NPR
Brain wave patterns could eliminate ‘trial and error’ approach to antidepressants
Scientists have taken a small step toward personalizing treatment for depression. A study of more than 300 people with major ...
Another human species? Still undiscovered hominid line left ‘ghost DNA’ in West African genomes
About 50,000 years ago, ancient humans in what is now West Africa apparently procreated with another group of ancient humans ...
Irregularity in the brain’s ‘insulation’ may offer way to ‘prevent or even reverse’ autism symptoms
Scientists have found a clue to how autism spectrum disorder disrupts the brain's information highways. The problem involves cells that ...
Using ‘mini brains’ to study Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and other disorders hits a potential snag
Brain organoids, often called "minibrains," have changed the way scientists study human brain development and disorders like autism. But the ...
‘Simpler, cheaper’ alternative to IVF promised by controversial embryo research
Researchers have conducted a controversial study that involved paying dozens of young women at a hospital near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, ...
Podcast: Recovering memories through song: Could this be a ‘standard of care’ for dementia patients?
PATTI NEIGHMOND, BYLINE: The connection between music and memory was a life-changing experience for Nancy Gustafson, a retired opera singer ...
Podcast: A closer look at the CRISPR experiment that could cure sickle cell disease
Victoria Gray, 34, of Forest, Miss., volunteered for one of the most anticipated medical experiments in decades: the first attempt ...
New use for CRISPR: Keeping viruses like Zika and influenza from making people sick
It's not easy to treat viral infections. Just ask anyone with a bad cold or a case of the flu ...
CRISPR-based cancer therapy passes first test with ‘encouraging’ results
The powerful gene-editing technique known as CRISPR has raised a lot of hope in recent years for its potential to offer new ...
Controversial DNA tests promise to match patients with correct psychiatric drugs. And now some insurers are paying for them
As a teenager, Katie Gruman was prescribed one mental health drug after another. None seemed to help her manage symptoms ...
Mystery illness leads boy’s family on lengthy quest for genetic answers that ends ‘after a lucky accident’
When Alex Yiu was born 14 years ago, he seemed like a typical healthy kid. But when he turned 2, ...
‘Neither animal nor plant’: Smart, brainless ‘blob’ gets home at Paris zoo
A brainless, bright-yellow organism that can solve mazes and heal itself is making its debut at a Paris zoo. … ...
Trump Administration proposes DNA collection from immigrants crossing the border for database of asylum seekers
The Justice Department is proposing to begin collecting DNA samples from hundreds of thousands of immigrants crossing the border, creating ...
CRISPR gene editing raises hopes of easing the pain associated with sickle cell disease
[Sickle cell] disease is caused by a genetic defect that turns red blood cells into hard, sticky, sickle-shaped cells that don't ...
New device mass-produces ‘primitive’ human embryos for research
Scientists have invented a device that can quickly produce large numbers of living entities that resemble very primitive human embryos ...
Controversial CRISPR-edited sperm experiment seeks to reduce risk for breast, ovarian, prostate cancers
Reproductive biologists at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City are attempting to use the powerful gene-editing technique called CRISPR ...
Stronger diversity among genetic counselors could help bridge health gap with minority groups
As genetics' role in medicine expands, diversity among providers is crucial, say people working in the field. "It is well ...
Sickle cell patient first to receive experimental CRISPR treatment in the US for a genetic disorder
For the first time, doctors in the U.S. have used the powerful gene-editing technique CRISPR to try to treat a ...
Precision medicine dampened by lack of diversity in gene research pool
[Anthropologist and bioethicist Sandra Soo-Jin Lee] recently wrote about ethics in personalized medicine research for Science magazine, and we spoke ...
‘Talking To Robots’: Book takes ‘funny and broad’ look at a fully automated future
In the decade or so since Siri and her compatriots first appeared, we've all gotten pretty used to having conversations ...
Why do we act so weird on airplanes? There may be a scientific explanation for rampant emotions
Lady Gaga fills the tiny back-of-seat airplane screen. Then, (spoiler alert) A Star Is Born's tragic ending ensues and the ...
Why we aren’t ready for routine genetic sequencing of newborns: It can ‘raise unsettling questions’
Scientists have found that, so far, a complete genetic readout would be a poor substitute for the traditional blood test ...
Artificial embryos made from stem cells could shed light on infertility, miscarriages and birth defects
Scientists have created living entities that resemble very primitive human embryos, the most advanced example of these structures yet created ...
Mutations have turned our bodies into a mosaic of cellular variations
Your body has about 40 trillion cells, and they all arose from a single fertilized egg. But it turns out ...
Fighting mosquitoes with gene editing, fungus and a spider gene
In the hope of finding a new way to fight malaria, scientists have used a spider gene to genetically engineer ...
$2.1 million gene therapy is most expensive drug in history
The federal Food and Drug Administration has approved a gene therapy for a rare childhood disorder that is now the ...
Ouch! Here’s how your brain deals with pain and the emotion that follows
“At its core, pain is just something that hurts or makes you say ouch," says Karen Davis, a senior scientist at ...
Video: Weaponizing CRISPR against superbugs
Bladder infections, like many others, are increasingly becoming resistant to antibiotics. "We are getting to the point where there are ...
