The ‘London Patient,’ Cured of H.I.V., Reveals His Identity The New York Times, March 2020
Adam Castillejo endured a decade of grueling treatments and moments of despair to become only the second person to be cured of H.I.V. Now, he says, “I want to be an ambassador of hope.”
When Measles Arrives: Breaking Down the Anatomy of Containment Undark, April 2019
When a child with measles arrived at a health center near Boston, staff had to respond quickly. They did — but there were lessons to be learned, too.
In India, a renewed fight against leprosy The New York Times, April 2019
Health workers thought they had vanquished the disease in 2005. But it lived on, cloaked in stigma and medical mystery.
The placenta, an afterthought no longer The New York Times, December 2018
An ephemeral organ, long dismissed merely as afterbirth, increasingly is viewed as critical to understanding the health and course of pregnancy.
The world’s worst industrial disaster is still unfolding The Atlantic, July 2018
In Bhopal, residents who survived the massive gas leak and those who arrived later continue to deal with the consequences.
The brain that wasn’t supposed to heal The Atlantic, April 2016
Steve Mishkin’s unexpected recovery is a case study in luck, split-second decisions, and the many, many things that need to go right for a trauma patient to get well.
How shock therapy is saving some children with autism Spectrum, October 2016
Given its reputation, the most shocking thing about electroconvulsive therapy might be how beneficial — and banal — it actually is.
The lost girls Spectrum, October 2015
Misdiagnosed, misunderstood or missed altogether, many women with autism struggle to get the help they need.
Man-eater overload The New Yorker, December 2014
Tiger attacks on the thousands of tribal people who live on Indian park lands have been escalating.
The AIDS Cure Popular Science, March 2014
Reservoirs of HIV hide deep within the body. Scientists are now closing in on methods to wipe them out.
Peer review: Trial by Twitter Nature, January 2011
Blogs and tweets are ripping papers apart within days of publication, leaving researchers unsure how to react.
Free to fight disease Nature Medicine, June 2008
Long ignored by pharmaceutical companies and global health agencies alike, ‘neglected tropical diseases’ devastate people in the poorest parts of the world. But they’re finally getting the attention they deserve.
Microbiology: Straight from the gut Nature, May 2008
The human body teems with microbes. Apoorva Mandavilli meets the surgeons who have a rare opportunity to watch an ecosystem being established as they transplant guts from one person to another.
TB special in NYU Physician, Summer 2008
Worst case: HIV + TB
NYU researchers are hoping to understand how to treat one or both diseases without making the patient worse.
New insights into an old foe: TB
White plague. King’s evil. Wasting disease. Consumption. Tuberculosis is an old disease with many names and guises. But it wasn’t until last year that scientists discovered how old this ancient scourge really is.
Fighting drug-resistant TB in New York City
For a few weeks last summer, Americans were riveted by news that Andrew Speaker, then a 31-year-old Atlanta native, may have been flying on commercial airplanes, exposing hundreds of people to a virtually untreatable type of tuberculosis.
They could be forgiven for having thought of TB as strictly a third-world disease.
Nanocosmetics: Buyer beware
Is that expensive jar of skin cream on my dresser safe to use?
Hope grows for faster TB test
The ideal test for TB would be fast, cheap, and would deliver a simple Yes or No answer — much like a dipstick pregnancy test.
The sunshine cure Nature Medicine, April 2007
Could ten minutes of sunlight a day be all that’s needed to fight multiple sclerosis, cancer and tuberculosis? Apoorva Mandavilli discovers the growing interest in vitamin D’s many virtues.
A clash of cultures Nature Medicine, March 2007
HIV and tuberculosis are a deadly combination, ravaging populations in Africa and Asia. But the two disease camps are too busy fighting each other to heed the crisis.
Trials and tribulations Nature Medicine, March 2007
Scientists studying tuberculosis are struggling with scarce funds, layers of bureaucracy and a lack of markers that can clearly identify which treatments are working.
Reinventing an industry Nature, January 2007
Two years after a radical change that brought India’s patent laws into line with international trading rules, the country’s drug makers are taking a new direction.
Appropriate technology: Make anything, anywhere Nature, August 2006
Can everyone use technology creatively? Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology think so and have launched ‘Fab Labs’ around the world to prove it.
DDT returns Nature Medicine, August 2006
The most infamous pesticide in history is also the most effective weapon against malaria. Ready or not, DDT is on its way back to Africa.
The amyloid code Nature Medicine, July 2006
Is there a conspiracy afoot to keep one theory dominant in Alzheimer disease research? Maybe not, but as Apoorva Mandavilli discovers, it may still be high time for new ideas.
Visual neuroscience: Look and learn Nature, May 2006
Prevailing wisdom says the adult brain cannot learn to see if it had no visual stimulation during childhood, but blind people in India seem to be breaking all the rules.
Birth control pills: No more period Women’s Health Magazine, April 2006
The latest trend in birth control pills is to do away with menstruation altogether. Convenient, definitely. But is it safe?
Monkey business Nature Medicine, March 2006
China is preparing to become the world’s supplier of research primates. But are Western scientists ready to buy?
China: Open season Nature, January 2006
SARS caught China unawares. But the ensuing struggle to characterize and contain the virus has put the country’s work on infectious diseases back on target.
Hormone in the hot seat Nature Medicine, January 2006
Three years after scientists declared estrogen harmful to the heart, some say the hormone was unfairly maligned. Apoorva Mandavilli finds out why it’s time to reopen the debate.
The music of the night NYU Physician, Winter 2008-2009
To cure sleep apnea, an ancient instrument may be best medicine of all.
Screen savers Nature Medicine, October 2005
US states are moving to screen newborns for 29 rare diseases. But are they serving the best interests of their citizens?
The coming epidemic Nature, July 2005
A staggering 5.1 million people are estimated to be HIV positive in India. Apoorva Mandavilli finds a country on the brink of a crisis.
One for the money Nature Medicine, June 2005
The US National Institutes of Health is set to pour up to $315 million more into HIV vaccine research over the next seven years. So why is the scientific community so angry?
Mood swings Nature Medicine, October 2004
As antidepressants come under scrutiny for their suspected link to suicide, skeptics question how safe and effective the ‘miracle drugs’ really are. But as Apoorva Mandavilli discovers, the prospects for a better alternative are downright depressing.
Nicotine fix Nature Medicine, July 2004
Could the long-standing villain in tobacco yet prove a hero in medicine? Mounting evidence suggests that nicotine can help in certain diseases—but researchers are wary of giving cigarettes a good name.
Asia’s big problem Nature Medicine, April 2004
All the world loves to mock obese Americans, but weightier issues lurk in Asia, where diabetes and heart disease run rampant. The first hurdle may be a Western measure that is blind to the expanding fat in Asians’ deceptively thin bodies.
Natural-born killers Nature Medicine, June 2003
Herbal supplements such as ephedra and kava kava have increasingly been linked to serious illness and death. So why are they still being sold?
ArtMedicine: Science diagnoses art Medscape, February 2001
Art historians have suggested that the breast in Michelangelo’s sculpture Night is malformed because he was unfamiliar with female anatomy, or that it is the result of a sculpting error. A scientist argues that the reason is breast cancer.