Medical Treatments

Elderly hospitalized patients taken care of by female doctors had better results than those seen by male doctors.

Patients Cared For By Female Doctors Fare Better Than Those Treated By Men

6:24pm December 19, 2016

If male doctors were as good as their female counterparts at caring for older people in the hospital, about 32,000 fewer patients a year would die. What do female doctors do better than men?

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Janet (left) and Jackie Carter's wedding in August 2015. They set up a crowdfunding site to help defray the considerable costs of IVF.

Please, Baby, Please: Some Couples Turn To Crowdfunding For IVF

4:30pm December 18, 2016

by Stephanie O'Neill

Infertility is often a private struggle. But some couples are going public — via crowdfunding sites — to help subsidize in vitro fertilization treatments that can cost as much as $20,000 each time.

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Some 8 percent of Americans have bought prescription drugs outside the U.S., a recent poll finds.

Looking For Bargains, Many Americans Buy Medicines Abroad

12:18pm December 17, 2016

by Rachel Bluth

Eight percent of respondents in a recent national poll said they or someone in their household had imported a prescription drug to the U.S. at some point. Are the deals as good as they seem?

Mylan CEO Heather Bresch defended pricing for the company's EpiPen on Capitol Hill in September.

Mylan To Sell Generic EpiPen At Half The Price Of Original

5:36pm December 16, 2016

by Alison Kodjak

Drugmaker Mylan is launching a generic version of its own EpiPen. The lower price could quiet criticism about the high cost of the brand-name anti-allergy drug. There's also a business twist.

Results from different genetic tests on samples from the same cancer patient can disagree about the best course of treatment.

When Genetic Tests Disagree About Best Option For Cancer Treatment

2:14pm December 16, 2016

by Richard Harris

Two recent studies comparing genetic cancer tests suggest that doctors need to be careful about assuming the results provide a complete picture for selecting among treatments options.

With Thursday's announcement, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is now accepting applications from British clinics that wish to perform techniques called mitochondrial donation. The procedure uses some DNA from a third person.

U.K. Fertility Clinics Can Now Apply For Licenses To Create 3-Parent Babies

6:35pm December 15, 2016

by Colin Dwyer

Last year, lawmakers legalized a medical procedure that combines DNA from three people. Now, fertility clinics can apply for a license to practice the technique "in certain, specific cases."

In an emailed statement, Mylan told NPR, "To date, we know of no evidence that Mylan participated in price fixing."

States Accuse Generic Drugmakers Of Price Fixing

5:13pm December 15, 2016

by Alison Kodjak

Six drug companies are being sued for working together to manipulate prices on their generic versions of two widely used medicines.

Prescriptions for opioid painkillers increased, and so did incidents of opioid addiction.

'Drug Dealer, M.D.': Misunderstandings And Good Intentions Fueled Opioid Epidemic

3:51pm December 15, 2016

Psychiatrist Anna Lembke says the medical establishment and drugmakers began telling doctors in the 1980s that opioids were effective treatment for chronic pain. "That was patently false," she says.

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Jonathan Coleman and his son compare graphene-infused Silly Putty (left) with the unadulterated kids stuff.

Adding A Funny Form Of Carbon To Silly Putty Creates A Heart Monitor

5:49pm December 09, 2016

by Joe Palca

Graphene comes in sheets barely an atom thick and is extremely good at conducting electricity. By adding the unusual form of carbon to Silly Putty, scientists created flexible sensors.

Samples from this 17th century Lithuanian mummy were found to house samples of variola, the virus that causes smallpox.

A Mummy's DNA May Help Solve The Mystery Of The Origins Of Smallpox

6:14pm December 08, 2016

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Scientists have found the oldest complete set of smallpox genes in a sample of skin from a mummified child in a crypt underneath a Lithuanian church.

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