The covid pandemic saga of Razer’s RGB-lit Zephyr face mask is probably ending now that checks and PayPal payments are giving money back to the 6,764 buyers.
Last year, the FTC settled with Razer over its misleading statements and “N95-grade” filtering claims made without evidence or testing, leading to refunds and a $100k civil penalty.
I got to try out Eli Health’s Hormometer in person last night. I was fully expecting it to say my stress levels were high but my cortisol levels were apparently within range. Maybe my body is just used to all that CES adrenaline after all these years. In any case, here’s what using an at-home, portable hormone test is like.
I ranked the Circular Ring Slim dead last in my smart ring battle royale. When I heard their CES 2025 announcement, I was cautiously optimistic that a redemption arc was in the making with the Circular Ring 2. Now that I’ve seen and tried it, I’m even more hopeful. The hardware is such an improvement — all that’s left to see is if the software is too when it launches.
I’m here at CES Unveiled trying out Eli Health’s Hormometer. I had to do it twice because this dry desert air makes it hard to generate a lot of spit. Here I am taking the cortisol (stress) test.
Preeeeetty sure my levels are going to be high. I find out in... three minutes.
Sure, booze is fun but it’s also poison. Anyway, the Surgeon General has said alcohol should be labeled for its cancer risk. If you’re sober-curious, join me for a Dry January — a ritual in which I get a month of great sleep.
[The New York Times]
Smart rings had a resurgence this year. The question is whether the renaissance will continue.
Dexcom’s Stelo continuous glucose monitor (CGM) for those with Type 2 diabetes is starting to use generative AI to write weekly reports with “more personalized tips, recommendations, and education related to diet, exercise, and sleep” than the template previously used.
CNBC:
Stelo’s AI reports don’t give users medical advice, though Dexcom has been using an AI framework from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to help guide the feature’s development, [Dexcom COO Jake] Leach said.
Aaron Siri, the lawyer in question, has a long history of challenging vaccines. But as the NYT story explains, this matters not only because polio is a devastating disease that can cause death and paralysis, but because Siri has also been helping RFK Jr. — Trump’s pick for health secretary — vet incoming federal health officials.
[The New York Times]
During an interview with Wired, Cook highlighted the Apple Watch’s AFib and sleep apnea detection, while also hinting at the possibility of using AI to alert users to serious illnesses:
I’m not going to announce anything today. But we have research going on. We’re pouring all of ourselves in here, and we work on things that are years in the making. We were working on hearing a long time before we got it dialed in to where we felt comfortable shipping it.
The two companies announced a “strategic partnership” today where Oura Ring and Dexcom CGM users can more easily share their health data between the two platforms. Both companies will also sell and cross promote each other’s products.
Oura’s been diving into metabolic health lately, acquiring a CGM startup called Veri just a few months ago.
To top it all off: Dexcom is also investing $75 million in Oura.
[businesswire]
The President-elect chose his former political opponent and anti-vaccine activist to lead HHS, a department that oversees the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Kennedy has embraced policies widely rejected by the scientific community, like halting the addition of fluoride to drinking water — a mineral that helps prevent tooth decay.
It’s also offering monthly treatment options for erectile dysfunction and eyelash growth. Amazon says Prime members only have to pay for the cost of consultation and the treatment plan, which ranges anywhere from $2 / month to $43 / month.
[www.aboutamazon.com]
The goal was a product that could predict a user’s fertility by collecting saliva. Users would’ve then been able to log period symptoms, sexual activity, and other fertility data via a mobile app. CNBC says Amazon has laid off the entire team behind the project. Initially, it was set to launch later this year before technical issues resulted in delays.
A digital trail can provide evidence of someone obtaining an illegal abortion, but as Lux Alptraum wrote back in 2022, they’re not usually the initial tipoff:
A full 45 percent of cases were brought to the attention of the police via a healthcare professional like a doctor, nurse, or social worker. Another 26 percent of people were reported by friends or family members.
In case you were wondering.
Unsurprising. Oura also found that there was a 2.3 percent increase in stressed minutes, a 19.5 percent decrease in restorative time and heart rates were 3.7 percent higher.
My own Oura data shows that I had 4 hours 30 minutes of stress on election day and eight whole hours of stress processing the results yesterday.
Using the Eight Sleep Pod 4 Ultra has given me the best sleep of my life. I just can’t get over the price and subscription.
don’t feed your fucking private medical records to a chatbot, Jesus Christ.
Science Corporation (what a name!) announced preliminary clinical trial results of their Prima retinal implant. Wired’s write-up goes into more detail, but the 2mm chip acts as a replacement photoreceptor in the retinas of folks who lost their central vision. After a year, some trial participants were able to read, solve crossword puzzles, and play cards. It’s not the same as normal vision — there’s no color, for instance. But it’s impressive nonetheless!
