Saturday, July 18, 2026

FOR PROFIT HEALTHCARE

Commercial price variation for common cardiovascular services across 4 major US insurers



JAMA Network Open


About The Study:

In this cross-sectional study of commercial insurance payments for cardiology services, there was substantial variation across both insurers and states, particularly in facility fees. These findings reveal the influence of payer contracting strategies and market dynamics and underscore the need for greater transparency and regulatory oversight to promote efficient health care spending.



Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Christopher Whaley, PhD, email christopher_whaley@brown.edu.

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/

(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2026.23326)

Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

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About JAMA Network Open: JAMA Network Open is an online-only open access general medical journal from the JAMA Network. On weekdays, the journal publishes peer-reviewed clinical research and commentary in more than 40 medical and health subject areas. Every article is free online from the day of publication.

Antivaccine legislation is rising rapidly in US states, driven primarily by GOP push




A new study revealed that Republican lawmakers were responsible for 86 percent of antivaccine bills introduced across state legislatures after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, raising concerns about public health



Boston University School of Public Health



Despite overwhelming evidence on the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, vaccine hesitancy intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic and has fueled skepticism towards other life-saving vaccines for children, adults, and pets.

A new study led by Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) researchers has revealed another worrying trend: the antivaccine sentiment once reserved for individual beliefs and public discourse has transformed into actual legislation across the US that could undermine vaccine uptake and pose a threat to the public’s health. 

Published in the American Journal of Public Health, the study shows that proposed bills aiming to reduce vaccine access, weaken vaccination requirements, and increase vaccine exemptions increased dramatically in state legislatures from 2021-2023, at times exceeding the number of bills seeking to strengthen vaccine access and mandates. At least 40 percent of bills introduced in each full legislative cycle after the start of the pandemic have been antivaccine-related. 

Partisan polarization is clearly driving this legislation: Republican lawmakers sponsored 86 percent of the antivaccine bills introduced during this period. Democratic lawmakers, meanwhile, introduced 54 percent of provaccine bills, which are bills that supported an increase in access to, or funding and promotion of, vaccines across state legislatures. 

“Our work shows that state lawmakers affiliated with the Republican party are responsible for the overwhelming majority of antivaccine bills introduced in recent years,” says study corresponding author Dr. Matt Motta, who authored the study with Dr. Timothy Callaghan, both of whom are associate professors of health law, policy & management at BUSPH. “While the majority of these bills do not actually pass, it’s important to remember that we live in an increasingly connected and globalized world—one in which low vaccine coverage in one part of the country can get people sick thousands of miles away. Weakening vaccine regulations in one state puts everyone’s health at risk, as the current measles outbreak demonstrates.”

Furthermore, a sizable amount of antivaccine legislation—24 percent—during this period did receive enough state legislative support to become law. Several states enacted laws that expand religious or personal belief exemptions for childcare and school immunizations, and measures that prohibit employers from mandating certain vaccinations in the workplace. 

“These antivaccine bills not only signal the discontent that some have with vaccines, but also the more hostile policy environments towards vaccination,” Dr. Callaghan says. As the US approaches the November midterm elections, “who society chooses to elect in 2026 could shape vaccine policymaking for years to come,” he says.

This analysis is the first to explore these partisan differences among vaccine-related bills proposed before and after the pandemic. For the study, Dr. Motta and Dr. Callaghan, along with a team of student and alumni researchers at BUSPH, systematically categorized partisan changes in 1,513 vaccine-related bills introduced in state legislatures between 2019-2023. The team utilized preliminary data of all vaccine-related proposed bills in state legislatures from 2019-2023 via the State Vaccine Policy Project (SVPP), a first-of-its-kind initiative created to understand and inform policies that address the politicization of public health. The SVPP is housed under The Politics and Health Lab that Dr. Motta and Dr. Callaghan direct at BUSPH. 

In 2021, a total of 1,154 vaccine-related bills were introduced in state legislatures, compared to just 386 proposed bills in the 2019 legislative session. Over the four-year period, nearly 82 percent of bills proposed by Democrats were provaccine, compared to less than 10 percent that were antivaccine. Comparatively, more than 65 percent of bills proposed by Republicans were antivaccine, compared to 28 percent that were provaccine.  

The spike in antivaccine legislation may be attributed in part to election-seeking GOP lawmakers who are eager to appease antivaccine Republican constituents who frame themselves as champions of medical freedom, individual autonomy, and parental rights, rather than opponents of vaccines. But health experts also emphasize that vaccine hesitancy is the result of the widespread misinformation, evolving public health guidelines, and broad distrust in science that has persisted in the US during and after the pandemic.  

“Nobody likes being told what to do. But our government has the ability and obligation to take actions that protect public health,” says Dr. Motta. “To the many people who ground their opposition to vaccination in deeply held values, political views, religious beliefs, and more, I would say: infectious disease has no sense of morality or religious creed. Taking action to protect yourself and others is one of the safest and most effective actions you can take to live your life the way you want it. Vaccination is a way to take your freedom back from the pathogens that have caused sickness and death for all of human history.”

The team says their findings also underscore the importance of voter engagement in local elections and the need for continued efforts to improve communication about vaccines to the general public.

“We need to recognize that the reasons people lack trust in science are multifaceted, and that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution that will work in restoring trust,” Dr. Callaghan says. “We must also recognize that messengers matter as much, if not more, than the message. For public health, that also means recognizing that public health officials are not always going to be the right messengers to encourage vaccine uptake. Identifying the correct messages and messengers will take considerable investment in vaccine communication research, which is currently severely underfunded.”

In future research, the researchers intend to expand the SVPP dataset to analyze vaccine legislation over a larger period of time, as well as explore how public experiences with vaccination have shaped legislation and vice-versa. They will also examine health policies related to other subjects, including gender-affirming care, reproductive health, and water fluoridation.

“Our hope is to provide researchers with a large, up-to-date database cataloging health policy legislative activity across the states, so that we can study how changes in our social and political worlds impact health policy, and how changes in health policy impacts public health,” Dr. Motta says.

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About Boston University School of Public Health 

Founded in 1976, Boston University School of Public Health is one of the top ten ranked schools of public health in the world. It offers master's- and doctoral-level education in public health. The faculty in six departments conduct policy-changing public health research around the world, with the mission of improving the health of populations—especially the disadvantaged, underserved, and vulnerable—locally and globally.

 

Media tip sheet: Wildlife ecology at ESA’s 2026 Annual Meeting



Ecological Society of America
2026 Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting 

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The 2026 Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah, July 26-31. Members of the press are invited to apply for complimentary press registration.

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Credit: Ecological Society of America




Featured presentations at the 111th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America in Salt Lake City, Utah

Wildlife populations are responding to rapid environmental change in ways that can reshape ecosystems and inform conservation efforts. At this year’s Ecological Society of America (ESA) Annual Meeting (July 26–31) in Salt Lake City, Utah, researchers will present new findings on the ecological relationships between animals, their habitats and the growing influence of human activities across terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems.

Highlighted presentations explore topics including predator recovery, species declines, rewilding, wildlife disease, animal behavior and human-wildlife interactions. Studies examine organisms ranging from elephants, pangolins and bottlenose dolphins to loons, seabirds, suckers and urban mammals, while also addressing issues such as road mortality, habitat development, anthropogenic noise and community-based conservation. The research highlights how wildlife ecology is informing conservation strategies and improving our understanding of how animals respond to environmental change.

ESA invites staff journalists, freelance journalists, student journalists and press officers to register for free as media attendees up to and throughout the week of the Annual Meeting. For eligibility information, please visit ESA’s press registration credential policy page.

Members of the media will have access to all scientific sessions at the conference and to a press room where they can enjoy refreshments, internet access, a printer and an interview area.

Monday, July 27

1:30 PM – 3:00 PM MTElephant carcasses restructure soil chemistry and resistance, woody plant physiology, seedling recruitment, and herbivory across a savanna landscape
Presenters: Ryan Helcoski, Utah State University; Ndzalama Mkansi, Scientific Services; Courtney G. Reed, UC Santa Barbara; Dave I. Thompson, South African Environmental Observation Network; Joshua Schimel, UC Santa Barbara; Izak Smit, Nelson Mandela University; Tercia Strydom, Scientific Services; Aimee G. Tallia, Utah State University; Deron E. Burkepile, UC Santa Barbara; Nathan P. Lemoine, Marquette University; Michelle Budny, Marquette University; Edd Hammill, Utah State University; Johan T. du Toit, Utah State University
Contributed Oral Presentation
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM MTPersistent landscape-scale aspen decline following large carnivore restoration in northern Yellowstone National Park
Presenters: Dan MacNulty, Utah State University; Nicholas Bergeron, Utah State University; James A. Lutz, Utah State University; Douglas Ramsey, Utah State University; Eric Larsen, University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point
Contributed Oral Presentation
3:30 PM – 5:00 PM MTEndangered suckers nearing extirpation in Upper Klamath Lake
Presenters: Jacob Krause, U.S. Geological Survey; Brian Hayes, U.S. Geological Survey; Rachael Paul-Wilson, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission; Maria Dzul, U.S. Geological Survey
Contributed Oral Presentation
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM MTSix decades of monitoring provide critical context for an avian influenza outbreak in marine mammals
Presenters: Esin Ickin, UC Santa Cruz; Molly H. McEntee, UC Santa Cruz; Marm Kilpatrick, UC Santa Cruz; Patrick W. Robinson, UC Santa Cruz; Zabe Premo, UC Santa Cruz; Conner M. Hale, UC Santa Cruz; Madison J. Pfau, UC Santa Cruz; Elizabeth Ashley, UC Davis; Frankie Gerraty, UC Santa Cruz; Madeline Cheu, UC Santa Cruz; Natalie A. Storm, UC Santa Cruz; Sebastian Caamaño, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, California State University; Aditi M. Jacob, UC Santa Cruz; Ali White, UC Santa Cruz; Stella Cardenas, UC Santa Cruz; Honour Dufresne, UC Santa Cruz; Amaya Espardinez, UC Santa Cruz; Hailey Hacker, UC Santa Cruz; Beatrice Hawkins, UC Santa Cruz; Madison Kranker, UC Santa Cruz; Violet Lemley, UC Santa Cruz; Kevin O’Connor, UC Santa Cruz; Sean Quigley, UC Santa Cruz; Lucas Romano, UC Santa Cruz; Isabelle Santiago, UC Santa Cruz; Brandon States, UC Santa Cruz; Kate Wang, UC Santa Cruz; Daniel P. Costa, UC Santa Cruz; Christine Johnson, UC Davis; Roxanne S. Beltran, UC Santa Cruz
Contributed Poster Presentation

Tuesday, July 28

10:00 AM – 11:30 AM MTAdvancing the ecological knowledge of a soft tick vector to inform the U.S. surveillance and response plan to African swine fever emergence
Presenters: Sebastian Botero-Cañola, University of Florida; Carson Torhorst, University of Florida; Nicholas Canino, University of Florida; Kathleen C. O’Hara, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; Angela M. James, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; Samantha Wisely, University of Florida
Contributed Oral Presentation
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM MTPronounced post-COVID-19 decline in sale and usage of medicinal pangolin products in China
Presenters: Timothy C. Bonebrake, University of Hong Kong; Yifu Wang, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Shenzhen
Contributed Oral Presentation
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM MTResponses of African savanna trees to large herbivore extinction and rewilding
Presenters: Tyler C. Coverdale, University of Notre Dame; Mahesh Sankaran, National Centre for Biological Sciences; Andrew Davies, Harvard University, Jayashree Ratnam, National Centre for Biological Sciences; Benjamin Wigley, University of Bayreuth; David J. Augustine, USDA-ARS Rangeland Resources and Systems Research Unit
Contributed Oral Presentation
3:30 PM – 5:00 PM MTCat(ch) ‘meow’tside how ’bout that: The impacts of domestic cats and dogs on urban mammal spatiotemporal behavior
Presenters: Austin M. Green, University of Utah; Chloe Horn, University of Utah; Kent Wu, Central Wasatch Commission; Rachael Berghahn, University of Utah
Contributed Oral Presentation
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM MTMarine-derived nitrogen deposition from salmon carcasses in coastal temperate rainforests shapes soil microbial community composition
Presenter: Caroline Daws, Outer Coast
Contributed Poster Presentation

Wednesday, July 29

8:00 AM – 9:30 AM MTEstimating Annual Large Mammal Roadkill for California
Presenters: Lorna Haworth, UC Davis; Alice Michel, UC Davis; Benjamin Hodgson, UC Davis; Fraser Shilling, UC Davis
Contributed Oral Presentation
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM MTAccelerometry and animal-borne video reveals the importance of aerial capture of flying fish and predator facilitation interactions to red-footed boobies.
Presenters: Abigail Schiffmiller, University of Alaska, Fairbanks; Greg Breed, University of Alaska, Fairbanks; Hillary Young, UC Santa Barbara; Scott Shaffer, San Jose State University; Sara Maxwell, University of Washington Bothell
Contributed Oral Presentation
10:00 AM – 11:30 AM MTFunctional Roles of the World’s Recovered Predators
Presenters: Ishana Shukla, UC Davis; Julia D. Monk, New York University; Justine Smith, UC Davis
Contributed Oral Presentation
3:30 PM – 5:00 PM MTFrom the Ground Up: Community-Powered Wildlife Conservation in Utah and Abroad
Presenters: Austin Green, University of Utah; Julie Young, Utah State University; Gaby Karakcheyeva, University of Utah; Ilina Mocuta, University of Utah; Emmanuel Santa Martinez, Salt Lake Community College; Frances Ngo, Sageland Collaborative; Kaylee Meyers, University of Utah      
Symposium
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM MTEvaluating Camera Traps and Field Surveys for Monitoring Herpetofauna in the Civilian Control Zone, South Korea
Presenters: Jiyeon Cheon, Transboundary Ecological Research Institute; Jihu Koo, DMZ Ecology Research Institute; Chloe Jun, DMZ Ecology Research Institute; Yune Hur, DMZ Ecology Research Institute; Jason Chung, DMZ Ecology Research Institute; Hailey Cho, DMZ Ecology Research Institute; Zoe Chang, DMZ Ecology Research Institute; Jae Hyun Kim, Transboundary Ecological Research Institute; Seung Ho Kim, DMZ Ecology Research Institute
Contributed Poster Presentation
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM MTGlobal Patterns of Decline in the World’s Avian Functional Guilds
Presenters: Nikolas D. Orton, University of Utah; Cagan H. Sekercioglu, University of Utah
Contributed Poster Presentation
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM MTSome like it hot: Miami’s urban heat island aids the spread of its most prolific non-native lizards
Presenters: Elizabeth A. Afkhami Searcy, University of Miami; Dishane Hewavithana, Florida International University; Kathryn A. Afkhami Searcy, Miami Dade School District; Michelle E. Afkhami, University of Miami; Christopher A. Searcy, University of Miami
Contributed Poster Presentation

Thursday, July 30

10:00 AM – 11:30 AM MTCommon loons breed on lakes with shoreline development similar to where they were born
Presenters: Emily F. Renkey, UC Los Angeles; Katie A. Adler, UC Los Angeles; Daniel T. Blumstein, UC Los Angeles; Walter Piper, Chapman University
Contributed Oral Presentation
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM MTCascading effects of anthropogenic noise and heat on avian foraging and parenting behavior in California vineyards
Presenters: Karen V. Gallardo Cruz, UC Davis; Gail L. Patricelli, UC Davis; Tara Robey, UC Davis; Erin Wilson-Rankin, UC Riverside; Houston Wilson, UC Riverside; Matthew Johnson, Cal Poly Humboldt; Daniel S. Karp, UC Davis
Contributed Oral Presentation
3:30 PM – 5:00 PM MTA quarter century on the edge: Spatiotemporal dynamics, risk patterns, and impacts of human-wildlife conflict in Chitwan National Park, Nepal
Presenters: Abhinaya Pathak, UC San Diego
Contributed Oral Presentation
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM MTShipside Feeding in Bottlenose Dolphins: Quantifying the Behavioral Mechanisms of a Novel Foraging Strategy
Presenters: Christina Deaver, Utah Valley University; Marie Taylor, Utah Valley University; Meghan Weinpress-Galipeau, South Carolina Aquarium; Madeline Fry, Utah Valley University; Hannah Bouchillon, South Carolina Aquarium; Patricia A. Fair, Medical University of South Carolina; Jessica A. Cusick, Utah Valley University
Latebreaking Poster Presentation
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM MTBeaver Fever: Giardia duodenalis in North American Beavers (Castor canadensis) Located in Utah
Presenters: Elena B. Green, Utah State University; Sara B. Weinstein, Utah State University
Latebreaking Poster Presentation

 

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Learn more about the upcoming ESA Annual Meeting, July 26–31, on the meeting website.

ESA invites press and institutional public information officers to attend for free. To register, please contact ESA Public Affairs Manager Mayda Nathan directly at mayda@esa.org.

The Ecological Society of America, founded in 1915, is the world’s largest community of professional ecologists and a trusted source of ecological knowledge, committed to advancing the understanding of life on Earth. The 8,000 member Society publishes six journals and a membership bulletin and broadly shares ecological information through policy, media outreach, and education initiatives. The Society’s Annual Meeting attracts 4,000 attendees and features the most recent advances in ecological science. Visit the ESA website at https://www.esa.org.

Follow ESA on social media:
X/Twitter – @esa_org
Bluesky – @ecologicalsociety.bsky.social
Instagram – @ecologicalsociety
Facebook – @esa.org

Friday, July 17, 2026

 

Cyanobacterial toxins can be inhaled




Brain Chemistry Labs
ADAM3 

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The Airborne Detection for Algae Monitoring (ADAM) showing the filter and impinger (A), along with the self-contained pump setup (B). (C) Location of air samplings (*).

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Credit: Manuel Aparicio






Research on Southwest Florida cyanobacterial blooms shows that the toxins they produce are aerosolized, potentially being inhaled by people far from contaminated water bodies.

Sometimes known as blue green algae, cyanobacteria anciently played an important role in establishing the oxygen atmosphere of the earth. When rivers, lakes, and estuaries are loaded with excess nitrogen and phosphorous, often the result of agricultural runoff or improperly treated sewage, cyanobacterial populations can explode, carrying toxins to the environment that can damage human health.

The nonprofit Brain Chemistry Labs in Jackson, Wyoming last year partnered with neurologists and oceanographers at the Miller School of Medicine in Miami, and marine biologists at Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, and the Blue World Research Institute to announce that beached dolphins in the Indian River Lagoon, Florida show signs of Alzheimer's disease. Their brains had high concentrations of the neurotoxin 2,4-DAB, an isomer of BMAA produced by cyanobacteria. Now partnering with the nonprofit Calusa Waterkeeper in Fort Myers, Florida, the Wyoming scientists announced that they have identified airborne cyanobacterial toxins collected in special detectors that were placed in different locations in southwest Florida. All of the samples contained the neurotoxin 2,4-DAB, the same cyanobacterial toxin found in the dolphins.

“Data obtained from ADAM [Airborne Detection for Algae Monitoring] airborne detectors indicate that people may be chronically exposed to low concentrations of cyanobacterial toxins and that further assessment is required to help protect human health” the scientists announced in a paper published today in the journal Toxins.

Lead scientist Dr. James Metcalf said, “These data suggest that you don’t need to be close to toxic blooms to be exposed through breathing. We continue to find cyanobacterial toxins in air such as in our study of dust blown from the exposed lakebed of the Great Salt Lake in Utah.”

“Our research has shown that chronic low-level exposure to cyanobacterial toxins is a risk factor for ALS and potentially other neurodegenerative diseases,” adds Dr. Paul Cox, Brain Chemistry Labs Executive Director. The Wyoming team researched a dramatic increase of ALS among veterans suggesting that inhalation of cyanobacteria from desert dust in Kuwait and Iraq was the cause of the spike of ALS ten years after their deployment to Operation Desert Storm in 1993.

Brain Chemistry Labs has previously quantified high levels of cyanobacterial toxins in the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie River, resulting from the release of cyanobacterial-laden waters from Lake Okeechobee. Research by neurologist Elijah Stommel at Dartmouth Medical School shows that individuals living close to lakes and estuaries with cyanobacterial blooms are at a significantly increased risk of ALS. Researchers have focused on consumption of contaminated food and water as the likely routes of exposure.

“Even though we can avoid contaminated food and water, preventing exposure through breathing is far more difficult,” Dr. Metcalf adds.

The article, “Developing Tools to Assess Airborne Cyanobacterial Toxins in Southwest Florida, USA,” can be downloaded from https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/18/7/309/pdf.