Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Jason Gale @jasongale.bsky.social · 3d

Soon after Dr. Stanley Appel opened one of the first #ALS clinics in the US in 1982, he found the immune system held clues to the disease.
At 92, new Nature research proves him right.
“Mission not yet accomplished,” he said. “So I’m not retiring.”
gift🔗👇
www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

New ALS Research Vindicates a 92-Year-Old Trailblazer

Hi, it’s Jason in Melbourne. A study in Nature last week shows the immune system itself may be fueling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS — a discovery that validates the life’s work of one of the ...

www.bloomberg.com

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Jason Gale @jasongale.bsky.social · 7d

For decades, prostate cancer care has forced men into a cruel choice:
🪓 Remove the whole prostate, with life-altering side effects
🤷‍♂️ Or risk living with the disease
In London, surgeon Hashim Ahmed is betting on a 3rd way: focal therapy. My story with @ashleighfurlong.bsky.social
tinyurl.com/2rya36ds

The Fight to Fix Prostate Cancer Care

For decades, men with the disease faced a binary choice: live with the cancer, or live with the consequences of removing it. This doctor is pushing an alternative that he says is more precise, humane ...

www.bloomberg.com

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Reposted by Jason Gale

Anne Cronin @annecronin.bsky.social · 8d

FREE LINK: Research has found that body’s own immune system may drive amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS — a breakthrough that could reshape treatment of the fatal disease. @jasongale.bsky.social has the story >

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

ALS Breakthrough Shows Fatal Disease Is Driven by Immune Attack

Researchers have uncovered how the body’s own immune system may be driving the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS — a breakthrough that could reshape treatment of the fatal disease.

www.bloomberg.com

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Jason Gale @jasongale.bsky.social · 17d

Trump told pregnant women to avoid Tylenol + “tough out” fevers.
Scientists including @mhornig.bsky.social say that’s misinformation — fever itself is more dangerous for moms + babies.
Gift link to my latest for Bloomberg: tinyurl.com/4jt9rvne

Scientists Rebuke Trump’s Tylenol-Autism Claim, Stress Fever Is Bigger Danger in Pregnancy

President Donald Trump’s call for pregnant women to avoid Tylenol is drawing sharp criticism from researchers who say the advice ignores decades of evidence and could endanger mothers and babies.

tinyurl.com

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Jason Gale @jasongale.bsky.social · Sep 5

DR Congo has declared a new #Ebola outbreak: 28 suspected cases, 15 deaths. What’s different this time? US has pulled back from outbreak response, leaving fewer partners to help contain it. Experts warn that could cost lives. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Congo Declares Ebola Virus Outbreak as 15 Deaths Reported

The Democratic Republic of Congo declared an outbreak of Ebola virus disease in south-central Kasai province after 28 suspected cases and 15 deaths, including four health workers, were reported.

www.bloomberg.com

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Jason Gale @jasongale.bsky.social · Sep 4

Hospitals are meant to heal — but they’re also massive polluters.
I wrote about Dr. Forbes McGain, an anesthesiologist in Melbourne, trying to break medicine’s addiction to single-use plastics and greenhouse gases.

Gift link here: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

The Doctor Trying to Cure Medicine’s Addiction to Disposables

The global healthcare system is built on throwaway gowns, plastic and instruments. Forbes McGain is finding solutions to cut down on waste — and save money.

www.bloomberg.com

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Reposted by Jason Gale

Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · Aug 28

“[Monarez] had two lines in the sand,” Besser said. “One was anything that was deemed illegal. And the second was anything that she felt flew in the face of science. And she says she was asked to do both of those.”

Principled leadership matters.

RFK Jr is unfit to serve as Secretary of HHS.

STAT @statnews.com · Aug 28

Special Report
Inside the CDC director’s ouster: Kennedy demanded acceptance of new vaccine policies; Susan Monarez refused
www.statnews.com/2025/08/28/c...

Inside the CDC director's ouster: Kennedy demanded acceptance of new vaccine policies; Susan Monarez refused

Susan Monarez’s resistance to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s moves to assert control over vaccine guidance is at the center of her dismissal as CDC director

www.statnews.com

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Jason Gale @jasongale.bsky.social · Aug 28

CDC in crisis: Director Susan Monarez is being pushed out just weeks into the job. Her clash with RFK Jr. sparked resignations from Demetre Daskalakis, Debra Houry & Daniel Jernigan — leaders who steered the US thru Ebola, Zika, opioids & Covid.

www.bloomberg.com/news/newslet...

Turmoil at the CDC Shows How Politics Is Undermining Science

Hi, it’s Jason in Melbourne. The legacy of Covid isn’t just medical — it’s political, and it’s haunting public health. Before I explain...

www.bloomberg.com

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Reposted by Jason Gale

Dr. Tom Frieden @drtomfrieden.bsky.social · Aug 25

I joined NEJM to discuss the role of the CDC and current threats to the public health infrastructure in the U.S. Please listen to the interview:

Interview with Tom Frieden on the role of the CDC and current threats to the U.S. public health infrastructure. | NEJM

Audio Interview from the New England Journal of Medicine — Interview with Tom Frieden on the role of the CDC and current threats to the U.S. public health infrastructure.

www.nejm.org

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Jason Gale @jasongale.bsky.social · Aug 25

A flesh-eating parasite that burrows into living tissue has shown up in the US for the first time in decades. My @business explainer on screwworms, why cattle ranchers are alarmed, and how USDA plans to stop them.
Free gift link www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

What You Need to Know About the Flesh-Eating Screwworm in the US

The US has confirmed a case of the flesh-eating parasite New World screwworm in a person in Maryland, who had traveled from Guatemala and has received treatment for the infection, Reuters reported.

www.bloomberg.com

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Reposted by Jason Gale

Health Nerd @gidmk.bsky.social · Jul 30

Among the many issues that this piece highlights is how the conspiracy theories surrounding COVID-19 origins have remained almost entirely focused on a handful of chat logs and email threads from five years ago while the science has been evolving and pointing more and more towards zoonosis.

Eddie Holmes @eddieholmes.bsky.social · Jul 29

You’ve been badly misled over COVID origins theconversation.com/how-conspira...

How conspiracy theories about COVID’s origins are hampering our ability to prevent the next pandemic

The COVID pandemic likely began when the virus jumped from animals to humans, and didn’t start in a lab. But false narratives continue to circulate.

theconversation.com

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Jason Gale @jasongale.bsky.social · Jul 21

What if you could "see" disease before it shows up?
UK Biobank scanned 100,000 Brits to understand how illness really. Ashleigh Furlong & I look at what this massive project is uncovering—from brain changes after mild Covid to hidden heart risks & misdiagnosed diabetes.
Free link ⬇️
bit.ly/3IBHsoR

What Scientists Learned Scanning the Bodies of 100,000 Brits

A massive database of medical images is offering an unprecedented window into how diseases take hold years before symptoms appear.

www.bloomberg.com

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Jason Gale @jasongale.bsky.social · Jul 18

👏👏👏

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Jason Gale @jasongale.bsky.social · Jul 6

Excited (and relieved) to share that my book After Covid is in production with Johns Hopkins University Press — and up for pre-order.
It looks at the pandemic’s lasting health impacts, from chronic illness to strained systems and fading trust in science.

More here:
www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/...

After Covid

The Health Impacts That Will Last Generations

www.press.jhu.edu

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Jason Gale @jasongale.bsky.social · Jun 6

Mono might just be the start.
EBV is being linked to MS, lupus, cancers, rheumatoid arthritis — and maybe even Long Covid.
Scientists are racing to stop it.

My latest for Bloomberg (free link):
🧵 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

The Silent Virus Behind Mono Is Now a Prime Suspect in Major Diseases

Epstein-Barr virus, which causes glandular fever, was once dismissed as a rite of passage. Scientists now link it to cancer and multiple sclerosis.

www.bloomberg.com

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Jason Gale @jasongale.bsky.social · May 7

Recent Australian election prompted me to wonder about the name of my electorate: Macnamara.
Turns out, it’s a tribute to Dame Annie Jean Macnamara (1899-1968), a Melbourne doc whose discovery of multiple polioviruses led to the development of the Salk vaccine.
Very impressive Aussie!

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Reposted by Jason Gale

Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · May 1

New report from @independentsage.bsky.social

Everything you ever wanted to know about mRNA vaccines including how they work, debunking myths & their exciting future.

As misinfo about mRNA vax ramps up in US, this report is sorely needed!

independentsage.org/wp-content/u... 1/2

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Jason Gale @jasongale.bsky.social · May 1

New: Walmart heiress Christy Walton is backing a vaccine watchdog effort at @cidrap.bsky.social as measles surges and political pressure mounts on US health agencies. “This is a firebreak against political arson,” @helenp-h.bsky.social told me. Gift link to Bloomberg story ⬇
tinyurl.com/4nwbjefr

US Vaccine Watchdog Effort Begins as Measles Surge Draws Alarm

The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota has quietly begun to steer a national initiative to safeguard the scientific foundations of US vaccine policy — a b...

tinyurl.com

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Reposted by Jason Gale

Prof Brendan Crabb AC @brendancrabb.bsky.social · Apr 28

With some thoughts from me. Effectively, it's good for the individuals and for science in general if other countries can offer them a lifeline - I'm very supportive. But the size of the funding pie in countries like my own needs to grow to accommodate the new recruits.

Jason Gale @jasongale.bsky.social · Apr 28

Trump’s science cuts are triggering a global scramble to recruit US researchers. Countries are offering labs, grants and stability — and it’s working.
If this trend continues, the US risks losing a generation of innovation.
Gift link to my story ⬇️
tinyurl.com/4mp8j33f
#Science #Research #BrainDrain

Global Race to Lure US Researchers Intensifies After Trump Cuts

A global race to recruit US scientists is heating up as President Donald Trump’s sweeping cuts to research funding and federal agencies trigger an exodus from the country’s research institutions.

tinyurl.com

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Jason Gale @jasongale.bsky.social · Apr 28

Trump’s science cuts are triggering a global scramble to recruit US researchers. Countries are offering labs, grants and stability — and it’s working.
If this trend continues, the US risks losing a generation of innovation.
Gift link to my story ⬇️
tinyurl.com/4mp8j33f
#Science #Research #BrainDrain

Global Race to Lure US Researchers Intensifies After Trump Cuts

A global race to recruit US scientists is heating up as President Donald Trump’s sweeping cuts to research funding and federal agencies trigger an exodus from the country’s research institutions.

tinyurl.com

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Jason Gale @jasongale.bsky.social · Apr 27

A twice-yearly HIV prevention shot could be a gamechanger — but funding cuts are threatening to leave vulnerable women behind.
New with @janicekew for @business:
🔗 Free link tinyurl.com/4eedmmsp

#HIV #GlobalHealth #PublicHealth #Lenacapavir #Pepfar

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Reposted by Jason Gale

Charles Onyango-Obbo @cobbo3.bsky.social · Apr 26

An injectable drug has been shown to prevent HIV with just two doses a year and could be a gamechanger in the fight against infection. Lenacapavir, which was tested on South African women in trials, is the most promising HIV-prevention tool in a generation.

A ‘Miracle’ HIV Drug May Not Reach the Women Who Need It Most

Lenacapavir could be a gamechanger in the fight against infection. But US funding cuts have thrown the rollout of the twice-yearly injection into doubt.

www.bloomberg.com

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Jason Gale @jasongale.bsky.social · Apr 26

We just wrote about this
Free link ⬇️

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

A ‘Miracle’ HIV Drug May Not Reach the Women Who Need It Most

Lenacapavir could be a gamechanger in the fight against infection. But US funding cuts have thrown the rollout of the twice-yearly injection into doubt.

www.bloomberg.com

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Reposted by Jason Gale

AVAC @avac.org · Apr 25

“The world would be crazy not to take full advantage of a tool that allows us to bring forward the end of #AIDS.”

#PrEP #PEPFAR #Lenacapavir

www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...

A ‘Miracle’ HIV Drug May Not Reach the Women Who Need It Most

Lenacapavir could be a gamechanger in the fight against infection. But US funding cuts have thrown the rollout of the twice-yearly injection into doubt.

www.bloomberg.com

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Reposted by Jason Gale

Nina Schwalbe, MPH, PhD @nschwalbe.bsky.social · Apr 25

The US helped ensure a world on the verge of controlling HIV as a public health threat. This could have cemented their legacy. Now, people may remember that the US pulled out.

Read @jasongale.bsky.social on the HIV miracle that wasn't because the US pulled the plug.

bit.ly/444ERwm

A ‘Miracle’ HIV Drug May Not Reach the Women Who Need It Most

Lenacapavir could be a gamechanger in the fight against infection. But US funding cuts have thrown the rollout of the twice-yearly injection into doubt.

bit.ly

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