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In "Legacy," a physician explores the obstacles keeping Black Americans out of medicine

Jan 25, 2024
Doctor and author Uché Blackstock describes the influence her mother had over her career in an excerpt from her book.
Uché Blackstock, left, stands with her mother, Dale Blackstock, and twin sister, Oni Blackstock. They were the first Black mother-daughter legacies to graduate from Harvard Medical School.
Courtesy Uché Blackstock

To boost diversity in clinical trials, NIH takes to the road to collect DNA from underrepresented groups

Aug 9, 2022
During the pandemic, the effort suspended in-person recruiting and lost momentum.
The All of Us bus helps the program connect with potential drug trial participants and collect biospecimens.
Blake Farmer/WPLN News

Lawsuit by Henrietta Lacks’ descendants asks key questions about intellectual property

May 20, 2022
The Black woman's cells, taken in 1951 without her consent, spurred medical advances worth billions. Now a judge has to decide if her family is entitled to a share of the profits.
Attendees admire a painting of Henrietta Lacks at HBO's The HeLa Project Exhibit For "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" on April 6, 2017 in New York City. A lawsuit against a pharma company from Lacks' descendants brings up a host of ethical questions surrounding medical profits, intellectual property and racial equity.
Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images for HBO

Have cold medicine sales declined during the COVID-19 crisis?

Apr 8, 2021
With lockdown measures in place, that meant people were limiting their interactions with others.
Cold, flu and cough medicine sales dropped by more than 27% over the past year.
Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images

Doctors are leaving medicine because of the pandemic

Dec 18, 2020
Eight percent of doctors have closed their practices because of COVID-19, and a quarter are considering retiring early.
“It feels like the water I was swimming in has turned into molasses,” said one doctor of working during the pandemic.
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

The race for antibodies

Apr 13, 2020
Researchers hope that antibodies of those who have recovered from COVID-19 can be used in a treatment.
Researchers are looking into new treatments and preventions for COVID-19. Above, a researcher developing a test for the disease in February in New Jersey.
Kena Betancur/Getty Images

Bringing down the cost of bionic arms

Jan 9, 2020
Prosthetic limbs are essential for many people. But they are also expensive. One possible solution? Technology.
A 3D-printed bionic arm, created by Limbitless. The company hopes to bring down the cost of robotic prosthetics.
Sabri Ben-Achour/Marketplace

For public good, not for profit.

The cost of preventing the spread of HIV? Upwards of $1,600 a month

Feb 5, 2019
President Trump is expected to call for an end to HIV transmission by 2030. The drug known as PrEP may be key.
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) and AIDS patients march to protest budget cuts to AIDS services proposed by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on June 5, 2009 in Hollywood, California. 
David McNew/Getty Images

Bayer sheds some brands to focus on pharma and fight pesticide claims

Nov 29, 2018
The giant multinational corporation Bayer is selling off the Dr. Scholl’s and Coppertone brands acquired four years ago when the company bought Merck. Now Bayer is looking to expand its cancer drug research and development and the agribusinesses it’s been growing since buying Monsanto earlier this year. Sounds good, but there’s a lingering problem that […]

Here's why Obamacare premiums are going down for the first time

Oct 12, 2018
It's "really about returning excess profits," a Kaiser Family Foundation executive says.
John Moore/Getty Images