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Good morning and happy Monday. It’s May, and I’m looking at the weather predictions for this week wondering if spring is finally here to stay. Fingers crossed.
Federal court blocks mailing of mifepristone
A federal appeals court on Friday ruled that mifepristone, known as the abortion pill, can be distributed only in person and at clinics, overruling regulations set by the FDA that allowed patients to receive the medication through the mail. The decision will likely be appealed to the Supreme Court.
In the ruling, Trump-appointed Judge Kyle Duncan agreed with Louisiana’s argument that mailing the medication undermines the state’s total abortion ban. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the total number of abortions in the U.S. has slightly increased due to the availability of mifepristone and misoprostol via telehealth. Read more from the AP.
Trump admin finalizes rule on ‘professional’ student loans
The Department of Education finalized a rule last week that will limit how many federal loans a graduate student can take out based on whether their degree is classified as “professional” or not. The rule, first proposed back in February, allows professional students to borrow a total of $200,000, while the rest will be capped at $100,000.
Which health care workers are considered professional by the federal government? Not nurses with advanced degrees, nor physician assistants, physical therapists, occupational therapists, social workers, nor those pursuing doctorates in public health.
Many professional groups fought the classification, but the administration didn’t budge. “The Department does not believe that our approach to defining professional student is too narrow nor do we believe it should be expanded to include more degree programs,” the final rule states in response to some public comments. The new limits will go into effect this July.
The OGs of the longevity movement?
The term “blue zone” originally referred to 14 isolated villages on an Italian island where researchers identified long-living humans whose health they attributed to active habits and simple foods. Entrench yourself in the wellness space long enough, and you’ll hear a lot about these longevity hotspots and how different researchers and writers want to define them.
Journalist Shelley Wood and cardiologist Eric Topol are definitely entrenched — they’ve both written books about extreme longevity. But as the field has changed over years, one question has gotten louder: Do blue zones truly exist? In a new First Opinion essay, Wood and Topol recount the fascinating history and controversial future for this anthropological concept. Read more.
Trump’s immigration policies are fueling brain drain
For most people, coming to the U.S. on a visa has always carried a bit of uncertainty. But as the second Trump administration pushes heightened scrutiny of visa applicants, the process has become both riskier and less predictable. Researchers and lawyers say they’re seeing more delays and roadblocks; Scientists are being asked to show their social media profiles to the government to renew visas and submit additional evidence when applying for green cards.
“We are facing challenges at all phases of the game,” Jenny Bouta Mojica, an immigration attorney who works with academic institutions, told STAT’s Andrew Joseph. In the latest special report based on a STAT survey of NIH-supported researchers, Drew reports on the possibility that America is becoming a less attractive destination for science. Read more.
An update on uterine transplant science
Since the first baby was born from somebody with a transplanted uterus in 2014, there have been dozens of similarly successful births worldwide. “It’s a complete new world,” Giuliano Testa, chief of abdominal transplant at Baylor University Medical Center, told me two years ago. Back then, he had just published a study on the first 20 women who received transplants at his clinic. On Friday, he and his team published updated results in JAMA on the first 44 cases.
Out of 44 women who received a transplant at Baylor between 2016 and March 2026, 37 had a viable uterus one month after the procedure. Overall, 31 recipients had 47 pregnancies, with 27 of them delivering 31 babies. (Twelve miscarriages occurred and four pregnancies are ongoing.) There were maternal complications like gestational diabetes and hypertension in 30% of the deliveries and obstetric complications in 45%.
The results demonstrate that transplants can result in live births for women who previously had absolute uterine factor infertility. Recipients are typically healthy, unlike those who receive other types of organ transplants, which the researchers believe may contribute to the success rate. The paper emphasizes the importance of making this option accessible for all types of patients.
2048
That’s the year that high-income countries around the world will eliminate cervical cancer with increased HPV vaccination, screening, and treatment of pre-cancers and cancer, aa new analysis published in The Lancet estimates. But researchers also found that under the status quo, low- and middle-income countries would only decrease cervical cancer incidence by 23% in the same period.
Already, cervical cancer incidence in low- and middle-income countries is three times higher than in high-income countries; lower access to vaccination and screening are key drivers of that inequity, per the data. Funding cuts by the high-income U.S. last year have further hampered global elimination efforts. If nothing changes, the incidence gap could jump to a 12-fold difference by 2105. Hitting WHO goals for screening and vaccination would help, as would the introduction of universal vaccination, the researchers concluded, while acknowledging the presence of budget constraints and competing health priorities in struggling regions.
What we’re reading
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It’s possible to learn in our sleep. Should we? New Yorker
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Three dead in suspected virus outbreak on Atlantic cruise ship, BBC
- STAT readers on MAHA activists, perimenopause, and diversity in medical school, STAT
- Since Congress let Obamacare subsidies expire, millions are dropping coverage, New York Times
- First Opinion: China’s strict new supply chain regulations could create massive problems for Western biopharma companies, STAT