New consumer products often arrive faster than the science needed to fully understand them. E-cigarettes are a prime example. They spread rapidly, marketed as...

For much of my life, I believed serious illness was something that either happened suddenly or was dictated by genetics — something you found out about only when symptoms forced a doctor’s visit. I thought that once something “felt wrong,” doctors would catch it and we’d react accordingly. But over the past decade, my understanding of disease and prevention has shifted dramatically. What once felt inevitable now seems detectable, understandable, and — in many cases — preventable. This evolution in perspective has been powered by advances in health data and analytics that help identify risk patterns long before traditional medical models would ever notice. If we can see health issues brewing early, we have an opportunity...

For much of my life, I believed serious illness was something that either happened suddenly or was dictated by genetics — something you found out about only when symptoms forced a doctor’s visit. I thought that once something “felt wrong,” doctors would catch it and we’d react accordingly. But over the past decade, my understanding of disease and prevention has shifted dramatically. What once felt inevitable now seems detectable, understandable, and — in many cases — preventable. This evolution in perspective has been powered by advances in health data and analytics that help identify risk patterns long before traditional medical models would ever notice. If we can see health issues brewing early, we have an opportunity...