Health

a stylized image of a person injecting themselves with a GLP-1 agonist

Are weight-loss meds the next wonder drugs?

Evidence is mounting that GLP-1 agonists could treat many health issues — including ones that aren’t obviously related to weight.

Kristin Houser

A surgeon in scrubs and a headlamp performs a gene-edited pig kidney transplant, assisted by another healthcare professional, under bright surgical lights.

Surgery

First-of-its-kind pig kidney transplant is a success

A woman with heart and kidney failure is now the second person in the world to undergo a gene-edited pig kidney transplant.

Kristin Houser

white pills being poured from a milk container over a black background

Medicine

Milk could overcome one of the biggest hurdles to RNA therapies

RNA therapies typically break down if administered orally, but particles found in cows’ milk could provide perfect protection.

Kristin Houser

Nobel prize-winning chemist helps invent synthetic mucus

Mucins, the long proteins in mucus, have an array of bacteria-fighting properties. These artificial mucins can act like the real thing.

B. David Zarley

How scientists finally got gene therapy to work

Gene therapy shows promise for treating diseases and the longstanding mysteries of medical science. But what is gene therapy and how does it work?

Teresa Carey

Injectable “glue” helps heal traumatic brain injury in rats

By injecting a “brain glue” into rats, researchers were able to speed up their recovery after a traumatic brain injury.

Kristin Houser

A major Huntington’s trial has failed. Here’s why there is still hope.

A simple genetic test can determine a person's fate for one of the worst diseases on the planet. But research offers new hope for Huntington's disease.

Teresa Carey

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine 100% effective in adolescent study

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine was reportedly 100% effective in a trial involving more than 2,000 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15.

Kristin Houser

The surprising cure to cybersickness – using VR underwater

Cybersickness is similar to motion sickness, but it comes from using electronic screens like virtual reality. A new study shows that aquatic VR could be the cure.

Teresa Carey

Medicine

New cancer treatment uses “hot blood cells” to target tumors

A new cancer treatment combining immunotherapy, photothermal therapy, and modified blood cells was highly effective in mice.

Kristin Houser

These color-changing sutures can catch infections

Iowa high school senior Dasia Taylor has invented color-changing sutures that can catch an infection early.

B. David Zarley

Deep brain stimulation: explained

Deep brain stimulation is being studied as a treatment for any number of neurological and psychological conditions. But what is it, exactly?

B. David Zarley

Therapeutic bed could help prevent brain damage in babies

Calmer is a therapeutic bed for incubators that simulates a caregiver’s breathing and heartbeat to relieve stress in newborns.

Kristin Houser

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