Crispr Gene Editing Can Cause Unwanted Changes in Human Embryos, Study Finds

By BY KATHERINE J. WU from NYT Health Instead of addressing genetic mutations, the Crispr machinery prompted cells to lose entire chromosomes. https://ift.tt/3kLFxgq

Cruise Ships May Set Sail on Sunday, but Only With Crew

By BY RONI CARYN RABIN from NYT Health The C.D.C. has issued a conditional order toward certifying companies that can prove they can protect passengers and crews from the coronavirus. Actual travel by sea is still a distant wish. https://ift.tt/3mE0UAS

Midnight Virus Update

By Unknown Author from NYT Health Midnight Virus Update https://ift.tt/3msoQau

Gilead’s Covid-19 Drug is Mediocre. It Will Be a Blockbuster Anyway.

By BY KATIE THOMAS from NYT Health Gilead Sciences said Wednesday that remdesivir, which has been authorized for emergency use since the spring, brought in $873 million in revenues so far this year. https://ift.tt/34BnUum

Death Rates Have Dropped for Seriously Ill Covid Patients

By BY RONI CARYN RABIN from NYT Health Survival rates have improved with medical advances and less crowded hospitals, studies say. But the latest record-breaking surge in infections could reverse the gains. https://ift.tt/34DCT7a

Why You Shouldn’t Worry About Studies Showing Waning Coronavirus Antibodies

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health Experts say it’s normal for levels of antibodies to drop after clearing an infection, and that they represent just one arm of the immune response against a virus. https://ift.tt/2HIRqWa

Pfizer C.E.O. All but Rules Out Vaccine Before Election Day

By BY KATIE THOMAS from NYT Health Pfizer’s C.E.O. said on Tuesday that much-anticipated results from its vaccine trial would not be coming this month, after all. https://ift.tt/3jAARsC

Pfizer C.E.O. All but Rules Out Vaccine Before Election Day

By BY KATIE THOMAS from NYT Health Pfizer’s C.E.O. said on Tuesday that much-anticipated results from its vaccine trial would not be coming this month, after all. https://ift.tt/31Q3YCd

This Addiction Treatment Works. Why Is It So Underused?

By BY ABBY GOODNOUGH from NYT Health An approach called contingency management rewards drug users with money and prizes for staying abstinent. But few programs offer it, in part because of moral objections to the concept. https://ift.tt/2G7rtz0

Colon Cancer Screening Should Start Earlier, at Age 45, U.S. Panel Says

By BY RONI CARYN RABIN from NYT Health The draft recommendation acknowledges a trend of higher rates of colon and rectal cancer in generations born since 1950. https://ift.tt/37Lte0c

A Chance to Expand Medicaid Rallies Democrats in Crucial North Carolina

By BY ABBY GOODNOUGH from NYT Health The legislature in this battleground state could flip to Democratic control, a prospect that is bringing out lower-income voters who stayed home in 2016. https://ift.tt/2HEDpcb

This Addiction Treatment Works. Why Is It So Underused?

By BY ABBY GOODNOUGH from NYT Health An approach called contingency management rewards drug users with money and prizes for staying abstinent. But few programs offer it, in part because of moral objections to the concept. https://ift.tt/34BjHa9

Nurses Are at High Risk for Covid Among Health Workers, C.D.C. Says

By BY REED ABELSON from NYT Health A new study looked at the high numbers of health care workers hospitalized during the early months of the pandemic. https://ift.tt/2HEbmJq

Nurses Are at High Risk for Covid Among Health Workers, C.D.C. Says

By BY REED ABELSON from NYT Health A new study looked at the high numbers of health care workers hospitalized during the early months of the pandemic. https://ift.tt/3oxUwgC

A Malaria Mystery, Partly Solved: What Happens When the Rains End?

By BY DONALD G. MCNEIL JR. from NYT Health A study in Mali suggests that malaria parasites hide out during the dry season by altering the properties of red blood cells. https://ift.tt/3oBuid9

Why False Positives Matter, Too

By BY KATHERINE J. WU from NYT Health False negatives are not the only troublesome outcome of a faulty coronavirus test. https://ift.tt/37CS8yP

UnitedHealth Ships Flu Kits to Medicare Recipients

By BY EMMA GOLDBERG from NYT Health Under MedAdvantage plans, the major insurer is sending packages including Tamiflu and coronavirus tests to those considered especially vulnerable to Covid and the flu. https://ift.tt/34rctVK

Voting in the Covid Pandemic: Wear a Mask and Bring Your Own Pen

By BY DENISE GRADY from NYT Health A new C.D.C. report cites lessons learned from Delaware’s primary and suggests that voters could use some instruction in the right way to wear a mask. https://ift.tt/2FYr9T8

Two Companies Restart Virus Trials in U.S. After Safety Pauses

By BY KATHERINE J. WU, CARL ZIMMER, SHARON LAFRANIERE AND NOAH WEILAND from NYT Health AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson have restarted their late-stage trials after finding that serious illnesses in a few volunteers appeared not to be related to the vaccines. https://ift.tt/2FVcRmf

The Price for Not Wearing Masks: Perhaps 130,000 Lives

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health The pandemic death toll could be lowered by next spring if more Americans wear masks, a new analysis finds. https://ift.tt/35vo6u6

The Price for Not Wearing Masks: Perhaps 130,000 Lives

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health The pandemic death toll could be lowered by next spring if more Americans wear masks, a new analysis finds. https://ift.tt/37HfyTE

Experts Tell F.D.A. It Should Gather More Safety Data on Covid-19 Vaccines

By BY KATIE THOMAS from NYT Health In a highly anticipated meeting of the agency’s vaccine advisory board, some said that the current guidelines, which require two months of safety data after a volunteer has been vaccinated, were not enough. https://ift.tt/3okK5wL

Schoolchildren Seem Unlikely to Fuel Coronavirus Surges, Scientists Say

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health Researchers once feared that school reopenings might spread the virus through communities. But so far there is little evidence that it’s happening. https://ift.tt/31znwun

Wikipedia and W.H.O. Join to Combat Covid Misinformation

By BY DONALD G. MCNEIL JR. from NYT Health The health agency will license much of its material to the online encyclopedia, allowing the information to be reposted widely into almost 200 languages. https://ift.tt/35rCK5E

The Coronavirus Has Claimed 2.5 Million Years of Potential Life in the U.S., Study Finds

By BY KATHERINE J. WU from NYT Health A Harvard researcher added up the number of years that Americans who died from Covid-19 might have lived had they reached a typical life expectancy. https://ift.tt/2HlI7vk

No, Mouthwash Will Not Save You From the Coronavirus

By BY KATHERINE J. WU from NYT Health Even if people coated the inside of their mouths with a coronavirus-killing chemical, a substantial amount of the virus would still remain in the body. https://ift.tt/3kiTsdX

Purdue Pharma Pleads Guilty to Criminal Charges for Opioid Sales

By BY JAN HOFFMAN AND KATIE BENNER from NYT Health The Justice Department announced an $8 billion settlement with the company. Members of the Sackler family will pay $225 million in civil penalties but criminal investigations continue. https://ift.tt/2HrEiEl

The Pandemic’s Real Toll? 300,000, and It’s Not Just From the Coronavirus

By BY RONI CARYN RABIN from NYT Health A C.D.C. analysis finds that overall death rates have risen, particularly among young adults and people of color. https://ift.tt/3lZKQJs

How the F.D.A. Stood Up to the President

By BY SHEILA KAPLAN, SHARON LAFRANIERE, NOAH WEILAND AND MAGGIE HABERMAN from NYT Health After months of caving to pressures from the White House, Commissioner Stephen Hahn and a band of agency scientists have eked out a few victories. https://ift.tt/2HaQolT

Antibody Treatments, Though Promising, Will Be in Short Supply

By BY KATIE THOMAS from NYT Health All the weak points of American health care — testing delays, communication breakdowns, inequity — are working against this potential treatment. https://ift.tt/2Hhyz4u

N.Y. Accuses Christian Group of Misleading Consumers on Health Coverage

By BY REED ABELSON from NYT Health Regulators say a major group is misrepresenting cost-sharing plans, saddling people with unpaid medical bills. https://ift.tt/3maKyzL

Doctors May Have Found Secretive New Organs in the Center of Your Head

By BY KATHERINE J. WU from NYT Health They appear to be a fourth pair of large salivary glands, tucked into the space where the nasal cavity meets the throat. https://ift.tt/2Hn0KPi

Some Signs of Recovery From Severe Covid Lung Damage

By BY LINA ZELDOVICH from NYT Health In two early studies, researchers said some patients showed signs of healing just weeks after leaving the hospital. https://ift.tt/349JK7U

Drug May Extend A.L.S. Patients’ Lives by Several Months, Study Finds

By BY PAM BELLUCK from NYT Health The two-drug combination invented by college students is one of many potential therapies being tested for this paralyzing fatal condition. https://ift.tt/3dvcWcJ

Pfizer Says It Won’t Seek Vaccine Authorization Before Mid-November

By BY KATIE THOMAS AND NOAH WEILAND from NYT Health Friday’s announcement represents a shift in tone for the company and its leader, who has repeatedly emphasized the month of October in interviews and public appearances. https://ift.tt/3j6bz5j

Remdesivir Fails to Prevent Covid-19 Deaths in Huge Trial

By BY KATHERINE J. WU AND GINA KOLATA from NYT Health An antiviral widely used to treat hospitalized patients did not lower the mortality rate in a multinational trial. https://ift.tt/379PVe4

A Rapid Test Offers Hope for Community Screening

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health In a small study in San Francisco, Abbott’s BinaxNOW identified infectious people nearly as accurately as a P.C.R. test. https://ift.tt/33ZbAUh

What Does ‘Negative’ on a Coronavirus Test Really Mean?

By BY KATHERINE J. WU from NYT Health President Trump’s recent tests are a reminder that although many products exist, none test for infectiousness. https://ift.tt/3j2eR9Q

Did Lockdowns Lower Premature Births? A New Study Adds Evidence

By BY ELIZABETH PRESTON from NYT Health Dutch researchers say the “impact was real,” adding to hopes that doctors will learn more about factors contributing to preterm birth. https://ift.tt/2STRnJ5

Trump May Be Immune to the Coronavirus. But for How Long?

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health A unique treatment course may have blunted his body’s production of antibodies, scientists warn. https://ift.tt/3j00ClN

Eli Lilly’s Antibody Trial Is Paused Over Potential Safety Concern

By BY KATHERINE J. WU AND KATIE THOMAS from NYT Health The drugmaker’s experimental antibody treatment is similar to the one President Trump received from Regeneron. https://ift.tt/31lgGsv

Coronavirus Reinfections Are Real but Very, Very Rare

By BY APOORVA MANDAVILLI from NYT Health A case in Nevada has spurred new concerns that people who have recovered from the infection may still be vulnerable. That’s unlikely, experts say. https://ift.tt/3407onv

Eli Lilly’s Antibody Trial Is Paused Over Potential Safety Concern

By BY KATHERINE J. WU from NYT Health The drugmaker’s experimental antibody treatment is similar to the one President Trump received from Regeneron. https://ift.tt/2FpxC9d

A Dose of Optimism, as the Pandemic Rages On

By BY DONALD G. MCNEIL JR. from NYT Health The months ahead will be difficult. But the medical cavalry is coming, and the rest of us know what we need to do. https://ift.tt/2SNWTgE

Nevada Revokes Halt on Rapid Antigen Testing in Nursing Homes

By BY KATHERINE J. WU from NYT Health The reversal came just hours after the federal government threatened the state, calling the prohibition on the tests “illegal.” https://ift.tt/3jMLkSw

Extra Pounds May Raise Risk of Severe Covid-19

By BY RONI CARYN RABIN from NYT Health Even people who aren’t obese may be more likely to become seriously ill when infected with the coronavirus, the C.D.C. said. https://ift.tt/36TQl8u

Trump Could Be Back in Public by Saturday. Experts Worry It’s Too Soon.

By BY KATHERINE J. WU from NYT Health The White House physician, Dr. Sean P. Conley, predicted that the president could safely return to “public engagements.” Experts questioned the doctor’s rationale. https://ift.tt/3iRrqVr

Workers With Health Insurance Face Rising Out-of-Pocket Costs

By BY REED ABELSON from NYT Health A new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows annual premiums for a family now top $21,000, and deductibles have more than doubled since 2010. https://ift.tt/2GGOpW3

Novel Brain Surgery Seeks to Reverse Epilepsy in Sea Lion

By BY MATT RICHTEL from NYT Science Cronutt, like a growing number of ocean mammals, developed seizures because of toxins in the water. Scientists hope the pioneering procedure he underwent this week could help. https://ift.tt/3iEKrKp

Regeneron Asks F.D.A. for Emergency Approval for Drug That Trump Claimed Cured Him

By BY KATIE THOMAS from NYT Health The company said that doses of the unproven treatment would be available for 50,000 patients. It’s impossible to know whether it helped the president. https://ift.tt/3jFStUT