The uncomfortable truth about seed oils

Also: A husband and wife photographed each other during her cancer journey. Here is what they learned

May 25, 2025 Check out STAT+

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By Alexa Lee Newsletter Strategist

Good morning! Keeping it short and sweet here with the intro in Torie's absence. If you're only going to read one article this Sunday, let it be the photo essay by Anna and Jordan Rathkopf. Their interview on the First Opinion podcast is also exceptional. Thanks for reading, and hope you are taking care. Recommendation of the week: no na, a new Indonesian girl group making pristine R&B pop, is going to be huge. Mark my words. Listen to them before they're everywhere.

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Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images The FDA is circumventing key roles and procedures for licensure and use of Covid vaccines Two people with limited expertise in vaccinology — Vinay Prasad and Marty Makary — are leading the FDA vaccine evaluation process. By Kathryn M. Edwards I study diet and chronic illness. Here's the uncomfortable truth about seed oils The scientific community has not definitively settled the health effects of high seed oil consumption, writes an expert. By Jane Zhao STAT+ | The new era of individualized medicine requires a 'genetic surgery' system Baby KJ, like author Julia Vitarello's late daughter, Mila, has received a groundbreaking genetic treatment. The FDA must catch up. By Julia Vitarello Jordan Rathkopf A husband and wife photographed each other during her cancer journey. Here is what they learned Anna and Jordan Rathkopf photographed each other during Anna's treatment for breast cancer — and learned what they had kept hidden. By Anna Rathkopf and Jordan Rathkopf There is no replacement (yet) for animal models in medical research Despite a recent NIH announcement, animal models are becoming even more important because of recent breakthroughs in single-cell biology. By Carole LaBonne The end to animal testing marks the beginning of better biomedicine Animals do not offer a predictive model for drug interactions with human physiology. If anything, they have held biomedicine back. By Ellen P. Carlin and Jason Paragas Adobe My sister and I each gave our brother a kidney — and faced health consequences decades later Living donors face surgical and long-term medical risks due to permanently altered organ function. But they get little support. By Jane Zill To address the pharmacy crisis, doctors should dispense some drugs Point-of-care drug dispensing could ease pressures on pharmacists while improving patient medication access. By Patrick Aguilar and Matt Hoff Proposed changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program would be devastating to new physicians A congressional bill would prevent medical students taking out federal loans in 2025 or later from counting their residency years toward PSLF. By Kaley Parchinski

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