Health & Safety

"It's really life-changing," says Victoria Gray, when describing the gene-editing treatment for sickle cell disease that she received as part of a clinical trial in 2019.

Health & Safety

FDA advisers see no roadblocks for gene-editing treatment for sickle cell disease

8:30pm October 31, 2023

by Rob Stein

Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration meeting Tuesday paved the way for the first treatment of human disease using the gene-editing technique CRISPR. The agency has a December deadline.

Queue Listen Now

The FDA is closer to approving a gene-editing treatment for sickle cell disease

4:50pm October 31, 2023

by Rob Stein

The Food and Drug Administration took a crucial step toward approving the first treatment using the revolutionary gene-editing technique known as CRISPR to treat sickle cell disease.

Queue Listen Now

Lewiston gunman's mental health was deteriorating prior to shooting, documents show

4:07pm October 31, 2023

by Kevin Miller

Law enforcement in Maine received multiple reports in recent months of the Lewiston gunman's paranoia and deteriorating mental health, including fears that he might "snap and commit a mass shooting."

How lack of independent play is impacting children's mental health

4:07pm October 31, 2023

NPR's Juana Summers speaks with research professor Peter Gray about the connection between the decline of children's mental health and the decline of independent play.

Globally, women are cooking twice as many meals as men

4:07pm October 31, 2023

by Allison Aubrey

Women are cooking more than men in many countries. The gender gap narrowed in the pandemic years, but now it's widening again with women cooking nearly nine meals and men just four meals per week.

Health & Safety

How the U.S. gun violence death rate compares with the rest of the world

2:08pm October 31, 2023

by Nurith Aizenman

The grim news of the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine — and a spate of shootings over the weekend — has again cast a spotlight on the gun violence death rate in the U.S..

This photo provided by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Oct. 28, 2023, shows a WanaBana apple cinnamon fruit puree pouch.

FDA warns that WanaBana fruit pouches contain high lead levels, endangering children

1:00pm October 31, 2023

by Joe Hernandez

The apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches — regardless of their expiration date — are being recalled. They were sold online and in person through retailers such as Sam's Club, Amazon and Dollar Tree.

The "bun in the oven" idea goes all the way back 2,000+ years to Ancient Greece, along with some other ideas that discuss pregnancy as a fundamentally passive state, says the author of a new book.

'Bun in the oven' is an ancient pregnancy metaphor. This historian says it has to go

10:30am October 31, 2023

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

In a new book, Policing Pregnant Bodies, author Kathleen Crowther grapples with how very old ideas – some of them misogynistic – shape how we think about pregnancy and abortion today.

Health & Safety

FDA warns lead has been found in WanaBana apple cinnamon fruit puree

10:13am October 31, 2023

by Neal Charnoff

Federal officials are warning consumers about potential lead contamination in a puree marketed for children. The announcement comes following a joint investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and North Carolina health officials.

Open enrollment starts Nov. 1 for Affordable Care Act marketplaces.

Health & Safety

Open enrollment starts this week for ACA plans. Here's what's new this year

5:00am October 31, 2023

by Julie Appleby

If you buy your own health insurance through state and federal marketplaces, 'tis the season to compare prices, change coverage, and take advantage of subsidies. Here's what to know.