In Global News: Festive Hypotheses, New Lungs for Singing, and Mice Exercising With Marfan Syndrome

Patient Care

The Venezuelan singer known by the nickname “El Puma” is recovering after a double lung transplant for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

A Bangladeshi woman has received a new esophagus in Toronto, Canada, after her esophagus was severely damaged in an acid attack.

Dutch cyclist Lars Boom will miss the Tour Down Under in Adelaide, South Australia, as he undergoes surgery for cardiac arrhythmia. Lithuanian cyclist Ramūnas Navardauskas will make the tour, having recovered from his surgical arrhythmia correction.

Drugs and Devices

Three reports of detached docking buttons on the Nanostim leadless pacemaker lead Abbott to announce that it is maintaining the worldwide halt on device implantations while it investigates.

Research, Trials, and Funding

In a bit of festive fun, researchers at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland, suggest testable—if improbable—hypotheses for some of the scientific oddities in popular Christmas stories, such as the Grinch’s rapidly growing heart.

In case you needed more reason to eat fresh fruits and vegetables, a study published in the European Respiratory Journal found an association between a person’s apple and tomato consumption and their lung health.

Mice with a genetic modification that models Marfan syndrome benefit from a bit of moderate exercise, say researchers from Spain.