Life

Health, science, climate, and society-focused reporting.

Briefing: FDA’s top infectious disease regulator to depart agency

Strategic angle: Adam Sherwat, the director of the Office of Infectious Diseases in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, is leaving the agency.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Briefing: More than 150,000 uncounted Covid-19 deaths occurred early in the pandemic, a study finds

Strategic angle: The Covid-19 pandemic's early death toll was much higher than the official U.S. count, according to a new study that spotlights dramatic disparities in the uncounted deaths.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Briefing: Maryland Legislator Proposes Bill for Pharma Transparency in Disease Awareness Campaigns

Strategic angle: A new bill aims to mandate drugmakers and patient groups to reveal their connections to disease awareness initiatives.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Briefing: Clearing tumors in mice, Azalea Therapeutics advances dream of in vivo CAR-T therapy

Strategic angle: A mouse study shows CAR-T cells can be engineered in vivo with precise gene editing, a potential breakthrough that could cut costs and expand access.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Briefing: STAT+: How ARPA-H is developing FDA-authorized AI agents, tested in clinical trials

Strategic angle: STAT's AI Prognosis takes a closer look at how the U.S. moonshot agency for health research is developing AI agents for deployment in hospitals.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Briefing: A Huntington’s researcher on the UniQure-FDA fray

Strategic angle: A Huntington's researcher treads lightly into the UniQure-FDA fray, J&J wins approval for a first-of-its kind psoriasis pill, and more in today's Readout newsletter.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Briefing: Premature menopause is linked to 40% increase in heart disease risk

Strategic angle: JAMA Cardiology study highlights the increased heart disease risk associated with premature menopause, particularly among Black women.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Briefing: As Trump administration cracks down on health care fraud, people with disabilities feel singled out

Strategic angle: As the Trump administration goes after fraud in health care, advocates say the disability community feels singled out.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Briefing: STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about TrumpRx prices, a J&J psoriasis pill, and much more

Strategic angle: U.S. health officials claim TrumpRx offers Americans the world’s lowest prices on prescription drugs, but a new analysis found that is not true.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Briefing: FDA and NIH announce more initiatives to reduce animal testing in drug development

Strategic angle: The HHS has made reducing animal testing a priority over the past year.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Briefing: Quiz – How Well Do You Understand Your Health Insurance – Frameless

Strategic angle: Test your knowledge on health insurance with this 10-question quiz to make informed decisions about your coverage.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Briefing: J&J Wins Approval for First-of-its-Kind Psoriasis Pill

Strategic angle: Johnson & Johnson's new daily psoriasis pill offers benefits comparable to injectable treatments, potentially disrupting a multibillion-dollar market.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Briefing: Drug smoking can lead to severe burns, complicating harm reduction efforts

Strategic angle: A new study reveals that opioid smokers are four times more likely to suffer severe burns compared to those who inject drugs.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Briefing: Opinion: Exposed and invisible in an ER hallway bed

Strategic angle: Hallway beds cut into the bones that sustain emergency medicine, shaving away layers of moral tenets and high standards.

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Briefing: Opinion: I was a surgeon. The hardest part of leaving medicine was believing that I could

Strategic angle: Leaving her career as a surgeon, Frances Mei Hardin writes, “was the beginning of a life I actually wanted.”

Editorial Staff Mar 18

Life

Briefing: NIH Director Promises Full Budget Spending by 2026

Strategic angle: Jay Bhattacharya assures House appropriators that the NIH will utilize its entire budget by the end of the fiscal year 2026.

Editorial Staff Mar 17

Life

Briefing: Key Global Health Positions and Officials in the U.S. Government

Strategic angle: This fact sheet identifies key U.S. government global health positions and officials.

Editorial Staff Mar 17

Life

Briefing: Eight Trends Shaping 2026 Health Care Costs

Strategic angle: A new Peterson-KFF policy explainer lays out the health care trends shaping the 2026 policy debates.

Editorial Staff Mar 17

Life

Briefing: VC Firm Dimension Scouting Out $700 Million for New Fund

Strategic angle: A buzzy venture capital firm has started raising its third fund, hoping to amass around $700 million to invest in companies that meld AI and science.

Editorial Staff Mar 17

Life

Briefing: Judge deals blow to RFK Jr.’s vaccine reforms

Strategic angle: The meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices that was scheduled for this week has been postponed.

Editorial Staff Mar 17