Author: Healthcare Propulsion Staff

Imagine a brain teaser where the challenge is to spot the difference between two nearly identical sandcastles. The only difference? The removal of three grains of sand. Scientists face a similarly exasperating challenge when it comes to looking at changes in protein levels within our cells, where small fluctuations can mean the difference between health and disease, or a drug working and not working. A new study in Cell, led by Steven Banik, assistant professor of chemistry in the School of Humanities and Sciences and institute scholar at Sarafan ChEM-H, has provided a solution to this problem, offering a new…

The way cancer-causing proteins accumulate in tumors may influence how effectively a promising new generation of medicines can remove them, a study suggests.  Researchers found that PROTAC (Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras) drugs were more effective at removing proteins that build up because they are not broken down properly than proteins that cancer cells continually produce in large amounts.  Experts say the findings could help identify which tumors are most likely to respond to these therapies, supporting the development of more personalized cancer treatments.  PROTACs are a new class of medicines that destroy harmful proteins by harnessing the cell’s natural waste-disposal system.…

Nourish has redesigned its patient app around a 24/7 AI health assistant that the company said is seeing strong engagement and promising outcomes. The Health Assistant, which has been in beta and is now rolling out widely, gives patients personalized guidance between visits, including meal planning, lab insights and appointment prep support.  The generative AI tool draws on a patient’s medical record, labs, goals and Nourish clinical protocols, and is trained on millions of past data points. It also handles support questions, prescription management, insurance questions and scheduling, and escalates to humans as needed. Half of Nourish’s active patients engage…

J&J MedTech is rebranding Shockwave Medical Cookie Settings Source Link

While building a terrace in their backyard, a homeowner in Denmark discovered the treasure of a lifetime: more than 40 pounds (18.5 kilograms) of thousand-year-old silver buried in the ground. An analysis revealed that the finding is the country’s largest Viking Age (793 to 1066) silver hoard known to researchers.The hoard has approximately 700 silver objects, including silver bars, jewelry, 47 whole coins and coin fragments, and a small Thor’s hammer, an object that was often interpreted as a sign of protection and a clue that its owner believed in the Norse pantheon of gods. About 320 of those objects…

When a patient is facing certain cancers or an immune condition, clinicians turn to their white blood cells for clues about the progression of both diseases and their treatments. From a standard blood draw, a clinical lab isolates peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), which are predominantly immune cells, and then counts the abundance of different cell types, along with some basic measures of how they’re functioning. “PBMCs can be isolated clinically really easily, and they’re already used in the clinical workflow,” says Melissa Skala, an investigator in biomedical engineering at the Morgridge Institute and senior author of a new study…

UnitedHealthcare said earlier this year that it was aiming to eliminate 30% of prior authorization requirements by the end of 2026. Now, the insurance giant is offering a deeper look at codes that will no longer be subject to prior auth as of Oct. 1, including adjustments across its commercial, Medicaid, Medicare Advantage and individual market coverage. About 1,700 codes are included overall. The bulk of CPT codes no longer subject to prior auth are concentrated in UHC’s commercial and individual plans, according to the notices. The number of codes varies across the 17 states and the District of Columbia…

A region of the brain called the striatum is critical for many cognitive and motor functions, including decision-making, control of movement, habit formation, and processing of reward. It also plays a role in addiction and is significantly affected by Huntington’s disease, schizophrenia, and other disorders. In work that could help scientists devise new treatments for those diseases, MIT researchers have generated a new atlas of the neurons found within the striatum. Using single-cell RNA sequencing and other techniques, they were able to identify 31 subgroups of neurons based on which genes they express. These groups include neurons that are involved…

OpenAI is expanding ChatGPT’s healthcare capabilities with new integrations that connect it more directly with clinical workflows and public healthcare sources. ChatGPT for Healthcare, initially announced in January, as a workspace for researchers, clinicians and administrators, powered by GPT-5 models that went through doctor-led testing. The company developed a suite of tools for healthcare enterprises as it expands its reach to hospitals and health systems. In April, OpenAI launched ChatGPT for Clinicians, a version of ChatGPT designed to support clinical tasks like documentation and medical research. On Tuesday, OpenAI announced that ChatGPT for Healthcare now integrates with Epic’s electronic health record…

Lighteum Medical CEO Gaurav Agarwal [Photo courtesy of Lighteum Medical]Nitinol supplier Lighteum Medical has hired Gaurav Agarwal as CEO effective Aug. 31, 2026. “Gaurav is an accomplished medtech leader and proven growth-oriented operator with a track record of building high-performing organizations and driving results,” Lighteum Medical Chair Greg Lucier said in a statement shared with Medical Design & Outsourcing ahead of the announcement. “Throughout his career, he has demonstrated an ability to set a focused strategy and translate it into disciplined execution and sustained performance.” Lighteum Medical, a medical device contract manufacturing and development organization owned by private equity firm…