Tag Archives: health

Scrolling through social media can feel like a nightmare these days. You’re reading about the horrors of the Israel-Hamas war, and then you’re reading about the horrors of the war between Ukraine and Russia. You’re learning about the latest devastating climate news. Democracy is under threat in America. It can …

To live in London in 2023 is to be perpetually engulfed in a cloud of cloyingly sweet vapor. The scent of Blue Razz Lemonade replaces traffic fumes; Banana Ice covers the rancid smell of rubbish. Disposable vapes are everywhere. Sleeker-looking than their bulkier, refillable counterparts, easier to get your hands …

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. For a pathogen to make us sick, it must overcome a lot. First it has to enter the body, bypassing natural barriers such as skin, mucus, cilia, and stomach acid. Then it needs to reproduce; some bacteria and parasites can …

The US is enduring a sharp spike in cases of babies born with syphilis, an illness that not only threatens infants’ health, but also shows that the system providing healthcare for pregnant women is fracturing. Congenital syphilis has risen to its highest rate in 30 years, according to a recent …

Dr. Alison Todd describes herself as an “inventor at heart,” but she’s not the sort of inventor who tinkers with gears in a workshop. Instead, she invents new tools in medical diagnostics, developing better ways to identify gene sequences and how they impact disease. Rather than screwdrivers and hammers, her …

The first medical treatment that uses Crispr gene editing was authorized Thursday by the United Kingdom. The one-time therapy, which will be sold under the brand name Casgevy, is for patients with sickle cell disease and a related blood disorder called beta thalassemia, both of which are inherited. The UK …

It’s that time of year again. The clocks have gone back, it’s pitch black as you finish work, the cold, dark, dreary weather swoops in. And so do the memes about how depressed you’re going to be. As the days grow darker earlier in northern latitudes, an affliction takes hold. …

If you corner any science person who’s relatively online and into skin care, the discussion will almost inevitably turn toward the Lab Muffin Beauty Science blog. That’s because for many people, its creator, Dr. Michelle Wong, has become the face and voice of beauty science. From deconstructing misinformation about beauty …

Dr. Ann McKee remembers the first time she saw a case of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. She’d been staring down at the brain of deceased boxer Paul Pender, and the damage she saw had caught her off guard: “I was looking at the boxer’s brain, and I couldn’t believe …

In a small initial test in people, researchers have shown that a single infusion of a novel gene-editing treatment can reduce cholesterol, the fatty substance that clogs and hardens arteries over time. The experiment was carried out in 10 participants with an inherited condition that causes extremely high LDL, or …