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Treatments

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A veterinarian says pets have a lot to teach us about love and grief

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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

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Ed Reschke/Getty Images

The first wiring map of an insect's brain hints at incredible complexity

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Researchers meeting in London this week concluded that techniques that have made it easier to manipulate DNA still produce too many mistakes for scientists to be confident any children born from edited embryos (such as these, photographed in 2018) would be healthy. Mark Schiefelbein/AP hide caption

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Mark Schiefelbein/AP

Ethical concerns temper optimism about gene-editing for human diseases

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Registered nurse Jamie Simmons speaks with a patient during an appointment at the Greater New Bedford Community Health Center in Massachusetts. The patient, whose first name is Kim, says buprenorphine has helped her stay off heroin and avoid an overdose for nearly 20 years. Jesse Costa for KHN hide caption

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Jesse Costa for KHN

A roadblock to life-saving addiction treatment is gone. Now what?

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This hole was made in a Bronze Age man's skull shortly before he died, archaeologists say, based on several clues. It's the result of a surgical procedure called a trephination. Kalisher et al., 2023/PLOS ONE hide caption

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Kalisher et al., 2023/PLOS ONE

Clues to Bronze Age cranial surgery revealed in ancient bones

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Research participant Heather Rendulic prepares to grasp and move a can of tomato soup at Rehab Neural Engineering Labs at the University of Pittsburgh. Tim Betler/UPMC and University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences hide caption

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Tim Betler/UPMC and University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences

Spinal stimulation can improve arm and hand movement years after a stroke

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Both the branded and generic versions of Adderall, a prescription amphetamine that treats attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other conditions, have been in short supply in the U.S. since October. Jb Reed/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Jb Reed/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Adderall shortage forces some patients to scramble, ration or go without

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If the brain is a musical instrument, "the electrophysiology is the music," says Dr. Alexander Khalessi. New tools to treat epilepsy patients now let doctors "listen to the music a little bit better." Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library/Getty Images hide caption

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Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library/Getty Images

Lasers, robots, and tiny electrodes are transforming treatment of severe epilepsy

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"I was much less self-assured now that I was a patient myself," says neurosurgeon Henry Marsh. "I suddenly felt much less certain about how I'd been [as a doctor], how I'd handled patients, how I'd spoken to them." Image Source/Getty Images hide caption

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Image Source/Getty Images

After cancer diagnosis, a neurosurgeon sees life, death and his career in a new way

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Licensed vocational nurse Denise Saldana vaccinates Pri DeSilva, associate director of Individual and Corporate Giving, with a fourth Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine booster at the Dr. Kenneth Williams Health Center in Los Angeles, Nov. 1, 2022. Damian Dovarganes/AP hide caption

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Damian Dovarganes/AP

The FDA considers a major shift in the nation's COVID vaccine strategy

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Ariel Davis for NPR

Therapy by chatbot? The promise and challenges in using AI for mental health

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Dr. Sarah Prager and Dr. Kelly Quinley work together for the nonprofit TEAMM, Training, Education and Advocacy in Miscarriage Management, which operates on the premise that "many people experience miscarriage before they're established with an OBGYN." Rosem Morton for NPR hide caption

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Rosem Morton for NPR

A Washington, D.C., resident has an operation growing psilocybin mushrooms. Brain researchers are increasingly studying psychedelic compounds like psilocybin and LSD as potential treatments for anxiety, depression and other disorders. Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images hide caption

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Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Psychedelic drugs may launch a new era in psychiatric treatment, brain scientists say

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When women get a blood test during pregnancy that looks at free-floating DNA, they expect it to tell about the health of the fetus. But the test sometimes finds signs of cancer in the mother. Isabel Seliger for NPR hide caption

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Isabel Seliger for NPR

A new kind of blood test can screen for many cancers — as some pregnant people learn

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Katie Pope Kopp, 64, of Parkville, Mo., at Union Station in Kansas City this week. Kopp underwent a new form of experimental CAR T-cell therapy that used the CRISPR gene-editing technique to treat her non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The cancer has been in remission for over a year. Barrett Emke for NPR hide caption

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Barrett Emke for NPR

CRISPR gene-editing may boost cancer immunotherapy, new study finds

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This illustration made available by the National Institute on Aging/National Institutes of Health depicts cells in an Alzheimer's-affected brain. An experimental drug modestly slowed the brain disease's progression, researchers reported Tuesday. NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING, NIH/AP hide caption

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NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING, NIH/AP
Simon & Schuster

A cell biologist shares the wonder of researching life's most fundamental form

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Antonio Rapuano got an infusion of a monoclonal antibody to treat his COVID in Albano, Italy in 2021. Such infusions have been effective treatments for COVID during the pandemic, but doctors are now finding that most monoclonal antibodies no longer work against new variants of SARS-CoV-2. Yara Nardi/Reuters hide caption

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Yara Nardi/Reuters

How monoclonal antibodies lost the fight with new COVID variants

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A doctor points to PET scan results that are part of Alzheimer's disease research. Much work in the field focuses a substance called beta-amyloid. A new study could test whether that's the right target. Evan Vucci/AP hide caption

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Evan Vucci/AP

What causes Alzheimer's? Study puts leading theory to 'ultimate test'

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After a dose of ketamine, special video games that offered a depressed player positive feedback, in the form of smiling faces or encouraging words, seemed to boost the length of time the drug quelled depression. akinbostanci/Getty Images hide caption

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akinbostanci/Getty Images

Smiling faces might help the drug ketamine keep depression at bay

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