When 32-year-old Californian Brittany Maynard ended her life on Nov. 1 in Oregon under that state’s Death with Dignity laws, she gave the aid-in-dying movement new momentum across the country. California’s Senate Bill 128, recently approved by the California Senate Health Committee is modeled on the Oregon law.

According to Dr. Charles DeCarli, director of UC Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Center, finding the catalyst (or catalysts) could help researchers determine ways to stop Alzheimer’s disease before it even starts. “One of the things we’re pretty sure of right now is that the earlier we intervene, the more likely we are to prevent dementia,” he says.

The impacts of Alzheimer’s disease are taxing, both emotionally and economically, as shown in these stats from the Alzheimer’s Association’s 2014 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures.

The person who finds the cure for HIV will have their name etched in medical history. It’s a hard pill to swallow for one man who has spent 40 years chasing a cure. A cure for HIV, built upon decades of his work, could very well be proven this year. Yet Dr. Gerhard Bauer’s name may be little more than a footnote in the arcane medical journal that publishes the breakthrough.

This is the story of curing HIV. 

With SynGen, co-founder Philip Coelho hopes to play a critical role in this breakthrough by supplying tools that harvest stem cells and immune cells from umbilical cord blood, bone marrow and other sources. 

Momentum is shifting in the Capital Region, and young professionals are leading the charge. General skepticism is being replaced with emerging optimism and a renewed energy that’s providing the catalyst for growth and innovation across our cities.  Here are the top ten young leaders we think you should be watching. They are driving the Capital Region’s evolution, and we anticipate you’ll see them at the forefront in 2015 and decades to come.

The invasion has begun. Don’t look surprised. This moment has been a long-time coming, with research groups prophesying 2015 as the launching point of the wearable technology takeover. 

How likely are you to crowdsource a diagnosis for a mysterious medical condition? 

Sometimes quantity is better than quality. That’s the thinking behind CrowdMed, a website that allows an online community of medical professionals, patients, and laypeople to solve cases for patients with undiagnosed medical conditions.

The American Red Cross recognizes January as National Blood Donor Month. Here’s an infographic on what we have — and what we need.