Health

The future of fertility, from artificial wombs to AI-assisted IVF

A look back at the history of infertility treatments and ahead to the tech that could change everything we thought we knew about reproduction.

Kristin Houser

Overlay of hands and abstract patterns in purple and blue tones, symbolizing hope for Parkinson's cure.

Drugs

The exciting research that may cure Parkinson’s

GeneCode is developing a drug it hopes won’t just alleviate Parkinson’s symptoms but also protect and restore patient’s neural health.

Kevin Dickinson

A child sitting on a couch in a dimly lit room, holding and looking intently at a tablet, as if testing the Goldilocks hypothesis for the perfect screen brightness.

Mental Health

Beyond screen time: Rethinking kids’ tech use with the “Goldilocks hypothesis”

The “Goldilocks hypothesis” asks parents to think beyond screen time and consider the habits that teens build around technology use.

Kevin Dickinson

Virology

A flu vaccine grown in tobacco plants just aced its clinical trials

Plant-based vaccines can be made cheaply and at scale. A tobacco plant-based vaccine for influenza has now been the first to complete clinical trials.

B. David Zarley

Public Health

Finally! A smart toilet offers fecal testing for the masses

Fecal testing can reveal a surprising amount of medical data. Israeli startup OutSense wants to do so from your home.

B. David Zarley

Public Health

Can a new polio vaccine help finish the virus off once and for all?

Thanks to polio vaccines and public health campaigns, polio is on the run — although COVID has it fighting back. Can a new vaccine help turn the tide again?

B. David Zarley

Virology

“Virus burritos” could be the key to vaccine preservation

Vaccine preservation is crucial to world health; the WHO estimates we waste 50% of vaccines a year. Vaccine burritos may provide some help.

B. David Zarley

Genetics

Gene therapy shows promise as a glaucoma treatment

A new gene therapy was able to repair a damaged optic nerve in mice, suggesting it might be useful for treating glaucoma in people.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine appears 95% effective (updated)

The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine appears to be 95% effective at preventing coronavirus infections, according to an early analysis of a Phase 3 trial.

Kristin Houser

Mental Health

Psilocybin therapy appears to dramatically reduce depression

Psilocybin therapy — a combination of traditional therapy and supervised “trips” on the magic mushroom compound — shows promise as a depression treatment.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

"Autoantibodies" may be causing COVID-19 blood clots

COVID-19 blood clots may be caused by autoantibodies, which attack the body’s own tissues and organs instead of intruders.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

What’s going to happen with COVID-19 this winter?

There may be an increase in cases of COVID-19 this winter as people move indoors, but there are actions we can take to prevent it.

Kristin Houser

Medicine

New nano drug may be able to break drug-resistant cancers — with fewer side effects

Drug-resistant cancers reduce the effectiveness of chemo. A team of researchers may have found a potential way to treat them.

B. David Zarley

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