Doctors try 1st CRISPR editing in the body for blindness
Scientists say they have used the gene editing tool CRISPR inside someone’s body for the first time, a new frontier for efforts to operate on...
Virus death rate still uncertain as mild cases are missed
WASHINGTON (AP) — How deadly is the coronavirus that exploded from China? The answer reflects a hard reality about fast-moving outbreaks: As cases pop up...
Dogs, cats can’t pass on coronavirus, but can test positive
HONG KONG (AP) — Pet cats and dogs cannot pass the new coronavirus on to humans, but they can test positive for low levels of...
Seattle-area officials buy $4 million `quarantine’ motel
SEATTLE (AP) — Hard surfaces, easy-to-clean floors and separate heating-and-cooling units in each room: The amenities offered by the suburban EconoLodge motel may not be...
China’s virus slowdown offers hope for global containment
The slowdown in coronavirus cases out of China offers a sliver of hope that the global outbreak can be controlled, but whether that can happen...
Senate poised to send Trump $8.3 billion plan to fight virus
WASHINGTON (AP) — An $8.3 billion measure to help tackle the coronavirus outbreak should soon make its way to President Trump after a Senate vote...
AP PHOTOS: Venice a shell of itself as tourists flee virus
VENICE, Italy (AP) — The Carnival period in Venice usually marks the start of peak season in one of the world’s most visited cities, with...
Cruise ship is held off California coast for virus testing
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Scrambling to keep the coronavirus at bay, officials ordered a cruise ship with about 3,500 people aboard to hold off the...
The Latest: Vatican working to control spread of new virus
BANGKOK (AP) — The Latest on the virus outbreak (all times local): 1:55 a.m. The Vatican says it is working with Italian authorities to coordinate...
WHO urges globe to ‘pull out the stops’ against virus’ march
BANGKOK (AP) — The global march of the new virus triggered a vigorous appeal Thursday from the World Health Organization for governments to pull out...
Brazil confirms first coronavirus case in Latin America
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s government confirmed on Wednesday that a 61-year-old Brazilian man who traveled to Italy this month has Latin America’s first...
Supervised drug injection site in US is almost ready to open
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Philadelphia nonprofit group detailed plans Wednesday to open next week what would be the nation’s first medically supervised injection site to...
Trump urges calm even as US reports worrisome new virus case
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump declared that a widespread U.S. outbreak of the new respiratory virus sweeping the globe isn’t inevitable even as top...
How deadly is new coronavirus? It’s still too early to tell
WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists can’t tell yet how deadly the new virus that’s spreading around the globe really is — and deepening the mystery, the...
Trump faces credibility test as he plays down virus threat
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump faces a critical personal challenge in grappling with the new coronavirus outbreak: asking Americans to believe him after he...
Pope cancels visit with Rome priests for ‘slight’ illness
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is sick and skipped a planned Mass with Rome clergy across town on Thursday, officials said. The Vatican said...
Saudi Arabia halts pilgrimages over virus; Iran cases spike
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia on Thursday banned foreign pilgrims from entering the kingdom to visit Islam’s holiest sites over the new...
Vexed by how to contain virus, countries take tough steps
BANGKOK (AP) — Saudi Arabia cut travel to Islam’s holiest sites, South Korea toughened penalties for those breaking quarantines and airports across Latin America looked...
New US coronavirus case may be 1st from unknown origin
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A new coronavirus case in California could be the first in the U.S. that has no known connection to travel abroad...
About 40% of US adults are obese, government survey finds
NEW YORK (AP) — About 4 in 10 American adults are obese, and nearly 1 in 10 is severely so, government researchers said Thursday. The...
Juul halts US sales of popular mint-flavored e-cigarettes
WASHINGTON (AP) — Juul Labs said Thursday it will halt U.S. sales of its best-selling, mint-flavored electronic cigarettes as it struggles to survive a nationwide...
Trump to pursue higher sales age for e-cigarettes
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday his administration will pursue raising the age to purchase electronic cigarettes from 18 to 21 in its...
Doctors try CRISPR gene editing for cancer, a 1st in the US
The first attempt in the United States to use a gene editing tool called CRISPR against cancer seems safe in the three patients who have...
Vaping-related lung transplant performed at Detroit hospital
DETROIT (AP) — Doctors at a Detroit hospital have performed what could be the first double lung transplant on a man whose lungs were damaged...
US officials identify ‘strong culprit’ in vaping illnesses
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. health officials announced a breakthrough Friday into the cause of a mysterious outbreak of vaping illnesses, reporting they have a...
Trump, 2020 Dem contenders tout efforts to boost veterans
ROCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — On Veterans Day, President Donald Trump paid tribute to America’s troops at a New York City parade as top 2020 Democratic...
Air quality sinks to ‘severe’ in haze-shrouded New Delhi
NEW DELHI (AP) — A thick gray haze blanketed India’s capital on Tuesday, with authorities attempting to reduce the pollution by sprinkling water to settle...
Portland, Oregon, paramedics learn self-defense amid attacks
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Trisha Preston was transporting a patient in a mental health crisis in the back of her ambulance when suddenly the woman...
Cholesterol levels dropping in US, but many still need care
WASHINGTON (AP) — Some good health news: Americans’ cholesterol levels are dropping, and more people at especially high risk are getting treatment. Researchers say Monday’s...
Philanthropists give $106M to fund brain research alliance
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Billionaire philanthropists Joan and Sandy Weill announced Tuesday they are donating $106 million to launch a research initiative at three West...
South Africa’s young rape survivors need counseling: MSF
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A new study says many South African health facilities designated to help survivors of sexual violence don’t offer counseling to children who...
Denver is latest city pushing for 1st US drug injection site
DENVER (AP) — Despite federal opposition, Denver is trying again to become what could be the first U.S. city to open a supervised drug injection...
From Barron to casserole, first lady opens up on White House
WASHINGTON (AP) — First lady Melania Trump opened up a bit Wednesday about life in the Trump White House, where 12-year-old Barron is more interested...
HIV cases in children dropping but still too slowly, UN says
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The United Nations children’s agency says the number of youths living with HIV could drop by about one-third to 1.9 million between...
Younger school entry could set stage for ADHD diagnosis
The youngest children in kindergarten are more likely to be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in early grades, a study shows, an intriguing finding...
California court reverses ruling against assisted suicide
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California appeals court overturned a lower court order that had imperiled the state’s assisted suicide law, but a longer legal...
Suicide, at 50-year peak, pushes down US life expectancy
NEW YORK (AP) — Suicides and drug overdoses pushed up U.S. deaths last year, and drove a continuing decline in how long Americans are expected...
Opioid case has new complication: Babies born in withdrawal
The long-running federal court case seeking to hold drugmakers responsible for the nation’s opioid crisis has a new complication: How does it deal with claims...
WHO: Malaria reductions stall after progress
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The World Health Organization says progress in reducing the number of people contracting malaria has stalled after several years of global declines....
Florida sues Walgreens, CVS over opioid sales
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Florida is suing the nation’s two largest drugstore chains, Walgreens and CVS, alleging they added to the state and national...
Ebola in Congo now infecting newborn babies, UN says
LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization says a worrying number of the newest Ebola cases amid Congo’s ongoing outbreak are in patients not usually...
World Toilet Day highlights global sanitation crisis
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Poor countries around the world are facing a dangerous shortage of toilets that puts millions of live at risk, according to...
Proposed changes on Medicare drugs create winners and losers
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Monday proposed changes to Medicare’s prescription drug benefit that would affect patients’ costs over the next few years,...
How many kids have autism? US government measures 3 ways
How many American children have autism? The U.S. government answers that question at least three different ways and says the latest estimate — 1 in...
US officials: It’s OK to eat some romaine, look for labels
NEW YORK (AP) — It’s OK to eat some romaine lettuce again, U.S. health officials said. Just check the label. The Food and Drug Administration...
Chinese researcher claims first gene-edited babies
HONG KONG (AP) — A Chinese researcher claims that he helped make the world’s first genetically edited babies — twin girls born this month whose...
Gene-edited baby claim by Chinese scientist sparks outrage
HONG KONG (AP) — Scientists and bioethics experts reacted with shock, anger and alarm Monday to a Chinese researcher’s claim that he helped make the...
Q&A on scientist’s bombshell claim of gene-edited babies
Designer babies might be here sooner than anyone reckoned. A Chinese researcher who says he created gene-edited babies crossed what most scientists consider a forbidden...
Doctors nudged by overdose letter prescribe fewer opioids
In a novel experiment, doctors got a letter from the medical examiner’s office telling them of their patient’s fatal overdose. The response: They started prescribing...
Appeals court tells EPA to stop sales of harmful pesticide
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court has ruled that the Trump administration endangered public health by keeping a widely used pesticide on the market...