logo
Dig for Children's Remains Begins at Irish Home for Unwed Mothers

Dig for Children's Remains Begins at Irish Home for Unwed Mothers

New York Times14-07-2025
Excavators broke ground on Monday in western Ireland to search for the bodies of hundreds of babies and young children, some of them discarded in septic tanks, who died at a home for unwed mothers that was managed by Catholic nuns from 1925 to 1961.
The circumstances of the children's short lives, the treatment of the mothers and the decades of secrecy surrounding the deaths have been recognized widely as a profound moral stain on the Irish government, which funded the institution, and the Catholic Church, which managed it.
About half of the children, estimated to number about 800 in all, died before their first birthdays.
'Some of the families have been really seeking answers to these questions for many years,' Daniel MacSweeney, who directs the excavation, said in an interview. He leads the Office of the Director of Authorized Intervention, Tuam, an independent organization established by the Irish government in 2022 to recover the remains.
The team began with small motorized diggers, Mr. MacSweeney said, while specialists watched for signs of remains. Once bodies appear, he said, the work will continue by hand, noting 'the complexity of the challenge.'
Scientists estimate that infant bodies lie 'commingled' in the tanks under St. Mary's Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, a town in County Galway in the west of Ireland. The institution was long one of the most notorious homes for unwed mothers in Ireland.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

We're More Likely Than Ever to See Ourselves as Sick. Why?
We're More Likely Than Ever to See Ourselves as Sick. Why?

New York Times

time3 hours ago

  • New York Times

We're More Likely Than Ever to See Ourselves as Sick. Why?

In 1983, nearly a decade before the Human Genome Project was even started and two decades before it was completed, scientists mapped the chromosomal abnormality responsible for Huntington's disease. The disease was then, as it is now, both incurable and intolerable: typically an inexorable descent into cognitive and neurological dysfunction, usually beginning in middle age and ending only after a long period of profound decline — often involuntary movements, followed by the inability to talk or communicate or, eventually, move. When a predictive test was first introduced in 1986, it was expected that perhaps as many as three-quarters of those at risk would choose to take it to discover what lay ahead for them — to be relieved or to begin planning, but in either case resolving uncertain anxiety into a more concrete sense of medical fate. Instead, the Irish neurologist Suzanne O'Sullivan writes in 'The Age of Diagnosis,' published this spring, roughly nine out of every 10 at-risk people offered the test around the world decline it — preferring to live with ignorance. Perhaps, she suggests, we'd all be better off if we followed their lead, embracing uncertainty and ambiguity rather than always rushing to diagnose every deviation from 'normal.' A collection of intimate case studies somewhat in the tradition of Oliver Sacks, 'The Age of Diagnosis' ranges widely, recounting the stories of patients reckoning not just with Huntington's but also with cancer and Lyme disease and long Covid. But it delivers its takeaway message boldly: that in our eagerness to help, we have grown too promiscuous in our impulse to pathologize. For certain conditions, O'Sullivan suggests, you can tally the cost in excessive, sometimes counterproductive care: Reports have indicated that perhaps one-third of breast cancer treatments are unnecessary, that certain prostate-cancer screening programs have saved relatively few lives, and that what is now called 'prediabetes' may resolve itself without any intervention in nearly 60 percent of cases. In the realm of mental health, some clinicians and researchers worry that diagnosis can be 'self-fulfilling,' through what is technically called 'iatrogenic' risk: that the very fact of identifying a disorder can make patients feel less well, less capable, more burdened and less independent than when they walked into the doctor's office wondering what the hell was going on. Some researchers, though, have emphasized the inverse phenomenon: that patients are relieved to have a name and feel empowered by a diagnosis, even if there isn't anything for them to do about it. And for me, 'The Age of Diagnosis' is too broad a polemic — given how many afflictions remain mysterious, how much suffering endures without a name, and how often we underdiagnose and undertreat even well-understood conditions. But the book very helpfully puts its finger on what is, I think, a key to understanding an awful lot of modern social panic. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.

InnovationRx: Trump's EU Tariff Deal Will Add $13 Billion To Drug Costs
InnovationRx: Trump's EU Tariff Deal Will Add $13 Billion To Drug Costs

Forbes

time6 hours ago

  • Forbes

InnovationRx: Trump's EU Tariff Deal Will Add $13 Billion To Drug Costs

In this week's edition of InnovationRx, we look at the impact of Trump's tariffs on drugs made in Europe, Halle Berry's menopause startup, Ambience Healthcare's $243 million fundraise, and more. To get it in your inbox, subscribe here . Eli Lilly's plant in Kinsale, Ireland Bloomberg Finance F or months, there have been questions about what the impact of Trump's tariffs on drugs would be. On Sunday, we got part of the answer: Under the trade deal reached between the U.S. and the European Union, medicines imported from Europe will face a 15% tariff. That tax hike will hit some of the biggest blockbuster drugs, including Keytruda (for cancer) and Wegovy (for obesity), as well as less well-known brand name medications. Questions remain about generics: European Commission President von der Leyen said on Sunday that certain generics would be exempt, but the White House fact sheet on the deal lists no such exceptions. What is clear, though, is that the cost of the tariff will likely be passed to American consumers, both directly and indirectly through higher insurance premiums. ING analyst Diedrick Stadig told Forbes that once stockpiled medicines are gone, the tax would add around $13 billion to the cost of imported drugs. There will be indirect costs, too. As companies look to manage the impact of Trump's tariffs by building out U.S. manufacturing, they could potentially cut spending in other areas, including research and development, to compensate, Emarketer analyst Rajiv Leventhal told Forbes . 'They're going to have to cut back in other areas to not have Wall Street panic,' he said. Halle Berry Cliff Watts for Forbes In May 2024, Halle Berry, the actress and former model, shouted three words on Capitol Hill to a bipartisan group of senators (all women): ' I'm in menopause! ' Berry, now 58, first became focused on the issue, as both an entrepreneur and an advocate, after her own perimenopause was misdiagnosed as herpes. She originally founded Respin as a wellness and exercise website in 2020, but relaunched it this February as a menopause-focused healthcare company. With less than $5 million in funding from investors including Khosla Ventures, Respin is still in its earliest days. Telehealth visits just launched in July and revenue is mostly nonexistent. But Berry's work, profiled in Forbes as part of this year's 50 Over 50 list, is just one indication, along with VC-backed Midi Health, which has raised more than $100 million, that menopause is finally getting some attention. 'This is my greatest act,' Berry tells Forbes. 'And I couldn't have imagined that this would be my greatest act because I think as women, we've been afraid to age.' Read more here. BIOTECH AND PHARMA Sarepta Therapeutics is again shipping its gene therapy Elevidys for patients with Duchene muscular dystrophy (a particularly severe form of the disease) who are able to walk. The latest move came after the FDA recommended the removal of a voluntary hold it had previously placed on the drug. The face-off between Sarepta and the FDA followed the deaths of three people from Elevidys or a similar drug (that's in early-stage clinical trials) from liver failure. Duchenne patients and their families had put pressure on the FDA to reverse the decision, though the agency said it will continue to investigate the deaths. On Tuesday night, Vinay Prasad, the FDA's top vaccine and gene therapy official, abruptly resigned after just three months after he took the job. Prasad, head of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, had faced heavy criticism from the right over his handling of Sarepta, including an op-ed from The Wall Street Journal 's editorial board and derision from pro-Trump influencer Laura Loomer. The Health and Human Services Department has not yet said who will fill his role. DIGITAL HEALTH AND AI Open AI-backed startup Ambience Healthcare raised $243 million – one of the year's largest VC investments in healthtech – led by Oak HC/FT and Andreessen Horowitz. The new funding increases Ambience's valuation to more than $1 billion, according to Bloomberg. Founders Michael Ng, the company's CEO, and Nikhil Buduma, its chief scientist, previously founded digital health startup Remedy Health. Plus: Sword Health, the $4 billion (valuation) digital health startup, launched a new AI division to help payers and providers increase operational efficiency. MEDTECH Imagine getting a heart valve replacement and being able to resume your normal, daily activities a week later. That's the reality for four patients at the Cleveland Clinic, according to case studies it presented earlier this year. Its surgeons were able to use robots to perform the aortic valve replacement surgery through the patients' necks, avoiding the need for open-heart surgery and its accompanying long, painful recovery. One patient even reported he'd resumed running in the gym a week after he was discharged. PUBLIC HEALTH AND HOSPITALS Millions of undergraduate and graduate students rely on Medicaid for health coverage. As long as they attend school more than half-time, they should meet the new work requirement added in the recently passed 'One Big Beautiful Bill'. But yet-to-be issued rules and procedures, along with paperwork problems and administrative snafus, could still put many of them at risk. One big problem: The law doesn't actually define what 'half-time enrollment' means. Another: The law requires applicants to look back one month to see if they met the work requirement, and it's unclear what that means for a new student who was, for example, on summer break the month before they enrolled. This and many other unanswered questions will likely leave millions of college students' health insurance in limbo as the legislation is implemented. WHAT WE'RE READING Some psychiatric patients may actually have treatable autoimmune conditions. The New Yorker explores the story of one schizophrenia patient who suddenly recovered. Scientists are using AI to boost efforts to spot flags for diseases of extreme tiredness, including long COVID and chronic fatigue syndrome. China is facing a major outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease chikungunya, which has infected more than 4,000 people. White House officials scrapped a plan by the Office of Management and Budget that would have effectively halted NIH grants, and the funds are set to flow again. Tribal health officials are working to fill in vaccination gaps as the U.S. measles outbreak continues to spread. UnitedHealth Group's profit fell to $3.4 billion in the second quarter, from $4.2 billion in the same period last year, as it grapples with rising costs of providing health insurance to millions of Americans. Shares of Novo Nordisk, which makes Wegovy and Ozempic, dropped more than 21% Tuesday, after it cut its guidance to analysts on sales and profit for the year. MORE FROM FORBES Forbes The Tech Mogul Behind Trump's Truth Social Used To Own Porn Domains By Emily Baker-White Forbes How The World's Second-Richest Person And His Son Pulled Off The $8 Billion Paramount Deal By Phoebe Liu Forbes Trump Has Spent About One-Third Of His Presidency Visiting His Own Properties By Dan Alexander

Market to Surpass $250 Billion by 2030, Driven by Virtual Consultations, Government Investment, and Emerging AI- and IoT-Powered Care Platforms
Market to Surpass $250 Billion by 2030, Driven by Virtual Consultations, Government Investment, and Emerging AI- and IoT-Powered Care Platforms

Yahoo

time13 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Market to Surpass $250 Billion by 2030, Driven by Virtual Consultations, Government Investment, and Emerging AI- and IoT-Powered Care Platforms

The telemedicine technologies market report offers in-depth analysis, trends, and forecasts through 2030. It covers major players, innovations, and geographic opportunities. Key insights include market dynamics, patient subscription software, and virtual consultations. The report details regulatory assessments, emerging technologies, and market rankings. Regional segments and major country analyses are included, with estimates providing revenue data from 2022-2030 and insights into sustainability trends, ESG developments, and patent grants. Major companies profiled include Siemens Healthineers and Teladoc Health. Global Telemedicine Technologies Market Dublin, July 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Markets for Telemedicine Technologies" report has been added to global market for telemedicine technologies is projected to grow from $146.9 billion in 2025 to $251.5 billion by the end of 2030, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.3% from 2025 to 2030. This report provides an analysis of the telemedicine technologies market, including market estimations and trends through 2030. It examines major players, competitive insights, innovations, advertising flow, geographic opportunities and territorial openings. The report addresses major players' acquisitions, collaborations, partnerships and item portfolios. It covers drivers, restraints, opportunities, emerging technologies and a regulatory scenario assessment. The report also includes market projections through 2030 and market rankings for key players. Telemedicine transmits biomedical data between patients and caregivers at different locations without face-to-face contact. It saves time and money on healthcare services by providing remote medication, eliminating the need to travel to see a physician. Telemedicine provides expert-based medical care to any place where it is needed without physical contact. It uses existing wired and wireless infrastructures for both prototype and real-time key players in the global telemedicine technologies market are Siemens Healthineers, Koninklijke Philips N.V., Teladoc Health, American Well Corp. (Amwell), Doximity Inc. and SHL Telemedicine. These companies focus on developing telemedicine virtual consultation platforms using hardware, software and Dynamics and Growth FactorsThe global market for telemedicine technologies was valued at $133.7 billion in 2024. The growth rate is attributed to increased virtual consultations between patients and physicians, repetitive virtual consultations for serious illnesses, government investment in digital healthcare and the expansion of telemedicine companies in regions such as North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. Numerous digital health technologies, such as electronic decision-support tools, telemonitoring, remote monitoring and mobile health applications, are available in developed and emerging countries and are estimated to propel market growth. The increased rate of minimally invasive surgery for patients in Asia-Pacific and European countries, improved virtual consultation technology, increased virtual meetings between patients and physicians, patient convenience and a large geriatric population are several factors driving the global market for telemedicine TechnologiesBeginning in 2024, the healthcare industry has experienced significant transformation driven by advances in telemedicine. Healthcare systems have been upgraded with skilled professionals trained to use new technologies, improving care delivery in emergency rooms and remote locations. The global expansion of clinics and hospitals has further increased the demand for digital tools in healthcare. Concurrently, home care technologies are growing rapidly, fueled by an aging population and rising rates of disability and chronic illness. Moving forward, the focus will shift to software-based devices powered by AI and the Internet of Things (IoT), enabling more personalized, patient-centric care through innovative telemedicine platforms and applications. Report Includes 48 data tables and 75 additional tables Analyses of the trends in the global markets for telemedicine technologies, with revenue data from 2022 to 2024, estimates for 2025, and projected CAGRs through 2030 Estimates of the size and revenue prospects for the global market, along with a market share analysis by business offering (components), technology type, application, end user, and region Facts and figures pertaining to market dynamics, opportunities and deterrents, technological advances, regulations, and the impacts of macroeconomic variables Insights derived from the Porter's Five Forces model, as well as global supply chain analyses An assessment of the telemedicine products and technologies currently available, as well as new developments, spending trends, and growth prospects for this innovation-driven market Overview of the sustainability trends and ESG developments in the industry, with emphasis on the ESG practices followed by leading companies, their ESG ratings, and consumer attitudes A review of patent activity and key patent grants Analysis of the industry structure, including companies' product offerings, strategic alliances, M&A activity, venture fundings and investment outlook Profiles of the leading companies, including Siemens Healthineers AG, Koninklijke Philips N.V., Teladoc Health, American Well Corp., and SHL Telemedicine Ltd. Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 209 Forecast Period 2025 - 2030 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2025 $146.9 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 $251.5 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 11.3% Regions Covered Global Key Topics Covered: Chapter 1 Introduction Market Outlook Scope of the Report Market Summary Market Dynamics and Growth Factors Emerging Technologies Segment Analysis Regional Analysis Conclusion Chapter 2 Market Overview Introduction to Telemedicine Key Communication Technologies and Components of Telemedicine Benefits of Telemedicine Telemedicine Uses and Patient Preferences Macroeconomic Factors Analysis Porter's Five Forces Analysis Bargaining Power of Suppliers Bargaining Power of Buyers Threat of New Entrants Threat of Substitutes Competitive Rivalry/Degree of Competition Chapter 3 Market Dynamics Market Dynamics Key Takeaways Market Drivers Asynchronous Telemedicine Trend Development of the Internet of Things in Telemedicine Telemedicine for Chronic Disease Management Advances in Digital Healthcare Evolving Insurance Sectors Market Restraints Communication Errors Implementation of Telemedicine into Legacy Systems Regulatory Obstacles Market Opportunities Favorable Government Initiatives Acceptance of Telemedicine in Emerging Countries Chapter 4 Regulatory Landscape Regulatory Scenario Legal Aspects of Telemedicine in Various Countries and Their Associated Challenges Chapter 5 Emerging Technologies and Developments Telemedicine Technologies: Overview Telesurgery Telepsychiatry Teleophthalmology Emerging Technologies for Telemedicine Technological Advances in Patient Care Cloud-Based Software Devices Digital Biomarkers Artificial Intelligence in Radiology Internet of Medical Things Patent Analysis Key Findings Chapter 6 Market Segmentation Analysis Segmentation Breakdown Market Analysis by Application Key Takeaways Remote Imaging Telepathology Teledermatology Remote Surgery Telepsychiatry Telecardiology Other Applications Market Analysis by Business Segment Key Takeaways Services Software Hardware Market Analysis by End User Key Takeaways Home Healthcare Healthcare Providers Other End Users Geographic Breakdown Market Analysis by Region Key Takeaways North America Europe Asia-Pacific South America Middle East and Africa Chapter 7 Competitive Intelligence Key Takeaways Competitive Landscape Global Market Shares of Leading Companies Key Developments and Strategies Partnerships and Collaborations Business Expansions Product Launches, Enhancements and Expansions Acquisitions Chapter 8 Sustainability in Telemedicine System: An ESG Perspective Introduction to ESG Implementation of ESG by Healthcare Providers and Payers Key Challenges to Implementing ESG Practices ESG Risk Ratings ESG Practices in the Telemedicine Technologies Industry Environmental Performance Social Performance Governance Performance Concluding Remarks Chapter 9 Appendix Research Methodology References Abbreviations Company Profiles American Well Amc Health Cisco Systems Inc. Cvs Health Doximity Inc. Ge Healthcare Globalmed Holdings Llc. Imedtac Co. Ltd. Koninklijke Philips N.V. Medtronic Siemens Healthnieers Ag Shl Telemedicine Teladoc Health Inc. Telespecialists Tigerconnect For more information about this report visit About is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Attachment Global Telemedicine Technologies Market CONTACT: CONTACT: Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@ For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store