#28: Ditch Your Glasses, Blow a Conch, and Beware of the Holiday Facelift

• 👀 IIT Indore’s AeroVision: AI that sees the air before you breathe. It forecasts air quality 6 days in advance with 95% accuracy, tracking pollutants and sending colour-coded alerts to keep safe. (ETHealth)

• 😴 The FDA clears Nyxoah, a Belgian healthtech company, for its battery-free implant that zaps tongue nerves to treat sleep apnea, the airway blockages that disrupt sleep. (MobiHealth)

• 👓 No more reading glasses! The FDA has approved Vizz, daily eye drops that sharpen near vision in 30 minutes and last up to 10 hours, letting you read clearly without losing distance focus. (ET)

• 🎭 Drama alert, ChatGPT quits the therapist chair! OpenAI has pulled the plug on emotional advice. Instead, it now offers gentle prompts, reflection and guides users toward real human support. (BS)

• 🧑🏻‍💻 India has launched e-Sushrut@Clinic, a low-cost digital tool for small clinics offering digital records, billing, telemedicine and e-prescriptions, all in one click. (BS)

• 🦠Researchers at  IIT Roorkee unveiled Compound 3b, a drug candidate that fights antibiotic-resistant superbugs causing pneumonia. This offers hope against deadly drug-resistant infections. (ETHealth)

• 🧑‍⚕️ Hooked on AI for colon cancer screenings, doctors stumbled without it, showing how over-reliance can “de-skill” experts. Is AI really a powerful tool or a silent skill-killer? (TheVerge)

• 💊 ADHD meds may do more than calm the mind; a Swedish study links them to a 17% drop in suicidal behaviours and other risky misadventures. (TheGuardian)

• 💤 Ancient sound, modern cure? A daily 15-minute conch-blowing ritual in an Indian study eased sleep apnea, interrupted breathing condition. Fewer pauses, better oxygen, deeper rest. (TheGuardian)

• ♀️ A study suggests the abortion pill mifepristone could block breast cancer. Low doses of the drug halt tumour growth, but its link to abortion stalls progress. (TheGuardian)

• 💉 Pfizer has launched its one-shot vaccine for adults against bacteria causing severe respiratory infections in India. Named PCV20, it protects against 20 pneumococcal serotypes and aims to boost adult immunisation. (ET)

• ⚡ Roche storms into India with a cancer shot that works in just 7 minutes, replacing hour-long drips. Approved for multiple cancers, it promises faster, cheaper and more comfortable care. (MoneyControl)

• 💊 Sweet dreams, less pain! FDA approves U.S. pharma Tonix’s Tonmya, the first fibromyalgia (chronic pain disorder) drug. A bedtime pill that eases pain by improving sleep, launching late 2025. (Reuters)

• 🔥 Big win for Wegovy! FDA grants accelerated approval for it to treat a serious liver disease, making it the first GLP-1 therapy used for the treatment. (Reuters)

🇮🇳 India

• 🐕 The Supreme Court’s order to relocate 10 lakh Delhi-NCR strays could spark a “vacuum effect,” drawing in aggressive dogs and raising the threat of deadly zoonotic outbreaks. (ETHealth)

• 🫱🏼‍🫲🏻 The Government of Goa, in collaboration with Qure.ai and AstraZeneca, has introduced outcome-linked pricing for high-cost treatments, starting with lung cancer therapies, to make advanced care more affordable. (EH)

• 🌟 Kerala’s ‘Cancer-Free Kannapuram’ programme, a women-led breast cancer screening drive, has earned WHO recognition with 96% of eligible women screened since 2016. (BS)

🌏️ Global

• 👴🏻 UK medical trials are ghosting the over-75s, skewing science and making the way for treatments untested on those who need them most. Over 40 UK charities are calling time on age cut-offs. (TheGuardian)

• 🚨 The UK government enlists TikTokers to spotlight the perils of cheap cosmetic surgery abroad, because that ‘holiday facelift’ could cost you more than your looks. (BBC)

🇮🇳 India

• 💼 Venture capital firm Bessemer India is exiting Medi Assist, a leading TPA, by selling its entire 15.67% stake in a block deal worth over ₹560 Cr. (ET)

🌏️ Global

• 💸 The American health services firm Cardinal Health is acquiring UK’s Solaris Health for ~$1.9B, strengthening its urology services and modestly boosting first-year earnings. (WSJ)

• 💰 U.S. PE firm, THL Partners, is buying a majority stake in a top clinical trial site operator from KKR for $600M, expanding its reach as clinical research demand rises. (Reuters)