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The federal government has cancelled dozens of grants to study how to prevent new HIV infections and expand access to care, decimating progress toward eliminating the epidemic in the United States, scientists say.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) terminated at least 145 grants related to researching advancements in HIV care that had been awarded nearly $450m in federal funds. The cuts have been made in phases over the last month.

NIH, a division of the Department of Health and Human Services, is the largest funding source of medical research in the world, leaving many scientists scrambling to figure out how to continue their work.

“The loss of this research could very well result in a resurgence of HIV that becomes more generalized in this country,” said Julia Marcus, a professor at Harvard Medical School who recently had two of her grants cancelled. “These drastic cuts are rapidly destroying the infrastructure of scientific research in this country and we are going to lose a generation of scientists.”

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A bill that would have required women seeking medication abortions to get ultrasounds has been vetoed by Wyoming’s Republican governor, who questioned whether it was reasonable and necessary especially for victims of rape and incest.

“Mandating this intimate, personally invasive, and often medically unnecessary procedure goes too far,” Mark Gordon wrote in a letter explaining his veto late on Monday.

Groups working to maintain abortion access in Wyoming – the first state to attempt to explicitly outlaw medication abortions – praised the veto even though Gordon over the past three years has signed into law several bills seeking to ban the procedure.

“It’s important that women are able to access this healthcare without undue and unnecessary burden,” Christine Lichtenfels, executive director of the abortion access advocate Chelsea’s Fund, said on Tuesday.

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The measles outbreak in Texas has grown to at least 90 cases, reaching historic levels, according to officials.

Since late January, 90 cases of measles have been identified in the South Plains region, the state’s department of state health services (DSHS) reported Friday. At least 16 patients have been hospitalized as a result.

The majority of reported measles cases were in children and teenagers; minors between the ages of five and 17 accounted for 51 cases. Children under four made up 26 cases. Most patients’ parents either had chosen to not immunize them against the highly contagious illness through vaccines meant to prevent the potentially deadly illness and its spread, or their vaccination status was unknown.

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A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the Department of Health and Human Services to restore public medical information on websites that was removed under one of President Donald Trump’s executive orders aimed at transgender care.

U.S. District Judge John Bates' order came after the group Doctors of America said the removal of websites at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hurt patient care because doctors rely on the sites for information about treating ailments. He ordered the webpages be restored to their previous condition as of Jan. 30 by the midnight Tuesday.

"If those doctors cannot provide these individuals the care they need (and deserve) within the scheduled and often limited time frame, there is a chance that some individuals will not receive treatment, including for severe, life-threatening conditions," Bates wrote. "The public thus has a strong interest in avoiding these serious injuries to the public health."

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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Friday made a significant reduction in grants reserved for research institutions, a decision that may significantly impact American higher education.

The NIH said it provided over $35 billion in grants to more than 2,500 institutions in 2023, announcing that it will now limit the amount granted for “indirect funding” to 15 percent. This funding helps cover universities’ overhead and administrative expenses and previously averaged nearly 30 percent, with some universities charging over 60 percent.

The change will take effect on Monday, and will save roughly $4 billion annually, per the NIH.

US regulators on Wednesday banned the dye called Red 3 from the nation’s food supply, nearly 35 years after it was barred from cosmetics because of potential cancer risk.

Food and Drug Administration officials granted a 2022 petition filed by two dozen food safety and health advocates, who urged the agency to revoke authorization for the substance that gives some candies, snack cakes and maraschino cherries a bright red hue.

The agency said it was taking the action as a “matter of law” because some studies have found that the dye caused cancer in lab rats. Officials cited a statute known as the Delaney Clause, which requires FDA to ban any additive found to cause cancer in people or animals.

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