- First human receives a computer chip implant that interfaces with the brain. (per Elon Musk)
- Canadian Health Minister: Canada will block drug sales to the US if they threaten to impair access for Canadians.
- How can childcare cost more than college?
- Sex matters: “female patients randomly assigned a female doctor rather than a male doctor [under Texas workers compensation] are 5.2 percent more likely to be evaluated as disabled and receive 8.6 percent more subsequent cash benefits on average.”
- If you are ever reincarnated, don’t come back as a crab-eating macaque. They are used for toxicology testing in the biomedical industry.
Author: John C. Goodman
The Whole World is Having Fewer Children
Take Finland. Having a baby there has been described as being “almost free,” all new moms get a “baby box” (containing 64 items including clothes, care products, and a first reading book), parents get nearly a combined full year of parental leave, and the government provides free universal daycare from eight months until kids start grammar school. Pretty sweet deal.
Source: James Pethokoukis
Wednesday Links
- Evidence that blogging is effective.
- Eating disorders: They’re on the rise and people with one type of disorder often transition to a different one.
- Americans seeking health care are increasingly likely to get it from people who aren’t doctors. While a nationwide physician shortage has been mounting for decades, nurse practitioner numbers have tripled since 2010.
- In a first, the FDA has granted conditional approval for a new drug to extend lifespan. The manufacturer only has to prove safety. Proof of efficacy can come later. The catch: the drug is only approved for dogs. I have argued for this for humans for 40 years.
Tuesday Links
- Health Care Innovation. Accolade offers services that sound similar to Medici, which I wrote about at Forbes recently. CEO Raj Singh says that although most people have a primary care doctor, it typically takes 30 days to get an appointment. With Accolade they can get a video consultation in 15 minutes. Like Medici, they offer second opinions on more serious health care procedures. See Singh’s interview with Matthew Holt. Best line: In the near future, “every company will be an AI company, or they will be out of business.”
- Genes Matter. Study: “a one standard-deviation increase in parents’ looks is associated with a 0.4 standard-deviation increase in their child’s looks.” And since looks and income are correlated, a “one standard-deviation difference in parents’ looks generates a 0.06 standard-deviation difference in their adult child’s earnings, which amounts to additional annual earnings in the U.S. of about $2300.”