Megan Molteni
@mmolteni.bsky.social
1.7K followers 380 following 170 posts
Writing about CRISPR, synthetic bio, reprotech and neuroscience for @statnews. Ex-WIRED. Berkeley journalism alum. Signal: mmolteni.13 ✉️ [email protected] https://www.statnews.com/
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Pinned
mmolteni.bsky.social
10,000 employees of HHS and its agencies — CDC, FDA, NIH, etc — are being fired. STAT wants to give the public a closer look at what is being cut and what will be lost.

If you're one of these workers, please tell us:

www.statnews.com/2025/03/27/h...
Are you affected by the HHS cuts and restructuring?
HHS is set to cut 10,000 jobs and consolidate divisions — have you been affected? @statnews would like to hear from you.
www.statnews.com
Reposted by Megan Molteni
mayakaufman.bsky.social
The Trump admin wouldn't tell us who's being deployed to Indian Health Service facilities.

But we discovered top leaders at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration were sent on the 120-day stints — potentially disrupting programs targeting the opioid epidemic.
alicemiranda.bsky.social
NEW: RFK transferred 70 public health officers to work for four months at far-flung Indian Health Service sites. Though the help is desperately needed, the deployment threatens to disrupt vital disease tracking and harm reduction work. www.politico.com/news/2025/10... w/ @mayakaufman.bsky.social
‘Straining everything in our system’: Indian Health Service transfers leave leadership vacuum
The four-month deployments are unusually long and target a chronic issue rather than an isolated emergency.
www.politico.com
mmolteni.bsky.social
Last week, NExTRAC met for the last time. The group advised NIH on emerging biotechnologies of concern. Without it, the US govt is "closing its eyes to the future," one member told @aniloza.bsky.social and me.

It's just one of 47 HHS ad comms terminated this year:

www.statnews.com/2025/10/07/h...
They advised federal health agencies on the ethics and impact of scientific research. They’re no longer wanted
The Trump administration has been shedding scientific expertise and patient perspectives in the name of slimming down the federal government.
www.statnews.com
Reposted by Megan Molteni
katiepalmer.bsky.social
For 3 years, I've reported on 2 big telehealth trends: pharma partnerships and compounding. They've gone head-to-head as patients demand GLP-1s.

But they've been part of the same story for much longer. Here's how telehealth got hooked on drug-first thinking: www.statnews.com/2025/10/06/t...
From erectile dysfunction to weight loss, how telehealth got hooked on drug-first thinking
Marketing of on-demand telehealth prescriptions has rapidly become a constant presence for American consumers
www.statnews.com
Reposted by Megan Molteni
lizzylawrence.bsky.social
With last week's announcement on Tylenol, pregnancy & autism — & an FDA panel in July on SSRIs during pregnancy — I've been thinking about exclusion of pregnant women in clinical trials. Talked to some experts about how we got here, and what can change:
www.statnews.com/2025/10/02/c...
Fights over Tylenol, SSRIs highlight the enduring lack of pregnant women in drug trials
Shutting pregnant women out of clinical trials to protect them and their babies has had the opposite effect, experts say.
www.statnews.com
Reposted by Megan Molteni
mmolteni.bsky.social
“There’s no scientific evidence that separating the vaccines provides any medical benefit. I can say that unequivocally,” Jake Scott, a Stanford infectious disease doc, told STAT's @aniloza.bsky.social

“In fact, all of the evidence points in the opposite direction”

www.statnews.com/2025/09/26/t...
3 burning questions about the MMR vaccine, answered
President Trump has said the MMR vaccine should be broken up. But experts see no medical benefit in separating one shot into three.
www.statnews.com
Reposted by Megan Molteni
katie-drummond.bsky.social
A new senate report is full of *shocking* details about DOGE activities inside the federal government. Including, unfortunately, the disturbing access that DOGE affiliates had to our SSNs:

"One whistleblower noted the possibility that the agency may need to re-issue SSNs to all who possess one."
Armed Guards and Muscle Milk: Senate Investigation Reveals DOGE Takeover Details
A new Senate report claims DOGE put every American's Social Security number at risk—and that officials at federal agencies essentially obstructed an investigation, all but denying DOGE even exists.
www.wired.com
Reposted by Megan Molteni
Reposted by Megan Molteni
theresagaff.bsky.social
Had a really interesting convo with the guy who coined the term "evidence based medicine," who has also worked on some systematic reviews of gender-affirming care. He says using the reviews as justification for banning care is an “egregious and unconscionable” misuse www.statnews.com/2025/09/22/e...
Author of reviews of gender affirming care decries ‘egregious misuse’ of the findings to justify bans
Gordon Guyatt, a co-author of systematic reviews of gender-affirming care, calls use of the findings to justify banning care "egregious."
www.statnews.com
mmolteni.bsky.social
Missed this wild story from @kakape.bsky.social on a big setback for the Gates Foundation-backed project leading the way on development and deployment of gene drives.
kakape.bsky.social
‘On 18 August, judicial police showed up at the Research Institute in Health Sciences (IRSS) in Bobo-Dioulasso, a key partner in Target Malaria, to stage what scientists described as a “brutal, humiliating” raid.’

My story on mosquitoes, malaria and misinformation in @science.org 🧪
After ‘humiliating’ raid, Burkina Faso halts ‘gene drive’ project to fight malaria
Disinformation campaign may have triggered “brutal” shutdown of mosquito lab
www.science.org
Reposted by Megan Molteni
Reposted by Megan Molteni
lizzylawrence.bsky.social
The CDC's vaccine panel recommended that people 6 months and older consult with their doctor before getting the Covid vaccine - preserving insurance coverage of the shots and diverging with the FDA's more limited approval:
www.statnews.com/2025/09/19/a...
Federal vaccine panel remade by RFK Jr. votes to maintain insurance coverage for Covid shots
The panel's decision would preserve broad insurance coverage for Covid-19 shots, even though some panelists questioned their benefits and safety.
www.statnews.com