Stories by Carrie Arnold

Here’s how newfound “spicy” birds resist their potent neurotoxin

The placenta’s invasion of the uterus holds clues to cancer resistance

New studies reveal the complex world of bacterial epigenetics

Scientists found health effects in grandchildren of women exposed to the pesticide

Delirium is very common on COVID wards. Researchers are testing whether these temporary bouts of confusion could bring on permanent cognitive decline

Treatments that reduce suffering and incorporate patient values aren’t common in kidney disease care. That’s changing

Demand for healthy kidneys has long outstripped supply. But better testing and treatment are expanding the donor pool

Minority patients are diagnosed later, stay on dialysis longer and are added to transplant lists less quickly. Why?

Joint ventures between nephrologists and dialysis centers have expanded treatment. Critics ask: At what cost?

Kidney disease affects millions of Americans, but corporate capture of dialysis, along with disparities in treatment and transplant access, mean that not everyone's journey is the same.

On this Science Talk podcast, we speak with Carrie Arnold, lead reporter in an ambitious, year-long reporting project into the current state of chronic kidney disease treatment in the U.S., from diagnosis to dialysis, and from maintenance treatment to transplant (for those who are lucky).

You can read the first part in the series here.

It's a story of technological and procedural advance, but also one that has seen just two large, for-profit enterprises come to dominate the market for dialysis delivery. It's a story of expanding access, but also one still marked by racial and ethnic disparities. And it's a tale of medical innovation and adaptation, but also one beset by conflicts of interest and an inability to adapt to holistic modes of care that other disease specialities, from cardiology to oncology, have long ago embraced. 

For the 37 million Americans navigating the corridors of kidney disease, these are likely familiar issues. But for the third of Americans at risk for renal disease — and for anyone who cares about how the nation's health care dollars are spent — this five-part collaboration between Undark Magazine and Scientific American pulls back the curtain and provides an unflinching look at what's working, and what's not. 

A new California law aims to curb what sponsors say is profiteering by dialysis centers. But are there any easy answers?

In Key Largo, Fla., conservationists and feline lovers figure out how to get along 

The brainless marine creatures are the simplest organisms known to seek slumber

With algorithms in hand, scientists try to make U.S. elections more representative

New dates push the age back millions of years, creating a mystery about ice ages and animal migrations—if scientists are right

This viral group appeared hundreds of millions of years earlier than previously thought

From the Chickasaw Nation to Congo, tribes try new tech to keep their ancient tongues alive 

A virus that influences the development of the placenta in mammals could also help to explain male animals’ physique

Snakes kill tens of thousands of people each year, but experts can’t agree on dealing with an antivenom shortage

Lab-made antibodies could produce high-volume, high-quality snakebite treatments 

Only a few genetic changes were enough to turn an ordinary stomach bug into the bacteria responsible for the plague

Viruses exist as “mutant clouds” of closely related individuals, an insight that is helping researchers predict where disease is likely to spread

Vaccines against cocaine, heroin and other substances may one day help addicts stay clean

It’s dangerous. Really