Richard Knox
Since he joined NPR in 2000, Knox has covered a broad range of issues and events in public health, medicine, and science. His reports can be heard on NPR's Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Weekend Edition, Talk of the Nation, and newscasts.
Among other things, Knox's NPR reports have examined the impact of HIV/AIDS in Africa, North America, and the Caribbean; anthrax terrorism; smallpox and other bioterrorism preparedness issues; the rising cost of medical care; early detection of lung cancer; community caregiving; music and the brain; and the SARS epidemic.
Before joining NPR, Knox covered medicine and health for The Boston Globe. His award-winning 1995 articles on medical errors are considered landmarks in the national movement to prevent medical mistakes. Knox is a graduate of the University of Illinois and Columbia University. He has held yearlong fellowships at Stanford and Harvard Universities, and is the author of a 1993 book on Germany's health care system.
He and his wife Jean, an editor, live in Boston. They have two daughters.
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A study in South Africa finds that an experimental vaccine against TB didn't help protect infants very much against either infection with TB or development of disease. The results were a setback, but researchers say the field remains promising. -
A new strain of the common intestinal bug called norovirus has been spreading misery across the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the new virus, which popped up in Australia last spring, caused 19 percent of U.S. norovirus outbreaks in September — and nearly 60 percent of December's outbreaks. The highly-contagious virus causes severe vomiting and diarrhea. Most people recover in a few days, but it can be very dangerous for some.
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One new analysis finds female smokers are more than 26 times more likely to die of lung cancer than nonsmoking women — twice the rate calculated 30 years ago. New data also quantify the surprising payoffs of smoking cessation — especially under the age of 40. -
A study of a new drug therapy for pancreatic cancer finds it works better than the standard approach. While the improvement is modest for the typical patient, some people who received the treatment lived a year or two longer than those receiving conventional therapy. -
The Food and Drug Administration just approved a flu vaccine made by cells taken from the fall armyworm, an agricultural pest. The cells produce copies of a piece of the flu virus's outer coat that primes the immune system. Conventional vaccines use the whole virus and take longer to produce. -
Influenza is especially intense this year, and people are flooding into hospitals and doctors' offices. But the flu is just one of a triple whammy of respiratory viruses — plus the nasty norovirus — that are making lots of people sick. -
Two out of three Americans living with hepatitis C infection are baby boomers, and many will never know the source of their infection. Drugs to treat the disease have many side effects, but dozens of new ones are in the pipeline. -
On the third anniversary of Haiti's devastating earthquake, the country is laying plans to rid itself of the cholera epidemic that followed in its wake. Most scientists now think Nepalese soldiers unwittingly spread the pathogen in Haiti when they joined a United Nations peacekeeping force. -
Americans are sicker and die sooner than their counterparts in comparable nations. No single cause can account for the difference, but improving medical care will only help so much, as disparities can be traced to dietary choices, drugs and alcohol, guns, and even cars. -
The 2012 mammography debate was a continuation of a controversy touched off three years ago when a government task force said women under 50 don't need regular mammograms. And one recent analysis found that regular screenings haven't reduced the rate of advanced breast cancers.
