Medical Treatments

Dr. Michelle Salvaggio, medical director of the Infectious Diseases Institute at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, points to drugs used to treat HIV/AIDS. Medical advancements since the epidemic surfaced in the 1980s have

White House Plan To Stop HIV Faces A Tough Road In Oklahoma

11:51am February 19, 2019

by Jackie Fortier

Trump's plan includes a focus on fighting HIV in the rural Midwest and South. But there are doubts in Oklahoma, where the state's uninsured rate and stigmatization of HIV are high.

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Their research is still in early stages, but Kristin Myers (left), a mechanical engineer, and Dr. Joy Vink, an OB-GYN, both at Columbia University, have already learned that cervical tissue is a more complicated mix of material than doctors ever realized.

Scientific Duo Gets Back To Basics To Make Childbirth Safer

7:30am February 18, 2019

by Alison Kodjak

Remarkably little is known about the fundamentals of how a woman carries a baby inside her. Two Columbia University researchers aim to change that, to reduce the number of kids born too soon.

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Dramatic decreases in deaths from lung cancer among African-Americans were particularly notable, according to the American Cancer Society.

Racial Disparities In Cancer Incidence And Survival Rates Are Narrowing

8:34pm February 14, 2019

by Patti Neighmond

African-Americans still have the highest death rate and the lowest survival rate of any U.S. racial or ethnic group for most cancers. But the "cancer gap" between blacks and whites is shrinking.

Why Men In Mississippi Are Still Dying Of AIDS, Despite Existing Treatments

5:36pm February 14, 2019

by Ari Shapiro

President Trump has pledged to eliminate HIV in America by 2030. But in the South, rates of HIV/AIDS among black gay and bisexual men remain stubbornly high.

Scientists around the world criticized Chinese researcher He Jiankui's experimental editing of DNA in embryos that became twin girls.

World Health Organization Forms Committee To Guide Editing Of Human Genes

3:02pm February 14, 2019

by Rob Stein

WHO acted in reaction to a Chinese scientist's announcement in 2018 that he had created the world's first gene-edited babies, a step that highlighted the need for uniform gene-editing guidelines.

Hesitancy about vaccination in a community has a lot to do with acculturation to its norms.

Health & Safety

Medical Anthropologist Explores 'Vaccine Hesitancy'

8:21pm February 13, 2019

by Mara Gordon

Families learn to be skeptical about vaccines in communities where incomplete vaccination is the norm. A researcher into the phenomenon found that people are ready to listen, if they're heard, too.

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Scientists have isolated a molecule with disease-fighting potential in a microbe living on a type of fungus-farming ant (genus Cyphomyrmex). The microbe kills off other hostile microbes attacking the ants' fungus, a food source.

Bugs Vs. Superbugs: Insects Offer Promise In Fight Against Antibiotic Resistance

1:27pm February 13, 2019

by Paul Chisholm

With the rise of antibiotic-resistant infections, scientists are exploring nature to find new disease-fighting compounds. They're finding them in surprising new places: the microbiomes of insects.

New recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force call for doctors to identify patients at risk of depression during pregnancy or after childbirth and refer them to counseling.

Health & Safety

To Prevent Pregnancy-Related Depression, At-Risk Women Advised To Get Counseling

6:41pm February 12, 2019

by Patti Neighmond

An influential expert panel recommends pregnant women at risk of depression get referred to counseling to prevent the illness. But for many women and their doctors, it may be easier said than done.

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Demonstrators hold signs and chant in Richmond, Va., on Feb. 2. They were calling for the resignation of Gov. Ralph Northam after a racist photo on his medical school yearbook page came to light. He denies that he is in the photo but admits to once dressi

Racist Med School Yearbook Photos? Medicine's Racism Problems Go Even Deeper

1:57pm February 12, 2019

The media attention around a racist photo on Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam's medical school yearbook page sheds light on the larger problem of how racism affects medical care for African-Americans.

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A close up of a woman stretching her legs before going on a run through the city.

The 'Strange Science' Behind The Big Business Of Exercise Recovery

8:46am February 12, 2019

by Terry Gross

Does exercise recovery work? Science writer Christie Aschwanden examines the physiology and effectiveness of sports drinks, protein powders and other products and services in her new book, Good to Go.

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