analysis. President Trump’s budget…
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STAT+: Undruggable ‘disordered’ proteins become druggable with new AI techniques from David Baker
STAT+: Undruggable ‘disordered’ proteins become druggable with new AI techniques from David Baker For decades, structural biologists shoved what looked like shoddy data in the back of their closets, embarrassed. While attempting to gather the structures of proteins, they would sometimes find that all or at least a portion of the protein would just not…
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STAT+: Scientists show that mRNA therapy can be delivered as a capsule
STAT+: Scientists show that mRNA therapy can be delivered as a capsule An oral capsule can efficiently deliver liquid mRNA therapy directly to the gut, a possible new delivery mechanism for mRNA vaccines, a new study finds. In the study published in Science Translational Medicine on Wednesday, researchers said they successfully used RNACap, a capsule…
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STAT+: Bionic knee developed by MIT researchers gives amputees a new world of motion
STAT+: Bionic knee developed by MIT researchers gives amputees a new world of motion Thomas Gee, a former gymnast, used to do handstands, perform wheelies on his skateboard, and run around with his three young children. But in 2001, a marble-sized bump on his left leg swelled to the size of a football. Gee was…
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STAT+: Claims of Microsoft’s ‘super-intelligent’ AI diagnosis agent miss the mark, say experts
STAT+: Claims of Microsoft’s ‘super-intelligent’ AI diagnosis agent miss the mark, say experts Over the past few years, many researchers have tried to test large language models’ medical capabilities using questions from the U.S. medical licensure exam, or by feeding them clinical vignettes containing a set amount of information about a given case. Other researchers…
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STAT+: Fed-up and demoralized, FDA staff are leaving.
STAT+: Fed-up and demoralized, FDA staff are leaving. You’re reading the web edition of D.C. Diagnosis, STAT’s twice-weekly newsletter about the politics and policy of health and medicine. Sign up here to receive it in your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Between innings of the July 4 Chesapeake Baysox game against the Richmond Flying Squirrels there was…
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STAT+: New study challenges understanding of how age, chronic diseases and inflammation are linked
STAT+: New study challenges understanding of how age, chronic diseases and inflammation are linked Reducing inflammation has become all the rage lately, with many medical experts pointing to anti-inflammatory diets and other lifestyle changes as ways people can reduce their risk of chronic disease as they age. But a new study suggests that inflammation’s effects…
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STAT+: Brain implant captures speech tone, pitch through analyzing activity
STAT+: Brain implant captures speech tone, pitch through analyzing activity Reliable communication for people with paralysis is nearing reality. Researchers have now demonstrated that a brain-computer interface can reliably translate thoughts into speech, including matching a person’s intended tone and pitch. It is the second study in as many months to validate the concept’s safety…
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Systematic reviews cited retracted articles, new study finds
Systematic reviews cited retracted articles, new study finds Systematic reviews, which involve pooling data from multiple studies and analyzing them together, are increasingly popular as a way to produce more authoritative conclusions than can be derived from the individual smaller papers. In recent weeks, systematic reviews have been used to justify policy around gender affirming…
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NIH walks back ban on new grants for universities with DEI programs or Israel boycotts
NIH walks back ban on new grants for universities with DEI programs or Israel boycotts The National Institutes of Health has, for now, walked back a policy requiring universities and other research institutes to certify that they do not have unlawful diversity, equity, and inclusion programs or boycotts of Israel in order to receive research…
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STAT+: FDA reassures rare disease advocates that ‘being flexible’ is plan for gene therapy
STAT+: FDA reassures rare disease advocates that ‘being flexible’ is plan for gene therapy What will the Trump administration mean for gene therapy? Researchers, advocates, and executives got a glimpse of the answer Thursday, as the Food and Drug Administration convened a “Cell and Gene Therapy Roundtable.” It was an unusual event. Multiple panelists told…
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STAT+: Taurine, a darling of longevity seekers, is found to be unreliable biomarker for aging
STAT+: Taurine, a darling of longevity seekers, is found to be unreliable biomarker for aging Vijay Yadav warned people not to start downing taurine — an amino acid abundant in plants, animals and some energy drinks — just because his mice and monkey study suggested it might be an elixir for long life. But that…
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STAT+: Young scientists say they may abandon research as their career options shrink amid Trump cuts
STAT+: Young scientists say they may abandon research as their career options shrink amid Trump cuts Becks Padrusch‘s fondest memories growing up were of trips to Boston’s Museum of Science, where the Arlington native got to touch animal organs and watch with fascination as chickens hatched in incubators. As a toddler, Padrusch, who uses they/them pronouns,…
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STAT+: What Baby KJ means for the CRISPR gene editing industry
STAT+: What Baby KJ means for the CRISPR gene editing industry For the ailing gene editing industry, hope came earlier this month in the tiny, smiling, fuzzy-headed form of KJ Muldoon. At just 6 months old, KJ received a gene editing treatment custom-built to correct his unique mutation. He’s not cured, researchers explained at the…
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STAT+: Harvard is the most celebrated university in the world. Will Trump’s international student ban derail that standing?
STAT+: Harvard is the most celebrated university in the world. Will Trump’s international student ban derail that standing? Harvard University has long stood on top of the academic world. Thousands from all over seek a coveted spot every year at the Ivy League school with a reputation for cultivating future leaders, from Nobel Prize recipients to…
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STAT+: Reeling from Trump contract cuts, the National Academies prepares for ‘a fairly radical downsizing’
STAT+: Reeling from Trump contract cuts, the National Academies prepares for ‘a fairly radical downsizing’ The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is headed for a major reorganization as it tries to reduce its overhead amid big losses in funding from the federal government. Facing a shortfall of roughly $40 million in terminated contracts,…
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Private funder HHMI pauses postdoc fellowship
Private funder HHMI pauses postdoc fellowship Molecular biologist Chiara Masnovo spent weeks filling out an application for a research fellowship earlier this year — taking it over the finish line as she was 38 weeks pregnant and starting a new job. The chance of getting this fellowship was well worth the toil. The Hanna Gray fellowship,…
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Trump’s science adviser calls for return to ‘gold-standard’ research to kickstart stalled advances
Trump’s science adviser calls for return to ‘gold-standard’ research to kickstart stalled advances President Trump’s science adviser, Michael Kratsios, called for a return to reproducible and transparent research to kickstart what he characterized as years of stalled scientific progress, in his first detailed public remarks on science policy since taking office in March. Kratsios, who…
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STAT+: Trump is moving to terminate hundreds of federal grants across Harvard
STAT+: Trump is moving to terminate hundreds of federal grants across Harvard In yet another escalation of its fight against higher education, the Trump administration has moved to terminate hundreds of research grants at Harvard University and its medical school, imperiling dozens of research projects and potentially upending the futures of young scientists. Harvard researchers studying cancer,…
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STAT+: At gene therapy meeting, no one wants to talk about the Vinay Prasad (not) in the room
STAT+: At gene therapy meeting, no one wants to talk about the Vinay Prasad (not) in the room NEW ORLEANS — Last year, hundreds of people poured in to see Peter Marks, the Food and Drug Administration’s head of biologics, speak at the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy conference. The regulator was seen by…
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STAT+: Day 2 of ASGCT: Good news for Baby KJ and the dream of personalized gene editing
STAT+: Day 2 of ASGCT: Good news for Baby KJ and the dream of personalized gene editing NEW ORLEANS — Greetings from ASGCT, where the gene therapy field had some great news for once, about a highly photogenic infant. Baby KJ gets a custom CRISPR edit to his genome Kiran Musunuru, a researcher at the University of…
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Prenatal genetic therapy for SMA shows promise in a mouse study
Prenatal genetic therapy for SMA shows promise in a mouse study Researchers have taken preliminary steps toward treating a devastating neurodevelopmental disorder, spinal muscular atrophy, with a genetic therapy delivered in the womb, before the worst damage to motor neurons can occur. The scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, and Johns Hopkins University…
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STAT+: Day 1 at ASGCT: Missing scientists, a gene editing failure, and a gene editing first
STAT+: Day 1 at ASGCT: Missing scientists, a gene editing failure, and a gene editing first NEW ORLEANS — The mood at the annual meeting of the American Society of Cell and Gene Therapy isn’t amazing. The biotech market has been bad for years. The FDA and NIH are shrouded in uncertainty. But many researchers…
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STAT+: Scientific societies call for a moratorium on using CRISPR to create genetically modified children
STAT+: Scientific societies call for a moratorium on using CRISPR to create genetically modified children Leading trade organizations representing the makers of cell and gene therapies are calling for a 10-year international moratorium on the use of CRISPR and other DNA-editing tools to create genetically modified children, according to a draft of the declaration provided…
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Francis Collins blasts Trump administration’s ‘slash-and-burn’ actions at science agencies
Francis Collins blasts Trump administration’s ‘slash-and-burn’ actions at science agencies Francis Collins, the former director of the National Institutes of Health, excoriated the Trump administration’s efforts to upend federal scientific agencies on Wednesday, saying the logic behind the moves “escapes any possible explanation.” Speaking on a panel about trust in science and scientific institutions, Collins…
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STAT+: Vinay Prasad tapped to run FDA center that regulates vaccines, gene therapies
STAT+: Vinay Prasad tapped to run FDA center that regulates vaccines, gene therapies WASHINGTON — Vinay Prasad, an academic and fierce critic of the medical mainstream, will be the next director of the Food and Drug Administration center that oversees the regulation of vaccines, gene therapies, and the blood supply. Prasad, previously an epidemiology professor at…
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STAT+: Charles Lieber, ex-Harvard chemist convicted of lying about ties to China, joins faculty of Chinese university
STAT+: Charles Lieber, ex-Harvard chemist convicted of lying about ties to China, joins faculty of Chinese university Charles Lieber, the former chair of Harvard’s chemistry department and renowned nanoscientist who was convicted of lying to federal agents about his ties to China, was recently announced as a new professor at a Chinese university. Lieber joined the…
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STAT+: AACR Recap: Excitement about cancer prevention, new immunotherapies and advocacy
STAT+: AACR Recap: Excitement about cancer prevention, new immunotherapies and advocacy CHICAGO — With thousands of abstracts presented at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting, it’s hard to keep up with all the latest advances and data. Like every meeting, this year’s conference was full of presentations and posters detailing new innovations in…
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STAT+: At AACR, leading cancer researchers urge colleagues to ‘fight for your science’
STAT+: At AACR, leading cancer researchers urge colleagues to ‘fight for your science’ CHICAGO — In the first few weeks of President Trump’s second term, many leaders and top scientists in cancer research found themselves questioning if they could have communicated better to the public. After all, experts told STAT, maybe if people understood how…
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STAT+: Trump proposes billions in cuts to federal health agencies from NIH to CDC
STAT+: Trump proposes billions in cuts to federal health agencies from NIH to CDC WASHINGTON — President Trump on Friday proposed massive cuts to the federal government’s health agencies in his 2026 budget request, arguing that Congress should reduce spending by tens of billions from current levels. The request would be a 26% cut to…
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STAT+: Collins and fellow GOP senators speak out in opposition to Trump’s cuts to biomedical research
STAT+: Collins and fellow GOP senators speak out in opposition to Trump’s cuts to biomedical research WASHINGTON — There was broad bipartisan support at a Senate hearing Wednesday to reverse course on the Trump administration’s cuts to federally funded biomedical research. Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), the Republican chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, kicked off…
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STAT+: Despite Kennedy’s stated support, funding for Women’s Health Initiative remains in limbo
STAT+: Despite Kennedy’s stated support, funding for Women’s Health Initiative remains in limbo The word came down at 9 a.m. Pacific on April 14 that they were done. Marcia Stefanick of Stanford and three other leaders of regional centers that for decades have researched women’s health heard from their study’s national leaders that their funding…
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U.S. government researchers present ‘phenomenal’ new data on HPV vaccines
U.S. government researchers present ‘phenomenal’ new data on HPV vaccines CHICAGO — A clinical trial run by the National Cancer Institute seems to confirm that a single dose of the vaccine used to prevent infection with the human papilloma virus is just as effective as two — and, therefore, also helps to prevent cancer. The result…
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STAT+: Taking science’s temperature at the annual AACR meeting
STAT+: Taking science’s temperature at the annual AACR meeting You’re reading the web edition of AACR in 30 Seconds, STAT’s guide to the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting. Sign up for email here. Welcome to STAT’s annual newsletter covering the meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. We’re glad you’re here. AACR…
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Rural health study is told it’s losing federal funds, and other major heart studies are worried
Rural health study is told it’s losing federal funds, and other major heart studies are worried Vasan Ramachandran is baffled. A cardiologist and veteran of the famed Framingham Heart Study, he is struggling to understand why a similar study he brought to life in 10 rural counties across four Southern states is facing elimination. The…
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Day by day, how Trump is roiling science and health
Day by day, how Trump is roiling science and health It’s hard to remember all the earthshaking decisions and events that have transpired with unprecedented speed in the first few months of the Trump administration. We’re tracking, day by day, what’s happened in the worlds of science and health. Key Legal action Covid DEI and…
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STAT+: NIH chief voices support for Nora Volkow, head of drug addiction research institute
STAT+: NIH chief voices support for Nora Volkow, head of drug addiction research institute The director of the National Institutes of Health gave a ringing endorsement to the nation’s top addiction researcher, Nora Volkow, this week in his first public remarks on the drug overdose crisis — a potential signal that her position as leader…
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Studies zoom in on clues to why Lyme disease persists and which antibiotic to prescribe
Studies zoom in on clues to why Lyme disease persists and which antibiotic to prescribe It starts with the ticks. These insects infect people with the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, microbes that are complicated to study, difficult to detect when they cause illness, and challenging to treat so they don’t linger in the human…
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STAT+: Women’s Health Initiative, known for hormone therapy trials, to lose federal funding
STAT+: Women’s Health Initiative, known for hormone therapy trials, to lose federal funding Federal funding for the Women’s Health Initiative, which as one of the largest research projects in women’s health has shaped treatment of menopause, osteoporosis, and nutrition, will stop in September, the program said Tuesday in a message to its 40 regional centers.…
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STAT+: Research grants as political ammo; Death to dyes?
STAT+: Research grants as political ammo; Death to dyes? You’re reading the web edition of D.C. Diagnosis, STAT’s twice-weekly newsletter about the politics and policy of health and medicine. Sign up here to receive it in your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays. STAT won its first National Magazine Award for General Excellence. Not bad, huh? Help us…
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STAT+: Harvard sues Trump administration over funding freeze
STAT+: Harvard sues Trump administration over funding freeze Harvard University sued the Trump administration on Monday, alleging that the government’s campaign to alter the school’s policies while cutting off research funding is unconstitutional. In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Boston, the university’s lawyers argued that the government’s “attempt to coerce and control Harvard”…
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STAT+: NIH said to have halted awarding of new grants to top universities
STAT+: NIH said to have halted awarding of new grants to top universities Embattled universities whose funding from the National Institutes of Health has been frozen may face further financial strain as the agency holds off awarding new grants to at least half a dozen of them, according to an email obtained by STAT. The…
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STAT+: Leaked budget document outlines how Kennedy may cut up HHS to build new AHA
STAT+: Leaked budget document outlines how Kennedy may cut up HHS to build new AHA An internal budget document leaked to the press on Wednesday gives the clearest vision yet of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s planned chronic disease-fighting agency, the Administration for a Healthy America. The Office of Management and Budget document, which STAT obtained,…
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STAT+: Harvard scientist ordered to halt multicenter TB trial in funding freeze
STAT+: Harvard scientist ordered to halt multicenter TB trial in funding freeze A top scientist at Harvard who has spent years unraveling the mysteries of tuberculosis woke up Tuesday morning and discovered an order from the federal government telling her to halt her research. The stop-work order from the National Institutes of Health arrived hours…
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STAT+: Key NIH grant review panels resume meeting, but are not ‘back to normal’
STAT+: Key NIH grant review panels resume meeting, but are not ‘back to normal’ After being indefinitely suspended in the first days of the Trump administration, key National Institutes of Health committees that approve research grants resumed meeting this week. It appears to be a positive step toward restoring the flow of billions of dollars…
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STAT+: Federal judge issues permanent injunction on Trump cuts to research overhead payments
STAT+: Federal judge issues permanent injunction on Trump cuts to research overhead payments A federal judge on Friday ordered a permanent injunction blocking a Trump administration policy that would slash billions in research overhead payments to universities, academic medical centers, and other grant-receiving institutions. Paradoxically, the Trump administration had requested that very verdict earlier in…
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CDC’s top laboratory on sexually transmitted diseases is shut by Trump administration
CDC’s top laboratory on sexually transmitted diseases is shut by Trump administration At a time when the world is down to a single drug that can reliably cure gonorrhea, the U.S. government has shuttered the country’s premier sexually transmitted diseases laboratory, leaving experts aghast and fearful about what lies ahead. The STD lab at the…
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STAT+: Makary’s first speech to FDA staff focuses on challenging norms, fighting chronic disease
STAT+: Makary’s first speech to FDA staff focuses on challenging norms, fighting chronic disease WASHINGTON — Marty Makary’s first address to staff as FDA commissioner on Wednesday afternoon sounded a bit like an introduction to one of his books. It included sweeping declarations about the need to challenge scientific norms, and to identify the root…
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STAT+: Five NIH institute directors and numerous lab heads ousted in unprecedented shake-up
STAT+: Five NIH institute directors and numerous lab heads ousted in unprecedented shake-up Directors of five National Institutes of Health institutes and at least two other members of senior leadership have been placed on administrative leave or offered new assignments since Monday, topping a list of hundreds of employees notified in the last 24 hours…
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STAT+: FDA Commissioner Marty Makary gets off to a bruising start as agency is wracked by layoffs
STAT+: FDA Commissioner Marty Makary gets off to a bruising start as agency is wracked by layoffs WASHINGTON — Marty Makary’s first official day as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration began with employees in tears, learning from security guards that they were losing their jobs. The news release announcing the start of his…
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STAT+: Texas judge strikes down FDA’s plan to regulate lab-developed tests
STAT+: Texas judge strikes down FDA’s plan to regulate lab-developed tests WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Texas squashed the Food and Drug Administration’s plan to regulate lab-developed tests on Monday, ruling in favor of lab trade groups that said the agency was overstepping its bounds. “The Court VACATES and SETS ASIDE, in its entirety,…