LAURAN NEERGAARD Medical Writer.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks as President Donald Trump listens at an event to promote his proposal to improve Americans' access to their medical records in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, July 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

What to know about mRNA vaccines

Research shows mRNA vaccines saved millions of lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now scientists are using that Nobel Prize-winning technology to try to develop vaccines and treatments against a long list of diseases including cancer and cystic fibrosis. But this week, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine critic, canceled $500 million in government-funded research projects to create new mRNA vaccines against respiratory illnesses that might trigger another health emergency. That dismays infectious disease experts who note that mRNA allows faster production of shots than older vaccine-production methods, buying precious time if another pandemic were to emerge.

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FILE - Surgical instruments are arranged during an organ procurement surgery June 15, 2023, in Tennessee. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

US organ donation system faces scrutiny and changes after reports of disturbing near-misses

The U.S. is developing new safeguards for the organ transplant system after a government investigation found a Kentucky group continued preparations for donation by some patients who showed signs of life. A House subcommittee Tuesday asked how to repair trust in the transplant network for potential organ donors and families, some of whom have opted out of donor registries after these cases were publicized. One initiative underway is to develop new national policies making clear that anyone – family, hospital staff or organ donation staff – can call for a pause in donation preparations any time there are concerns about the patient’s eligibility.

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Researchers try new ways of preserving more hearts for transplants

Two university hospitals are pioneering new ways to expand access to the lifesaving heart transplants for adults and babies. They aim to overcome some barriers to retrieving hearts donated after circulatory death, when the heart stops beating after withdrawal of life support. Surgeons at Duke and Vanderbilt universities say they’ve separately devised some simpler approaches. In the New England Journal of Medicine, they describe small but early successes, transplanting an infant at Duke and three men at Vanderbilt. These are the kinds of transplantable hearts that too often aren’t retrieved depending on how would-be organ donors die.

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FILE - President Donald Trump, from left, speaks as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., during an event in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, May 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

Judge rules some NIH grant cuts illegal, saying he’s never seen such discrimination in 40 years

A federal judge says it was illegal for the Trump administration to cancel several hundred research grants issued by the National Institutes of Health. The grants were deemed to focus on gender identity or diversity, equity and inclusion, and Judge William Young of Massachusetts said Monday the NIH’s cancellation process was “arbitrary and capricious.” The judge went on to say the case raises serious questions about racial discrimination by the government. His written ruling is expected soon but is an interim step as the Trump administration is expected to appeal.

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