Closer Look
Human 'pangenome' published in effort to better reflect global diversity
Shaury Nash/Flickr
In a landmark achievement meant to address shortcomings of its historical predecessor, scientists have published the first "pangenome," a reference work that better captures the genetic variability of humans around the world. More than 20 years ago the first human genome sequence was trumpeted as complete, but it really wasn't. Initially based on 11 individuals, it kept a European bias over the intervening years, limiting the value of genetic tests to those with that ancestry. There were also yawning gaps of never-sequenced "finicky, repeat-riddled sections of the human genome," STAT's Megan Molteni writes.
The new version, published yesterday in Nature, adds 119 million bases from the DNA of 47 people mostly from Africa, Asia, and the Americas. It could be many years more before the pangenome's benefits reach patients and families eager to solve their medical mysteries, but a new software tool could help in that translation. Read more.
addiction
There's a racial gap between those who need opioid treatment and those who get it
Buprenorphine is a key medication for treating opioid use disorder. But few of the people with opioid addiction get it, and those who can are disproportionately white, a new NEJM study says. White patients were prescribed buprenorphine at more than twice the rate of Black patients in the six months before an addiction-related health emergency, according to the analysis based. The treatment gap persisted in the six months after an overdose, hospitalization, or admission to a rehab facility.
The study also found that naloxone, used to reverse opioid overdoses, was also prescribed to white patients at a higher rate than Black patients, as was naltrexone, a third medication used to help prevent opioid cravings while recovering from opioid addiction. Opioid overdose rates among Black people have been soaring. In 2020 they
surpassed the death rate among white people for the first time in more than 20 years. STAT's Lev Facher has
more.
health
Ashish Jha on shifting out of the Covid emergency
STAT
The pandemic emergency may be over but the pandemic isn't, Ashish Jha (above), the White House Covid-19 response coordinator, said last night at dinner in Boston honoring the 2023 STATUS List. "I see this as a transition out of this emergency phase where we're going to have to deal with this virus. This virus is going to be around forever," he said.
Asked if we'll be better prepared for the next pandemic, he said yes. "We've done a lot of very good things in the last three years that I think are going to be long-lasting benefits." But, "I've been surprised at how hard it has been to sort of galvanize the forces to do the things we know we can do to get Covid really under control."
And a warning about unreliable sources of information: "I was caught off guard. ... Any pandemic preparedness plan for the future that does not account for the information ecosystems in which we all live ... if your plan doesn't deal with those things, it's not a serious plan." STAT's Ambar Castillo has more.
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