Jasmine Laws

Photo by Cup of Couple on Pexels

About Me

I'm a journalist specialising in health and medical news, though I have covered a wide range of stories over the years. An article I wrote about the issue of human trafficking in the U.K. was nominated for Best News Piece at the Anti-Slavery Day awards in Parliament in 2023. 

I've also started writing books as well. An unpublished memoir I wrote about my experience and research of long Covid won The Letter Review's Unpublished Books Prize in 2025, and I was invited to speak about the book on The Long Covid Podcast. I am currently working on a literary fiction. 

My Latest Work

Newsweek •

Scientists developing male birth control pill to take 30 minutes before sex

Male contraception could be on its way after an experimental drug that may temporarily stop sperm in its tracks in just 30 minutes has been given the go ahead for further clinical investigation.

Experts at Weill Cornell Medicine have received a multimillion dollar grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to test a pill they developed that would provide men with a six to eight hour window of protection from initiating a pregnancy. After that window, fertili...
Newsweek •

1 in 8 Cancer Cases Worldwide Linked to Infections, Study Finds

One in eight of the cancer cases worldwide in 2024 are believed to have been caused by infections, a new study by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) found.

This equates to 2.3 million (or 12 percent) of the new cancer cases that year, with five infections causing a considerable proportion of those cases. The researchers at the IARC therefore said that the findings suggest a "significant proportion of the global cancer burden is preventable through better infection control."...
Newsweek •

Their Son Died. Months Later, Woman, 54, Has Baby From 22-Year-Old Embryo

A couple from Greece made headlines across the globe after they welcomed a healthy baby girl from the same batch of embryos they'd frozen 22 years earlier to have their son, who recently passed away.

At 54 years old, Christina Rapti-Tzelepi gave birth to her daughter earlier this month following in vitro fertilization (IVF) in December 2025 at Genesis Athens Clinic using embryos that were frozen on March 17, 2004.

Christina and her husband Konstantinos decided to have another child after they...
Newsweek •

I'm an expert in dementia and ALS. Then it hit my family

Growing up in Bellville, a small town in central Texas, I didn't know any psychologists or certainly any neuropsychologists, who treated conditions including dementia. The field was just something I fell into. During my first master’s degree, I needed a job and started working as a psychometrist, someone trained to administer neuropsychological tests. It turned out to be a good fit.

It just so happened I also trained as a extern at the University of California, San Francisco, and the Memory and...
Newsweek •

Smokers have lower Parkinson's risk. Scientists may know why

In recent years, research has indicated that rates of Parkinson's disease are lower among cigarette smokers and tobacco users than the general population. Now, a new study could have uncovered one reason why that might be the case.

Several large studies have found a consistent inverse relationship between cigarette smoking and the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease—meaning that the more a person smokes, the less likely they are to develop Parkinson's disease.

One of these studies included...
Newsweek •

Older Americans have dementia without knowing—experts reveal signs to watch

A recent study indicated that older Americans may either have dementia diagnoses without knowing or may not self-report having a diagnosis, and experts have called for more work to be done to improve early detection.

Researchers at Yale University found that 67 percent of older Americans underreported having a dementia diagnosis, which was more than double the rate for other conditions within the same sample group, such as arthritis (17 percent underreported having the condition), diabetes (39...
Newsweek •

Ozempic-style drugs may carry mental health risks

Drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have been celebrated as a medical miracle for helping users shed pounds. But as they also influence key parts of the brain, experts warn they could pose risks for some patients.

These drugs, also known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, work by quietening what some researchers call "food noise"—persistent thoughts about eating—while also mimicking a hormone that promotes fullness and slows digestion. That means they directly affect brain systems linked to reward, impulse...
Newsweek •

New cancer risk tool that flags patients early seeks FDA approval

A new tool that identifies early cancer risk in patients is currently under review with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the company that developed the device informed Newsweek, and they hope to have the tool rolled out to Americans next year.

C the Signs is a medical device that helps clinicians analyze patient medical records to determine whether they are at risk of developing cancer without them needed to do any additional tests or imaging. The aim is to refer patients at risk of canc...
Newsweek •

What is 7-OH? Experts warn of emerging opioid threat

Federal regulators and addiction experts are warning about an emerging drug threat linked to concentrated 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH), a kratom-derived compound that some researchers say may be significantly more potent than morphine.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned last year that products containing 7-OH—including tablets, gummies, drink mixes and shots—are being sold online and in smoke shops and gas stations across the United States. In some cases, regulators say the products c...
Newsweek •

Why Black and Latina women face higher medical bills

Black and Latina women in the U.S. face higher rates of medical misdiagnosis, and the financial consequences can be severe, according to advocates and patients who say errors in care often lead to spiraling medical debt.

Jared Walker, founder of Dollar For, a non-profit organization aimed at helping patients terminate their medical debt, told Newsweek that Black and Latina women are "disproportionately" impacted by a healthcare system that's "broken,” adding there are longstanding racial and ec...
Newsweek •

Medical misdiagnosis costs billions—women often pay more

Medical misdiagnosis costs hundreds of billions of dollars each year in the U.S., a financial burden that quietly drains household finances—especially for women, who are more likely to face years of repeat appointments, tests, and prescriptions before getting the right answer. For many, this means hundreds or thousands of dollars in extra bills each year, often for care that doesn’t resolve their symptoms.

The average American family spends around 11 percent of their household income on healthc...
Newsweek •

Hospitals are deploying AI chatbots. Doctors are divided

Healthcare systems across the U.S. are launching new artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots to help patients ask medical questions and access appointments faster amid growing demand for quick health guidance, even as doctors remain divided over the roll‑out.

Some see the positives of patients having access to clinically-focused AI platforms to ask questions, while others caution that strict standards must be maintained to limit potential risks.

Hartford HealthCare recently launched its Patient...
Newsweek •

Popular weight‑loss drugs may pose risks for some patients

As GLP‑1 weight‑loss drugs move into the medical mainstream, experts say they may pose under‑recognized risks for some patients with complex chronic conditions—underscoring the need for careful screening and close medical supervision.

GLP-1s like Ozempic and Wegovy have become increasingly popular, with one in eight Americans using them as of March 2026, according to data from Statista. Their rise has coincided with a decline in U.S. obesity rates, though experts caution multiple factors are at...
Newsweek •

America has a helium problem

The war in Iran has helped drive a global energy shock, sending oil and gas prices higher and disrupting fuel markets–developments that are now adding fresh strain to an already fragile global helium supply.

Helium suppliers have begun warning customers of supply disruptions, according to industry letters and analysts. The element, a byproduct of natural gas processing, is essential for MRI machines, scientific research and semiconductor manufacturing.

“Over the past decade, helium has become...
Newsweek •

Bottled water prices set to soar

Conflict in the Middle East is rippling through the oil industry and into consumer goods, with analysts warning bottled water prices could rise in the coming months.

The United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iran on February 28, after which Iran imposed restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit route that typically carries about 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas. The disruption has pushed Brent crude oil prices up by...
Newsweek •

Republican resistance grows to RFK Jr.’s MAHA agenda

Senate Republicans who voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary now appear to be showing buyer’s remorse, raising objections to health nominees tied to his orbit amid growing unease over Kennedy's approach to federal health policy.

President Donald Trump's pick for surgeon general, Casey Means, has yet to gain enough votes for confirmation in the Senate, amid bipartisan resistance as lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle press Means on her views on vaccines. While the...
Newsweek •

Moms stage "funeral" outside FDA in drug protest

More than 100 mothers and advocates affected by a type of rare disease gathered outside the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday to stage a funeral to "mourn the futures" of their children, following the agency's rejections of various rare disease treatments.

The community, affected by a group of rare metabolic disorders known as mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS), dressed in black, held signs and carried a coffin outside the FDA's headquarters in a peaceful protest, demanding that treatmen...
Newsweek •

Mothers "terrified" as children could lose treatments after FDA denials

Mothers from across the country have spoken to Newsweek about their concern for their children after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been rejecting various treatments for rare diseases that can be life-threatening.

One mother said she was "terrified" of losing access, as a result of an FDA rejection, to the drug her daughter relies on, while other mothers also said they were worried about how much longer they have left with their children.

The mother of a 15-year-old boy with Hunter...
Newsweek •

Dunkin’ might be RFK Jr.'s most difficult battle yet

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has taken on powerful food industry targets before, but his public challenge to Dunkin’ and Starbucks over high‑sugar drinks has sparked a sharper political and cultural backlash than many of his earlier health initiatives.

The health and human services (HHS) secretary has faced relatively limited resistance while pushing to phase out synthetic food dyes, promote beef tallow over seed oils, and reframe federal dietary guidelines under his “Make America Healthy Again” agend...
The Human Perspective •

Can art get you where you need to go? — The Human Perspective

He explained that he chose cartoons as a subject matter to represent ‘the total opposite’ of the trauma he went through. While the underlying message of his work is ‘quite dark,’ the outcome of the pieces is ‘always a fun image’, one that his loved ones can access and engage with. Although his paintings might have pops of only one or two colours, the colours present a contrast from that darkness he previously experienced. For Ed, the process of creating is meditative, which outweighs the outcome...
The Human Perspective •

Box fresh, blood stained — The Human Perspective

The number of migrants and refugees arriving has been increasing. In 2023, 157,651 people from 62 different nationalities came to Italy by sea – a 50% increase on 2022. Given that, in 2023, economic migrants made up 27% of the total Italian workforce (370,000 people), it is likely that the opportunity to find labour is a significant pull factor to the country. A substantial proportion of this migrant workforce find a home in Italy’s agricultural sector, which reportedly employed 200,000 non-nati...
The Human Perspective •

Box fresh, blood stained — The Human Perspective

The number of migrants and refugees arriving has been increasing. In 2023, 157,651 people from 62 different nationalities came to Italy by sea – a 50% increase on 2022. Given that, in 2023, economic migrants made up 27% of the total Italian workforce (370,000 people), it is likely that the opportunity to find labour is a significant pull factor to the country. A substantial proportion of this migrant workforce find a home in Italy’s agricultural sector, which reportedly employed 200,000 non-nati...
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