NIH Shifts Funding Strategy; U.K. Biobank Data Exposed; Autism Therapy Racket?

The NIH has cut the number of solicited calls for funding, and instead has been directed to increase its spending on “unsolicited” proposals driven by investigators’ interests. (Nature)

Confidential health data stored in the U.K. Biobank were repeatedly exposed online, raising questions about the safeguarding of patient records. (The Guardian)

The FDA official in charge of reviewing infectious disease products is leaving the agency. (STAT)

President Donald Trump’s Medicare director said his team is weighing a policy that would automatically enroll Medicare beneficiaries into Medicare Advantage plans. The concept was previously touted in the conservative Project 2025 policy blueprint. (STAT)

A Texas couple built a lucrative healthcare empire through a new law meant to protect patients from surprise medical bills. (STAT)

Medicaid payments for applied behavior analysis, an autism therapy, have boomed — and appear to be outpacing regulatory oversight. (Wall Street Journal via MSN)

Dozens of current and former CDC employees spoke out about agency changes they said are making Americans more vulnerable. (New York Times)

These editorial practices reportedly boosted a surgeon’s publishing empire. (Retraction Watch)

A survey of NIH-funded researchers revealed the majority of funding losses under the Trump administration have not been reversed, despite court orders and Congress’ rejection of a slashed agency budget. Survey respondents said grant cuts have shuttered laboratories and left data unanalyzed.

CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, MD, MBA, questioned medical societies on gender-affirming care for teenagers in a series of tense meetings. (New York Times)

Pregnant women in ICE detention detailed conditions such as being handcuffed and pleading for medical care that violate longstanding agency guidelines. (New York Times)

This woman turned to ketamine to rewire her brain. However, she did not live to see it happen. (Wall Street Journal)

While the Trump administration has been skeptical of some vaccines, it may be going all-in on a new initiative to develop vaccines aimed at preventing cancer recurrence. (Wall Street Journal)