Health & Medicine
- Genetics
The first gene therapy for muscular dystrophy has been approved for some kids
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared a shortened version of a gene for a muscle protein to be used in 4- and 5-year-olds with muscular dystrophy.
- Health & Medicine
‘In the Blood’ traces how a lifesaving product almost didn’t make it
There’s plenty of drama in Charles Barber’s new book, which explores why a blood-clotting invention was initially dismissed.
- Health & Medicine
Taurine slows aging in mice. Will it ever work for people?
The amino acid taurine — found in meats, produced by the body and common in energy drinks — may have a role in health and aging, a new study suggests.
- Neuroscience
Brain cavities that swell in space may need at least 3 years to recover
MRI scans of astronauts show that duration in space and time between flights affect how much the brain’s fluid-filled cavities expand during missions.
- Health & Medicine
With tools from Silicon Valley, Quinton Smith builds lab-made organs
Tissues made with 3-D printing and other techniques could offer insights into diseases such as fatty liver disease and preeclampsia.
- Neuroscience
A brain implant helped a man with paralysis walk more naturally
A successful test of a system that restores communication between the brain and spine could ultimately help many people with paralysis.
- Tech
Deblina Sarkar is building microscopic machines to enter our brains
The ultratiny devices can communicate wirelessly from inside living cells and may one day help cure brain diseases.
- Health & Medicine
How over-the-counter birth control pills could improve reproductive health
The switch to over-the-counter access for a birth control pill will circumvent certain barriers and help improve reproductive autonomy.
- Health & Medicine
As U.S. courts weigh in on mifepristone, here’s the abortion pill’s safety record
Decades of data, including data collected during the coronavirus pandemic, support mifepristone’s safety. The drug’s fate in the United States may now be determined by judicial review.
- Health & Medicine
Stimulating spleens with ultrasound hints at a treatment for inflammation
Using an intense kind of ultrasound stimulation against inflammation holds promise but so far has been tested only in rodents and human blood samples.
- Health & Medicine
Scientists may have found an antidote for death cap mushrooms
A dye countered the effects of a mushroom toxin in human cells and mice. If the antidote does the same in people, it has potential to save lives.
- Neuroscience
A rare mutation helped one man stave off Alzheimer’s for decades
The brain of a Colombian man with an inherited form of Alzheimer’s may hint at ways to halt or slow the progression of the disease.
