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Treatments

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

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Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images

FDA advisers narrowly back first gene therapy for muscular dystrophy

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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

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Natalia de la Rosa Reyes/Susan Finazzo

Gene therapy for muscular dystrophy stirs hopes and controversy

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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

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ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

Medication abortion is still possible with just one drug. Here's how it works

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Scientists say they have sequenced the genome of composer Ludwig van Beethoven. INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images

Scientists sequence Beethoven's genome for clues into his painful past

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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

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Seth Leeb

Meet the 'glass-half-full girl' whose brain rewired after losing a hemisphere

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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

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Orlando Gili for NPR

Sickle cell patient's success with gene editing raises hopes and questions

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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
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