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In a study carried out over the summer, a group of volunteers drank a white, peppermint-ish concoction laced with billions of bacteria. The microbes had been engineered to break down a naturally occurring toxin in the blood. The vast majority of us can do this without any help. But for those who cannot, these microbes may someday become a living medicine. (Zimmer, 9/4)

Some experts have suggested that e-cigarettes can help wean people off regular cigarettes; others believe that they reinforce the smoking habit and increase the user’s exposure to nicotine. But there’s no dispute that e-cigarettes have grown popular since their introduction in 2004. Now a nationwide survey has found that 10.8 million adults in the United States are vaping. (Bakalar, 8/31)

Back in 2006, state officials and providers in California were alarmed by the rising maternal mortality rates being reported nationally. The problem was California didn't have the data to understand how the issue was playing out in its own state. There was no uniform system tracking maternal mortality. So, with grant funding, the state formed a review committee called the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative that has played a critical role in state efforts to reduce maternal mortality. (Castellucci, 9/1)

The first clinical trial of CRISPR-Cas9 sponsored by U.S. companies has launched, testing the genome-editing technique in patients with the blood disorder beta thalassemia, according to an announcement posted Friday on the U.S. clinical trials website. The Phase 1/2 clinical trial, co-sponsored by Vertex Pharmaceuticals and using an experimental treatment from CRISPR Therapeutics, will be conducted at a single hospital in Regensburg, Germany, and aims to recruit up to 12 adults with the inherited disease. (Begley, 8/31)

It's coal people like miner Steve Knotts, 62, who make West Virginia Trump Country. So it was no surprise that President Donald Trump picked the state to announce his plan rolling back Obama-era pollution controls on coal-fired power plants. (Knickmeyer and Raby, 9/4)

Myles Schneider, 74, a semiretired podiatrist who lives in Reston, stretches for 60 minutes, six times a week. Schneider, who also walks briskly for 45 minutes twice weekly and runs three times a week for 45 minutes in the deep end of a pool, spends more time stretching than he does in actual exercise. An hour of slow stretching may seem excessive, but it works for Schneider. (Cimons, 9/1)

The online vitamin and supplement marketplace is fierce, star-studded and murky. The Kardashians endorse gummies they say promote hair health. Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop website pushes pills and liquids in the name of holistic wellness. Even the conspiracy website Infowars is partly funded through the sale of potions and powders. (Maheshwari, 9/2)

This fall, thousands of students like [Jacob] Nangle will begin their college education at New England’s many undergraduate institutions, making a major transition while dealing with a chronic disease that can seem invisible to the rest of the world. Universities in recent years have made adjustments to better accommodate these students, but their struggles persist largely under the radar. (Capelouto, 9/3)

Empathy is said to be found by walking a mile in someone else’s shoes. But what if you could walk a mile in a stranger’s body instead? You might learn to appreciate the different curves of their skin, the scars, moles and features that make their body unique. You’d recognize their idiosyncrasies, too: asymmetrical features, body parts shaped by genetic conditions and life experiences. (Blakemore, 9/2)

Randy Brooks' son had a request three years ago: What could his dad do to make wildland firefighting safer? To Brooks, a professor at the University of Idaho's College of Natural Resources who deals with wildland firefighting, it was more of a command. His son, Bo Brooks, is a wildland firefighter who a few days earlier during that 2015 fire season fled a wall of flames that killed three of his fellow firefighters in eastern Washington. (Ridler, 9/1)

If taking leave from work is your main barrier to donating a kidney or part of your liver, there's good news from the U.S. Department of Labor this week. The department issued a new opinion letter Tuesday that states a healthy organ donor can use medical leave, as it's laid out in the Family and Medical Leave Act. (Hertel, 8/31)

Claire Wineland spent nearly every hour of her two decades alive preparing for the end. The California native was diagnosed at birth with cystic fibrosis, a genetic condition that overloads the organs with an excess of mucus. The illness meant a life of painful treatment, hospital stays, and likely a premature death. But instead of wallowing in her situation, Wineland used social media platforms, like Instagram and YouTube, to pipe out the difficult details of her life to the public. Her videos and posts pulled in millions of viewers drawn to the magnetic teenager’s plucky humor and candor about living on the edge of death. (Swenson, 9/4)