Who can I believe?

Answering that question is becoming harder and harder to do.

July 14, 2024 Check out STAT+

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By Patrick Skerrett Editor, First Opinion

While visiting a spry 94-year-old friend this week, the conversation turned to politics. Hearing wildly conflicting information about President Joe Biden, my friend asked, "Who should I believe?" It's a great question, and it goes way beyond politics. The average American who follows the news is constantly bombarded by contrary information, not to mention ads offering both reputable products and scams. My colleague Nick Florko wrote a story this week about how Medicare is paying millions of dollars for salty, fat-laden meals purporting to be "medically tailored meals." I was horrified. As a volunteer at Community Servings, one of the country's oldest supplier of medically tailored meals, I see the effort that goes into making high-quality, nutritious meals for people with diabetes, AIDS, cancer, and more, and couldn't believe that some organizations were targeting vulnerable Americans in get-rich-quick boondoggles. Several of this week's First Opinions offer other examples of "Who can I trust?" One explores differing narratives about the rate of pregnancy-related deaths. Another questions the explanation that doctors overprescribing opioids were a big driver of the overdose epidemic. A third looks at falsehoods being spread about a trusted public health research organization. It's hard to answer this fundamental question on trust, and there are always different perspectives. How do you decide who to trust when it comes to the news? I'd value hearing your answers at first.opinion@statnews.com One of many people I think we all should believe and trust is Dr. Anthony Fauci, the long-time director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a former "yellow beret." He's the guest on a special edition of the First Opinion Podcast, talking with STAT's infectious disease reporter Helen Branswell and executive editor Rick Berke.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Listen: Anthony Fauci on presidents, bird flu, and turning down a multimillion-dollar job Dr. Anthony Fauci sits down with STAT to discuss politics, bird flu, turning down a million-dollar job — and keeping a secret while having dinner with Bono. By Rick Berke and Helen Branswell Unsettling truths about maternal mortality in the U.S. First Opinion: Pregnancy-related deaths are too high, but reports of U.S. maternal mortality rising sharply are based on different ways of measuring data. By Eugene Declercq EcoHealth Alliance: Covid's anti-science mob extracting its pound of flesh Organization with key roles in Covid, SARS, and other research faces NIH defunding: A First Opinion on the "conspiracy theorists are winning." By Peter Staley John Moore/Getty Images Preparing schools for the H5N1 bird flu they're likely to face Robust, adaptable plans are critically needed for protecting children and schools, an area severely affected by faulty responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. By Mario Ramirez Doctors 'overprescribing' opioids isn't the cause of the overdose epidemic — and it never was The federal government has blamed the overdose epidemic on clinicians overprescribing opioids. That's false — and was never true. By Richard A. "Red" Lawhern Everyone deserves addiction treatment that works — including those in jail Providing addiction treatment in prisons and jails benefits public safety and helps reduce the burden on the wider health care system. By Nora D. Volkow and Tisha Wiley Adobe The ethical implications of Elon Musk's unorthodox approach to medical science Neuralink has unsettled many scientists rooted in peer-review publishing. Brain-computer interface development flouted norms of science. By Anna Wexler Adaptive trial designs will increase clinical trial speed, safety, and effectiveness Adaptive trials can be complex, but hold immense potential for accelerating the pace of life science innovation. By Raviv Pryluk and Mike Walsh STAT+ | Private equity and neuroscience: a novel approach to developing new treatments for neurological disorders First Opinion essay: Recent deals involving Karuna Therapeutics, Cerevel Therapeutics show market opportunities for private equity in neurological field. By Bruce Leuchter Adobe Expand community-based research to make clinical trials more diverse Increasing the use of community-based trials requires updating the regulatory framework that governs innovative clinical trial designs. By Robert Metcalf and Jeffrey Francer

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