Memory Thief

The FDA just approved a new drug to treat Alzheimer’s. But how well the drug actually works to slow cognitive decline and memory loss in Alzheimer’s patients is still unclear. Science journalist Lauren Aguirre's new book, “The Memory Thief: And the Secrets Behind How We Remember,” explains why treatment for memory loss conditions like Alzheimer’s has been so hard to come by. She tells it like a detective story centered on a small cluster of patients who showed up in emergency rooms over the last several years with absolutely no short-term memory.