What is being done to control the pesky side to spring in Minnesota
What is being done to help control insect populations around the Twin Cities
What is being done to help control insect populations around the Twin Cities
What is being done to help control insect populations around the Twin Cities
From boating to grilling, the warmer weather brings many of our favorite outdoor activities. But there can be a pesky side to spring.
"We're taking a lot of safety precautions when it comes to targeting specific species of mosquitoes and our goal is to protect public health," said Alex Carlson, from the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District (MMCD).
The agency showed off their weapons on the State Capitol grass Tuesday. According to their website, the agency helps protect the public from disease and annoyance caused by mosquitoes, black flies and ticks.
"We had one staff member who picked up 10 ticks just in one day this week," said Carlson.
They're also looking at the swarming gnat-like bugs people are seeing near rivers.
"I ride the Lime bikes around here and there's points in time when you just get a mouth full of gnats," said Tomas Alvarez who enjoys time by the Mississippi.
"Sometimes when you walk around, you see these big clouds of bugs. I am always concerned what they are," said Michael Prom, a friend of Alvarez.
MMCD scientists are trying to identify those bugs by collecting fresh samples.
"I am identifying black fly larvae that came from the Minnesota River," said Care Lamere.
Lamere says the gnat-like pests could be black flies or midgets.
"Midges don't bite people, black flies do bite people," said Lamere.
Carey says the bugs flying now are likely midges that die after two weeks. They'll start treating soon to curb black flies. She says with rain patterns she is not expecting the worst of years.
Some say with nice weather, bugs are just a small price to pay.
"The bugs are definitely worth negative, below zero weather. I will definitely take that," said Alvarez.
The MMCD is finishing up analyzing the black fly specimens and could start treating for the flies as soon as May 7.
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Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The cheap fat jabs sending big pharma into a frenzy
For many Americans who tuned in to watch the Super Bowl earlier this year, it was a surprise to find themselves fat-shamed during the ad break. 'Obesity is America's deadliest epidemic,' a voiceover said, as images of wobbling bellies, greasy burgers and giant apple pies flashed across TV screens. The Super Bowl's 127m-strong audience, who were tucking into an estimated 1.5bn chicken wings during the event, were warned that 'obesity leads to half a million deaths each year'. But Hims and Hers, the US online medicines company behind the ad, said people should not blame themselves. Instead, its advert claimed that 'the system' was keeping them 'sick and stuck', adding that 'there are medications that work, but they're priced for profits, not patients'. To the relief of viewers, Hims and Hers offered a 'life-changing' solution. Rather than paying hundreds of dollars each month for well-known, branded weight-loss jabs such as Wegovy, households could instead try Hims and Hers' cheaper, replica versions. 'This is the future of healthcare,' it argued. 'Join us in the fight for a healthier America.' However, for the likes of Danish obesity drug maker Novo Nordisk and US pharma rival Eli Lilly, which have claimed the rise of copycat jabs poses potential health risks, such claims have become a serious headache. Over the past few decades, both businesses have poured billions of dollars into obesity drug research – recently yielding blockbuster drugs Wegovy and Mounjaro. The rapid uptake of such drugs has prompted a surge in revenues for big pharma. But bosses are now increasingly worried that demand among American patients has been dented by a cluster of smaller, copycat companies. According to industry estimates from November, around a quarter of the 8m Americans on weight-loss drugs were taking knock-off replica versions. These medicines, known as 'compound' drugs, were priced at around $200 ($148) a month, compared to over $1,300 for some branded versions. Barclays analyst Emily Field says the boom in copycat weight-loss drugs has been a 'unique phenomenon' in the US, sparking an inevitable surge in legal claims that has drawn the attention of regulators. So-called compound drugs are essentially custom-made medicines created by pharmacies using the same active ingredients of patented drugs. Historically, compounding pharmacies create custom versions of medicines if they need to personalise them for patients. For example, if someone is unable to take a standard oral medicine in pill form, or is allergic to an ingredient in an existing medicine. Compounding pharmacies are also typically blocked from mass-producing their drugs. For weight-loss drugs, though, it has been a different story. After the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) put semaglutide – marketed as the blockbuster obesity drug Wegovy – and tirzepatide – the same for Eli Lilly's Mounjaro – on the shortage list in 2022, compounders were allowed to ramp up production. 'It was almost like these companies found a loophole where they were allowed to do this on a mass scale,' says Field. The impact has been significant. At the start of this year, Novo Nordisk estimated that the copycat drugs accounted for around a third of the entire weight-loss market. That is despite warnings from the FDA about the health risks posed by compounded medicines, which do not have to be approved by the regulator. Beth, from Washington, says she was tempted by online ads for the compound medicines, having struggled with her weight since the pandemic. For her, the drugs helped her at a time when it seemed impossible to lose weight or stick to a diet. She dropped 30lbs over a few months of taking a compound weight-loss medicine. Others say they had little choice but to opt for compound versions, given that the branded medicines were too expensive and not covered by their health insurance. However, the situation is rapidly changing. Last month, the FDA banned mass production of copycat weight-loss treatments that use semaglutide, the ingredient in Novo Nordisk's Wegovy. It also removed tirzepatide from its shortage list last October. Novo Nordisk said the law has now made things clearer. 'Moving forward, any compounder that mass produces or sells knock-off drugs is breaking the law and compromising patient safety,' a spokesman said. Eli Lilly says the products 'pose potentially life-threatening health risks', adding: 'Patients shouldn't be exposed to risky, unapproved products when regulator-approved medicines are available.' Online medicines firms, also known as telehealth businesses, are now racing to find a way to continue getting cheaper, personalised replica drugs out to patients. Noom, a rival to Hims and Hers, has suggested it will still be able to sell compounded weight-loss drugs to patients under an exception set aside for 'personalised' medicines. Hims and Hers, meanwhile, has already struck a new deal with Novo to offer its branded obesity drug to patients. The US firm also said this month it was exploring expansion in the UK, after acquiring European rival Zava. Andrew Dudum, the Hims and Hers chief, suggested there could be 'expansive options in obesity that include that type of personalisation, or similar types', telling the Financial Times that it could sell replica obesity medicines in the UK and Europe. David Meinertz, the boss of Zava, agrees that there are opportunities for the business to grow outside of America. 'There's clearly the experience and expertise that Hims and Hers have built up in the US,' he says. 'But then we have things like the regulatory knowledge here in Zava, and this is where we combine our experiences and spearhead this effort.' Still, the situation in the UK is very different to the US. Here, the compounding pharmacy market is much smaller, with pharmacies able to prepare personalised medicines for patients if it is prescribed by a doctor. Elizabeth Philp, the co-founder of compounding pharmacy Roseway Labs, says there could be a role for more personalisation of medicines. 'The NHS will say wasted medication is one of their top issues – people who try medication, put it in their bathroom cupboard and never use it again because it didn't suit them,' she says. 'We can really help with that.' However, drug insiders argue it would be a 'very bad idea' if the UK started to think about bringing in cheaper compound medicines for weight loss. 'The real drugs are getting very cheap at volumes,' says one senior drug leader. 'Supply is not an issue.' It will be a message that Novo and Eli Lilly will seek to drum home as they seek to prevent smaller rivals from selling cheaper weight-loss medicines to patients. Still, the effects of this debate are already being felt by many in the US battling to lose weight. 'I cannot afford the full price at this time,' says Beth. 'I think it's awful that people are losing access to this medication due to finances or compounded meds going away. 'These drugs are literally life-changing.'
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
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HEALWELL AI Leverages Orion Health to Power Entry into US Market
HEALWELL launches in the U.S. market a suite of AI enabled tools to complement Orion Health's established software offerings in the U.S. This will bring together HEALWELLs globally validated AI capabilities with Orion Health's best-in-class health data infrastructure software creating a unique offering for the U.S. market. This U.S. market launch leverages Orion Health's deep U.S. sector experience, existing U.S. footprint and multi-decade track record of delivering health data infrastructure software to customers in eight U.S. states. US digital-health market spend reached $160.4 billion in 2024 and is forecast to grow at a 15.4% CAGR from 2025 to 2033 to reach $695.2 billion by 20331. As the U.S. healthcare sector is the largest globally; HEALWELL views the U.S. market as a key jurisdiction of focus. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 11, 2025) - HEALWELL AI Inc. (TSX: AIDX) (OTCQX: HWAIF) ("HEALWELL" or the "Company"), a healthcare artificial intelligence company focused on preventative care, is pleased to announce a strategic expansion into the U.S. healthcare market, aligning the group's direction following its acquisition of Orion Health. This move marks a major milestone in HEALWELL's mission to advance preventative care through AI-driven insights and trusted health data infrastructure. With over two decades of experience in the U.S, Orion Health has built a strong foundation supporting health information exchanges (HIEs), accountable care organizations (ACOs), clinically integrated networks (CINs), payers, and health systems. Its technology powers clinical data exchange across eight states, enabling thousands of clinicians to access health information for millions of patients, every day. This embedded presence will give HEALWELL immediate reach and credibility in one of the world's largest and most complex healthcare environments. To support this strategic expansion, HEALWELL has established dedicated U.S. and Canadian teams, reflecting the distinct regulatory, funding, and market dynamics of each region. "Orion has had a material presence in the USA for over two decades," said Brad Porter, Chief Commercial Officer at HEALWELL. "We now have a unique opportunity to accelerate value for our customers by combining Orion's trusted platform with HEALWELL's next-generation AI capabilities. The robust clinical validation and data lineage features differentiates these tools in the market and ultimately reduces friction with regards to clinical adoption." HEALWELL's U.S. strategy will focus on the delivery of value-based care and population health initiatives through two critical capabilities: health data infrastructure and a suite of AI-enabled tools to be made available as a compelling offering to ACOs, CINs, HIEs, payers and health systems. As regulatory frameworks like TEFCA along with convergence of standards towards FHIR reshape the national data landscape, HEALWELL is introducing a modular, FHIR-native repository to work alongside Orion's robust HL7-based data repository. This approach enables a TEFCA-ready, standards-aligned architecture that supports longitudinal patient records, interoperability, and real-time data sharing, while providing a clear upgrade path for existing HIEs and provider networks. Complementing this foundation is HEALWELL's growing suite of AI tools which will be introduced to the market, including AI-enabled clinical search, AI-enabled clinical summarisation and AI-enabled patient identification and risk stratification. These tools are designed to integrate seamlessly into existing clinical infrastructure, helping care teams surface insights faster, reduce administrative burden, and improve clinical outcomes. "The demand for clinically validated and explainable AI is growing fast," said Dr. Alexander Dobranowski, CEO of HEALWELL. "Our ability to embed these tools into existing systems rather than replace them means we can drive impact quickly, without disrupting workflows." To deepen its U.S. market presence, HEALWELL will also focus on strategic partnerships and M&A. Dr. Dobranowski adds, "As highlighted by our track record, we will be continuing to evaluate U.S. oriented partnerships, acquisition opportunities and organic expansion to ensure capital allocation matches the ambition of HEALWELLs purpose of enabling the adoption of AI driven preventative care." Beyond providers and public health systems, HEALWELL also sees growing demand from the life sciences sector, where real-world evidence (RWE) generation, decentralized clinical trial orchestration, and identifying gaps in patient care are increasingly common. With established life sciences partnerships and a platform built for scalability, HEALWELL is well-positioned to support clinical research, clinical development, and outcomes-based engagement in the U.S. market. HEALWELL's subsidiaries Pentavere and Khure Health have an established track record with U.S. life sciences and health system organizations and are currently commercially active with 7 of the top 10 largest pharmaceutical companies globally. "We're seeing real traction and a path to significant growth," said James Lee, incoming CEO of HEALWELL. "We're making excellent progress on integration and go-to-market plans, and we're seeing significant opportunities to both expand responsibly and rationalize expenses to improve operating margins. We're at the start of the curve in proving how AI can improve patient outcomes and help healthcare systems become more targeted with their resources. It's an exciting time for the industry." HEALWELL's U.S. oriented portfolio of capabilities will include HEALWELL Data as a Service, a FHIR complaint data store and a growing suite of AI-enabled tools that support clinical search, patient clinical summarisation, patient identification and patient risk stratification. These capabilities complement Orion Health's established and scaled U.S. offerings, including Amadeus Digital Care Record, Virtuoso Digital Front Door, and Communicate Direct Secure Messaging, creating an integrated platform that will deliver both infrastructure and intelligence to the frontlines of care. Dr. Alexander DobranowskiChief Executive OfficerHEALWELL AI Inc. 1 About HEALWELL HEALWELL is a healthcare artificial intelligence company focused on preventative care. Its mission is to improve healthcare and save lives through early identification and detection of disease. Using its own proprietary technology, the Company is developing and commercializing advanced clinical decision support systems that can help healthcare providers detect rare and chronic diseases, improve efficiency of their practice and ultimately help improve patient health outcomes. HEALWELL is executing a strategy centered around developing and acquiring technology and clinical sciences capabilities that complement the Company's road map. HEALWELL is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "AIDX" and on the OTCQX Market under the symbol "HWAIF". To learn more about HEALWELL, please visit Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this press release, constitute "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, including statements about the potential for HEALWELL and Orion Health to develop new products and services, or to enhance or combine existing ones, and the anticipated impact of such products and services; and the anticipated timing, focus and implementation of Healwell's strategic expansion into the U.S. Market; and are based on assumptions, expectations, estimates and projections as of the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by words or phrases such as "mission", "opportunity", "introducing", "is engaging", "continue to", "improve" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain future conditions, actions, events or results "will", "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" or "can" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms . Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon management's perceptions of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as a number of specific factors and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by HEALWELL as of the date of such statements, are outside of HEALWELL's control and are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies which could result in the forward-looking statements ultimately being entirely or partially incorrect or untrue. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based on various assumptions, including, but not limited to, the following: HEALWELL's ability to integrate Orion Health personnel, products, services, customers and relationships; HEALWELL's and Orion Health's ability to maintain and leverage their relationships with their commercial partners; the continued adoption of the software, tools and solutions created by HEALWELL and its subsidiaries; that HEALWELL will be successful in identifying, executing and integrating new acquisitions, investments and/or partnerships, the stability of general economic and market conditions; sufficiency of working capital and access to financing; HEALWELL's ability to comply with applicable laws and regulations; HEALWELL's continued compliance with third party intellectual property rights; the effects of competition in the industry; the requirement for increasingly innovative product solutions and service offerings; technologies working as intended or at all; trends in customer growth and the adoption of new technologies in the industry; and that the risk factors noted below, collectively, do not have a material impact on HEALWELL's business, operations, revenues and/or results. By their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections, or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct, and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. Known and unknown risk factors, many of which are beyond the control of HEALWELL, could cause the actual results of HEALWELL to differ materially from the results, performance, achievements, or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risk factors include but are not limited to those factors which are discussed under the section entitled "Risk Factors" in HEALWELL's most recent annual information form dated March 31, 2025, which is available under HEALWELL's SEDAR+ profile at The risk factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect HEALWELL and the reader is cautioned to consider these and other factors, uncertainties and potential events carefully and not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's expectations and plans relating to the future. HEALWELL disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking statements, except to the extent required by applicable law. All of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. For more information: Pardeep S. SanghaInvestor Relations, HEALWELL AI 604-572-6392ir@ To view the source version of this press release, please visit Sign in to access your portfolio
TechCrunch
22 minutes ago
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Sam Altman thinks AI will have ‘novel insights' next year
In a new essay published Tuesday called 'The Gentle Singularity,' OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared his latest vision for how AI will change the human experience over the next 15 years. The essay is a classic example of Altman's futurism: hyping up the promise of AGI — and arguing that his company is quite close to the feat — while simultaneously downplaying its arrival. The OpenAI CEO frequently publishes essays of this nature, cleanly laying out a future in which AGI disrupts our modern conception of work, energy, and the social contract. But often, Altman's essays contain hints about what OpenAI is working on next. At one point in the essay, Altman claimed that next year, in 2026, the world will 'likely see the arrival of [AI] systems that can figure out novel insights.' While this is somewhat vague, OpenAI executives have recently indicated that the company is focused on getting AI models to come up with new, interesting ideas about the world. When announcing OpenAI's o3 and o4-mini AI reasoning models in April, co-founder and President Greg Brockman said these were the first models that scientists had used to generate new, helpful ideas. Altman's blog post suggests that in the coming year, OpenAI itself may ramp up its efforts to develop AI that can generate novel insights. OpenAI certainly wouldn't be the only company focused on this effort — several of OpenAI's competitors have shifted their focus to training AI models that can help scientists come up with new hypotheses, and thus, novel discoveries about the world. In May, Google released a paper on AlphaEvolve, an AI coding agent that the company claims to have generated novel approaches to complex math problems. Another startup backed by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, FutureHouse, claims its AI agent tool has been capable of making a genuine scientific discovery. In May, Anthropic launched a program to support scientific research. If successful, these companies could automate a key part of the scientific process, and potentially break into massive industries such as drug discovery, material science, and other fields with science at their core. Techcrunch event Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Boston, MA | REGISTER NOW This wouldn't be the first time Altman has tipped his hat about OpenAI's plans in a blog. In January, Altman wrote another blog post suggesting that 2025 would be the year of agents. His company then proceeded to drop its first three AI agents: Operator, Deep Research, and Codex. But getting AI systems to generate novel insights may be harder than making them agentic. The broader scientific community remains somewhat skeptical of AI's ability to generate genuinely original insights. Earlier this year, Hugging Face's Chief Science Officer Thomas Wolf wrote an essay arguing that modern AI systems cannot ask great questions, which is key to any great scientific breakthrough. Kenneth Stanley, a former OpenAI research lead, also previously told TechCrunch that today's AI models cannot generate novel hypotheses. Stanley is now building out a team at Lila Sciences, a startup that raised $200 million to create an AI-powered laboratory specifically focused on getting AI models to come up with better hypotheses. This is a difficult problem, according to Stanley, because it involves giving AI models a sense for what is creative and interesting. Whether OpenAI truly creates an AI model that is capable of producing novel insights remains to be seen. Still, Altman's essay may feature something familiar — a preview of where OpenAI is likely headed next.
