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The recent leaps of science—sequencing the human genome, advancing the world-changing technology of CRISPR, deepening knowledge of the brain—owe much to Francis Collins’s brilliant mind and steady hand. Who better, then, to talk about what transformative discoveries come next? Genomics, immunotherapy, precision medicine, new uses for mRNA technology, and other interdiscipl...
As the world continues to grow, there are more mouths to feed. With emerging markets, biotechnology in the agricultural sector contributes to market stability and aids in providing the resources necessary to continue economic growth in the developing world. On every continent, these shifts are apparent and farmers and the agribusiness are striving to adapt accordingly. Fro...
Courts play a pivotal role in determining what health services American receive, and how they are paid for. That’s been apparent in the challenges to the Affordable Care Act and it will be evident as advocates respond to the restrictive new abortion laws being passed in multiple states. The judicial system is also deeply involved in decisions that affect commerce, many of...
Genomic discoveries were supposed to transform medicine and move us to a new vision of preventive health care. But 15 years after the Human Genome Project was complete, that still hasn’t happened. Meanwhile, direct-to-consumer genetics companies are bypassing health care providers to market ancestry, disease risk, diet, exercise and even dating and wine applications direc...
The decline in trust of scientific institutions over the course of the pandemic is manifested in the number of Americans worried about the truth of scientific progress and the abilities of scientific leaders to be objective and credible. How do we rebuild trust?
We know DNA is a master key that unlocks medical and forensic secrets, but genetic testing is also impacting urgent social issues around race in America. DNA-based techniques are being used in a variety of ways, including to grapple with the unfinished business of slavery: to foster reconciliation, to establish ties with African ancestral homelands, to rethink and sometime...
The nursing crisis is a healthcare crisis. Reports across the country are ominous –70% of nurses are reporting burnout, 32% are considering leaving the profession, hospital RN vacancy rates are 19% and accelerating. And the pipeline for new nurses is choked – nursing educators are leaving in droves, resulting in 80,000 highly-qualified prospective students being turned awa...
Individual genetic makeup and the genetic signature of diseases vary tremendously, but the goal of matching them with custom-tailored treatment remains in its infancy. Precision medicine, which uses the powerful tools of molecular biology, genomics, and bioinformatics, promises great advances. Much of the early focus of the field is on cancer, where researchers are studyin...
Concussion is a dramatic thriller based on the incredible true David vs. Goliath story of American immigrant Dr. Bennet Omalu, the brilliant forensic neuropathologist who made the first discovery of CTE, a football-related brain trauma, in a pro player and fought for the truth to be known. Omalu’s emotional quest puts him at dangerous odds with one of the most powerful and...
A 1960’s counterculture icon who brought new ideas like computers and solar power into the American mainstream through The Whole Earth Catalogue is now on a new mission: turning back time. Stewart Brand’s team of biologists at Revive and Restore is building a tool kit for genetic restoration that would allow the rebirth of species that have long since disappeared — like th...
Organs are in desperately short supply. In the US alone, more than 124,000 people are on transplant waiting lists, and as many as 30 Americans die every day waiting for a donated organ. Trafficking in human body parts and transplant tourism are big business around the world, and “body bazaars” that bring together wealthy organ buyers and impoverished organ sellers are thri...
More than 14 million Americans live with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, yet the availability of urgently needed treatment is completely inadequate. In Healing: Our Path from Mental Illness to Mental Health, author Thomas Insel offers a pathway towards wellness built around what he calls the three Ps—people, place, and purpose. A psychi...
What makes two people click? What does it really mean to say, “we have chemistry”? The Atlantic's Olga Khazan talks to biological anthropologist Helen Fisher about the four styles of thought and behavior that Fisher has identified through brain scans (using fMRI) that help explain the biological underpinnings of romantic love, love addiction, adultery, and divorce. Based o...
Sixty percent of American adults, and 75 percent of children, have been infected with SARS-CoV2. Coupled with immunity-boosting vaccines and medical progress, rates of severe disease, hospitalization, and death are all falling dramatically. Can we declare victory and move on? Or do the threats still facing vulnerable populations require continued precautions? The prospect...
In 2021—five decades after President Richard Nixon declared a War on Cancer—some 1.9 million new cancer cases were diagnosed and the scourge killed more than 600,000 Americans. Yet we have made extraordinary progress on the battlefront in the same time frame. Childhood leukemia can often be cured, death rates for colorectal, cervical, and prostate cancer have fallen by hal...
Universal access to health care means many things in many nations. Taxes support a single-payer system in the United Kingdom, and health care providers are reimbursed directly by the government; patients pay nothing at the point of service. In the Netherlands, the government defines a basic benefit package and regulates private insurers; everyone is required to buy coverag...
Do we have a right to health care? The United States remains the only developed country in the world unable to come to agreement on the answer. While many feel that the US government crossed a line with the Affordable Care Act’s mandate, others hope the program will expand. But do we even maintain consensus on the status of rights such as security, water, and shelter — and...
Williams, Jordan, James, Brady. They’re among a growing class of the superstar athletes delivering career-best performances well past what's been considered peak age for their sports. As this phenomenon becomes more common, it begs the questions how and why now? How are experience and maturity winning out over inevitable, natural physical decline? Athletes in the 30s and 4...