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Immunotherapy has transformed cancer treatment. It tinkeres with the immune system to attack malignant tumors that have evaded the body's natural defenses. This advancement offers an alternative to treating cancer with surgery or chemotherapy and radiation, which can attack healthy tissue and cause extreme side effects.The treatment is not only scientifically complex but also expensive. The investment of time and money makes sense when it comes to saving humans. But what about when it comes to dogs?Dr. Hans Klingemann has worked and researched cancer immunotherapy for decades, leading departments at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and Tufts Medical Center in Boston. Now he is the chief scientific officer of cellular products at ImmunityBio, which develops immunotherapy d...

Benjamin Netanyahu said the intense phase of Israel's war against Hamas "is coming to an end."

Apple, Microsoft and Google are heralding a new era of what they describe as artificially intelligent smartphones and computers. The devices, they say, will automate tasks such as editing photos and wishing a friend a happy birthday.But for this to work, these companies need something from you: more data.In this new paradigm, your Windows computer will take a screenshot of everything you do every few seconds. An iPhone will combine information from many apps you use. And an Android phone can listen to a call in real time to alert you to a scam.Is this information you are willing to share?This change has significant implications for our privacy. To provide new tailored services, companies and their devices need more persistent and intimate access to our data than before. In the past, t...

The deaths of more than a thousand pilgrims in Saudi Arabia for the hajj has shone a spotlight on an underworld of illicit tour operators, smugglers and scammers who profit from Muslims desperate to fulfill their religious duty to travel to Mecca.While registered pilgrims are shuttled around shrines in air-conditioned buses and rest in air-conditioned tents, undocumented ones are often exposed to the elements, making them more vulnerable to extreme heat. Some pilgrims this year described seeing people fainting and passing bodies in the street as temperatures reached 120 degrees or more.In an interview on state television on Sunday, Saudi Health Minister Fahd al-Jalajel said 83% of the more than 1,300 deaths occurred among pilgrims who did not have official permission.“The rising temperatu...

Pharmacy benefit managers are driving up drug costs for millions of people, employers and the government. New York Times pharmaceutical reporter Rebecca Robbins explains how.

Tens of thousands of meteorites have been found on Earth, but the vast majority remain shrouded in mystery. These rocks obviously come from space, but pinpointing their exact origin, in the solar system or beyond, is difficult without knowing their flight paths.But researchers now believe they have linked a meteorite discovered in the Austrian Alps decades ago with bright flashes of light from a space rock hurtling through our planet's atmosphere. It's rare to link a meteorite with its parent "fireball," and these findings demonstrate the utility of comparing old data sets, the research team suggests. Their findings were published in the journal Meteoritics & Planetary Science in May.In 1976, Josef Pfefferle, a forest ranger, was clearing the remains of an avalanche near the Aus...

Heather Massey took Ladybird to the vet when the 9-year-old mutt he began to have convulsions. A scan from an MRI machine revealed some bad news: brain cancer.Given the poor prognosis, Ms. Massey decided not to undergo further treatment at the animal hospital near her home in Athens, Georgia, and Ladybird died four months later. Her MRI scan and related care had cost nearly $2,000, which Ms. Massey had put on a special credit card that she had learned about during an earlier veterinary visit.This was in 2018. He is still paying off the debt, with over 30% interest.“Could I afford to do this? Not really,” said Ms. Massey, 52, who is disabled and doesn't work. “Was it worth it for me? YES."Ms. Massey's experience illustrates the new, expensive realities of owning a pet. For dec...

The southern Israeli town of Netivot, a working-class center for mystical rabbis about 10 miles from the Gaza border, escaped the worst of the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack, a stroke of luck that many residents attribute to miraculous intervention of the Jewish sages buried here.However, many here appear to show little concern for the suffering of Palestinian civilians – practically neighbors – across the Gaza fence.Michael Zigdon, who runs a small food shack in the dilapidated Netivot market and had employed two Gazan men until the attack, expressed little sympathy for Gazans, who have endured a ferocious Israeli military attack for the past eight months.“Who wants this war and who doesn't?” Mr. Zigdon said, as he wiped up red food coloring that had spilled from a crushed ice drink dispens...

If you've ever had trouble getting a prescription drug, chances are you've come across a pharmacy benefits manager.These companies, known as PBMs, play a crucial but often hidden role in deciding which drugs you can get and how much you will personally pay. They are middlemen in America's maddeningly complex healthcare system, working on behalf of employers or government insurance programs like Medicare, which covers most prescription drug costs.The PBM's job is to save money on drugs. But the New York Times found that the three largest PBMs often overcharge you.Here's what to know about your PBM and how to find out if you're being overcharged.How do I know which PBM I have?Most Americans rely on one of the big three PBMs: CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, or Optum R...

When news broke that Pope Francis had used an offensive anti-gay slur while speaking to Italian bishops at a conference last month, many Catholics were shocked and dismayed. How could a pope known for his openness and acceptance of LGBTQ people use homophobic jargon and warn prelates against allowing gay men into seminaries?But the question, and the apparent inconsistency in Francis' message, reflect the profound contradictions and tensions that underlie the Roman Catholic Church's and Francis' relationship with homosexuality.The Church maintains that “homosexual tendencies” are “intrinsically disordered.” When it comes to ordination, church guidelines state that people with "deep-rooted" gay tendencies should not become priests.Yet ordination has also long been a kind of ref...