Privacy, and menstrual tracking apps

Here's an interview with Harvard Professor Sarah Richardson about her recent article raising concerns about menstrual tracking apps. She has doubts both about whether they give useful advice, and about the low or absent guardrails on the data they generate.

Alarm over menstrual tracking apps
GenderSci Lab director warns of health, privacy risks in medical journal analysis by Clea Simon 

"According to GenderSci Lab director Sarah Richardson, Aramont Professor of the History of Science and professor of studies of women, gender, and sexuality, the apps can dangerously mislead women while also exposing them to commercial exploitation and legal concerns. 

...

"These apps are marketed as wellness and medical tools, but there are no protections on the data. Data is often sold, raising concerns for reproductive autonomy and privacy. Menstrual apps are unique compared to other kinds of digital trackers because they can expose reproductive and gender status.

"It is possible for there to be misuse of this data. This was deeply scrutinized after the Dobbs decision a couple of years ago with many scholars recommending that people not use these tracking apps, because there had been explicit threats made by regulators to try to access that data for use in criminal prosecution.

"Menstrual status can be used to give evidence of reproductive status. If the use of one of these apps exposed somebody as having been pregnant and then no longer being pregnant, for example, that could potentially be, in some jurisdictions, used either to discriminate against them or to implicate them criminally under laws that are meant to restrict abortion. "

 #####

Here's the article in the BMJ:

Digital menstrual tracking risks creating more harm than benefit
BMJ 2026; 394 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2026-100858 (Published 30 September 2026) by  Lee, Katharine MN, Marina DiMarco, Madeleine Pape, Meredith Reiches, Patricia Homan, Sheree Bekker, Margo Mountjoy, and Sarah S. Richardson. 

"Digital menstrual tracking apps claim to scientifically analyse individual data to provide guidance that will improve health, wellbeing, and performance based on estimated menstrual cycle phase. But neither digital menstrual tracking nor related practices of cycle syncing—that is, synchronising physical activity and nutrition to menstrual cycle phases—have been convincingly shown to improve health or other performance outcomes. Moreover, these practices raise serious concerns, given their risks of harm." 

 

Congratulations to the new Fellows of the Econometric Society

 Congratulations to these 30 new Fellows of the Econometric Society, who were announced yesterday.

 The Econometric Society Elects 30 New Fellows  
 
October 8, 2026 (New Haven, CT)—The Econometric Society is pleased to announce the election of 30 new Fellows. 
 
"Election as a Fellow of the Econometric Society is a recognition of important contributions to Economics.  The Fellows  represent the highest authority of the Society. I congratulate them on this great honor,” said Nobu Kiyotaki, President  of the Econometric Society.  
 
Since 1931, only 1,254 total fellows have been elected. The 30 new fellows bring this number to 1,284 elected. To  date, 90 Econometric Society Fellows have won the Nobel Prize in Economics (the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic  Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel). Of these 90, 28 have been President of the Econometric Society. 
 
Following are the new 2026 Fellows:  
Nikhil Agarwal, Paul A Samuelson Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 
Juliano Assunção, Professor, PUC-Rio 
Panle Barwick, Todd E. and Elizabeth H. Warnock Distinguished Chair Professor, UW-Madison 
Francisco J. Buera, Sam B. Cook Professor of Economics, Washington University in St. Louis 
Ariel Burstein, Professor, University of California, Los Angeles  
Ivan Canay, Breen Family Professor, Northwestern University 
Matias Cattaneo, Professor, Princeton University 
Adeline Delavande, Professor of Economics, Nova School of Business and Economics; University Technology Sydney 
Firmin Doko Tchatoka, Professor, Adelaide University 
Piotr Dworczak, Professor, University of Cologne, Northwestern University, and GRAPE 
Ivan Fernandez-Val, Professor, Boston University 
Eric French, Montague Burton Professor of Industrial Relations and Labour Economics, University of Cambridge 
Alex Gershkov, Professor, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and University of Southampton 
Nezih Guner, Professor, CEMFI 
Sergei Guriev, Professor, London Business School 
Christian Hansen, Wallace W. Booth Distinguished Service Professor of Econometrics, Statistics, and Applied AI,  University of Chicago Booth School of Business 
Jonathan Heathcote, Monetary Advisor, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis 
Paul Heidhues, Professor, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf 
Charles A. Holt, A. Willis Robertson Professor of Political Economy, University of Virginia 
Jennifer La'O, Professor, Columbia University 
Tong Li, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair and Professor of Economics, Vanderbilt University 
Justin Yifu Lin, Professor, Peking University 
Simon Loertscher, Professor, University of Melbourne 
Antonio Penta, ICREA Research Professor, Universitat Pompeu Fabra 
Marek Pycia, Professor of Organizational Economics, University of Zurich 
Nancy L. Rose, Charles P. Kindleberger Professor of Applied Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology 
Stephanie Schmitt-Grohe, Professor, Columbia University 
Martin Uribe, Robert A. Mundell Professor of Economics, Columbia University 
Rakesh Vohra, George A. Weiss and Lydia Bravo Weiss University Professor, University of Pennsylvania 
Daniel Yi Xu, David Rubenstein Distinguished Professor, Duke University 
 
For a full list of all Society Fellows please click here. 

First Hungarian 3-way kidney exchange

 Semmelweis University announces the first 3-pair kidney exchange in Hungary. (HT: Péter Biró  ).

For the first time in Hungary, Semmelweisen performed triple living donor kidney transplants within the framework of a cross-donation program
Wednesday, 7 October 2026 Posted by: Eszter Csatári-Földváry
 

"The three kidney transplant patients who received a new organ at the same time two weeks ago as part of the so-called living donor kidney exchange program at Semmelweis University are doing well. The extraordinary medical feat is the result of six hours of coordinated work by thirty health care professionals. For the first time in Hungary, triple living donor cross-donation was carried out, when the immunological or blood group incompatibility between patients and donors was bridged by the medical team by swapping the donated organs between three pairs who were strangers to each other. 

...

"Until the summer of 2025, organ exchange was only possible between two couples, the first such intervention was performed at the beginning of this year at the Clinical Center in Pécs. However, with a legislative amendment last summer, several couples can participate in the – otherwise anonymous – organ exchange, which significantly increases the likelihood of optimal pairings and thus the chance of successful kidney transplants, added Dr. Attila Szijártó. He emphasized: As the number of donor organs from the dead is limited, the importance of living donation is increasing, as it can reduce the current average waiting time of 3.5 years. "

#######

Earlier:

Wednesday, February 4, 2026 Kidney exchange comes to Hungary

 

The first 100 cases of organ donation after euthanasia in the Netherlands

 Here's a controversial market with something for everyone to argue about: organ donation after euthanasia, including psychiatric patients, in the Netherlands.

van Dijk, N., Wijffels, S., Wind, T. et al. The first 100 cases of organ donation after euthanasia in the Netherlands: lessons from preliminary experiences. BMC Med Ethics (2026). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12910-026-01590-5 

"Background
Organ donation after euthanasia (ODE) is an evolving, patient-initiated procedure in the Netherlands. While it gives meaning to donors at the end-of-life, it introduces complex ethical and practical challenges for healthcare professionals. This study aims to describe the clinical characteristics and donation outcomes of the first 100 ODE procedures in the Netherlands, while outlining the practical and ethical dilemmas encountered.

Methods
A retrospective analysis was performed on prospectively collected data from the first 100 ODE procedures conducted between September 2012 and February 2023. To gain deeper insight into practical experiences and ethical themes, these data were discussed with organ donation coordinators and intensivists involved in the procedures. The analysis focused on clinical characteristics and donation outcomes, as on ethical and practical challenges.

Results
Neurodegenerative disorders were the primary underlying cause of suffering (52%), followed by psychiatric conditions (31%). The first 100 procedures resulted in 408 transplanted organs. Most procedures were performed in intensive care units, with general practitioners performing euthanasia. Key ethical and practical challenges included the tension between clinical protocols (e.g., fasting) and patient comfort, the medicalisation of the dying process through invasive monitoring, and the logistical barriers of starting ODE from home (ODEH). Furthermore, ethical concerns persist regarding euthanasia in psychiatric and dementia cases, and the emotional burden on healthcare professionals.

Conclusions
Patient-initiated ODE is feasible and allows patients to fulfil altruistic end-of-life wishes, but introduces complex ethical and practical challenges. Balancing organ donation with a dignified, non-medicalised death requires careful planning, especially as ODE expands to psychiatric and early dementia cases. Healthcare professionals face emotional and logistical burdens, yet are motivated by the positive impact on donors and recipients. Insights from these initial cases contributed to the development of the 2024 Dutch guideline, which supports both local and centralised procedures and which removed distinctions between somatic and psychiatric suffering. Further research should explore relatives’ perspectives to understand the broader impact of ODE(H). "

Moral Economics in Portuguese

 Moral Economics has been translated into Portuguese in Brazil, as Economia moral

 

Economia moral (Portuguese Edition)
Portuguese Edition by Alvin Roth (Author), Alessandra Bonrruquer (Translator) Format: Kindle Edition

"Alvin Roth, vencedor do Prêmio Nobel de Economia de 2012, analisa o que acontece quando os mercados esbarram em questões controversas e mostra por que precisamos lidar com escolhas difíceis quando não conseguimos concordar sobre o que é certo ou errado para a coletividade.

 "Economia moral parte de algumas das perguntas mais complexas de nosso tempo: o que pode ser comprado, vendido ou trocado em uma sociedade e quais são os limites morais dos mercados? As pessoas devem ter o direito de interromper uma gravidez, de realizar tratamentos de fertilização in vitro ou de “alugar” seus úteros? A maconha deve ser comercializada em mercados legalizados? E quanto aos opioides? Devem ser vendidos irrestritamente? É aceitável remunerar alguém pela doação de sangue ou até mesmo de um rim? Essas questões geram debates intensos, uma vez que os argumentos sustentados por aqueles que consideram essas transações aceitáveis e os que as consideram repulsivas geralmente se baseiam em convicções morais ou religiosas inegociáveis.

"Em Economia moral, Alvin Roth defende que é possível buscar a resolução desses e de outros impasses da atualidade quando os examinamos sob a perspectiva dos mercados. Mediante uma análise cuidadosa dos mercados controversos e das chamadas transações repugnantes, o autor aborda temas que provocam debates éticos e sociais, como a venda de órgãos, a prostituição e a eutanásia. Sua proposta não é a liberação ou a proibição de todo tipo de transação repugnante, mas sim suscitar uma profunda reflexão acerca de um desenho de mercado eficiente e responsável que encontre o equilíbrio entre preservar a liberdade individual e proteger os grupos mais vulneráveis."

 

“O livro aborda assuntos fundamentais, mas controversos, de maneira profunda, perspicaz e envolvente. Esta é uma leitura essencial.” ― Science Magazine
 

Post-Nobel reflections by recent winners (on the eve of a new batch:).“Even my teacher has heard of that prize!”

 Next week will hatch a new batch of Nobel laureates.  From Stanford and Harvard, here are some thoughts from (among others) Paul Milgrom and Claudia Goldin.

From Stanford:

Brian Kobilka and Paul Milgrom look back on their Nobel wins
From sleeping through the call to shaking hands with the king and queen, laureates reflect on what it was like to win the Nobel Prize. This year’s winners will be announced Oct. 5-12. 

"In 2012, Stanford physiologist Brian Kobilka won the Nobel Prize in chemistry alongside Robert Lefkowitz of Duke University. And in 2020, Stanford economist Paul Milgrom won the Nobel Prize in economic sciences with Robert Wilson, the Adams Distinguished Professor of Management, Emeritus.

...

"my grandson, who was 9 years old at the time, came home from school and told me, “Even my teacher has heard of that prize!” 

############

From Harvard:

You won a Nobel Prize. Now what? 

Goldin: “The really important point is that receiving the Nobel for studying women’s role in the economy and society was incredibly meaningful to me and to so many other people, men and women, young and old, in the U.S. and in the rest of the world. It gave many a sense that their lives were important. It gave others pride in their work. That is what made it truly important, joyous, and meaningful to me.” 

 

Time magazine celebrates my Stanford colleague Adrien Bilal

 Time magazine celebrates my Stanford colleague Adrien Bilal

TIME100 Next 2026: The World's Most Influential Rising Stars: Adrien Bilal  Sep 30, 2026  by Bill McKibben

"Economists failed badly in the early years of the climate fight, assuring the world that real damage wouldn’t come until late in this century. Now, amid fires, floods, and soaring insurance premiums, Stanford University’s Adrien Bilal has offered a far more coherent analysis of the economic effects, and potential costs, of climate change. He wrote, for instance, that if we increase the planet’s temperature by an additional 2°C, “we found that would reduce output and consumption by 50%. That’s a big reduction. It’s twice as big as the Great Depression but it’s going on forever.” As his award-­winning seminal study dryly notes, “these impacts suggest that unilateral decarbonization policy is cost-effective for large countries such as the United States,” which is econospeak for “what on earth are you doing propping up coal plants and shutting down wind farms?”