Author: healthadmin

A Hungarian study found that people who dislike dark comedy tended to feel less anxious and negative when exposed to light humor, but more anxious when exposed to dark humor. After watching humorous videos, people most often reported lower levels of both positive and negative emotions. This study Individuality and individual differences. Humor is the ability to perceive, create, or appreciate funny or absurd situations. It often works by defying expectations in harmless ways, such as surprise, irony, exaggeration, and wordplay. One influential explanation, the “benign violation” theory, suggests that something is funny when it violates norms, but when it…

The FDA has provided further insight into recent rejections submitted to two major pharmaceutical companies, releasing complete response letters (CRLs) sent to AstraZeneca and GSK, highlighting gaps in data included in the application packages. In a scathing rebuke (PDF) to AstraZeneca, the FDA cited “significant data quality issues impacting key analyzes including the primary endpoint” in the dataset for Safnero (anifrolumab), which is proposed for use in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Separately, the agency rejected GSK’s Exdensur (depemokimab) for chronic sinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) (PDF), ruling that clinical data failed to provide “sufficient evidence” of efficacy and cast doubt…

You’re reading the web version of DC Diagnosis, STAT’s twice-weekly newsletter on health and medical politics and policy. Sign up here to get it in your inbox on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And you may find yourself climbing the Stair Master next to RFK Jr. Send news tips or vague Talking Heads references to: (email protected) Or Signal’s John_Wilkerson.07. Also, don’t forget to fill in the brackets for STAT Madness. The driving force behind vaccine politics The Trump administration is trying to shift focus from controversial vaccine policies to topics popular with voters, such as lowering drug prices and encouraging healthy…

Scientists at the University of Liège have identified key genetic regulators that allow macrophages to fully mature and help maintain organ health. This regulator, called MafB, acts as a “molecular switch” that turns specific genes on or off at precise moments within specific cells. By regulating this gene activity, MafB enables macrophages to develop into effective defenders that support the normal functioning of organs throughout the body. In the absence of MafB, these cells become impaired and cannot properly fulfill their protective responsibilities. Macrophages are important immune cells found in almost all tissues. Often referred to as the body’s “cleaning…

The city of Dayton expects to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to remove PFAS from drinking water.The city recently filed a new lawsuit accusing Wright-Patterson Air Force Base of being responsible for the costs.Cities across America are grappling with what to do about PFAS contamination. These “forever chemicals” are notoriously difficult to remove, and the high cost of compliance has sparked legal battles across the country over who is responsible for cleaning them up.The lawsuit filed by the city of Dayton is the latest in a five-year legal dispute between the Department of Defense and Wright-Patt over PFAS. Dayton:…

Tighter regulations and an influx of federal funding in recent years have enabled communities across the country to begin efforts to clean up lead contamination in their soil, drinking water, and older homes. But Congress and the Trump administration have partially rolled back those rules and resources, potentially making it more difficult for cash-strapped cities and towns to undertake sweeping lead remediation programs. The same is true for New Orleans, where a Vérité News investigation found elevated lead levels in about half of the city’s on-site playgrounds and detectable levels of the toxic metal in most homes whose drinking water…

Samantha Smith of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, went into the operating room for an emergency removal of an ectopic pregnancy. “I’m glad I didn’t die,” she said, but was shocked to learn that her insurance company had been charged about $100,000 for outpatient surgery. Jamie Estrada of Albuquerque, New Mexico, received two lidocaine injections into the upper spine to test whether permanent nerve ablation could treat chronic neck pain. His pain disappeared — until the anesthetic wore off about six hours later. The truth is that his insurance company was being billed $28,000 for each 10-minute procedure. Mark McCarrick of Longmont, Colorado,…

Acadia Pharmaceuticals has not been silent about the recent rejection from the European Medicines Agency and has vowed to seek a review of the regulatory body’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP)’s decision to limit the scope of its Rett syndrome treatment Dayview. The CHMP’s negative decision on February 26 blows a hole in Acadia’s pivotal Lavender trial, which compared Dayview (trofinetide) to a placebo in 187 women with Rett syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder. Now, after considering the CHMP’s refusal, Acadia has vowed to request a reconsideration of the opinion, claiming in a March 2 release that…

Recent research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides evidence that racial and ethnic differences in certain behaviors are as large as the widely known differences between men and women. This research suggests that generalizations about human behavior are often flawed because they rely on samples comprised primarily of Caucasians. As a result, broad assumptions about how gender affects competitiveness and risk tolerance hold true for all demographic groups. Behavioral scientists frequently face criticism for relying on research participants who represent a very narrow segment of human experience. Historically, researchers have recruited large numbers of people from…

In a fast moving field of a 2D material, even small rotational misalignments between layers can dramatically change the behavior of the material. Scientists have previously discovered that when thin crystals of atoms are stacked with small angular mismatches, their electronic properties can change. This approach, known as Moiré engineering, has become an important strategy for designing new forms of quantum materials. Researchers are currently natural nanotechnology Under these conditions, magnetism can also behave in surprising ways. In twisted antiferromagnetic layers, the magnetic spin pattern is not confined to small repeating Moiré unit cells. Instead, they can spread into much…