Health

The two companies announced a “strategic partnership” today where Oura Ring and Dexcom CGM users can more easily share their health data between the two platforms. Both companies will also sell and cross promote each other’s products.

Oura’s been diving into metabolic health lately, acquiring a CGM startup called Veri just a few months ago.

To top it all off: Dexcom is also investing $75 million in Oura.

The President-elect chose his former political opponent and anti-vaccine activist to lead HHS, a department that oversees the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Kennedy has embraced policies widely rejected by the scientific community, like halting the addition of fluoride to drinking water — a mineral that helps prevent tooth decay.

It’s also offering monthly treatment options for erectile dysfunction and eyelash growth. Amazon says Prime members only have to pay for the cost of consultation and the treatment plan, which ranges anywhere from $2 / month to $43 / month.

The goal was a product that could predict a user’s fertility by collecting saliva. Users would’ve then been able to log period symptoms, sexual activity, and other fertility data via a mobile app. CNBC says Amazon has laid off the entire team behind the project. Initially, it was set to launch later this year before technical issues resulted in delays.

A digital trail can provide evidence of someone obtaining an illegal abortion, but as Lux Alptraum wrote back in 2022, they’re not usually the initial tipoff:

A full 45 percent of cases were brought to the attention of the police via a healthcare professional like a doctor, nurse, or social worker. Another 26 percent of people were reported by friends or family members. 

In case you were wondering.

Unsurprising. Oura also found that there was a 2.3 percent increase in stressed minutes, a 19.5 percent decrease in restorative time and heart rates were 3.7 percent higher.

My own Oura data shows that I had 4 hours 30 minutes of stress on election day and eight whole hours of stress processing the results yesterday.

don’t feed your fucking private medical records to a chatbot, Jesus Christ.

Science Corporation (what a name!) announced preliminary clinical trial results of their Prima retinal implant. Wired’s write-up goes into more detail, but the 2mm chip acts as a replacement photoreceptor in the retinas of folks who lost their central vision. After a year, some trial participants were able to read, solve crossword puzzles, and play cards. It’s not the same as normal vision — there’s no color, for instance. But it’s impressive nonetheless!

I highly encourage everyone to read this breakdown from our former colleague Nicole Wetsman. It neatly summarizes the difference between wellness features like blood oxygen, versus detection features like EKG and sleep apnea.

As I wrote in my review, I understand FOMO in not having the feature. But you’re only supposed to use it to monitor your baseline — not much else.

More than 2,000 people’s unclaimed bodies in Dallas and Tarrant counties were given to the University of North Texas Health Science Center’s Willed Body Program. Some of the bodies were used to teach medical students; others were sold to for-profit companies.

Pulse oximetry features were recently removed from new Apple Watches due to Masimo's patent infringement claim. Now the medical device maker has announced deals with Qualcomm and Google for Wear OS reference platforms.

They say that OEMs who use them will design the wearables exteriors and software, but with internal hardware, software, and sensors designed/tested by Masimo.

Specifically, it’s acquired Veri — a startup that lets you track your meals and glucose levels using continuous glucose monitors (CGMs). It’s unclear how exactly Veri will be incorporated into the Oura platform, but this is the latest in health tech companies trying to make metabolic health the next frontier. Dexcom and Abbott, for example, both launched over-the-counter CGMs in the past month.

Apple’s busy updating the AirPods lineup, but MacRumors reports that when the Powerbeats Pro 2 revision ships next year, workout warriors can expect the heart rate tracking feature that has popped up on other buds like Sennheiser’s Momentum Sport.

Information from a software update also points to ANC, spatial audio, adaptive audio, and four colors with matching cases: orange, purple, black, and beige.

I kind of assumed that making medicine is... complicated! And maybe it is, but Jason Koebler's story at 404 Media about the Four Thieves Vinegar Collective sure makes me wonder.

They make it sound like Koebler's friend Katelin didn't need to die; not just because of ridiculous drug prices, but because they could have illegally made the medicine at home.

The number of heat-related deaths recorded in the US climbed 117 percent between 1999 and 2023, according to recent research.

In Hell or High Water, a podcast from Vox Media and Audible Originals, we explore how heat hits certain communities harder after a history of racist redlining in the US. There’s still a lot of work to do to end disparities and save lives.

A review commissioned by the World Health Organization examined over 5,000 studies on the connection between cellphone radiation and brain cancer. In the final analysis published today, lead author Ken Karipidis said there is no evidence of a link between the two:

I’m quite confident with our conclusion. And what makes us quite confident is… even though mobile phone use has skyrocketed, brain tumour rates have remained stable.

The Elon Musk-led company is allegedly running gas turbines without the proper permit at a data center in Memphis, TN. Local environmental groups are reportedly urging regulators to investigate.

They’re worried about nitrogen oxides (NOx), smog-forming pollution that can aggravate respiratory illness.