Stories by Cassandra Willyard

Care innovations have allowed many more people with kidney disease to become parents. But pregnancy still carries risks

Artificial tissues that mimic the placenta, endometrium, ovary and vagina could point to treatments for common conditions such as preeclampsia and endometriosis

A new generation of Alzheimer’s blood tests could speed up diagnosis and access to care—but they also raise thorny questions about prediction, treatment and uncertainty

New formulas, devices and tools are removing historical bias from medical diagnoses

A synthetic antibody marks a big step toward antivenoms that can protect against every venomous snake near where you live or travel

In low- and middle-income nations, snakebite envenoming is more deadly than almost any other neglected tropical disease

Two research teams grew synthetic embryos using stem cells for long enough to see some organs develop

A study adds to evidence suggesting that SARS-CoV-2 infection doesn’t cause an inflamed-toe condition called chilblains, but it doesn’t close the door

Colorectal cancer rates in younger adults are climbing. The race is on to figure out why

The Merck pill, which could become the first oral antiviral COVID treatment, forces the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 to mutate itself to death

Research begins to pick apart the mechanisms behind a deadly COVID-19 complication

Digitization of patient charts was supposed to revolutionize medical practice. Artificial intelligence could help unlock its potential 

Electrical stimulation has promised huge gains for people with paralysis. Now comes the hard part—getting beyond those first steps

The controversy over how many genes are contained in the human genome continues to simmer 

Pristine lab conditions may not provide the best model for human disease

Tumours are subject to the same rules of natural selection as any other living thing. Clinicians are now putting that knowledge to use

Biologists are building banks of ‘organoids’, and learning a lot about human development on the way

A promising therapy curtails clotting inhibitors rather than replacing proteins that promote blood clotting

An alternative explanation for cancer's origins could lead to better therapies

Employing everything from love potion to meat-eating ants, scientists try to stem the influx of new invasive species with some "creative" ideas