Late-Stage Clinical Trial Show New Alzheimer’s Drug Slows Down Cognitive Decline

We got some very good news from a late-stage clinical trial for a drug that slowed down the progression of Alzheimer’s.  Biogen and Eisai’s drug slowed down the cognitive decline in participants by 27% compared to those that received placebos.  The drug does not restore mental capacity or totally stop it, but works by clearing out the buildup of amyloid, a toxic protein that affects the brain.  Robert Langreth, science and health reporter at Bloomberg News, joins us for what to know.

Next, the big space news from Monday was NASA’s successful DART mission, the first planetary defense test.  For this test NASA flew an unmanned spacecraft right into a asteroid to test if the impact could disrupt its orbit.  It will still take some weeks for more complete data, but for now, it worked and made for some very compelling video as it made impact.  Miriam Kramer, space reporter at Axios, joins us for more.

Finally, when Covid-19 vaccines were first rolled out, many women were complaining about a strange side effect.  They said it was messing with their menstrual cycles.  Turns out, it was true.  In a study of nearly 20,000 people and with data from a popular period-tracking app, researchers found out that on average vaccinated women experienced a one-day delay in getting their periods, but it was only temporary.  Amanda Morris, disability reporter at The Washington Post, joins us for what the research says.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.