Hantavirus Origin Story Questioned; ‘Weird’ Political Jobs List; RFK Jr. Plays Nice

The landfill origin story of the recent hantavirus outbreak affecting passengers aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship seemed plausible to many. But scientists are now testing other hypotheses including one involving a mobile home where the first patient stayed. (Science)

How the White House chose the 2,481 job titles associated with President Donald Trump’s June 3 executive order re-categorizing certain civil servant jobs so it makes them easier to fire, is hard to decipher. One expert called the list “weird and capricious.” However, one pattern stands out: the NIH was targeted more aggressively than any other federal research agency. (Science)

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been trying to curry favor with his own staffers after slashing thousands of jobs and criticizing them roundly throughout his tenure. Employees and contractors for HHS noted a more conciliatory tone of late, but most aren’t buying it, saying they are “not just going to forget what’s been done.” (Politico)

Meanwhile, the American Medical Association elected Sandra Fryhofer, MD, an unapologetic Kennedy critic, as the group’s next president — a signal of AMA’s shifting approach to the administration that is tantamount to declaring war on the Secretary. (Politico)

The decades-old process for bringing the seasonal flu shot to market requires the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to recommend who receives the shots and when, and the CDC generally affirms that advice. With the committee effectively frozen after a federal judge said Kennedy violated protocol in overhauling its membership, uncertainty clouds the path to this fall’s flu shot. (The Atlantic)

After preliminary results of a blood draw at a routine physical suggested a possible blood cancer, George Mallon was forced to wait for results from further tests. In that time, he looked to ChatGPT for advice and “couldn’t put it down.” Experts warn that certain forms of anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder may be exacerbated by chatbots, and extensive conversations have contributed to “AI-associated psychosis.” (The Atlantic)

In 2019, President Donald Trump pledged to “defeat AIDS in America” after health officials showed him data indicating that goal was attainable by 2030. In his second term, Trump has taken a hatchet to those aspirations — gutting HIV prevention grants, stripping states of support, and failing to acknowledge world AIDS day. (Politico)

Ultra-rich tech entrepreneurs are attempting to biohack their way to longer lives using everything from peptides to immunosuppressants. Experts urge caution. (Nature)