#34: Plastic-Eating Bugs, Snore-Stopping Earbuds & Trump vs. Tylenol

• 🤖 Robots, AI, 5G… and made in India! Meet Meril’s Mizzo Endo 4000, the country’s first soft-tissue surgical robotic system that’s precise, fast and safe. (ET)

• 😴 Wish you could mute your partner’s midnight snoring? China’s Soundcore Sleep earbuds turn snoring into silence with a 3-stage adaptive snore masking system and 45-hour battery. (TheVerge)

• 🧪 From tummy bug to drug plug: U.K. scientists engineered E. coli (a common gut microbe) to munch plastic and poop out paracetamol. (BBC)

• 🦵🏻 Cambridge scientists built an injectable smart gel that waits till your knees call for help, releasing drugs only when arthritis flares. Targeted, timely and smart relief. (TOI)

• ⚠️ Too thin, too risky: Danish research shows that underweight adults (BMI <18.5) face higher early death risk, with weak immunity and nutrient gaps making underweight deadlier than a bit of extra weight. (BS)

• 🍫 Daily cocoa extract supplements might do more than just satisfy your sweet tooth; a study suggests it can help reduce age-related inflammation linked to heart disease. (MNT)

• 🧬 In a world-first, UK scientists used gene therapy to slow Huntington’s, a rare brain disorder, by 75%, blocking the toxic protein that drives the disease. (TheGuardian)

• 💉 Vidal Health and Serum Institute of India are making cervical cancer vaccines accessible nationwide, with a digital platform that lets you book, give consent and get certification entirely online. (ET)

• ✅ Generics win. Alembic Pharma’s generic Paroxetine for depression and anxiety, and Lupin’s generic HIV drug, both get USFDA nods, with Lupin tapping into a $16.24B U.S. market. (ET) (ET)

• 💊 Cutting out the middleman? Denmark’s Zealand Pharma plans to bring its future obesity drug straight to patients via telehealth, with prescriptions still required. (Reuters)

• 🤰 Tylenol trouble? Trump makes unproven claims linking its use during pregnancy to autism & ADHD in kids. Doctors say it’s still safest if used low & short. (BBC)

• 💉 Lenacapavir, a twice-yearly HIV jab, will reach 120 countries, including India and South Africa, for just $40/year. Thanks to Gilead licensing it to 6 generic manufacturers, including Dr Reddy’s. (TheGuardian)

• 🎬 Plot twist! Remember Star Health’s cashless clash we flagged last week? Well, drama’s over, hospitals and the insurer have hugged it out, with cashless care back in action from Oct 10. (BS)

🇮🇳 India

• 🩺 Doctor boom: India levels up by adding 10,023 new MBBS & PG seats with the government investing ₹15,034 Cr. More specialists, better care and a giant shot in the healthcare arm. (ETHealth)

🌏️ Global

• 💔 Jess’s Rule: After Jessica Brady’s cancer was missed at 27, despite repeated GP visits, the UK sets a new rule- 3 GP visits without answers means push for action. (BBC)

• 🧑‍⚕️Healthcare shortage in the U.S. looms? A $100k H-1B visa hike could slam the door on foreign-trained medical professionals, leaving rural and underserved areas short-staffed. (Reuters)

🇮🇳 India

• 📈 India’s pharma & healthcare sector is hitting the markets hard, aiming to raise ₹12,000+ Cr as 15 companies, from fertility clinics to diagnostic labs, is set to go public. (TOI

🌏️ Global

• 🏋️ Pfizer joins the weight-loss race with a $7.3B buyout of Metsera, a U.S. anti-obesity biotech. (ET)

• 💰 KKR, a global PE firm, takes a majority stake in Kerala’s Meitra Hospital for ₹1,000-1,200 Cr. Aimed to boost advanced care across heart, neuro and other specialties. (ETHealth)

• 💲 Profit over patients. Harvard finds emergency room deaths jump 13% at U.S. hospitals bought by PE firms; driven by staff cuts and budget trims. (TOI)

• 💣 Trump’s latest tariff tantrum: from Oct 1, imported drugs face 100% duty. India, which ships a third of its $27B pharma exports to the U.S., takes the biggest hit. (ET)

• 🇺🇲 Sanofi will cap all insulin products at $35/month for  U.S. patients with prescriptions starting Jan 1, 2026. (Reuters)

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