Cardiologist Pim van Lommel on his interest in Near Death Experience, the research, and what it might mean for Psychologists and our understanding of consciousness.
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Oral Medications for Treating Agitation in a Safety Net Emergency Department
In this quality improvement study, emergency physicians successfully adopted oral medications for treating agitation, primarily from intoxication.
Question Can emergency physicians adopt using oral medications as first-line treatment for agitation primarily from intoxication?
Findings In this quality improvement study evaluating 460 600 ED encounters, the proportion of patients receiving their first sedating medication orally increased from 7% to 31% after 1 year of the intervention, while time to adequate sedation and adverse events, measured prospectively during implementation, were not different between oral and intramuscular routes.
2025 FDA approvals
Lots of interesting information! The Zevaskyn (“a first cell-sheet-based gene therapy”) approval for treating epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is particularly uplifting. Back in high school, I knew someone with EB. It is a devastating disease. On the less happy side, an AAV9 therapy and an oncolytic virus therapy were rejected this year. [ https://www.nature.com/articles/d41573-026-00001-z](https://www.nature.com/articles/d41573-026-00001-z)
The US FDA approved 46 new drugs in 2025, despite a tumultuous year at the regulatory agency.
Washing machine filter captures microfibers as small as 20 micrometers in size
A single laundry load containing synthetic clothing can release thousands of plastic microfibers from nylon, acrylic and polyester materials. Lab testing of an SA-made washing machine filter at Flinders University shows it can be a useful new way to help protect waterways from polyester and other synthetic microparticles.
Flinders researchers are also developing a novel approach to enhance nanoplastic capture on cellulose filters using a plasma polymer coating.
Microplastics are plastic particles less than 5 mm wide, and they break down further to nanoparticles.