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In Focus

The Coming of the Gene Switch

The concept of circuitry, borrowed from computer technology, could make the next generation of gene therapies more flexible and powerful.

Gene therapy takes many forms, but some of the most promising involve taking cells from the body and altering them so that they can perform new tasks. One example is chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR T), the first gene therapy to get approval from the Food and Drug Administration. CAR T reprograms immune cells called T cells and improves their...

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In Depth

Tiny Marvels

Miniature versions of organs help scientists understand disease and fine-tune treatments in ways that work in mice can’t match.

A Future Defunded

There's no question that financial support for young scientists leads to medical breakthroughs. But now that formula is broken.

The Dawn of the Bionic Pancreas

Automated systems could soon take the guesswork out of managing diabetes. But will patients trust them with their lives?

Nano Arsenal

In theory, smart microscopic particles could evade defenders and home in on cancer targets. Will reality catch up to the hype?

A Code for Autism

Is risk of the disorder inherited, or do genes get scrambled in the womb? Researchers may be closing in on some answers.

Is Genetic Privacy a Myth?

Genetic tests and genome sequencing are generating terabytes of sensitive private data. How can they be kept safe?

When the Researcher Is the Subject

Self-experimentation has a long history in medicine. Should its practice today be shunned or embraced?

Special Treatment

Team care and structural changes could vastly improve the recovery of older patients. Yet institutions that implement such approaches remain rare.

The Blind Can See

Stem cells, gene therapy and devices that can beam images directly into the brain offer new hope to those without sight.

Voice of the People

When patients demand more than science can provide, high-priced, ineffective treatments can reach the market.

Living Forever

The science of senescence has struggled to translate life-extending research from animals to people. Now the pace is quickening.

Aftermath

Saving lives after a terrorist attack takes coordinated action, and hospitals are racing to improve their plans.

Lost in the Middle

Dashed expectations in midlife may be fueling a sharp rise in suicides. Several strategies seek to save people in despair.

Build a Better Painkiller

Helping patients in pain often means prescribing opioid drugs, which can be dangerous. New research looks into alternatives.

Why Plaque Attacks

A bold theory—that the brain-tangling proteins of Alzheimer’s disease may form to fight infection—could spur new research.

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Dispatches

Why Doctors Must Solve the Suicide Problem

As despair deaths reach historic levels in the United States, interventions at health care checkpoints may be the best way to bring them down.

Change of Heart

The risk of dying from heart disease varies dramatically from one ZIP code to the next. Researchers are teasing apart the reasons why.

Bumps in the Night

A barrage of well-timed noises may, surprisingly, make for a more restful night’s sleep.

How Poor Diet Shapes the Brain

A high-fat, high-sugar diet can cause harm to the hippocampus—and that may lead, perversely, to even worse impulses around unhealthy food.

Organs on Ice

If transplant organs could be kept fresher for longer, they could help thousands more on waitlists.

The Not-an-Opioid Epidemic

More physicians are prescribing a class of drugs called gabapentinoids to manage pain. Should we be worried?

Into the Depths

The first endoscope went on display with the help of a talented sideshow performer.

Boy or Girl?

When a baby is born and its sex is ambiguous, what should happen next?

The Shape of Things

Design choices pervade the health care system, and pediatrician Joyce Lee wants to make them smarter.

This Side of the Scale

An anorexic patient struggles with a seemingly unsympathetic doctor.

The Brain's Beauty

Artist and multiple sclerosis patient Elizabeth Jameson turns her brain scans into works of art.

Second Opinion Winter 2018

Experts reflect on the state of eldercare and questions of genomic privacy.

Feel the (Brain) Burn

Regular exercise has long been associated with better brain function, but researchers are only now piecing together how and why that happens.

Podcast: Enter the Citizen Scientist

Given half a chance, non-scientists can also make discoveries that move medicine forward.

Both Ends of the Leash

Humans and their pets suffer from many of the same ailments, and medications that cross the species barrier may help those on either side of it.

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From Mass General

Investing in Our Future

Peter L. Slavin and Timothy G. Ferris discuss the importance of research funding.

After the Storm

Hurricane Maria shut down a factory where intravenous fluid bags were made. Why has this roiled a nation’s hospital system?

The Crisis in the Air

Slowing climate change is important for our health long term. But cleaning up polluted skies will also yield immediate health benefits.

Medicine in the Mix

The science of embedding medications in polymers opens new doors.

Sparkling Like (Nano) Diamonds

Tiny diamonds set loose in the body can promote a sharper MRI image.

Respect for Our Elders

Peter L. Slavin discusses the importance of giving older inpatients the proper care.

The Brain’s Beat

By studying the mysteries of anesthesia and how it affects the brain, Patrick Purdon may have found a new way to predict Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.

Untangling Chromatin

More than marvels of biological architecture, structures within the cell nucleus may be intertwined with aging itself.

Marching for Science

Peter L. Slavin discusses why funding research is key to America's future.

A Dream Deferred

Atheendar Venkataramani explores the detrimental effects that immigration policy can have on the mental health of undocumented immigrants.

Where Lost Diseases Go

A new, nationwide team of experts gives the toughest medical cases a chance at a breakthrough.

Second Chances

The Food and Drug Administration tries a fresh approach to medical devices suspected of falling short.

Still Restless

Restless legs syndrome continues to puzzle, even with the recent publication of the first clinical guidelines for the disease.

Hope in the Face of Addiction

Peter L. Slavin and Thomas J. Lynch Jr. discuss the hospital’s responsibility in treating opioid addiction.

The Data Revolution

Peter L. Slavin & Thomas J. Lynch Jr. discuss the growing "open data" movement and its implications for scientific research

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Charts & Data

To Choose Death

Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act crosses the 20-year mark.

In Passing

How does a hospital keep patient details from getting lost in the shuffle?

To Catch a Protein

The world of protein imaging undergoes a chilly revolution.

The Next Zika

Vaccines are most helpful before an epidemic hits. So which diseases should researchers prepare for next?

ResearchKit

A software platform from Apple is helping medical researchers collect health data from any iPhone user

White Coats

The standard garb of the physician comes with surprising risks and benefits.

Unsound the Alarm

Hundreds of alarms compete for a clinician's attention. Can less noise mean better care?

Babel in the ICU

Machines in an ICU can't speak to one another—but what if they could?

The Changes We've Seen

Proto looks at trends in health care during the last 10 years.

Born Too Soon

Despite steady declines over the past decade, the U.S. still has one of the highest preterm birthrates in the developed world.

An Outbreak Told in Genomes

Rapid genetic sequencing maps an Ebola outbreak in fine detail.

20 Years After Apartheid

In the 1980s physician Miguel Ribeiro took stunning photographs of his South African patients. How has the nation’s health care fared in the years since?

Grand Theft Medical

The move to electronic medical records may be helping identity thieves.

Living Anatomy

Artist Danny Quirk paints the living structures of the body on live models.

The Lost Ward

Beds for psychiatric care are steadily declining. What can be done?

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