Senate Eases Medicare Cuts as Part of $1.7 Trillion Spending Bill
WASHINGTON — As the clock ticked down the hours before the federal government was due to run out of money, the Senate on Thursday afternoon passed — by a 68-29 vote — a $1.7 trillion spending package that included partial relief from pending cuts in Medicare physician payment. The omnibus bill, which the House was […]
Opinion | Farewell, Fauci
In this exclusive video, Jeremy Faust, MD, editor-in-chief of MedPage Today, sits down for a conversation with Anthony Fauci, MD, before his departure from the NIH at the end of the year. The following is a transcript of their remarks: Faust: I am joined today by a man who needs no introduction other than for […]
How Doctors Treat Their Own Colds At Home
Coming down with a cold is a pretty miserable experience. You’re tired, uncomfortable and ready to just feel better. If you have a cold, you may have a runny nose, cough or congestion. You may even have “low-grade fevers, fatigue, sneezing, sinus pressure and muscle soreness,” according to Dr. Christopher Scuderi, a family physician in […]
Cutting Unneeded Urine Cultures a Good First Step to Less Antibiotic Use
WASHINGTON — Michigan hospitals were able to cut down on unnecessary treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) thanks to better diagnostic stewardship, according to a study. The percentage of patients with a positive urine culture who had ASB fell from 34.1% in the year 2017 to 22.5% in 2020 in a consortium of 46 hospitals. That […]
Food texture key to eating habits in children with Down syndrome
Children with Down syndrome prefer food with a crispy, oily mouthfeel and don’t like brittle or gooey foods. But those preferences can lead to a less nutritious diet, according to Washington State University research published in the Journal of Texture Studies. “Children with Down syndrome really enjoy foods like Pirate’s Booty and puffed corn,” said […]
Nearly Half of MSM Are Changing Sex Behaviors to Reduce Monkeypox Risk
Roughly half of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) said they have cut down on their sexual activities due to the monkeypox outbreak, according to a CDC report. Among 824 men who participated in the American Men’s Internet Survey (AMIS) monkeypox-specific follow-up survey, 47.8% said they reduced their number of […]
Amazon Ends Virtual Health Care Service Over Fear It’d Fail In The Long Term
NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is shutting down the hybrid virtual, in-home care service it’s spent years developing, a surprising move that underscores the challenges it faces as it moves into health care. The service, called Amazon Care, will end by Dec. 31, according to an email sent to staff by Neil Lindsay, senior vice […]
Microbes help orchestrate how the gut uses its genes: Mice without microbes rely on an entirely different set of genes to digest fat
The microbes that help break down food actually tell the gut how to do its job better, according to a new study in mice at Duke. The researchers said it appears that the microbes are able to influence which of the gut’s genes are being called into action, and in turn, that interaction might lead […]
Opinion | ‘I’m Going to Be Down the Street Drinking a Beer’: What We Heard This Week
“We don’t just flip ’em a scalpel and say, ‘Hey, good luck, I’m going to be down the street drinking a beer.’” — Christopher R. Porta, MD, of Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington, on the rigorous oversight of surgical trainees. “We expected to get different results.” — Lawrence Casalino, MD, of Weill Cornell […]
Researchers discover source of super-fast electron ‘rain’: The downpours, which can affect satellites and space travel, are caused by electromagnetic whistler waves, scientists say
UCLA scientists have discovered a new source of super-fast, energetic electrons raining down on Earth, a phenomenon that contributes to the colorful aurora borealis but also poses hazards to satellites, spacecraft and astronauts. The researchers observed unexpected, rapid “electron precipitation” from low-Earth orbit using the ELFIN mission, a pair of tiny satellites built and operated […]