Richard Knox http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=2100771&ft=1&f=2100771 Since he joined NPR in 2000, Knox has covered a broad range of issues and events in public health, medicine, and science. His reports can be heard on NPR's Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, Talk of the Nation, and newscasts. en Copyright 2013 NPR - For Personal Use Only NPR API RSS Generator 0.94 Mon, 13 May 2013 13:56:00 -0400 http://media.npr.org/images/npr_news_123x20.gif Richard Knox http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=2100771&ft=1&f=2100771 Middle East Virus Spreads Between Hospitalized Patients SARS burst on the scene in 2003 after one man infected travelers staying on the same floor of a Hong Kong hotel. Now that a new virus with similarities to SARS has spread from person to person, public health officials are urging hospitals to be on guard. Mon, 13 May 2013 13:56:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/05/13/183619842/middle-east-virus-spreads-between-hospitalized-patients?ft=1&f=2100771 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/05/13/183619842/middle-east-virus-spreads-between-hospitalized-patients?ft=1&f=2100771 SARS burst on the scene in 2003 after one man infected travelers staying on the same floor of a Hong Kong hotel. Now that a new virus with similarities to SARS has spread from person to person, public health officials are urging hospitals to be on guard.

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]]> Officials Prepare For Another Flu Pandemic — Just In Case Those people who have contracted the H7N9 virus have become very sick. And unlike the older bird flu virus, this one shows some adaptation to mammals, making it a matter of concern. But it doesn't make chickens sick, posing unique difficulties in fighting this kind of flu. Wed, 08 May 2013 02:49:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/05/09/177344108/officials-prepare-for-another-flu-pandemic-just-in-case?ft=1&f=2100771 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/05/09/177344108/officials-prepare-for-another-flu-pandemic-just-in-case?ft=1&f=2100771 Those people who have contracted the H7N9 virus have become very sick. And unlike the older bird flu virus, this one shows some adaptation to mammals, making it a matter of concern. But it doesn't make chickens sick, posing unique difficulties in fighting this kind of flu.

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]]> Recovery Begins For Mother, Daughter Injured In Boston Fewer than three weeks after they were severely injured in the Boston Marathon bombings, Celeste Corcoran and her 18-year-old daughter, Sydney, are entering a new phase of recovery and rehabilitation. Part of their healing is emotional, not physical. Thu, 02 May 2013 03:02:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/05/02/180291794/recovery-begins-for-mother-daughter-injured-in-boston?ft=1&f=2100771 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/05/02/180291794/recovery-begins-for-mother-daughter-injured-in-boston?ft=1&f=2100771 Fewer than three weeks after they were severely injured in the Boston Marathon bombings, Celeste Corcoran and her 18-year-old daughter, Sydney, are entering a new phase of recovery and rehabilitation. Part of their healing is emotional, not physical.

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]]> Mother And Daughter Injured In Boston Bombing Face New Future As victims of the Boston Marathon bombings leave the hospital or prepare to, their stories are beginning to pour out. Celeste Corcoran and her daughter, Sydney, both suffered grievous leg injuries. Their accounts give a fuller toll of the attack and the challenges that lie ahead. Wed, 01 May 2013 03:17:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/05/01/180110959/mother-and-daughter-injured-in-boston-bombing-face-new-future?ft=1&f=2100771 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/05/01/180110959/mother-and-daughter-injured-in-boston-bombing-face-new-future?ft=1&f=2100771 As victims of the Boston Marathon bombings leave the hospital or prepare to, their stories are beginning to pour out. Celeste Corcoran and her daughter, Sydney, both suffered grievous leg injuries. Their accounts give a fuller toll of the attack and the challenges that lie ahead.

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]]> Failure Of Latest HIV Vaccine Test: A 'Huge Disappointment' An oversight committee halted a big clinical study of an experimental HIV vaccine after a peek at preliminary results showed there was no way the study would be able show the vaccine works. More vaccinated people became infected with HIV than those who got placebo shots. Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:03:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/04/26/179231916/failure-of-latest-hiv-vaccine-test-a-huge-disappointment?ft=1&f=2100771 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/04/26/179231916/failure-of-latest-hiv-vaccine-test-a-huge-disappointment?ft=1&f=2100771 An oversight committee halted a big clinical study of an experimental HIV vaccine after a peek at preliminary results showed there was no way the study would be able show the vaccine works. More vaccinated people became infected with HIV than those who got placebo shots.

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]]> Researchers Find Hormone That Grows Insulin-Producing Cells When researchers turned on a gene for the hormone in the livers of diabetic lab mice, the number of insulin-making cells in their pancreas glands tripled within 10 days. Although the research was conducted in animals, the scientists say the findings could be relevant for humans. Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:13:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/04/25/179037483/researchers-find-hormone-that-grows-insulin-producing-cells?ft=1&f=2100771 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/04/25/179037483/researchers-find-hormone-that-grows-insulin-producing-cells?ft=1&f=2100771 When researchers turned on a gene for the hormone in the livers of diabetic lab mice, the number of insulin-making cells in their pancreas glands tripled within 10 days. Although the research was conducted in animals, the scientists say the findings could be relevant for humans.

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]]> Younger Bombing Suspect Seemed Nervous After Attack Richard Knox has more on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing who was still at large on Friday. Fri, 19 Apr 2013 15:00:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/2013/04/19/178005669/younger-bombing-suspect-seemed-nervous-after-attack?ft=1&f=2100771 http://www.npr.org/2013/04/19/178005669/younger-bombing-suspect-seemed-nervous-after-attack?ft=1&f=2100771 Richard Knox has more on Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing who was still at large on Friday.

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]]> With Bird Flu, 'Right Now, Anything Is Possible' An international team of disease detectives are in China to investigate an outbreak of a new strain of bird flu, H7N9. The biggest puzzle right now is where these infections are coming from, as testing poultry has turned up very few infected birds. Fri, 19 Apr 2013 05:36:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/04/19/177793443/with-bird-flu-right-now-anything-is-possible?ft=1&f=2100771 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/04/19/177793443/with-bird-flu-right-now-anything-is-possible?ft=1&f=2100771 An international team of disease detectives are in China to investigate an outbreak of a new strain of bird flu, H7N9. The biggest puzzle right now is where these infections are coming from, as testing poultry has turned up very few infected birds.

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]]> Doctors Remove Nail Fragments, Pellets From Boston Victims Many injured patients remain in intensive care and in critical condition, which means their condition could still tip toward recovery or death. Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:00:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/2013/04/16/177507495/doctors-remove-nail-fragments-pellets-from-boston-victims?ft=1&f=2100771 http://www.npr.org/2013/04/16/177507495/doctors-remove-nail-fragments-pellets-from-boston-victims?ft=1&f=2100771 Many injured patients remain in intensive care and in critical condition, which means their condition could still tip toward recovery or death.

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]]> Boston Doctors Compare Marathon Bomb Injuries To War Wounds These days hospitals drill for mass casualty disasters like the explosions at Monday's Boston Marathon. But when it happened for real, the first response was disbelief. Then the victims began arriving. Doctors say they were confronted with the kinds of IED injuries that U.S. troops have gotten in Iraq and Afghanistan. Tue, 16 Apr 2013 04:00:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/04/16/177427307/Boston-Doctors-Compare-Marathon-Bomb-Injuries-To-War-Wounds?ft=1&f=2100771 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/04/16/177427307/Boston-Doctors-Compare-Marathon-Bomb-Injuries-To-War-Wounds?ft=1&f=2100771 These days hospitals drill for mass casualty disasters like the explosions at Monday's Boston Marathon. But when it happened for real, the first response was disbelief. Then the victims began arriving. Doctors say they were confronted with the kinds of IED injuries that U.S. troops have gotten in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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]]> Scientists Race To Stay Ahead Of New Bird Flu Virus "The top priority is diagnosis — the capability to be able to pick up this virus, should it emerge outside of China," says virologist John McCauley. Flu researchers are getting started on creating a vaccine, but there are still many unknowns. Sun, 14 Apr 2013 04:57:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/04/14/177087374/scientists-race-to-stay-ahead-of-new-bird-flu-virus?ft=1&f=2100771 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/04/14/177087374/scientists-race-to-stay-ahead-of-new-bird-flu-virus?ft=1&f=2100771 "The top priority is diagnosis — the capability to be able to pick up this virus, should it emerge outside of China," says virologist John McCauley. Flu researchers are getting started on creating a vaccine, but there are still many unknowns.

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]]> Feds Fault Preemie Researchers For Ethical Lapses Infants received different levels of oxygen to see which was better at preventing blindness without increasing the risk of nerve damage or death. But the federal government says doctors in the study didn't tell parents enough in advance about the "foreseeable risks" to their children. Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:15:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/04/10/176811809/feds-fault-preemie-researchers-for-ethical-lapses?ft=1&f=2100771 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/04/10/176811809/feds-fault-preemie-researchers-for-ethical-lapses?ft=1&f=2100771 Infants received different levels of oxygen to see which was better at preventing blindness without increasing the risk of nerve damage or death. But the federal government says doctors in the study didn't tell parents enough in advance about the "foreseeable risks" to their children.

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]]> Human Cases Of Bird Flu In China Draw Scrutiny Sixteen cases of a new flu in China have touched off a major effort to determine what kind of threat it might be. Flu experts want to know where the H7N9 virus is coming from and how it gets around. Fri, 05 Apr 2013 18:01:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/04/05/176354263/human-cases-of-bird-flu-in-china-draw-scrutiny?ft=1&f=2100771 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/04/05/176354263/human-cases-of-bird-flu-in-china-draw-scrutiny?ft=1&f=2100771 Sixteen cases of a new flu in China have touched off a major effort to determine what kind of threat it might be. Flu experts want to know where the H7N9 virus is coming from and how it gets around.

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]]> Novartis Ruling Reverberates Past India's Borders India's Supreme Court says drug maker Novartis can't hold onto its patent for the pricey cancer drug Gleevec simply by tweaking its chemical formula. That means generic drug makers can keep making a form of the drug at a tenth of Novartis's price. Consumer advocates call it a major advance for access to generic drugs. The drug industry says it will chill companies' willingness to produce innovative products. Tue, 02 Apr 2013 04:00:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/2013/04/02/175997129/novartis-ruling-reverberates-past-indias-borders?ft=1&f=2100771 http://www.npr.org/2013/04/02/175997129/novartis-ruling-reverberates-past-indias-borders?ft=1&f=2100771 India's Supreme Court says drug maker Novartis can't hold onto its patent for the pricey cancer drug Gleevec simply by tweaking its chemical formula. That means generic drug makers can keep making a form of the drug at a tenth of Novartis's price. Consumer advocates call it a major advance for access to generic drugs. The drug industry says it will chill companies' willingness to produce innovative products.

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]]> As Stroke Risk Rises Among Younger Adults, So Does Early Death A study found that 1 in 5 adults ages 20 to 55 who survive strokes will die within 20 years of the event — a rate much higher than doctors expected. The findings mean doctors need to pay a lot more attention to younger stroke survivors. Mon, 01 Apr 2013 03:21:00 -0400 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/04/05/175682963/as-stroke-risk-rises-among-younger-adults-so-does-early-death?ft=1&f=2100771 http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/04/05/175682963/as-stroke-risk-rises-among-younger-adults-so-does-early-death?ft=1&f=2100771 A study found that 1 in 5 adults ages 20 to 55 who survive strokes will die within 20 years of the event — a rate much higher than doctors expected. The findings mean doctors need to pay a lot more attention to younger stroke survivors.

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