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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A cholera outbreak in Mexico has been traced to the same strain that first appeared in Haiti three years ago. It has appeared in the Dominican Republic and Cuba, too. So far nearly 9,000 people have died in the four countries, and health authorities think it will spread farther in the Americas. -
The majority of new HIV infections among gay men in the U.S. these days occur within committed couples. So researchers are piloting a strategy that's been successful in Africa. Gay couples in several cities have tried it and say the benefits are unexpected. -
A cholera outbreak in Haiti was likely triggered by United Nations peacekeeping forces stationed there after a 2010 earthquake. A human rights groups wants the U.N. to take responsibility for the cholera outbreak and to compensate Haitian families. -
A decades-long effort to prevent one of the world's leading scourges has resulted in a vaccine with only modest efficacy. Still, the shot has the potential to save hundreds of thousands of lives each year. So its developers are seeking regulatory approval in 2014. -
Seven years ago, Massachusetts launched its own experiment with health insurance exchanges. Those involved in that experiment say it's gone smoothly, and as a result, 97 percent of the state's residents now have health coverage. Some called the program Romneycare; some still do. -
Even though influenza is one of the most common illnesses, researchers say they still have a lot to learn about it. In a recent study, dozens of volunteers agreed to be infected with the swine flu so doctors could see what happened. -
A steady increase in the number of people getting antiviral drugs has helped lower the rates of infection and death from HIV. Treatment can save a person's life. It also helps reduce the risk that infected people will pass HIV to their sexual partners and children. -
Since emerging last year in the Middle East, a mysterious virus has infected at least 132 people and killed 58. But it's still unknown how people get infected. A genetic analysis now suggests that animals may have repeatedly infected people with the deadly virus. -
As people age, caps called telomeres on the ends of their chromosomes shrink. The observation has led some scientists to argue the shortening is not only a marker of aging but a fundamental driver of it.
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Louisiana officials say they identified for the first time a dangerous form of amoeba in a municipal water supply. It was found after a 4-year-old boy died of a brain infection caused by the amoeba. They say this may make it easier to diagnose cases of encephalitis with unknown causes.
