iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Steve Joffe @stevejoffe.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Please join us Tuesday Oct 6, 12pm ET, in person or online, for our annual Bronstein Lecture @pennmehp.bsky.social. We will welcome Dr. Eric Turkheimer (@ent3c.bsky.social) as he speaks about "Open Science and Race Science." Register at tinyurl.com/4ehyfavr

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Steve Joffe @stevejoffe.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Jehovah's Witness congregations have historically opposed the transfusion of whole blood or its primary fractions (red cells, platelets, plasma, white cells). An important update now treats transfusion of fractions as a matter of individual conscience rather than doctrine. www.jw.org/en/library/s...

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Apoorva Mandavilli @apoorvanyt.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I’ve been reporting on the CDC for years, and have written about many of its troubles over the past year. I was still shocked by the extent of the staff losses and political interference I found when reporting this one. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/26/h...

nytimes.com

‘Zombified’ C.D.C., Hobbled by Cuts, Struggles to Fulfill Scientific Mission (Gift Article)

The agency has lost its independence and nearly a third of its staff, as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and associates have tightened control.

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David Burbach 🇺🇸 @dburbach.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

This shop seems more Cambridge than Portland but damn this hits

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Sarah Karlin-Smith @sarahkarlin-smith.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

What could go wrong... "Investors on the libertarian fringe of the biotech industry are making their dream of widespread access to experimental drugs a reality in Montana." www.politico.com/news/2026/09...

politico.com

Montana’s giving the biotech industry sweeping authority to sell unapproved drugs

Americans will soon be able to travel to Big Sky Country to take experimental drugs in defiance of federal regulators.

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Steve Joffe @stevejoffe.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Thrilled to share that Penn Medical Ethics @pennmehp.bsky.social is inviting applications for our 3-year National Human Genome Research Institute-funded postdoctoral fellowship in the ethical, legal, & social implications (ELSI) of genomics. Info @ medicalethicshealthpolicy.med.upenn.edu/elsipostdoc

medicalethicshealthpolicy.med.upenn.edu

Penn Medical Ethics and Health Policy | ELSI Genomics Postdoctoral Training Program

About the Fellowship The mission of the 3-year Penn Postdoctoral Training Program in the Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) of Genetics and Genomics, supported by a training grant from...

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Atheendar Venkataramani @atheendar.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

16 years after starting the project, 13 years after first submitting, it lives: www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/... It was a good experience. More on that later.

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Amesh Adalja @ameshaa.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

“Anna, who was pregnant, worried about the effect measles might have on her baby, but she didn’t think she could avoid being exposed. ‘I saw we can’t even get away from it because so many people have it’” www.theatlantic.com/health/2026/...

theatlantic.com

The Measles-Stricken Mother Who Lost Her Newborn Son

The family at the center of Pennsylvania’s measles controversy tells their story.

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Steve Joffe @stevejoffe.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

A story of medical aid in dying, from a brother. wapo.st/3SgYu0P

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Margaret R. Eby @margaretrutheby.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Fertility aside, the popularization of health-as-competition will have lasting effects on physical and mental health. Events like Sperm Racing and the Enhanced Games highlight how mainstream the gamification of augmentation has become.

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Margaret R. Eby @margaretrutheby.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

I gave a brief lecture on the science(?) behind looksmaxxing earlier this summer to a group of high school students exploring careers in STEM. When I asked how many of them knew someone using unregulated supplements, nearly three quarters raised their hands!

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ProPublica @propublica.org · 24/08/2026

NEW: Dr. Craig Towers was hailed as a hero for his research on detoxing pregnant opioid users. After he published a study that found naltrexone could help patients stay off drugs, addiction specialists started asking if his work was too good to be true.

propublica.org

His Research on Pregnant Opioid Users Was Widely Celebrated. Auditors and Experts Found Major Flaws.

Dr. Craig Towers was hailed as a hero for his research on detoxing pregnant opioid users. After he published a study that found naltrexone could help patients stay off drugs, addiction specialists sta...

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Steve Joffe @stevejoffe.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Thoughtful discussion of the challenges of developing innovative gene-directed therapies for rare, serious genetic diseases with limited treatment options. From incoming @pennmehp.bsky.social Emily Packard Dawson along with Lainie Freedman Ross. www.medpagetoday.com/opinion/seco...

medpagetoday.com

Opinion | The Promise and Peril of Gene Editing

Ethical and regulatory guardrails must protect patients amid desperation and scientific optimism

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Jack Mirkinson @jackmirkinson.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Today in @thenation.com: a harrowing piece written from inside the Dilley ICE detention center by Maryam Tahmasebi, a green card holder who's been locked up along with her husband and son for months despite none of them committing any crime. www.thenation.com/article/soci...

thenation.com

One Woman’s Message From the Hell of ICE Detention

My husband, son, and I have been locked up for months—despite being permanent residents with no criminal record. It is an unendurable, unending nightmare.

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Steve Joffe @stevejoffe.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Cuts in H.R. 1 are not gonna help. @commonwealthfund.org estimates loss of 1.65 million jobs by 2029, mostly due to cuts in Medicaid & ACA marketplace subsidies. www.commonwealthfund.org/publications...

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Sarah Karlin-Smith @sarahkarlin-smith.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Story is really important given pharma push to loosen U.S. Phase I trial regulations so U.S. can be more "competitive" with China.

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Atheendar Venkataramani @atheendar.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

1/ **New Op-ed** My patients often tell me they feel #stuck and that it makes them sick. In the last few years we @oppforhealthlab.bsky.social have defined and measured #stuckness and its impact on #health. We have come to see stuckness as a unifying explanation for our country's health crisis.

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Ari B Friedman @abfriedman.com · 30/07/2026

Really excited to announce that Michael Harhay, Scott Halpern, and I are hiring a post-doc. apply.interfolio.com/190196 If you do methodologically rigorous empirical work in the economics of hospital-based healthcare, please apply. A dream team with access to amazing data and expertise.

apply.interfolio.com

Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio

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Steve Joffe @stevejoffe.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

This is a superb short paper--both about environmental ethics specifically and about the value of and approaches to ethics education for scientists more generally. Highly recommend.

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Stacie Dusetzina @dusetzinas.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Thanks for writing this paper, @davidpowell.bsky.social and team.

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Stacie Dusetzina @dusetzinas.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Good reminder of how hard it is to access health insurance for people who are disabled by their conditions but in the waiting period for coverage for SSDI/Medicare. The mortality during the wait period for people with cancer (neoplasms) is nearly 40%. www.healthaffairs.org/doi/epdf/10....

Graphic shows the 24-month mortality rate for different conditions for people who are in the 2 year waiting period for obtaining social security disability insurance. Shows nearly 40% mortality for cancer, followed by about 15% digestive diseases, blood diseases, and HIV/AIDS. Lack of health insurance coverage during this period likely contributes to these higher rates of death.

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Steve Joffe @stevejoffe.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

So thrilled to see @hollylynchez.bsky.social receive this deserved & fitting recognition from @greenwallfdn.bsky.social!

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Steve Joffe @stevejoffe.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Whatever your views on assisted dying for mature individuals who can consent, its extension to children is very troubling. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/26/w...

nytimes.com

The Netherlands Records Its First Assisted Death of a Child Between 1 and 12

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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Truly bizarre story of how two papers from the 1940s by physics pioneer Max Planck have been "retracted" from Naturwissenschaften, potentially by an algorithm, for anachronistic "plagiarism" issues, leaving the current editor baffled (but it is Springer Nature so.... www.science.org/content/arti...

science.org

Why have papers by one of history’s most famous physicists been retracted?

Springer Nature has removed two studies by Max Planck. A bot may be to blame

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Manasvini Singh @vinisingh.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

It’s here, it’s finally hereeeee!!!! This paper is in the AER because of two people: my co-author @atheendar.bsky.social, and our copy-editor @sameyler.bsky.social.

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PennLDI @pennldi.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

"Big food is just like big tobacco, and we have to use very similar types of regulations and policies to rein them in." #FoodPolicy expert and LDI Fellow Christina Roberto of @pennmedicine.bsky.social talks about translating evidence into real-world impact in our "Good Science" video series.

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Megan Molteni @mmolteni.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

OHRP's mission is to ensure the safety of people who donate their time, data, and bodies to biomedical research. The ethics watchdog always struggled for funding, but did what it could with its small dedicated team. Under Trump, it's become a shell. My latest: www.statnews.com/2026/06/05/h...

statnews.com

Tiny HHS office tasked with protecting research participants’ safety is running on fumes

OHRP has experienced an unprecedented exodus of ethics expertise, raising concerns about its ability to effectively protect volunteers.

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PennLDI @pennldi.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

NEW: LDI Fellow Dominic Sisti weighed in on the Trump administration's executive order on research into psychedelics in @sciam.bsky.social. “It’s inevitable, because once the drug gets approved, then you start moving down that age timeline and testing kids." Read the full article here. ⤵️

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PennLDI @pennldi.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

🎉Congratulations to LDI Fellow Eric Roberts of @pennmedicine.bsky.social!

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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Damn AI for forcing me to question everything I now see. Because if this is real, it is extraordinary, and how is this alien being not better known?

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Rachel Sachs @rachelsachs.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Now up at Health Affairs Forefront, @michaelannica.bsky.social and I analyze CMS's proposed rule regarding prior authorization for prescription drugs, contextualizing it as an extension of the 2024 prior auth rule and considering its broader implications. www.healthaffairs.org/content/fore...

healthaffairs.org

Understanding CMS’s Proposed Rule Regarding Prior Authorization For Drugs | Health Affairs Forefront

The proposed rule aims to improve prior authorization for prescription drugs by establishing and requiring electronic prior authorization, setting coverage decision deadlines, and promoting transparen...

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PennLDI @pennldi.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Utah moved to let AI refill prescriptions autonomously—until regulators stepped in. In @statnews.com, LDI Fellow @alonbergman.bsky.social urges a federal regulatory framework for autonomous clinical AI. www.statnews.com/2026/05/11/ai-doct…

statnews.com

AI doctors should be licensed. Here’s a framework to do that

A state-by-state approach to clinical AI won’t work. Here’s a framework that can.

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Stacie Dusetzina @dusetzinas.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Looking for a faculty job in an awesome department? Might I suggest Vanderbilt Health Policy? We are searching for a tenure track faculty member, all ranks considered! Please apply - it is an outstanding department and Nashville is a great place to work and live! apply.interfolio.com/185527

apply.interfolio.com

Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio

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ELSIhub | CERA @elsihub.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Registration is OPEN for the 7th ELSI Congress! Join a global community shaping the impact of genomics on society. It's a hybrid event, so we encourage you to join us online if traveling isn’t possible. ⏳ Early bird ends May 25 🔗 www.elsicon2026.org #ELSI #Bioethics #Genomics #SciComm

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