Can dialogue survive in a climate of deep mistrust?

On STAT’s very own First Opinion podcast, we interviewed the hosts of ‘Why Should I Trust You?’ — a podcast that puts public health voices and the Make America Healthy Again movement in the same room.

A star scientist showed that better genetics lessons could reduce racism. It was the death knell for his career Brian Donovan had persuaded high school teachers and education researchers that prejudice might be ended by changing how genetics is taught.

Brian Donovan had persuaded high school teachers and education researchers that prejudice might be ended by changing how genetics is taught. www.statnews.com/2026/04/07/b...

How this week’s Supreme Court case on conversion therapy could impact the regulation of medicine The Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday in a challenge to a Colorado law banning mental health practitioners from performing conversion therapy

The Supreme Court just ruled 8-1 that a lower court should reconsider Colorado's ban on conversion therapy, an outcome that will likely lead to the ban being overturned. I wrote last year about the implications for queer people and health care regulation overall: www.statnews.com/2025/10/06/s...

Supreme Court rules against Colorado ban on ‘conversion therapy’ for LGBTQ kids The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled against a law banning “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ+ kids in Colorado, one of about two dozen states that ban the discredited practice.

Supreme Court rules against Colorado ban on ‘conversion therapy’ for LGBTQ kids - via @apnews.com
www.statnews.com/2026/03/31/s...

Can you spot a deepfake X-ray? Neither can your radiologist Deepfake images can mislead viewers, upend elections, and instigate violence. They can also, researchers say, disrupt medical care.

Deepfake images can mislead viewers, upend elections, and instigate violence. They can also, researchers say, disrupt medical care. www.statnews.com/2026/03/24/r...

NIH grant terminations affected women scientists more than men, study finds A new paper shows that women, particularly those early in their careers, have been disproportionately affected by NIH grant terminations.

According to a new study, NIH grant terminations affected women scientists more than men www.statnews.com/2026/03/23/n...

STAT FDA reporter @lizzylawrence.bsky.social asks HHS chief counselor Chris Klomp about the turnover at the FDA.

Klomp: “When I see turnover in any organization — could be the FDA, it could be another — it's worrisome…”
#STATBreakthrough

Is Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk trolling teleheath company Hims & Hers with a new video? A spokesperson from the company told me there was "no connection." Here's a clip from my new @statnews.com video

Do pediatricians make large profits from vaccines? Vaccine critics like to say that pediatricians profit from vaccines. This report found something very different.

Do pediatricians make large profits from vaccines? We followed the money. www.statnews.com/2026/01/29/p...

9 influencers shaping health information online, for better or worse The qualified medical experts, the pseudoscientific entertainers, and the MAHA mobilizers leading online health content today.

STAT gathered nine of the biggest voices in the health influencer space worth keeping an eye on, for better or for worse.

List members include:
@kkjetelina.bsky.social
@drjessicaknurick.bsky.social
@jessicamalaty.bsky.social
@hubermanlab.com

Read the story: www.statnews.com/2026/01/27/w...

You can buy a whole host of sketchy drugs at many gas stations. I wondered why gas stations, of all places, were the premier destination for people seeking quasi-legal recreational (or knockoff pharmaceutical) drugs. I dig into why in this week's @statnews.com STATus Report. youtu.be/4QsVjgIWVZs

Top CDC vaccine adviser questions need for polio shot, other longstanding recommendations The chair of a federal vaccine advisory panel charted a new course for the committee in a podcast released Thursday, questioning longstanding recommendations.

The chair of a federal vaccine advisory panel charted a new course for the committee in a podcast released Thursday, suggesting the public might want to reconsider the use of polio vaccines. www.statnews.com/2026/01/22/v...

Recovery from Covid-19 is filled with uncertainty. An antibody test offered me a little comfort Like millions of others who have recovered from Covid-19, I was left with a burning question: Now what?

Really wild to think that 5 years ago I wrote this story in @statnews.com! Remember antibody testing?

Recovery from Covid-19 is filled with uncertainty. An antibody test offered me a little comfort

www.statnews.com/2020/05/21/r...

If you want to read this one (or any of our other incredible plus stories from today) STAT's running a Memorial Day sale where you can get 50% off a subscription!
Learn more: marketing.statnews.com/stat-plus-md...

RFK Jr. declared war on chronic disease. First comes the battle over priorities How would you solve the chronic disease epidemic? Here's STAT's extensive new data analysis, and nine ways to tackle the problem.

STAT has gathered and analyzed various sources of publicly available health data to establish a baseline of chronic disease in the U.S. 🧵

RFK Jr. declared war on chronic disease. First comes the battle over priorities

The story from @isabellacueto.bsky.social
www.statnews.com/2025/05/20/k...

CRISPR is used in landmark treatment to correct genetic misspelling of a single patient In a world first, scientists used CRISPR to fix a baby's unique genetic mutation. The report offers hope for personalized treatments of rare diseases.

For the first time, scientists say they have reached into the genome of a severely ill child and rewritten the unique misspelling in his DNA.

At #STATBreakthrough, @matthewherper.bsky.social caught up with psychiatry legend and Summit attendee, Thomas Insel.

Matt asked: Will AI change psychiatry?
Insel's answer: AI will be to brain medicines as genomics has been to cancer.

“Fundamental vaccination saves millions of lives every year already, and he’s busy eroding public confidence in it,” Califf said at STAT’s Breakthrough Summit West conference on Wednesday. “I think he’s flat out wrong and doing harm to the American people.”
#STATBreakthrough

Europe unveils $565 million package to retain scientists, and attract new ones The European Commission unveiled a $565 million package to retain and attract scientists, as other countries try to leverage the dismantling of research programs in the U.S.

Oh wow!

Europe unveils $565 million package to retain scientists, and attract new ones
The effort is a bid to capitalize on the Trump administration’s dismantling of research

The story from @statnews.com

www.statnews.com/2025/05/05/e...

Autism evaluations are being canceled over fears about a national registry Fears of landing on a federal list prompts parents, and adults, to cancel autism screening evaluations.

Well, this is a tough one.
Autism evaluations are being canceled over fears about a national registry

@rosebroderick.bsky.social has the story in @statnews.com
www.statnews.com/2025/05/01/a...

Inside U.S. health agencies, workers confront chaos and questions as operations come unglued The Trump administration’s remaking of HHS — in a matter of weeks — is sparking basic questions about how parts of the agency and those it oversees can continue to function.

This is a must-read.

Inside U.S. health agencies, workers confront chaos and questions as operations come unglued

This was an all-hands-on-deck story from the @statnews.com staff.

www.statnews.com/2025/04/11/h...

Take a look at the size of the federal workforce to help contextualize today's news about planned layoffs at HHS.

Who is getting it right in #healthcare?

#STATBreakthrough panelists have answers.

NIH cuts halt 24-year program to prevent HIV/AIDS in adolescents and young adults NIH terminated grants for a program studying how to diagnose, treat, and prevent HIV and AIDS in adolescents and young adults.

NIH cuts halt 24-year program to prevent HIV/AIDS in adolescents and young adults

Always read @aniloza.bsky.social
Via @statnews.com
www.statnews.com/2025/03/25/n...

Private emails show RFK Jr. making false claims about Covid-19 shots, linking vaccines to autism Kennedy's niece, a NYC physician, shares private emails, says public needs to see what she calls her uncle’s misguided views and conspiracy theories.

#Breaking: Private emails show RFK Jr. making false claims about Covid-19 shots, linking vaccines to autism

From @rickberke.bsky.social and @owermohle.bsky.social in @statnews.com

www.statnews.com/2025/01/28/k...

U.S. records first fatal bird flu case amid growing concerns about virus The U.S. has recorded its first fatal case of H5N1 bird flu, in a person from Louisiana who contracted the virus from infected chickens and wild birds in a backyard flock.

oh boy.
U.S. records first fatal bird flu case amid growing concerns about virus
The story from @helenbranswell.bsky.social in @statnews.com
www.statnews.com/2025/01/06/b...

U.S. records first fatal bird flu case amid growing concerns about virus The U.S. has recorded its first fatal case of H5N1 bird flu, in a person from Louisiana who contracted the virus from infected chickens and wild birds in a backyard flock.

#Breaking: U.S. records first fatal bird flu case amid growing concerns about virus

Surgeon general calls for labels warning of cancer risk on alcohol The U.S. surgeon general on Friday called for alcoholic beverages to carry labels warning of their connection to cancer, just as cigarettes do.

The U.S. surgeon general called for alcoholic beverages to carry labels warning of their connection to cancer, just as cigarettes do.

Trump’s FDA transition team takes shape with former Hahn adviser, courts top Capitol Hill aide Trump's staff is laying the groundwork to prepare for a new FDA commissioner and make their mark at the agency.

Trump's staff is laying the groundwork to prepare for a new FDA commissioner and make their mark at the agency.

Health Care's Colossus: Inside STAT's investigation of UnitedHealth The killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has sparked extraordinary public interest in the nation’s health insurance industry. Much of the outcry

STAT breaks down how UnitedHealth has turned health care into an assembly line that treats millions of patients as products to be monetized. And chronicle how the $5 trillion American health care system came to be so broken.