BioMedWire Stocks Archives - Page 6 of 82

ThursdayApr 09, 2026 10:00 am

Shares of Health Insurers Rally After CMS Bumps Up 2027 Rates

The shares of health insurers in the U.S. recorded gains after the Trump administration announced 2027 payment rate increases for Medicare Advantage that were higher than what had been proposed back in January. That improved rate would increase payments to these firms by about $13bn in the coming fiscal year 2027. In January when the federal government revealed that it would be increasing these payments by 0.09%, the insurance firms took a hit to their stock prices because this rate was much lower than had been expected. Investors viewed that small increase as additional pressure on already tight margins, but the surprise announcement of about 2.8% extra payments to MA firms covering older…

TuesdayApr 07, 2026 10:00 am

Study Explores Whether a Common Vitamin Could Fight Brain Cancer

Researchers at the University of Calgary in Canada are conducting further trials after early studies revealed that vitamin B3, or niacin, holds promise in restoring immune function in the fight against glioblastoma, a brain cancer that grows aggressively and is hard to treat. For over two decades, no significant advancement has been made to improve treatment outcomes in patients with glioblastoma. Treatments like radiation, surgery and chemotherapy help, but the tumors regrow and survival times are dismal. The team at the University of Calgary wanted to establish whether vitamin B3 in high doses may boost treatment outcomes when used alongside current treatment approaches. The scientists want to find out whether this…

MondayApr 06, 2026 10:00 am

Gallup Poll: Healthcare Returns to the Top of Americans’ Biggest Domestic Worries

According to a poll conducted by Gallup in March, Americans are most concerned about healthcare. This finding is notable given the escalation in the Iran war and the way events in the Middle East are currently dominating news headlines. Gallup conducted a poll seeking the views of Americans about how much they worry about a list of 15 policy areas on the domestic front. 61% of the respondents revealed that they are greatly worried about healthcare. The next four biggest sources of worry for Americans were connected to economic issues. Those policy issues are the state of the economy, concerns about inflation in the country, spending by…

TuesdayMar 31, 2026 10:00 am

Researchers Discover Mechanism Behind Deadly Pediatric Brain Cancer

A team of scientists from Texas Children’s Hospital, University of Pittsburgh and Baylor College of Medicine has discovered the primary driver of a deadly pediatric brain cancer, PFA (posterior fossa type A) ependymoma. They identified male sex hormones called androgens as playing a key role in promoting PFA ependymoma growth. The study, whose findings appeared in the journal Nature, shows that androgens don’t play a part in the development of any other kind of brain tumor. The team’s work shows that when the signaling of these hormones is blocked, the growth of the tumors is blocked. This discovery creates a possibility that treatments could be developed to block these hormones to…

ThursdayMar 26, 2026 10:00 am

Hackers Linked to Iran Target Another US Health Care Institution

On Tuesday this week, researchers revealed that a group of hackers linked to the Iranian government had targeted another United States medical institution toward the end of February prior to the onset of the current military conflict between the U.S., Israel and Iran. This is the second such attack. This attack is noteworthy because this information comes on the heels of another attack in which Stryker, a medical device firm in America, was targeted and had its data deleted. Handala, a hacktivist group linked to Iran, claimed responsibility for this attack that resulted in about 80,000 systems being deleted. Stryker is currently restoring its systems and the attack has now been contained. It isn’t clear whether other attacks have happened…

TuesdayMar 24, 2026 10:00 am

Misinformation Could Thwart the Potential of Cancer Vaccines

For a long time, scientists have been working tirelessly to come up with vaccines against cancer. Significant progress is being registered in developing mRNA vaccines against cancer, but this progress has come up against a wall of misinformation that could thwart the prospects of this promising intervention. Most people first heard about mRNA vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic when these vaccines were widely used to bring the pandemic under control. However, misinformation soon spread that these vaccines were not only accelerating cancer rates but also causing cancer to be “turbo-charged.” Social media was awash with stories of “turbo cancer” starting in 2021 and mainstream media caught…

FridayMar 20, 2026 10:00 am

Oncolytic Virus Therapy is Set to Transform Cancer Care

Enormous resources are being channeled into studying different ways to support the immune system in its fight against cancer. One emerging approach is the use of oncolytic viruses. This approach seeks to leverage viruses to destroy cancer by attacking and killing its cells. The approach stems from the discovery that a number of cancers are linked to viral infections, such as HPV, which has been linked to the development of head and neck cancer, as well as cervical cancer. Liver cancer has also been linked to the hepatitis B virus. A number of vaccines have been developed to prevent some of these cancers by preventing infection by these viruses. Scientists are now looking to go a step further by…

ThursdayMar 19, 2026 10:00 am

Study Finds That Marijuana Legalization Lowers Crime Rates

David Eby, the Premier of British Columbia, has revealed that a wide range of American healthcare workers, including doctors, nurse practitioners and nurses have flocked to the Canadian province in search of employment and have secured jobs. Speaking at BC Children’s Hospital on Tuesday, the premier pointed out that the progressive social values, lifestyle and public healthcare system have been instrumental in attracting U.S.-trained medical workers to B.C. He added that the province respected science while making public health policies, has a high standard of living and respects reproductive rights. These, he said, have made the province an attractive place for healthcare workers from America. He highlighted that the…

TuesdayMar 17, 2026 10:00 am

Mirror-Image Amino Acid Shows Promise in Starving Cancer Cells

Most existing cancer treatments not only attack cancer cells but also adversely impact healthy body cells. The resultant damage to healthy tissues usually triggers side effects that often become severe, necessitating discontinuation of therapy or making quality of life worse. Scientists have been looking for better treatments that only impact malignant cells and leave healthy cells unaffected. A new preclinical study documents one such discovery leveraging the use of a mirror-image molecule. The study, conducted by a team based at Marburg University and University of Geneva, created a molecule similar to a naturally occurring amino acid referred to as cysteine. It contains sulfur within its composition. The researchers found that some cancers have a transporter on their…

FridayMar 13, 2026 10:00 am

Microbial Ecosystems Play a Big Role in the Efficacy of Cancer Immunotherapy

Significant strides have been made in leveraging checkpoint inhibitor therapy to combat a number of cancers over the recent years. However, not all malignancies respond to these therapies, and those that do often become resistant, or are discontinued due to adverse reactions within the immune system. Now, researchers have shown that gut microbiota are one of the key factors influencing the success of immunotherapy targeting PD-L1 and PD-1 gene expression. The study was published in the journal Cancer Biology and Medicine. The research team undertook a comprehensive review focused on seeking to understand how microbial ecosystems within the gut impact how patients respond to checkpoint inhibitors targeting PD-L1 and PD-1. They analyzed clinical trials, preclinical studies and available multi-omics data to ascertain how bacterial…