It’s easy to forget that we live in an age of medical wonders. Cancer tumors can be slowed or shrunk in ways previous generations couldn’t imagine, with everything from pills to genetically engineered white blood cells. Surgeons can transplant a face, or replace a heart valve without cracking a chest. These are outcomes that would not have been possible 20 years ago.
So what changed this year?
Below is an attempt to recognize new advances that were unveiled in 2024 and that will be remembered in the future as having changed the way medicine is practiced — as well as the way people live. I gave preference to advances that are well-proven and are becoming available to people now, not basic research or proof-of-concept efforts. My expertise? I’m a reporter who has been watching medical innovation for two decades.
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