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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As many as 5 million Americans have hepatitis C, and new drugs can cure almost all of them. But patients worry they won't get these expensive treatments in time. -
About 150 million people worldwide have hepatitis C, and all should be assessed and treated, the World Health Organization says. The cost of screening and drugs means that won't happen soon. -
Researchers have found traces of HIV virus in the cells of the first man who was cured of the infection with bone marrow transplants. It raises fresh questions about how to define a cure for HIV/AIDS. -
Scientists say a Mississippi child has been cured of HIV. The research findings, released Sunday, could help cure other HIV-infected newborns.
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New advice to reduce heart attacks and strokes could more than double the number of Americans taking cholesterol-lowering statins to 56 million. The expansion could cost as much as $7 billion a year. -
States are legalizing marijuana even though there's no clear understanding of its impact on health. The drug hasn't been subjected to the kind of rigorous medical research that would find that out. -
Scientists have apparently been wrong about where new flu viruses come from, and they've underestimated the viruses' connection to horses. The dogma is that new viruses always incubate in wild migratory birds first, then get into domestic poultry, and then jump into mammals — especially pigs and humans. -
Barbara Mancini was charged with assisting her father's suicide by providing him with a lethal dose of morphine. A judge's decision in her favor is the latest in a series of developments signaling a reluctance of courts and state legislatures to criminalize medical care that may hasten death. -
The U.S. recently approved a drug that can quickly cure hepatitis C in many patients. But its high price means the treatment is out of reach for millions of people in the developing world. Now the pill's manufacturer is talking with Indian producers to reduce the treatment cost to $2,000. But critics say the price drop won't be enough. -
Earlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration approved a class of drugs that can cure most hepatitis C infections. That's great news for the more than 3 million Americans infected. But the high cost — $84,000 per course of treatment — means some patients could miss out.
