View this email in your browser<http://mailchi.mp/statnews/rk0e3593ga?e=4aad33fd68> [STAT]<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=641abf2768&e=4aad33fd68> Monday, May 8, 2017 [Morning Rounds by Megan Thielking] Follow STAT on Facebook<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=ece2060cc6&e=4aad33fd68> and Twitter<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=d8761e59c1&e=4aad33fd68>, and visit us at statnews.com<http://statnews.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=77cf56c26b&e=4aad33fd68> Good morning, folks! Megan here, glad to be back after a wonderful fellowship <http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=7e6348eae4&e=4aad33fd68> with a group of great health reporters. Here's what you need to know about health and medicine this morning. Iowa Supreme Court weighs new abortion law The Iowa Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a restrictive new abortion law. The measure would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy and would require women to wait three days after an initial appointment to receive an abortion. The law, passed by the GOP-controlled legislature last month and signed by Republican Governor Terry Branstad, wouldn’t make any exceptions in cases of rape or incest. The ACLU and Planned Parenthood are challenging the waiting period and mandatory second appointment in court, arguing that it imposes an undue burden on women seeking an abortion. Some of those women might have to travel a long distance — as of 2014, an estimated 42 percent of women in Iowa lived in counties with no abortion clinics. The state will have a chance to respond to the temporary injunction today. GOP lawmakers face voters angry about AHCA GOP lawmakers — still celebrating their victory in passing the AHCA last week — are home for a week-long recess, and some are finding that their constituents aren’t all celebrating with them. Only a handful of the 217 Republicans who voted to repeal Obamacare have scheduled town halls back home this week. Those who met voters over the weekend got an earful. Idaho Representative Raul Labrador, who voted in favor of the bill, was confronted by constituents at a town hall Friday. His response: “Nobody dies because they don’t have access to health care.” The crowd didn’t buy that argument<http://statnews.us11.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=e4f61c3681&e=4aad33fd68>. Meanwhile, former President Obama — who was accepting the "Profile in Courage" award at an event<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=f7c095ef5a&e=4aad33fd68> in Boston last night — defended the health care law in his first speech since leaving office. “It takes little courage to aid those who are already powerful, already comfortable, already influential, but it takes great courage to champion the vulnerable and the sick and the infirm," he said. A tiny slingshot to fling drugs toward diseased cells [https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f8609630ae206654824f897b6/images/3c3c504c-a4d3-4a90-a2ae-4ada47455d5f.jpg] a teeny, tiny slingshot may one day be a weapon against disease. (Marco Tripodi) Scientists have created a nano-sized molecular slingshot that they want to try to use to fling drugs toward targets in the human body. It’s anchored by interchangeable molecular tags that recognize specific antibodies expressed when the body is battling infection or disease. The researchers figured out a way to program the slingshot to snap into action when those anchoring tags recognize signs of disease. That would trigger the slingshot to draw back and launch a drug in response. It’s still an early-stage idea; the researchers have just cleared design hurdles in constructing a prototype. Now, they’re looking to test it using a specific disease-drug combo on cells in the lab. Read more about the work in Nature Communications<http://statnews.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=e299a5bfa5&e=4aad33fd68>. Inside STAT<http://statnews.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=7f77aca951&e=4aad33fd68>: Minnesota measles outbreak sparks worry Anti-vaccine activists have worked for years to stop the sizable Somali-American community in Minnesota from vaccinating their kids against measles, mumps, and rubella. That’s worked — the vaccination rate in the community has plunged. Now, the state is struggling to grapple with a growing measles outbreak spreading through the Somali community. Health officials are worried it has the potential to spread further. As of Friday, there were 44 confirmed cases of the highly contagious, potentially fatal infection. STAT’s Helen Branswell has more here<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=85581399fc&e=4aad33fd68>. FBI director addresses health care cyberthreats FBI director James Comey is turning his attention this morning to the security vulnerabilities that could put health care systems at risk, in a speech at the American Hospital Association’s annual meeting in D.C. Cybersecurity is a growing concern for hospitals; breaches of medical records and potential hacks of medical devices have sparked unease among patients and providers. The FDA has approved a new ALS drug There’s a new treatment for ALS hitting the market. The FDA has approved <http://statnews.us11.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=ea9fbade1e&e=4aad33fd68> a drug called Radicava for the treatment of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. There are an estimated<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=146fe59ee6&e=4aad33fd68> 20,000 to 30,000 people in the US living with ALS. But up until now, there’s only been one drug approved specifically for treating the neurodegenerative disease. A clinical trial found that Radicava, manufactured by MT Pharma, slowed the decline of physical function in ALS patients by 33 percent compared to a placebo. The medication carries a list price of $145,000 a year — more than four times as much as it costs in Japan, where it was first approved, according to Forbes<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=51410f80f2&e=4aad33fd68>. Childhood bullying tied to substance use in high school A new study<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=3ee0ce25ba&e=4aad33fd68> out this morning finds that kids who are bullied early during adolescence are at an increased risk of smoking, drinking alcohol, and using marijuana during high school. Researchers collected data from a cohort of 4,300 kids in the 5th grade from three regions in the US. They continued to check back in with that group over the next seven years. Those who reported being bullied more frequently in 5th grade were more likely to report symptoms of depression in 7th grade and more likely to report substance use by 10th grade. The study’s authors say that finding supports the need for kids to be screened early during adolescence to catch cases of bullying. What to read around the web today § America’s ‘Miracle Machine’ is in desperate need of, well, a miracle. Washington Post<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=f32feb2259&e=4aad33fd68> § In rare unity, hospitals, doctors and insurers criticize health bill. New York Times<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=473a4b7797&e=4aad33fd68> § This health care firm is trimming costs — and waistlines. NPR<http://statnews.us11.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=35476b041a&e=4aad33fd68> More reads from STAT § Make a wish<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=3124bc9def&e=4aad33fd68>: The top requests from children and adults facing the end of life. § This provider thinks it can solve loneliness in seniors<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=7be759de80&e=4aad33fd68>. § Zika testing recommendations changed for pregnant women<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=628cd68416&e=4aad33fd68>. The latest from STAT Plus § 5 questions as Trump prepares to welcome biotech execs to the White House<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=f13adfbb11&e=4aad33fd68>. § Biotech IPO debuts with weaker-than-expected performance<http://statnews.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f8609630ae206654824f897b6&id=b07a41e57a&e=4aad33fd68>. Thanks for reading! More tomorrow, [Megan]