Health & Medicine
- Health & Medicine
Healthy babies exposed to Zika in the womb may suffer developmental delays
A small group of Zika-exposed children in Colombia who were born healthy missed milestones for movement and social interaction by 18 months of age.
- Health & Medicine
Injecting a TB vaccine into the blood, not the skin, boosts its effectiveness
Giving a high dose of a tuberculosis vaccine intravenously, instead of under the skin, improved its ability to protect against the disease in monkeys.
- Health & Medicine
A bioethicist says scientists owe clinical trial volunteers support
Researchers should be aware that many insurance policies do not cover experimental procedures, including side effects that may happen afterward.
- Health & Medicine
In a first, an Ebola vaccine wins approval from the FDA
U.S. approval of Ervebo, already deployed in an ongoing Ebola outbreak in Congo, bolsters efforts to prepare for future potential spread of the disease.
- Microbes
Airplane sewage may be helping antibiotic-resistant microbes spread
Along with drug-resistant E. coli, airplane sewage contains a diverse set of genes that let bacteria evade antibiotics.
- Science & Society
These science claims from 2019 could be big deals — if true
Some of this year’s most tantalizing scientific finds aren’t yet ready for a “best of” list.
- Health & Medicine
In 2019, a ketamine-based antidepressant raised hopes and concerns
Ketamine and related molecules might ease severe depression, but the drugs come with baggage.
- Health & Medicine
Vaping’s dangers loom large amid more than 50 U.S. deaths this year
Lung injuries and deaths linked to vaping in 2019 are a sobering indication of the dangers of e-cigarettes as teen use continues to rise.
- Health & Medicine
Measles got a foothold in the United States this year and almost didn’t let go
Areas of low vaccination are blamed for the United States' largest number of measles cases in more than 25 years.
- Genetics
The first U.S. trials in people put CRISPR to the test in 2019
Trials of the gene editor in people began in the United States this year, a first step toward fulfilling the technology’s medical promise.
- Health & Medicine
Surplus chromosomes may fuel tumor growth in some cancers
Extra copies of some genes on excess chromosomes may keep cancer cells growing. Without those extras, cancer cells form fewer tumors in mice.
- Life
Prions clog cell traffic in brains with neurodegenerative diseases
Prions may derail cargo moving inside brain cells, perhaps contributing to cell death in prion diseases.
