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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Drug shortages may be the new normal in U.S. medical care, experts say. Most drug shortages occur because something goes wrong in the manufacturing process that halts production. -
It's no surprise that placebos -- fake pills that contain no active ingredient -- often work to relieve symptoms. Doctors think placebos work because patients think they might be getting an active drug but there's an element of deception. But now Harvard researchers show that even when volunteers with severe bowel disease know they're getting a placebo, 59 percent had relief from symptoms. Call it an "honest placebo."
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Use of CT scans in the U.S. has more than tripled in less than two decades. Despite the medical benefits, these scans emit a significant amount of radiation. A new study estimates that 29,000 future cancers could be related to CT scans performed in the U.S. in 2007.
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Use of CT scans in the U.S. has more than tripled in less than two decades. Despite the medical benefits, these scans emit a significant amount of radiation. A new study estimates that 29,000 future cancers could be related to CT scans performed in the U.S. in 2007.
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As health care becomes more and more complicated, some people are turning to patient advocates to help them get through the system. Advocates help coordinate care, accompany patients to doctors' appointments and help negotiate the increasingly complex world of medicine. -
Nearly every German has ready access to doctors, cheap drugs, high-tech medicine, dental care, nursing homes and home care. All this — and Germany spends half what the United States does per person.
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Sen. Edward Kennedy is recovering from brain surgery at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina. Doctors removed part of a malignant brain tumor Monday after the Massachusetts lawmaker was diagnosed two weeks ago. His surgeon has called the procedure a success.
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Doctors at Duke University Medical Center say they're satisfied with the results of three hours of brain surgery on Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who has a dangerous, malignant brain tumor. What was involved in the operation?
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Ted Kennedy has been diagnosed with malignant brain cancer. In his eighth full term, he is the third longest serving senator in U.S. history. Many of his fellow lawmakers — both Democrat and Republican — are offering prayers and support for the 76-year-old.
