Health & Medicine
- 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.
- Tech
A flower-shaped soft robot could make brain monitoring less invasive
Once inserted in the skull, the device unfurls flexible sensors that can monitor the brain's electrical activity less invasively than current methods.
- Life
The new human pangenome could help unveil the biology of everyone
The deciphered DNA includes never-before-explored parts of the genome and better represents the genetic diversity of all humans.
- Health & Medicine
San Francisco airport will monitor plane waste for COVID-19 variants
The airport, working with the CDC and a biotech company, will be the first in the United States to regularly test plane sewage.
- Health & Medicine
50 years ago, enzyme injections showed promise for treating a rare disease
Enzyme replacement can offer relief to people with rare diseases. Now, scientists have found a way to treat one disease before a person is even born.
- Health & Medicine
WHO declares an end to the global COVID-19 public health emergency
Global COVID-19 deaths are down and immunity is up. But with the virus here to stay, it’s time to shift to more long-term health measures.
- Health & Medicine
The U.S. COVID-19 public health emergency is ending. What does that mean?
The declaration, made early in the pandemic, made tests, vaccines and treatments free to all. On May 11, the proclamation ends.
