In a scathing report issued Tuesday, the GAO found that the Trump administration, by abruptly canceling NIH grants, had violated a 1974 law blocking presidents from withholding funding Congress has approved. The independent congressional watchdog said that in terminating over 1,800 NIH grants in response to President Trump's executive orders directing agencies to cut off federal funding for equity-related activities, the administration illegally withheld funds. In addition, the GAO found that the NIH's $8 billion shortfall in new and continuing awards between February and July amounted to an illegal withholding of obligated funds.
Quest Diagnostics has completed its acquisition of select clinical testing assets from Spectra Laboratories, owned by Fresenius Medical Care. The deal positions Quest to provide dialysis-related clinical testing to independent dialysis clinics previously served by Spectra. Under a separate laboratory services agreement, Quest will begin providing comprehensive dialysis-related laboratory services for Fresenius Medical Care's U.S. dialysis centers, serving approximately 200,000 patients annually. The service transition will start this month and is expected to complete by early 2026.
Ongoing investigation into whether bee venom could help treat a certain type of cancer has been making "important progress," the leading researcher has told Newsweek. Experts at the Epigenetics Lab at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research have been exploring since 2020 how the venom from honeybees could be used to kill aggressive breast cancer cells, without harming healthy cells.
New Hampshire is the first Northeastern state to ban gender-affirming health care for minors after its Republican governor gave final approval to bills that will ban the use of certain prescription medications and surgeries to treat gender dysphoria beginning next year. Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a former U.S. senator who won New Hampshire's gubernatorial election in November, signed two bills restricting access to transition-related care in the state, which already prohibits rare genital surgeries for minors to transition.