The success of the world's first pig kidney transplant could stoke large-scale clinical trials on implanting animal tissues in humans to help ease the organ shortage crisis.
Why it matters: Demand for donated organs is vast as transplants have rebounded post-pandemic and the nation's troubled human donor organ system goes through a major overhaul.
The public's massive enthusiasm for the upcoming total solar eclipse may only be matched by the anxiety felt by hundreds of hospitals in the path of totality.
Why it matters: With millions of people flocking to big cities and small towns to witness Monday's eclipse, hospitals are on high alert for increased traffic accidents, the potential for mass casualty events and, of course, eye damage.
The amazing response to my Finish Line columns inspired me to write a new book — "Just the Good Stuff" — out later this month, Axios CEO Jim VandeHei writes.
Why it matters: All net proceeds will go to the Zotheka Foundation, which my wife, Autumn, and I started to provide motivated individuals with mentoring support and financial aid to attend vocational programs and 2- and 4-year colleges.
Zotheka (pronounced zoe-TAY-kuh) means "It's possible!" in the Chichewa language in Malawi.
No B.S.: This book and foundation only happened because of the way Finish Line readers responded to and shared my columns.
The book is written both for people in leadership positions and for up-and-comers — young and old — to grapple with tough stuff in work and life. It's a blunt, fast, easy read. I open my private diary about starting and running two companies — the good, the bad and the ugly.
If the spirit moves you, you can preorder here. All profits will go to scholarships. Readers often ask what they can do to thank Axios for our free newsletters. This is it!
The backstory: Zotheka, the foundation's name, is tattooed on my shoulder. You'll find out why in Chapter 1.
🚨🚨 A meal on Mikey: Axios will hold a drawing for anyone who preorders the book. The prize: Mike Allen and I will fly to your hometown to talk politics — or whatever! — with you and a few friends. Our treat.
Understanding of psychiatric disorders is catching up to a reality all too familiar to the doctors who treat patients: one-size-fits-all treatments for complex conditions like depression or bipolar disorder are coming up short.
Why it matters: As new treatments hit the market, researchers are still trying to understand the underpinnings of the disorders in hopes of tailoring medicines to those patients who will benefit most.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) wants increased transparency around private equity investment in health care services companies, such as hospitals, dialysis centers, and physician groups.
Zoom in: He also is proposing new federal abilities to stop those deals from ever happening.
After losing out on the COVID-19 vaccine race, Novavax is hoping its experimental combo flu-COVID vaccine can help turn around its fortunes.
But it finds itself in a familiar position of playing catch-up.
Why it matters: A year after it warned about its ability to remain in business, the Maryland company is trailing Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna in the development of a combination product that would reduce the need for multiple shots during respiratory virus season.
Former President Trump's surgeon general is advocating for conservative states to back needle exchanges as a strategy to reduce transmission of infectious diseases like HIV and hepatitis C and save lives while the fentanyl epidemic rages on.
Why it matters: Making illicit drug use easier may seem counterintuitive, but it's been shown to improve public health and reduce societal costs, Jerome Adams argued in an opinion piece he co-authored in USA Today.
Tensions between hospitals and Medicare Advantage insurers are poised to keep growing as the program gets larger and the federal government takes a harder line on health plans.
Why it matters: How hospitals and insurers respond to financial threats could ultimately affect the care received by more than half of seniors now enrolled in the program — whether it means reduced benefits, fewer provider choices or higher costs.
Gympass is rebranding to Wellhub, the health-focused startup announced Thursday.
Why it matters: Valued at $2.4 billion as of last summer, the company is "pursuing a much bigger market," co-founder and CEO Cesar Carvalho tells Axios.
