Last Word

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...

When Charles Ponzi’s investment opportunity to sell international postage stamps was exposed to be a scam in 1920, its basic premise would forever be associated with the man’s name. A Ponzi Scheme promises investors massive returns on an investment that does not really exist. Instead, unknown to everyone but the person or people running it, old investors are paid with money that comes in from...

In April 2021, Adele Fox received a single shot of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. Within a few hours, the 60-year-old resident of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, started feeling shooting pains in her legs, arms, and neck. The pain didn’t abate over the next few days. Instead, it got worse and was accompanied by nausea and debilitating fatigue. Within a few weeks, neurologists affiliated...