Anti-abortion demonstrators gather outside Planned Parenthood's Water Street Health Center in Milwaukee on Monday, Sept. 2023. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin began offering abortions at the clinic that day after not doing so for more than a year. Margaret Faust/ WPR hide caption
Researchers looking for root causes of long COVID work in the autopsy suite inside the Clinical Center at the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Valerie Plesch/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
A large study of an experimental Alzheimer's drug made by pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly & Co. appears to slow worsening of the degenerative brain disease. Darron Cummings/AP hide caption
Conception's chief scientific officer, Pablo Hurtado, examines very early primordial germ cells under a microscope in a company lab in Berkeley, California. Laura Morton for NPR hide caption
Scientists have shown that the antibiotic doxycycline can ward off illnesses like chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis. It's a prevention tool called doxy-PEP. MirageC/Getty Images hide caption
Calliope Holingue is researching the microbiome among kids with autism. She's part of a growing field of research seeking to understand the gut-brain axis. Kennedy Krieger Institute hide caption
Hepatitis C can cause severe liver damage and leads to about 15,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. James Cavallini/BSIP/Universal Images hide caption
In patients with Alzheimer's disease, a substance called beta-amyloid can form toxic clumps in between neurons. Drugs like lecanemab are designed to remove amyloid-beta from the brain. National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health. hide caption
The Food and Drug Administration approved the first gene therapy to treat the most common form of muscular dystrophy. Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images hide caption
In Huntington's disease, proteins form toxic clumps that kill brain cells. Stowers Institute for Medical Research hide caption
A new study finds that stimulating the brain during sleep can improve memory. DrAfter123/Getty Images hide caption
The first vaccine to protect infants from respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, moved a step toward approval by the Food and Drug Administration with positive votes Thursday from a panel of experts. Kateryna Kon/Getty Images/Science Photo Library hide caption
Norditropin, a growth hormone from Novo Nordisk, remains in short supply, frustrating parents. Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
In a close vote, advisers to the Food and Drug Administration recommended approval of a gene therapy for muscular dystrophy developed by Sarepta Therapeutics. Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images hide caption
Susan and Chris Finazzo have enrolled their sons Dylan and Chase in a study of gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The experimental treatment is still being studied but researchers hope it may help prevent the devastating effects of the disease. Natalia de la Rosa Reyes/Susan Finazzo hide caption
Eli Lilly is seeking FDA approval for tirzepatide for chronic weight management. The drug could be approved by the end of the year. Eli Lilly & co. hide caption
Misoprostol is typically used as part of a two-drug protocol for a medication abortion. But it is also safe and effective when used alone, doctors say. ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Some Amoxicillin products are hard to find on pharmacy shelves as a nationwide shortage continues. Luis Alvarez/Getty Images hide caption
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has pulled its approval for an unproven drug intended to prevent premature births. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP hide caption
Scientists say they have sequenced the genome of composer Ludwig van Beethoven. INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Mora Leeb places some pieces into a puzzle during a local puzzle tournament. The 15-year-old has grown up without the left side of her brain after it was removed when she was very young. Seth Leeb hide caption
In London to address a gene-editing summit last week, Victoria Gray took a break to visit Sir John Soane's Museum. In 2019, Gray became the first patient to be treated for sickle cell disease using CRISPR, an experimental gene-editing technique. She was invited to talk about her experiences at the Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing. Orlando Gili for NPR hide caption
What looks like a pin-headed critter on the right is actually a larval version of the fruit fly on the left. Both have remarkably complex brains, scientists say, with different regions devoted to decision-making, learning and navigation. Ed Reschke/Getty Images hide caption