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Scientists Race to Test Treatments as Ebola Outbreak Widens

Trials are beginning on several drugs that have shown promise in preliminary studies against the virus that is causing the current outbreak.

© Arlette Bashizi for The New York Times

A health worker in the town of Mongbwalu, Democratic Republic of Congo, collecting medication for patients suspected of having Bundibugyo virus last month.
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Autistic children injected with unapproved stem cell treatments supported by RFK Jr

Desperate US parents pay up to $20,000 a session for a procedure scientists say could be bogus

Autistic children as young as 18 months old are being injected with human stem cells derived from umbilical cords in unapproved, unproven and potentially harmful “treatments” that scientists warn are proliferating across the US under the active encouragement of the US health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr.

Clinics in Florida, Texas and other states are selling what they bill as “regenerative medicine” to families with autistic children who have intensive care needs. Parents who have taken their children through the process talked to the Guardian about their hopes and fears for a therapy that appears to be gaining ground in the US.

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© Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images/Alamy

© Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images/Alamy

© Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images/Alamy

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Lupus patients in England in remission after pioneering NHS trial of GM therapy

Doctors say therapy that genetically modifies person’s T-cells could offer cure for chronic autoimmune disease

Five lupus patients in England are in remission after being treated with a revolutionary therapy that genetically modifies their own cells, in a medical breakthrough that could offer people a cure, doctors have said.

CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) T-cell therapy involves removing a type of white blood cell also called T lymphocytes, which are crucial for hunting out infected or damaged cells, and engineering them to spot and destroy disease. The T-cells are then fed back into the patient via an infusion to reset their immune system.

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© Photograph: Lucy North/PA

© Photograph: Lucy North/PA

© Photograph: Lucy North/PA

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World Cup players challenged by dangerously hot weather

The World Cup kicked off on Thursday as South Africa squared off against Mexico, one of this year's host countries. Several American cities hosting these opening matches will be sweltering this weekend, making stadiums feel more like a sauna than a playing field. Climate Central's Ben Tracy shows us how extreme heat is changing the game in our warming world. It's for our series, Tipping Point.

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