Overheard at GMM HQ
"Pretty sure baby Simba wrote a song about that." – Holley Miller, on what it takes to establish yourself as King of the Category.
WHAT THE INDUSTRY IS BUZZING ABOUT
TAKE TWO OF THESE AND GROW A PAIR
A recent report in the BMJ explores the validity of "man flu," a term generally used to insinuate that a man is overreacting to minor symptoms, and find that there might be some merit to it. Kinda.
MIND THE GAP
The researcher purports there is evidence to suggest there may be an "immunity gap" between men and women, with women responding better to vaccines and requiring fewer flu-related hospitalizations. More proof men are from Mars and women are from Venus.
THE 411
Worth noting: This research is the result of an assignment to give an interesting two-minute presentation to a diverse group of professionals. Don't expect to see a man flu vaccine anytime soon.
WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' BATTERIES
There's a new power source on the block that could make electric devices like pacemakers, implantable sensors, and artificial organs safer and easier to maintain, and it's inspired by... an electric eel.
PISCINE POWER
Researchers mimicked the anatomy of the electrocytes used by electric eels to stun their prey by developing potentially renewable streams of electrolyte solution that generated a potential difference of 110 volts. One fish's weapon is another man's lifeline?
THE 411
The eel-inspired artificial electric organ isn't as potentially toxic as currently available battery-powered devices, and researchers hope to create a next generation model that is powered by the user's body fluids. Sometimes getting back to nature is shockingly high tech.
PASS GO, COLLECT $200, GET YOUR DRUG TO MARKET
The FDA is working towards creating a new fast track option to allow drugs and devices to come to market with fewer preliminary requirements, a move that has been heralded as "promoting patient access to medical technologies through innovative regulatory pathways," and criticized as making patients guinea pigs.
SEEMS CONTENTIOUS
Yup. You can thank President Trump's campaign promise to cut regulations for the FDA's new fast tracked approval process, and where's there's Trump, there's drama.
THE 411
The move would save device companies millions of dollars in product testing and shave years off development times, but could also result in faulty products being used on real patients. Your family holiday dinner looks pretty tame now, right?
GOOD TO KNOW
Massachusetts just usurped Hawaii as the nation's healthiest state, but we're probably all headed to Winos Anonymous if the seven-fold increase in wine glass size over the last three centuries is any indication. 'Merica.
