Last Word

In the summer of 2021 , Americans saw something unusual: Dr. Anthony Fauci on tilt. "Senator Paul, you do not know what you are talking about, quite frankly. And I want to say that officially," said the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director. “I totally resent the lie you are now propagating.” Fauci’s comments were made during one of his testier exchanges with Rand Paul ,...

Deep brain stimulation can alleviate treatment-resistant depression for some patients. PM Images/Digital Vision via Getty Images ~~~~~ It can be challenging to create a treatment plan for depression. This is especially true for patients who aren’t responding to conventional treatments and are undergoing experimental therapies such as deep brain stimulation. For most medical conditions, doctors...

Identifying the commonalities between cardiovascular disease and cancer could lead to improved treatments for both. Sveta Zi/iStock via Getty Images Plus ~~~~~~ What would you guess are the two biggest killers in the world? Based on media coverage, maybe you guessed gun violence, accidents or COVID-19. But the top two killers are actually cardiovascular disease and cancer. These two diseases...

Public health experts are borrowing a technique from the tech world to make messaging more effective — so that patients are more likely to get preventive care Death from colorectal cancer can be prevented by early detection. Controlling high blood pressure would prolong the lives of the nearly 500,000 Americans who die from this disease each year. Vaccinations prevent tetanus, which could...

ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. Series - Arterial Motives: The Big Business of Clogged Arteries Millions of Americans suffer from clogged arteries. But doctors have dangerous incentives to perform excessive and risky procedures. Cheryl Lee Carr clutched her phone, willing it to...

Psychopathic tendencies may be present to some extent in all of us. New research is reframing this often sensationalized and maligned set of traits and finding some positive twists. Think of a psychopath and any number of Hollywood villains might come to mind, from charming killers like Hannibal Lecter to Anton Chigurh, portrayed with chilling menace by Javier Bardem in the film No Country for...