In this occasional series of radio stories, NPR Health Correspondent Rob Stein explores how new technology is changing medicine, and in some cases raising troubling questions. Each piece describes how cutting-edge advances in science are leading to new ways to treat in disease. Each takes listeners on a fascinating, often very intimate journey into labs, operating rooms, and, in one case, a home where these advances are unfolding. One story describes how doctors used 3D printing to save the life of a baby who couldn’t breathe. Another chronicles how a father, who happens to be a biomedical engineer, is trying to develop a “bionic pancreas” to save the life of his diabetic son, and help other people struggling with the disease. The third piece reveals how human embryonic stem cells are helping blind people see. The final story explores how scientists want to do “DNA transplants” to help women have healthy babies. Together, this compelling set of stories illuminates where the leading edge of biomedical research is taking us.
