On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first gene editing therapy ever to be used in humans, for sickle cell disease, a debilitating blood disorder caused by a single mutated gene. The agency also approved a second treatment using conventional gene therapy for sickle cell that does not use gene editing. For the […]
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Some 75.3 million years ago, a dinosaur swallowed the Cretaceous equivalent of a turkey drumstick. It would turn out to be the predator’s final feast. Within days of eating that haunch, the dinosaur — a juvenile Gorgosaurus that stood 5 and a half feet tall at the hip — ended up dead in a river. […]
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Why do we grow old and die? In the 19th century, the German biologist August Weismann argued that the machinery of life inevitably wore out with time. Death had evolved “for the need of the species,” he declared. It cleared away weak, old individuals so they wouldn’t compete with young ones. That explanation never made […]
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Inside a fishbowl, the goldfish — a species of carp native to East Asia, bred for aesthetic delight and traditionally believed to bring good fortune — is hardly more than home décor. Usually just a few inches long, it is among the easiest of pets to keep. But released into the wild, the seemingly humble […]
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Early one morning in February, a guard clanged on the door of David Mustiga’s jail cell on Rikers Island. Soon, the 43-year-old was shackled and put on a bus to Bellevue. Rikers detainees often struggle to get even rudimentary medical care. But Mr. Mustiga and 10 other prisoners have undergone elective bariatric surgery at Bellevue, […]
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As the calendar tiptoes toward winter and water temperatures in parts of the Atlantic Ocean drop, dozens of cold-stunned sea turtles that washed ashore in Massachusetts in critical condition have been flown south on private planes for the winter. No, these sea turtles aren’t the most glamorous reptiles in the Northeast, but the special treatment […]
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The U.S. Department of Energy is creating three research hubs in the hopes of harnessing miniature laser-driven thermonuclear explosions for future power plants, officials announced on Thursday. The three hubs — based at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, Colorado State University and the University of Rochester in New York State — will share a […]
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The Biden administration delayed a decision on Wednesday about whether it would ban menthol cigarettes amid intense lobbying from tobacco companies, convenience stores and industry-backed groups that contend that billions of dollars in sales and jobs will be lost. The proposal has also generated concerns that Black smokers will become the targets of aggressive police […]
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As an unidentified canine respiratory illness continues to pop up in clusters around the United States — causing symptoms like cough, fever and lethargy, and in more serious cases, hospitalization or death — many dog owners are wondering what steps they should take to keep their pets safe. Despite the alarming headlines about fatalities, veterinarians […]
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CVS Health, the nation’s largest pharmacy chain with more than 9,000 locations, said on Tuesday that it planned to change the way its pharmacies were paid for the medications they dispensed, in an apparent attempt to address widespread criticism from health plans and employers about high drug costs. The new model, which will begin to […]
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