Why it matters: Trump's pick, which was confirmed after markets closed, puts one of the nation's foremost vaccine skeptics in charge of America's health care agencies.
A sprawling movement built around concerns over the food supply and drug industry profiteering is poised to shake up health policy in the new Trump administration —and is already stoking disinformation concerns.
Why it matters: Trump has now picked the leader of the "Make America Healthy Again" campaign, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as his nominee for health secretary — meaning he could soon have the power to implement some of the MAHA agenda.
Why it matters: If confirmed, the ex-Democrat turned MAGA ally would head the country's vast intelligence community despite having little experience in the field.
Life sciences companies are quickly integrating artificial intelligence into their work, but guardrails for using the technology are lagging, according to a survey from law firm Arnold & Porter.
The big picture: 75% of the 100 senior life sciences executives said their companies started implementing AI in the past two years, and 86% said they'll deploy those tools within two years or less.
Hospitals performed more than 200,000 unnecessary back surgeries on Medicare beneficiaries in the U.S. over three years, according to a new analysis.
Why it matters: Roughly $2 billion was spent on the "low value" procedures while patients were put at risk of poor outcomes, researchers from the Lown Institute wrote.
The E. coli outbreak linked to onions served in McDonald's Quarter Pounder hamburgers has now infected at least 104 people in 14 states, per a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention update Wednesday.
The big picture: McDonald's reported sales took a hit over the outbreak, which the CDC said killed one person, hospitalized 34 people and left four with kidney problems.
Detecting autoantibodies in nasal cavities with swabs could be key to determining how severe COVID symptoms will be.
Why it matters: The findings from Emory University-led researchers run counter to earlier studies showing autoantibodies in the blood indicate a more serious infection.
Pregnant women or those who've given birth in the past year are likelier to be murdered than die from medical causes like preeclampsia or hemorrhaging, a new study in JAMA Network Open concludes.
Why it matters: The findings show how maternal mortality can be influenced by state divorce laws and access to reproductive care, with individuals younger than 25 years and Black women at highest risk.
The U.S. may be heading into Thanksgiving with respiratory disease levels at lows not seen since before the pandemic, and with few immediate signs of another tripledemic.
The big picture: Instead of seasonal flu, COVID-19 or RSV, the big public health concern at the moment is walking pneumonia — a bacterial infection of the lungs that's hitting kids and adults at levels not seen in years.
Kraft Heinz said Tuesday it's pulling Lunchables meals from the National School Lunch Program due to flagging demand.
The big picture: The Chicago-based food giant said in a media statement that its decision was not related to a study by U.S. consumer watchdog group Consumer Reports that found Lunchables meal kits for low-income children contained relatively high levels of sodium, lead and cadmium.
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