For the period August 16–17, 2025, the biotech, pharma, medical, and health sectors saw a range of significant developments worldwide. Below is a comprehensive roundup of top stories categorized by theme, complete with expert insights and source links: Clinical Trial Results & Study Readouts Drug & Device Approvals Mergers, Acquisitions & Partnerships Public Health Alerts…
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an all-time intraday high, surpassing its December peak of 45,073 to join Nasdaq and the S&P 500 in 2025 highs. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway disclosed a stake in UnitedHealth Group, sending UnitedHealth shares up about 9.5%. Nvidia’s market capitalization climbed to $4 trillion amid AI-driven rally. The Nasdaq Composite…
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The Perseid meteor shower peaked on August 12-13, 2025, and NASA’s Bill Cooke says under moonlit skies observers may see about 10-20 meteors per hour (versus 40-50 per hour under dark skies). By August 17-18, the Moon is a waning crescent, allowing ideal conditions to yield roughly 15-20 Perseids per hour before dawn. The minor…
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Canon EOS R8 is a full-frame 24.2 MP camera with no IBIS, 6 fps mechanical, 40 fps electronic shutter, 30 fps RAW burst, 4K60 with 10-bit internal recording (C-Log3/HDR PQ), and weather sealing. Canon EOS R7 is a high-end APS-C camera with a 32.5 MP sensor, 5-axis IBIS up to 7–8 stops, dual SD UHS-II…
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Wegovy (semaglutide) received FDA accelerated approval to treat metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), becoming the first GLP-1 therapy cleared for MASH in a patient population estimated at about 5% of U.S. adults, based on part 1 of an ongoing trial showing liver health improvement. Tonix Pharmaceuticals’ Tonmya, or TNX-102 SL, was approved August 15 for fibromyalgia,…
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The Perseid meteor shower remains active on August 16–17, even though its peak occurred on August 12–13. The meteors originate from debris of Comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, an ancient celestial body well over 5 billion years old. Moonlight washes out fainter meteors, but a few bright Perseid fireballs have still been observed. Meteor rates predawn are expected…
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Launch & Rocket Updates Satellite Missions & Science Updates Space Agencies & Policy Developments
In mid-August 2025, OpenAI unveiled GPT-5, a “major upgrade” with PhD-level expertise across coding to medicine and rolling out to all 700 million ChatGPT users; Sam Altman said it feels like you can ask a legitimate expert about anything, but it cannot learn on its own. A team led by Pan Jianwei in China arranged…
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The ISS is roughly football-field-sized, sits about 250 miles above Earth, travels at about 17,500 mph, and completes an orbit every ~92 minutes, circling Earth about 16 times per day. Its orbit is inclined about 51.6° to the equator, so its ground track passes over more than 90% of Earth’s population and it never goes…
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The iPhone 16 Pro Max uses a Grade 5 titanium frame, is 6.9 inches tall—the largest iPhone ever—with Ceramic Shield, IP68, four finishes including Desert Titanium, and a reintroduced Dynamic Island plus a new Action Button. Its display is a 6.9-inch 2868×1320 OLED with ProMotion 120Hz, up to 3000 nits peak brightness, Always-On, and wide…
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