On this Postcall Thursday, we’d like to share the spotlight with the 9th International Day of Women and Girls in Science Assembly!

Officially Feb. 11, the UN observes the equal access and participation of women in STEM fields. 🔬👩🏻‍🔬 This year, the Assembly is meeting Feb 8-9.

❓Trivia Question❓: Who was the first woman to fly in space? (Answer at the bottom of today’s issue!)

Now on to this week’s stories!

• The X Factor in Autoimmune Diseases

• Things your attending might pimp you on

  • Keeping up with the K…MMR vaccines

  • Semaglutide and suicidal ideation

  • Global cancer trends going up

• 23andOops

  • 23andMe admits to health data hack

• Quick Bites

  • Bernie Sanders conducted an investigation against drug companies

  • Simpsons predicting the future... again?

  • CDC going after menthol cigarettes

• Postcall Picks

  • Need a good night's sleep?

• 🕹️ Game ⛳️

  • Red cell casts are pathognomonic for what?

• ❓Trivia Question❓

  • Share Postcall, Get Merch! 🐕

Driving the economic numbers:

Stocks are on the up and up again - earnings reports from Spotify and Palantir are giving the tech sector a tailwind. Of course, the Middle East continues to add volatility to key indexes so it’s not all smooth sailing.

The X Factor in Autoimmune Diseases💃

What happened: Stanford researchers cracked why women are more prone to autoimmune diseases. Women pack two X chromosomes, while men rock one X and one Y. The X chromosome is loaded with genes, far more than the smaller-sized Y chromosome. To avoid a genetic overload, every female cell smartly mutes one of its X chromosomes—an insurance policy known as “X-chromosome inactivation.”

This process amps the risk of autoimmune disorders, thanks to a gene called Xist (pronounced "exist"). Xist takes charge in muting proteins on the extra X chromosome. But it can, in some cases, kickstart a robust immune response, roping in proteins linked to autoimmune disorders.

Why it’s interesting: Women dominate 80% of autoimmune disease cases, dealing with heavyweights like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Navigating these conditions is tough due to limited treatments, demanding lifelong care. Women in particular struggle with chronic pain. Estrogen's sway on pain perception and response to painkillers leads to "sex differences in how women experience pain.” But as Postcall covered, we’re making strides in health equity.

Hold up: Understanding Xist’s role doesn't clarify how men develop these diseases or why certain autoimmune conditions (e.g Type 1 diabetes) skew towards males. Dr. Howard Chang says this reflects autoimmunity's multifactorial nature. There’s no single cause or exclusive path, and not all autoimmune diseases show a strong female bias. 

Bottom line: This finding could lead to more accurate diagnostics and, potentially, interventions to disrupt the autoimmune process for men and women alike. Further research is needed to fully understand how Xist RNA influences the immune system and the feasibility of new therapeutic approaches based on these insights. 

Things your attending might pimp you on 🙋🏽‍♀️👨‍⚕️

1. Keeping up with the K…MMR vaccines

A resurgence of measles in Europe has driven cases up 40-fold since 2022, in part explained by vaccine hesitancy amplified by the lingering effects of the pandemic. Nearly two dozen cases have been reported in the US since December. A 95% MMR vaccination rate is needed for herd immunity — which the US has not reached — highlighting the importance of catching up on children’s immunizations.

2. Semaglutide and suicidal ideation

Weight loss drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic have been criticized for being associated with suicidal ideation, but a new study has proved that to be wrong. A recent retrospective cohort study with over 200,000 patients has found that semaglutide is not associated with suicidal ideation (SI). In patients with overweight or obesity, semaglutide compared with non-GLP1R agonists was associated with lower risk for incident (HR = 0.27, 95% CI = 0.200.32–0.600.36) and recurrent (HR = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.32–0.60) SI consistent across sex, age and ethnicity stratification. 

3. Global cancer trends going up

Alright, it’s unlikely that your attending will pimp you on this. But on the off-chance they will: Buckingham palace confirmed that King Charles has been diagnosed with cancer. This comes in the wake of a WHO report suggesting troubling cancer trends around the world, revealing that there has been a staggering 50% increase in new cancer cases and an 18% rise in cancer-related deaths worldwide between 2012 and 2022. By 2050, it is estimated that new cancer cases will surge by 77% with lower-income countries bearing a disproportionately heavier burden. 

🧬 23andOops

What happened? Popular ancestry company 23andMe admit it took them 5 months to notice they were being hacked.

Why it’s interesting: The hacking began in April 2023, and it wasn’t until early Oct. when a third party source posted stolen data on an unofficial 23andMe subreddit that the company finally took notice. By then, it was too late — hackers had access to around 14,000 customers accounts. They’d stolen ancestry and genetic data of 6.9 million users thanks to 23andMe’s DNA Relative’s features.

The stolen data includes names, birth years, relationship statuses, the percentage of DNA shared with relatives, ancestry reports, and self-reported locations. 

23andMe updated its terms of service two days before they notified customers of the breach. Users weren’t allowed to file class action lawsuits, but instead could go through arbitration. Critics say arbitration favours the corporations, often hiding how terms and services mean that customers have given up their constitutional right to file a lawsuit. Data breach lawyers say 23andMe’s policy is “a desperate attempt to protect 23andMe from its customers.” 23andMe have blamed customers, saying it’s their fault for  allegedly “reusing passwords from other sites.”

Bottom line: Finger pointing isn’t going to change that almost 7 million people have had their data stolen and exposed. Although using the same password for multiple accounts can be dangerous, 23andMe should’ve noticed password recycling and implemented a safeguard to protect their info.  

🍔 Quick Bites

1: ⚠️ Earlier this year Sen. Bernie Sanders conducted an investigation against drug companies like GSK, Teva, and AstraZeneca, accusing them of charging the US about 10 times more than other countries. One of the drugs that helps treat asthma costs about $640 a month, which has become a top concern as about 20 million people in the US have asthma and need the drug to help breathe.

2: 📺 The Simpsons might have predicted the future again with the Apple Vision Pros. An episode from 2016 shows the characters wearing a device that looks very similar to the tech. The show has been accused of predicting many phenomenons over the years including the 2020 Presidential Election. While this isn’t new, it does beg the question, is this a coincidence or do the writers know something about the future that we don’t?

3: 🚬 A new anti-smoking campaign by the CDC has special emphasis on the harms of menthol cigarettes, which have become more popular among marginalized communities. Cigarette smoking kills more than 480,000 Americans a year, while leaving 16 million people with smoking-related illnesses. The CDC says that banning the use of menthol cigarettes would save 654,000 lives within the next 40 years. Anti-smoking groups have been urging the FDA and the White House to ban the products for good.

4: ⚧ Ohio Republican Governor, Mike DeWine, vetoed a bill in Dec. that would ban physicians from providing minors with gender affirming care. But the decision was short lived because on Jan. 24th the Ohio Senate overrode the Governor’s veto, banning not only gender affirming care, but prohibiting trans women from participating in school related women’s sports. The new law is said to take effect in 90 days. 

5: 🎙️ The 66th Annual Grammy Awards happened this past weekend, and here’s a quick preview of some winners.

*if you’re also confused about the difference between these, click here for a quick explainer from Vox.

Postcall Picks ✅

🚗 Buy: Need a good night’s sleep? Casper is offering 30% off everything, and 10% off their popular Casper Mattress when you use the code EXTRA10.

🥧 Eat: Atlas Obscura published its 50 Places to Eat and Drink Before You Die.

👀 Watch: You’ve seen the Apple Vision Pro. You’ve heard of the Cybertruck. But have you seen how ridiculous it would be to try to use both… at the same time?

🕹️ Game ⛳️

Take another swig of coffee if you need it 🙃

First question: Red cell casts are pathognomonic for what?

Last week’s average time: 4:49.

If you enjoyed the puzzle, please share with friends, coworkers, and, heck, anyone who likes puzzles!

❓Trivia Question❓

Valentina Tereshkova, on June 16, 1963, when she orbited Earth as part of the Vostok 6 mission.

Share Postcall, Get Merch! 🐕

Share Postcall, rack up referrals, get merch. It’s that easy. Plus, you’ll get our eternal gratitude. Maybe we’ll name our next pet Shiba in your honour! 😜

Click here or share by copying and pasting this link below:

🤘 PS. If you’re reading this, you know that our readers are America's best and brightest physicians, medical learners, and other smart, ambitious people. Learn about partnering with Postcall if you’d like to reach them.