Title: For NFL Players, Career Length, Role Affect Future Health Risks: Study
Category: Health News
Created: 8/30/2019 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/30/2019 12:00:00 AM

Title: Here Are the Top 15 Anti-Inflammatory Foods for Your Diet To Reduce Inflammation
Category: Health and Living
Created: 8/26/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/26/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: Will Inflation Cut Back on Your Health Care?
Category: Health News
Created: 8/8/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/8/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: Here's How the Inflation Reduction Act Will Lower the Cost of Health Care
Category: Health News
Created: 8/17/2022 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/17/2022 12:00:00 AM

Title: Prostatitis (Inflammation of the Prostate Gland)
Category: Diseases and Conditions
Created: 12/31/1997 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 7/29/2022 12:00:00 AM

Influenza A virus (IAV) is one of the leading causes of respiratory infections. The lack of efficient anti-influenza therapeutics requires a better understanding of how IAV interacts with host cells. Alveolar macrophages are tissue-specific macrophages that play a critical role in lung innate immunity and homeostasis, yet their role during influenza infection remains unclear. First, our review highlights an active IAV replication within alveolar macrophages, despite an abortive viral cycle. Such infection leads to persistent alveolar macrophage inflammation and diminished phagocytic function, alongside direct mitochondrial damage and indirect metabolic shifts in the alveolar micro-environment. We also discuss the "macrophage disappearance reaction", which is a drastic reduction of the alveolar macrophage population observed after influenza infection in mice but debated in humans, with unclear underlying mechanisms. Furthermore, we explore the dual nature of alveolar macrophage responses to IAV infection, questioning whether they are deleterious or protective for the host. While IAV may exploit immuno-evasion strategies and induce alveolar macrophage alteration or depletion, this could potentially reduce excessive inflammation and allow for the replacement of more effective cells. Despite these insights, the pathophysiological role of alveolar macrophages during IAV infection in humans remains understudied, urging further exploration to unravel their precise contributions to disease progression and resolution.

Binding of arbitrary information into distinct memory representations that can be used to guide behavior is a hallmark of relational memory. What is and is not bound into a memory representation and how those things influence the organization of that representation remain topics of interest. While some information is intentionally and effortfully bound—often the information that is consistent with task goals or expectations about what information may be required later—other information appears to be bound automatically. The present set of experiments sought to investigate whether spatial memory would be systematically influenced by the presence and absence of distinct categories of stimuli on a spatial reconstruction task. In this task, participants must learn multiple item-location bindings and place each item back in its studied location after a short delay. Across three experiments, participants made significantly more within-category errors (i.e., misassigning one item to the location of a different item from the same category) than between-category errors (i.e., misassigning one item to the location of an item from a different category) when categories were perceptually or semantically distinct. These data reveal that category information contributed to the organization of the memory representation and influenced spatial reconstruction performance. Together, these results suggest that categorical information can influence memory organization, and not always to the benefit of overall task performance.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a disease of the whole brain, with infiltrative tumor cells protected by an intact blood-brain barrier (BBB). GBM has a poor prognosis despite aggressive treatment, in part due to the lack of adequate drug permeability at the BBB. Standard of care GBM therapies include radiation and cytotoxic chemotherapy that lead to DNA damage. Subsequent activation of DNA damage response (DDR) pathways can induce resistance. Various DDR inhibitors, targeting the key regulators of these pathways such as ataxia telangiectasia mutated and Rad3-related (ATR), are being explored as radio- and chemosensitizers. Elimusertib, a novel ATR kinase inhibitor, can prevent repair of damaged DNA, increasing efficacy of DNA-damaging cytotoxic therapies. Robust synergy was observed in vitro when elimusertib was combined with the DNA-damaging agent temozolomide; however, we did not observe improvement with this combination in in vivo efficacy studies in GBM orthotopic tumor-bearing mice. This in vitro–in vivo disconnect was explored to understand factors influencing central nervous system (CNS) distribution of elimusertib and reasons for lack of efficacy. We observed that elimusertib is rapidly cleared from systemic circulation in mice and would not maintain adequate exposure in the CNS for efficacious combination therapy with temozolomide. CNS distribution of elimusertib is partially limited by P-glycoprotein efflux at the BBB, and high binding to CNS tissues leads to low levels of pharmacologically active (unbound) drug in the brain. Acknowledging the potential for interspecies differences in pharmacokinetics, these data suggest that clinical translation of elimusertib in combination with temozolomide for treatment of GBM may be limited.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT

This study examined the disconnect between the in vitro synergy and in vivo efficacy of elimusertib/temozolomide combination therapy by exploring systemic and central nervous system (CNS) distributional pharmacokinetics. Results indicate that the lack of improvement in in vivo efficacy in glioblastoma (GBM) patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models could be attributed to inadequate exposure of pharmacologically active drug concentrations in the CNS. These observations can guide further exploration of elimusertib for the treatment of GBM or other CNS tumors.

Oxidative stress, fibrosis, and inflammasome activation from advanced glycation end product (AGE)–receptor of advanced glycation end product (RAGE) interaction contribute to diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) formation and progression. Our study revealed the impact of β-caryophyllene (BCP) on activating cannabinoid type 2 receptors (CB2Rs) against diabetic complication, mainly cardiomyopathy and investigated the underlying cell signaling pathways in mice. The murine model of DCM was developed by feeding a high-fat diet with streptozotocin injections. After the development of diabetes, the animals received a 12-week oral BCP treatment at a dose of 50 mg/kg/body weight. BCP treatment showed significant improvement in glucose tolerance and insulin resistance and enhanced serum insulin levels in diabetic animals. BCP treatment effectively reversed the heart remodeling and restored the phosphorylated troponin I and sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase 2a expression. Ultrastructural examination showed reduced myocardial cell injury in DCM mice treated with BCP. The preserved myocytes were found to be associated with reduced expression of AGE/RAGE in DCM mice hearts. BCP treatment mitigated oxidative stress by inhibiting expression of NADPH oxidase 4 and activating phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT)/nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor 2 (Nrf2) signaling. Also, BCP suppressed cardiac fibrosis and endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition in DCM mice by inhibiting transforming growth factor β (TGF-β)/suppressor of mothers against decapentaplegic (Smad) signaling. Further, BCP treatment suppressed nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich–containing family, pyrin domain–containing-3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation in DCM mice and alleviated cellular injury to the pancreatic tissues evidenced by significant elevation of the number of insulin-positive cells. To demonstrate a CB2R-dependent mechanism of BCP, another group of DCM mice were pretreated with AM630, a CB2R antagonist. AM630 was observed to abrogate the beneficial effects of BCP in DCM mice. Taken together, BCP demonstrated the potential to protect the myocardium and pancreas of DCM mice mediating CB2R-dependent mechanisms.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT

BCP, a CB2R agonist, shows protection against DCM. BCP attenuates oxidative stress, inflammation, and fibrosis in DCM via activating CB2Rs. BCP mediating CB2R activation favorably modulates AGE/RAGE, PI3K/AKT/Nrf2β and TGF-β/Smad and (NLRP3) inflammasome in diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Patients with arthritis report using cannabis for pain management, and the major cannabinoid delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (⁹-THC) has anti-inflammatory properties, yet the effects of minor cannabinoids on arthritis are largely unknown. The goal of the present study was to determine the antiarthritic potential of the minor cannabinoid delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol (⁸-THC) using the collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mouse model. Adult male DBA/1J mice were immunized and boosted 21 days later with an emulsion of collagen and complete Freund’s adjuvant. Beginning on the day of the booster, mice were administered twice-daily injections of ⁸-THC (3 or 30 mg/kg), the steroid dexamethasone (2 mg/kg), or vehicle for two weeks. Dorsal-ventral paw thickness and qualitative measures of arthritis were recorded daily, and latency to fall from an inverted grid was measured on alternating days, to determine arthritis severity and functional impairment. On the final day of testing, spontaneous wire-climbing behavior and temperature preference in a thermal gradient ring were measured to assess CIA-depressed behavior. The ⁸-THC treatment (30 mg/kg) reduced paw swelling and qualitative signs of arthritis. ⁸-THC also blocked CIA-depressed climbing and CIA-induced preference for a heated floor without producing locomotor effects but did not affect latency to fall from a wire grid. In alignment with the morphologic and behavioral assessments in vivo, histology revealed that ⁸-THC reduced synovial inflammation, proteoglycan loss and cartilage and bone erosion in the foot joints in a dose-dependent manner. Together, these findings suggest that ⁸-THC not only blocked morphologic changes but also prevented functional loss caused by collagen-induced arthritis.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT

Despite increasing use of cannabis products, the potential effects of minor cannabinoids are largely unknown. Here, the minor cannabinoid delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol blocked the development of experimentally induced arthritis by preventing both pathophysiological as well as functional effects of the disease model. These data support the development of novel cannabinoid treatments for inflammatory arthritis.

Bile acids are the end products of cholesterol catabolism. Hepatic bile acid synthesis accounts for a major fraction of daily cholesterol turnover in humans. Biliary secretion of bile acids generates bile flow and facilitates biliary secretion of lipids, endogenous metabolites, and xenobiotics. In intestine, bile acids facilitate the digestion and absorption of dietary lipids and fat-soluble vitamins. Through activation of nuclear receptors and G protein-coupled receptors and interaction with gut microbiome, bile acids critically regulate host metabolism and innate and adaptive immunity and are involved in the pathogenesis of cholestasis, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, alcohol-associated liver disease, type-2 diabetes, and inflammatory bowel diseases. Bile acids and their derivatives have been developed as potential therapeutic agents for treating chronic metabolic and inflammatory liver diseases and gastrointestinal disorders.

Significance Statement

Bile acids facilitate biliary cholesterol solubilization and dietary lipid absorption, regulate host metabolism and immunity, and modulate gut microbiome. Targeting bile acid metabolism and signaling holds promise for treating metabolic and inflammatory diseases.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:

Mechanical thrombectomy is a fundamental intervention for acute ischemic stroke treatment. While conventional techniques are effective, cyclic aspiration (CyA) shows potential for better recanalization rates. We aim to investigate factors affecting CyA and compare them with static aspiration (StA).

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

StA setup consisted of an aspiration pump connected to pressure transducer. CyA was tested with 5 subsequent iterations: single solenoid valve with air plus saline (i1) or saline alone (i2) as aspiration medium; 2 solenoid valves with air plus saline (i3) as aspiration medium; complete air removal and saline feeding (i4); and pressurized saline feeding (i5). To assess the efficacy of clot ingestion, the pressure transducer was replaced with a distal aspiration catheter. Moderately stiff clot analogs (15 mm) were used to investigate the ingestion quantified as clot relative weight loss. Additionally, the aspiration flow rate was assessed for each setup.

RESULTS:

With CyA i1, the amplitude of the achieved negative pressure waves declined with increasing frequencies but progressively increased with each subsequent iteration, achieving a maximum amplitude of 81 kPa for i5 at 1 Hz. Relative clot weight loss was significantly higher with i5 at 5 Hz than with StA (100% versus 37.8%; P = .05). Aspiration flow rate was lower with CyA than with StA (i5 at 5 Hz: 199.8 mL/min versus StA: 311 mL/min; P < .01).

CONCLUSIONS:

CyA with the appropriate setup may represent an encouraging innovation in mechanical thrombectomy, offering a promising pathway for improving efficacy in clot ingestion and recanalization. The observed benefits warrant confirmation in a clinical setting.

COPD is a heterogeneous condition, with tobacco smoking being the main environmental risk factor. The presence of type 2 (T2) inflammation is a well-recognised feature of asthma; however, it is now apparent that a subset of COPD patients also displays evidence of T2 inflammation with respect to elevated eosinophil counts and altered gene and protein expression of several T2 inflammatory mediators. T2 inflammatory mediators represent an attractive therapeutic target in both COPD and asthma; however, the efficacy of pharmaceutical interventions varies between diseases. Furthermore, the nature of some shared clinical features also differs. We provide a narrative review of differences in the nature of T2 inflammation between COPD and asthma, which may partly explain phenotypic differences between diseases. We focus on evidence from studies of pulmonary histopathology, sputum and epithelial gene and protein expression, and response to pharmacological interventions targeted at T2 inflammation.

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JUDY WOODRUFF: But first: Sunday’s elections Austria were the latest ample of a shift to the right Europe’s politics, as 31-year-old Christian Kurz was elected chancellor on an anti-immigration platform.

He may now form a government with a far-right party founded in the 1950s by former Nazis.

That follows recent elections in Germany, where a far-right party roiled the race and dealt a blow to returning leader Angela Merkel.

In Sweden, too, there is a strong challenge from the right and a neo-Nazi group that looks stand in elections next year.

Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant ha been surveying the political landscape in Germany and Sweden, and he begins his report in Scandinavia.

MALCOLM BRABANT, Special Correspondent: In a Gothenburg parking lot, supporters of the Nordic Resistance Movement form up for what they hope will be their biggest-ever march, to propagate an ideology espoused by mother of eight Paulina Forslund.

PAULINA FORSLUND, Nordic Resistance Movement: When white becomes the minority, they will be destroyed. I want my children to have a secure future. I want them not only for them to have a secure Sweden. I want them to have a secure world. And I want other people to fight for the same thing.

MALCOLM BRABANT: When addressing her fellow neo-Nazis, Forslund’s rhetoric sharpens.

PAULINA FORSLUND (through interpreter): I’m the welder’s daughter, the forester’s grandchild. My line consists of hardworking men and women. It’s people like them we can thank for the welfare system that our lying politicians are now giving away to imported scum.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Clearly expecting trouble, the movement’s leaders have a muscular protection detail, marching past a silent protest. The sign reads “No Nazis on our streets.”

This protester would only give her name as Johanna.

JOHANNA, Anti-Nazi Protester: They are racist people. They are people who think that certain people are better than others, and I will not stand for that. It’s not something I think has a place in a modern society.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Experts say the resistance movement is recruiting aggressively, and believe this demonstration is emblematic of the rise of the far right.

It took place on Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement.

Allan Stutzinky is leader of Gothenburg’s Jewish community.

ALLAN STUTZINKY, Jewish Community Leader (through interpreter): Nazism has returned. The descendants of the murderers are organizing the same marches today, waving the same flags, shouting the same slogans, and have the same racist agenda.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Anna Johansson is a member of the governing Social Democrat Party. It’s considering outlawing the Nordic Resistance Movement.

ANNA JOHANSSON, Swedish Social Democratic Party: In Sweden and in Denmark, and in other countries, extreme parties are growing, and the hatred is spreading around.

MALCOLM BRABANT: “Go home to mama,” he shouts. “Nazi pigs,” chant the anti- fascist protesters, as a bottle flies through the air.

DAMON, Nordic Resistance Movement: If someone calls themselves a Nazi, most of us would dissociate with that person. That’s nothing we stand for ourselves. I never call myself a Nazi. I’m a national socialist.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Hitler’s party was also called National Socialist, but Damon, a 40-year-old welder, insists he’s a nonviolent family man.

DAMON: The demographic landscape of our — of the whole of Europe is changing, so, basically, it’s a concern on preserving my heritage for my family and our kin.

MALCOLM BRABANT: This demonstration has been stopped short of its destination. The Nordic Resistance Movement is currently trapped between a line of police and anti-fascist protesters. And it looks as though this demonstration isn’t going any further.

Violence briefly erupts as the resistance movement tries to break through police lines, and several marchers are arrested.

PAULINA FORSLUND: We are not your enemy. We are the government’s enemy.

They say we live in a democracy, but we have never had an election about if we want to take all these people in.

MALCOLM BRABANT: When Europe’s refugee crisis began in 2015, Sweden copied Germany’s open-door policy, and 160,000 migrants entered the country. Two years on, Sweden has tighter borders and has begun deporting some of the newcomers.

The new atmosphere alarms Floid Gumbo, entertaining an anti-Nazi rally.

FLOID GUMBO, Singer Originally from Zimbabwe: I came to Sweden over 20 years ago. The climate in Sweden, the people were so friendly, and things were completely different, more welcoming. And I feel like things have sort of gradually changed.

I’m very concerned, because I have children, because I’m thinking what I experienced here is not the same kind of climate, atmosphere that they are going to experience here.

ANNA JOHANSSON: It’s not so long ago that the Nazis ruined Europe. And that makes me very worried. The German elections were terrifying, I think.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Johansson is referring to last month’s success of the right-wing Alternative For Germany Party, or AFD, when it entered Parliament for the first time with 13 percent of the vote.

HUGH BRONSON, Alternative For Germany Party: The AFD only came into existence because Merkel deserted the traditional conservative Christian voters. They were looking for a home, and the AFD has offered them a safe place.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Hugh Bronson is deputy leader of the AFD in Berlin.

Now his party, the third largest in Parliament, is demanding that Angela Merkel imposes tougher immigration rules.

Your opponents claim that you are a party of hate. What’s your response to that?

HUGH BRONSON: We embrace foreigners who respect our laws, pay their taxes, send their children to school, and go about their normal life. The problem is with people who abuse the system to have a better life, or let others pay for their better lives, or who are criminals.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Outside the opera house in Dresden, former East Germany, singer Luca Bergelt is dismayed by the political landscape shifting to the right.

LUCA BERGELT, Singer: My fear is that they will tear Europe apart. They are going to raise up the walls again. They’re going to build new walls between the countries, and that Europe will get more close into itself.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Anti-immigrant sentiment is strong in Dresden. The city was the birthplace of a pan-European anti-Islamic movement, and it delivered the largest number of votes for the right-wing party.

On a holiday to celebrate German unification after the fall of communism, retired engineer Wilfried Schmidt explained why he sent a message to Angela Merkel.

WILFRIED SCHMIDT, Retired Engineer (through interpretor): Let’s put it this way. We all need to recognize that Germany is undergoing social changes that are becoming harder to control. For one, there is mass immigration from difficult regions that is increasingly uncontrollable, of people with entirely different concepts of life, from fundamental differently structured societies that are problematic.

MALCOLM BRABANT: About one million migrants poured into Germany in 2015. Chancellor Merkel consistently defended her pro-refugee policies, but now she has been punished by voters who believe she ignored their concerns.

Chancellor Merkel has promised to listen to the people who voted for the AFD, and she says she’s going to try to win them over with what she calls good politics. But she will not countenance having the party in her coalition.

But the chancellor needs to find new partners who are prepared to be tough on immigration.

As she tries to forge a coalition, the chancellor has agreed to put an annual cap of 200,000 on the number of immigrants, something she previously refused to do. But will it be enough to woo back people who deserted her at the election?

A question for Werner Patzelt, a political scientist at Dresden University.

WERNER PATZELT, Dresden University: Since Chancellor Merkel has made so many U-turns in German domestic politics, it wouldn’t be a surprise if she would try to do a U-turn, also winning back AFD voters.

But this is a really hard political task, because so many of them are so much disappointed by the Christian Democratic Union in general, and by Chancellor Merkel in particular, that they will do anything to avoid going back.

MALCOLM BRABANT: Back in Sweden, the governing party is horrified at the concept of conceding ground to right-wingers, and is trying to isolate them.

ANNA JOHANSSON: Experience shows that, when you adopt the ideas from these right-wing parties, they spread. These parties have their agenda implemented by other parties. And I wouldn’t want to see that happen in Sweden.

FLOID GUMBO: We’re all human beings. We share this world. We’re all here. There’s enough space for us all.

MALCOLM BRABANT: But that’s an appeal that an increasing number of Swedes are rejecting, as the country and much of Europe go through a crisis of identity.

For the PBS NewsHour, I’m Malcolm Brabant in Gothenburg.

The post Far-right groups gain ground in Sweden and Germany amid migrant influx appeared first on PBS NewsHour.

Inflexion Games are closing their UK office, laying off staff and restructuring their main Canadian studio after failing to find commercial success with their Victorian fantasy survival game Nightingale. Reportedly, at least 22 people have been let go.

Read more

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell held a news conference today after the second day of the annual owners meeting. Watch his remarks in the player above.

NFL players will be encouraged to stand for the national anthem at the start of the football games, the league’s chief told reporters today.

After two days of meeting with owners of each NFL team, representatives for the players’ union and players themselves, the NFL has reiterated its decision to keep its existing policy of not requiring players to stand during the anthem. Goodell said yesterday that the league wouldnot instate a rule that would penalize players who refuse to stand for the anthem.

“We believe everyone should stand for the national anthem,” he told reporters at a news conference today. “That’s an important part of our policy. It’s also an important part of our game that we all take great pride in. And it’s also important for us to honor our flag and our country and I think our fans expect us to do that.”

Goodell’s remarks came after President Donald Trump continued his criticism of the NFL this morning. On Twitter, Trump said: “The NFL has decided that it will not force players to stand for the playing of our National Anthem. Total disrespect for our great country!”

After former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeled during the anthem last year to protest police killings of unarmed black men, dozens of other players joined him to draw greater attention to social and racial injustice. Last month, Trump said the NFL ought to fire players who didn’t stand for the anthem.

The players “are not doing this in any way to be disrespectful to the flag,” Goodell said today. “But they also understand how it’s being interpreted.”

Goodell also said the league wanted to stay out of the political arena over the issue.

“We’re not looking to get into politics,” he told reporters. “What we’re looking to do is to continue to get people focused on football.”

The post WATCH: NFL commissioner says players ‘should stand for the national anthem’ appeared first on PBS NewsHour.

October marked the "biggest" sales month for supermarkets in the UK so far despite food price hikes.

According to a report Tuesday, the league deliberately decided not to impose an immediate fine on San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa for wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat during a postgame television interview.

Recent research shows that anti-inflammatory diets are not as faddish as they might sound, with the power to reduce the risk of heart attacks and some cancers

Just like Eli Manning in 2004, Deion Sanders said he would tell NFL teams his son, Shedeur Sanders, won't play for them if it's not the right fit.

In the first quarter of Monday's Dolphins-Rams game, ESPN reported that Tyreek Hill said a torn ligament in his wrist became worst after he was detained by police.

While some fake videos made by actors with Russian ties received millions of views, researchers say there's so far no indication that these efforts swayed U.S. election results.

Beginning today, Apple will have released one new Apple Vision Pro game, one App Store Great, and upgrading an App …

Continue reading "NFL Retro Bowl 25, Monster Train+, and Puzzle Sculpt Release Today on Apple Arcade Alongside Major Game Updates This Week"

Miami a empêché les Rams de Los Angeles d’inscrire un touché et l’a emporté 23 à 15, lundi soir, au SoFi Stadium.

Le corps ligoté en état de décomposition retrouvé le 30 octobre dans l’un des parcs les plus achalandés de Montréal est celui de Kevin Mirshahi.

The outcome of the 2024 U.S. presidential election could reshape policies from health care at home to nuclear proliferation abroad

The outcome of the 2024 U.S. presidential election could set the climate agenda, reshape public education and shift the dynamics of global science collaboration.

Is your kid in trouble? Blaming their friends is ill advised

This week, I’m rerunning some popular posts while we put the finishing touches on DCI’s new 2024-25 Economic Report on Pharmaceutical Wholesalers and Specialty Distributors.

The article below highlights an underappreciated consequence of the Inflation Reduction Act’s inflation rebates for Medicare Part B drugs. Last night, I posted an updated analysis showing that the volatility in seniors' coinsurance rates continues. For the fourther quarter of 2024, coinsurance rates for 51 drugs increased, while rates for only 19 drugs decreased. What's more, rates for 17 drugs returned to their original 20% level. Click here to see our original post from May 2024.

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Contrary to what you may have heard, the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) inflation rebates for Medicare Part B drugs do not always save money for seniors.

As we document below, a growing share of Part B drugs have inflation-adjusted coinsurance rates that have been increasing, not declining. In many cases, the coinsurance rate declines only briefly before rebounding back to the standard 20% rate. What’s more, these fluctuations have triggered huge jumps in patients’ out-of-pocket obligations for some drugs—even when a drug’s costs were falling.

Chalk off these coinsurance surprises to yet another unintended consequence of the IRA. Seniors who are expecting to see costs drop may find they are instead being taken for a rollercoaster ride.
Read more »

May 11, 2022

When the U.S. military trains other states’ forces, it tries to impart liberal norms such as respect for human rights. But when liberal norms clash, these soldiers prioritize loyalty to their unit, the military, and shared goals.

Mar 7, 2024

Tarek Masoud, who questioned Iriqat’s views of Oct. 7 and how a two-state solution could be achieved during the event, said in an interview later on Thursday that he was “reasonably confident and hopeful” the discussion was an opportunity for learning, and added he appreciated that Iriqat “did not deny the atrocities of Oct. 7.” Understanding the Palestinian perspective is critical for moving toward peace and a two-state solution, Masoud said. Masoud and Iriqat agreed to discuss her controversial social media posts during the dialogue. Iriqat said that she did not intend to justify the violence on Oct. 7, which included kidnappings of children and elderly, beheadings, and massacres of civilians, but meant to place the attack in the context of a decades-long conflict. She was intensely critical of Israel throughout the conversation, saying the “settler-colonial project started 76 years ago.”

Jun 28, 2024

Ensuring that space remains a domain for peaceful exploration and mutual benefit rather than a new frontier for conflict will significantly depend on the global community's ability to navigate the complex interplay of technological advancements, regulatory frameworks, economic opportunities, and geopolitical challenges. 

This paper was written for the final assignment of IGA-250, a Harvard Kennedy School course on emerging technology: security, strategy, and risk.

Jun 5, 2024

Harvard Kennedy School hosted Leah Stokes, Anton Conk Associate Professor of Environmental Politics at UC Santa Barbara, to discuss how the historic Inflation Reduction Act succeeded where so many previous climate bills failed.

Dec 24, 2023

Juliette Kayyem argues that the sooner President Joe Biden acknowledges that the United States will likely be drawn into a fight to protect shipping traffic through the Suez Canal, the more time the U.S. military has to plan, and the less severe the harm will be to the global economy.

Mar 28, 2024

On March 26, the study group met for the first time to examine recent democratic progress and backsliding in African countries. The session focused on ongoing conflicts in different regions of Africa and examined their political underpinnings. Participants also discussed the role of third-party actors in supporting and facilitating conflict mediation and peacebuilding efforts in the continent. The study group counted with the presence of external expert guest Dr. Antje Herrberg, Chief of Staff of the European Union Capacity Building Mission in Niger (EUCAP Sahel Niger). Dr. Herrberg brings more than two decades of professional and personal experience in transition and conflict resolution, intractable conflict, and terrorism with a deep interest to alleviate the suffering of people. Furthermore, Florian Dirmayer, Master in Public Policy Candidate at Harvard Kennedy School, delivered a memo briefing on European Union Security Cooperation with Niger After the 2023 Military Coup.

Aug 5, 2024

This original primer, conducted as research for The Africa Futures Project, is an initial exploration into the evolving roles and increasing influence of “middle powers” in Africa. It covers a diverse array of existing and aspiring middle powers, presenting key points for each nation under four distinct analytical lenses.

SMASHD Labs Season 2 is a 10-week accelerator program based out of Los Angeles talent firm Atom Factory. We are inviting companies at the intersection of entertainment, technology, and culture to work alongside our team to accelerate their growth. Join us and our roster of world-class mentors for a masterclass in hustle.

Know Your Stats� PSA

Reaching net-zero emissions is essential for halting climate change - but even after we achieve this goal, parts of the planet will continue to warm. Delaying net zero will worsen these effects

The British overseas territory was invaded 40 years ago, beginning a short but bitter conflict.

People's reported sexual orientation could change after reading about the nature of sexual orientation, according to a study published in journal iNature's Scientific Reports/i.

Findings from a recent study indicate that prolonged exposure to air pollution in Denmark correlates with a higher risk of medlinkdementia/medlink.

The transmission of microbes from mother's mouth could influence the caries risk in child, suggests new research presented at hybrid 51st Annual Meeting

A topical gel that blocks the receptor for a metabolic by-product called succinate treats gum disease by suppressing inflammation and changing the makeup