Opioid abuse and addiction dominate the headlines these days. But these concerns obscure a larger story about the treatment of chronic pain in America.
In this feature, I explore the shortcomings of opioids with respect to treating chronic pain — and offer some legitimate pain management alternatives.
Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
Experts Offer Non-Opioid Options For Managing Chronic Pain
No cure exists for Lou Gehrig’s disease, a fatal neuromuscular illness affecting tens of thousands of Americans. But scientists may have found how a key protein helps drive its degenerative progress.
Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
UA, Barrow Researchers Explain ALS Key Protein Breakdown
Researchers are developing a class of painkillers that could offer an alternative to opioids, or at least way to taper down their dosage.
Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
UA Researchers Seek More Targeted Path to Fighting Pain
Tobacco might have finally found the image upgrade it’s been looking for, as scientists hope to use the plant to produce a safe and cheap Zika vaccine.
If successful in humans, the plant-based approach could provide an effective solution for countries affected by the disease.
Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
Scientists Use Tobacco Plant As Cheap, Scalable Zika Vaccine Factory
For the first time in the U.S., scientists have genetically modified human embryos. The technique could help screen out heritable diseases, but many worry where it might ultimately lead.
As rumors spread in advance of the publication, the story sparked comparisons with films like Gattaca and books like Brave New World, with their themes of genetic discrimination, DNA-as-destiny and the social dangers of tampering with human heredity.
But the research’s most important — and, to some, troubling — aspect lies in the fact that it alters the hereditary DNA known as the germline.
Read/listen to my full story at KJZZ’s Arizona Science Desk:
First Human Embryos Edited In U.S. By Scientists
