Make a Pie This Weekend

Happy Friday! It’s still Melissa Clark here. And Sam Sifton is still away, I hope eating his weight in lobster and corn. Me, I’m acclimating to the workweek after my Greek vacation. But I am very glad it’s coming to a close so I can get ready for a long Labor Day weekend’s worth of…

Life-Changing Drugs Almost Nobody Can Afford

Episode 11: ‘The Six Million Dollar Claim’ Producer/Director Suzanne Hillinger Patients suffering from rare diseases who had little hope for a treatment now have access to life-changing medicines, thanks to pharmaceutical companies’ investment in so-called orphan drugs, which treat diseases that affect fewer than 200,000 people. But the increasing number of people who would benefit…

Surfing With a Disability

Dylan Hronec has been in a wheelchair since he was 2 years old. Surfing is his favorite activity. “When you’re surfing you don’t really think about anything else — it’s the closest thing to an out of body experience,” said Mr. Hronec, 27, who has cerebral palsy and uses a special surf board retrofitted with…

Hospitals Should Replace Infection-Prone Scopes With Safer Models, F.D.A. Says

Companies that make reusable, snakelike cameras to examine patients internally should begin making disposable versions, because the current models cannot be properly sterilized and have spread infections from one patient to another, the Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday. In the meantime, hospitals that use the instruments, called duodenoscopes, should start to transition to…