Stories by Heidi Ledford

A burgeoning field is launching its first clinical trial to find out whether dialing back cell development can safely refresh aged tissues and organs

Scientists are just beginning to understand the signals that determine the length of dogs’ ears

RFK Jr.’s vaccine advisory panel will be discussing the inclusion of adjuvants in childhood vaccinations today. Here’s what’s at stake

In a world first, a bespoke gene-editing therapy benefited one child. Now researchers plan to launch a clinical trial of the approach

Hundreds of people at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have received layoff notices, and work at many federal laboratories has been suspended

The Trump administration is backing leucovorin as a treatment for autism, despite limited evidence. Some doctors and researchers are concerned

Aging is a complex process that plays out differently across different organs, according to growing evidence

Critics fear that U.S. Department of Health and Human Services chief RFK, Jr., known for his antivaccine views, has picked a crucial CDC committee that will be a “disaster for public health”

A CRISPR treatment seems to have been effective for a baby’s devastating disease, but it is not clear whether such bespoke therapies can be widely applied

Scientists and supporters rallied in cities across the U.S. and Europe to protest dramatic funding cuts and other attacks from the Trump administration

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has expressed support for some fields of science but has also declared he’d like a “break” in infectious-disease research. Here’s what he might do as the U.S.’s newly confirmed secretary of health and human services

Understanding genetics, immunology and the microbiomes of people with inflammatory bowel disease could aid in finding the right treatments for the condition

“Cell atlases” offer an unprecedented look at how kidney cells become diseased and how fetal cells invade and remodel the placenta’s blood vessels

A link between endometriosis and bacterial infection suggests a potential way to treat the painful disorder

Fatlike compounds in ancient rocks point to a vast array of previously unknown microbes that once dominated complex life on Earth

Key genes that are active in the brains of older people are also active in the brains of people who developed serious COVID

The “most complicated therapy ever” tailors bespoke, genome-edited immune cells to attack tumors

Under Elon Musk’s leadership, extremists could flock back to Twitter under the guise of “free speech,” and researchers are gearing up to study their impact

A cellular version of the computer game challenges assumptions about intelligence

Cases of paralysis in the U.S. and Israel suggest vaccine-derived poliovirus has infected many people

Two years into the pandemic, the COVID-19 drugs pipeline is primed to pump out novel treatments—and fresh uses for familiar therapies.

Researchers are trying to establish whether existing COVID-19 vaccines and treatments can prevent lasting symptoms

A rapidly spreading variant could dangerously strain health-care systems, even if the severe disease risk is relatively low for an individual

With vaccination campaigns underway in some countries while others weigh the options, Nature looks at the evidence for vaccinating younger people