(Axios) – The Federal Trade Commission’s vote on Tuesday to ban noncompete agreements could be a big deal for the health care workforce. Why it matters: While the agreements are often thought of as a concern for senior executives and lower-income workers, sizable shares of doctors and nurses face employer restrictions on switching jobs. (Read More) The post New Ban on Noncompetes Could Have Big Impact on Health Care first appeared on bioethics.com ..read more

(Wall Street Journal) – The frenzy to build data centers to serve the exploding demand for artificial intelligence is causing a shortage of the parts, property and power that the sprawling warehouses of supercomputers require.  The lead time to get custom cooling systems is five times longer than a few years ago, data center executives say. Delivery times for backup generators have gone from as little as a month to as long as two years. (Read More) The post Why the AI Industry’s Thirst for New Data Centers Can’t Be Satisfied first appeared on bioethics.com ..read more

(New York Times) – The Justice Department said on Tuesday it would pay $138.7 million to resolve claims by young women and girls, including many top female gymnasts, of sexual abuse by the former U.S.A. Gymnastics doctor Lawrence G. Nassar. The far-reaching settlement, which covers 139 claims, stems from the failure of F.B.I. officials to promptly investigate allegations that would ultimately lead to a horrifying conclusion: Mr. Nassar had sexually assaulted hundreds of women and girls under the guise of examinations and treatment. (Read More) The post Justice Dept. Reaches $138.7 Million ..read more

(People) – Berger and Hardy are one of the nine couples who filed a joint lawsuit on Tuesday, April 23, obtained by PEOPLE, against IVF provider Ovation Fertility in Newport Beach, alleging its clinic destroyed their embryos. The filing claims that a lab embryologist wrongly used hydrogen peroxide (or some other caustic agent) instead of a sterile solution like distilled water in an incubator, causing the embryos to be “killed instantly.” The complaint further alleges that the facility recklessly and wrongfully exposed the embryos to poison, then knowingly implanted “these dead embryos into ..read more

(CNBC) – UnitedHealth Group on Monday said it paid ransom to cyberthreat actors to try and protect patient data, following the February cyberattack on its subsidiary Change Healthcare. The company also confirmed that files containing personal information were compromised in the breach. (Read More) The post UnitedHealth Paid Ransom to Bad Actors, Says Patient Data Was Compromised in Change Healthcare Cyberattack first appeared on bioethics.com ..read more

(STAT News) – Federal regulators vastly under-enforced antitrust laws in the hospital sector in the last two decades, a new study finds. Why it matters: Unchecked mergers during a period of rapid consolidation represent a significant factor in rising health costs, according to the study in the American Economic Review. (Read More) The post Unchecked Hospital Mergers Increased Health Costs, Study Finds first appeared on bioethics.com ..read more

(Associated Press) – Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart. Lisa Pisano’s combination of heart and kidney failure left her too sick to qualify for a traditional transplant, and out of options. Then doctors at NYU Langone Health devised a novel one-two punch: Implant a mechanical pump to keep her heart beating and days later transplant a kidney from a genetically modified pig. (Read More) The post She Was Too Sick for a Traditional Transplant. So She Received a Pig Kidney ..read more

(STAT News) – The H5N1 bird flu outbreak in dairy cows in the United States has likely been going on for months longer than was previously realized, and has probably spread more widely across the country than the confirmed outbreaks would imply, according to an analysis of genetic sequences that were released Sunday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The genetic data point to a single spillover event that probably occurred in late 2023, Michael Worobey, an evolutionary virologist at the University of Arizona, told STAT on Tuesday. (Read More) The post Genetic Analysis Reveals H5N1 Flu ..read more

(Generation Tech) – When discussing age and suicide, it’s become near-gospel to note that suicide rates are highest among the middle-aged. “Suicide rates highest among middle-aged men,” read the headline of a 2017 NBC News article. The website for the advocacy group Samaritans says, “Middle-aged men are more likely to die by suicide than any other age group.” In reference to the increasing suicide rate for young people, psychologists Chris Ferguson and Patrick Markey countered that “Suicides are higher among middle-aged adults.” Not anymore. (Read More) The post Suicide Rates Are Now Highe ..read more

(Platformer) – On Tuesday, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to pass an aid package for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan that also includes a measure to force the divestment of TikTok. Observers expect final passage of the bill sometime in the next day or so; President Biden has indicated he will sign it. When that happens, Congress will have passed the first significant regulation against a tech platform since the backlash against social media began at the end of 2016. TikTok has told employees that it considers the bill a violation of its First Amendment rights, and that it intends to challenge t ..read more