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How Do 'Genetic Superheroes' Overcome Their Bad DNA?

A lucky few stay healthy despite carrying genetic defects linked to serious diseases. What protects them? Leigh Wells/Getty Images/Ikon Images hide caption

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Leigh Wells/Getty Images/Ikon Images

Shots - Health News

How Do 'Genetic Superheroes' Overcome Their Bad DNA?

Why do some people get sick from genetic mutations and others don't? Scientists say clues may lie in a rare group of people who carry profound genetic defects but somehow don't fall ill.

How Do 'Genetic Superheroes' Overcome Their Bad DNA?

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For Man With Cystic Fibrosis, 'Death Is Like A Deadline'

Brent Hendricks visited StoryCorps in Atlanta with his mother, Barbara. StoryCorps hide caption

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StoryCorps

Opinion

StoryCorps

For Man With Cystic Fibrosis, 'Death Is Like A Deadline'

Sixty years ago, most children with cystic fibrosis didn't live past the age of 5. Today most with the disease live into their 40s. Brent Hendricks says it is "like being on a boat with a hole in it."

For Man With Cystic Fibrosis, 'Death Is Like A Deadline'

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Drug Fulfills Promise Of Research Into Cystic Fibrosis Gene

Kalydeco is one of the first drugs that is effective at combating the root causes of a genetic disease. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. hide caption

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Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Shots - Health News

Drug Fulfills Promise Of Research Into Cystic Fibrosis Gene

The success of Kalydeco, a drug to treat cystic fibrosis, has been decades in the making — since the discovery of the gene associated with the disease. The time from gene discovery to successful drug may be shortening, but there are only a handful of drugs like Kalydeco on the market.

Drug Fulfills Promise Of Research Into Cystic Fibrosis Gene

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Shots - Health News

Cystic Fibrosis Drug Wins Approval

The Food and Drug Administration approved the first drug that treats cystic fibrosis by addressing an underlying cause of the disease. But the medicine, called Kalydeco, will cost nearly $300,000 a year.

Cystic Fibrosis Drug Wins Approval

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Your Health Podcast: Elderly Exercise And A Yoga Quest
Lululemon Athletica/Flickr

Shots - Health News

Your Health Podcast: Elderly Exercise And A Yoga Quest

On this week's show, we talk about results of a national poll that show confusion about the federal health law, plus health care woes from Tennessee and Pennsylvania. And we bring you two stories of exercise improving the health of seniors — from their muscles to their minds.

Your Health Podcast: Elderly Exercise And A Yoga Quest

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