By TRACEE M. HERBAUGH

Jewelry can sparkle like it’s invincible, but treat it roughly and even the hardest baubles may break.

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Whether it’s gemstones, metals or a family heirloom, a piece’s shine can fade and its value diminish over time if it isn’t cared for properly — a particular risk as the value of gold surges and people look to cash in on their jewelry or acquire new pieces as investments.

“Jewelry is similar to cars,” said Heather White, a jewelry designer, metalsmith and professor at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston. “Both require constant maintenance and special storage.”

Leave your earrings on the bedside table? Easy to lose. Take your ring off to wash your hands? It could slip down the drain. Toss everything into a single catch-all? You’re almost guaranteed tangles or scratches.

Know what you have

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to jewelry care, because not all pieces are made — or worn — the same. Think about where a piece sits on the body and how much surface contact it gets. A ring, for example, experiences much more daily wear than a brooch.

The care a piece requires depends on what it’s made of, where it’s worn, its age and its delicacy, among other factors.

“One of the most important things to know is what type of jewelry you have, because not all care is universal,” said Amanda Gizzi, spokesperson for Jewelers of America, a nonprofit trade association based in New York City.

When you’re buying jewelry, a reputable jeweler can offer care instructions tailored to each piece. And if you’re unsure, be sure to ask.

Even basic at-home cleaning can breathe life back into a long-loved piece. No fancy products required —just a lukewarm water bath with a drop of mild dish soap, like Dawn, which contains surfactants to break down grime. A soft, clean toothbrush can help loosen dirt. You’ll see the residue left behind in the water.

Gizzi adds that a spritz of Windex — also containing surfactants — can work, too. Avoid anything with bleach, and steer clear of abrasive cleaners. A non-abrasive toothpaste might do the trick for harder stones, but never use it on delicate gems like pearls or opals.

Silver, gold and other metals

Metal jewelry tends to be durable, but knowing the specific metal and how it’s made matters.

Sterling silver, for instance, tarnishes easily — especially if it’s not worn often or if you live in a home with a gas stove. “When a gas stove is lit, it releases trace amounts of sulfur gas,” said White. “It’s harmless to people, but over time it will tarnish silver.”

Gold can generally be worn in the shower, as long as the piece isn’t gold-plated. Plated gold involves a thin layer of gold electroplated onto another metal, and that layer can wear off with friction or exposure to soaps and chemicals.

And whatever the metal, store pieces separately. “If two pieces of metal rub against each other, it increases surface scratches,” said Emily Cobb, jewelry designer, metalsmith and instructor at Massachusetts College of Art and Design.

Diamonds, pearls and other stones

Gemstone care varies widely depending on hardness. The Mohs scale — a tool used by gemologists —measures a mineral’s resistance to scratching, from talc at 1 to diamond at 10.

Diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds are considered hard stones and fairly durable. Even so, jewelry with gemstones should have its settings inspected every few years to avoid losing a stone due to a loose prong.

Softer stones like pearls and opals require more delicate treatment. Avoid applying hairspray, perfume or lotion when wearing them. Pearls should be restrung every few years, while opals should be kept out of direct sunlight, which can alter their color.

“Body lotion and soaps can build up in a gemstone’s setting,” said Cobb. “It can get caked in and dull the shine. A simple cleaning goes a long way — and if at all possible, take off your jewelry before the shower.”

Keep watches ticking

Luxury watches require regular servicing, but make sure you know what’s covered in your warranty. Taking your watch to an uncertified technician can void it.

Also, avoid exposing watches to magnets, which can interfere with internal components and cause them to stick or stop. To clean, use a damp cloth to gently wipe the band.

Store necklaces separately

Necklaces, meanwhile, need thoughtful storage.

“Necklaces should ideally be stored separately,” said Simone Paasche, creative director at Spur Jewelry, a New York–based company that redesigns heirloom pieces.

“If they are stored individually and will remain stationary, they do not need to be stretched out,” she said. “Many jewelry boxes have little hooks, which are great.”

Layered looks — dubbed “neckmess” on social media — are popular, but when removing them, do so one at a time to avoid tangles. And always close the clasp before putting a necklace away, said Jennifer Gandia, co-owner of Greenwich St. Jewelers in New York City.

“This reduces the chance of knots or tangling with another necklace,” she said.

Need to store one on the go? A plastic zipper bag will do in a pinch. Just don’t wrap it in a tissue.

“You might forget and throw it away,” Gandia said.

A Colorado whiskey was crowned America’s best at an international spirits competition, beating out hundreds of other liquors for the title.

Talnua Distillery in Arvada was awarded the top whiskey accolade from the American Distilling Institute’s 2025 International Spirits Competition, which announced its winners on Wednesday. Its Bourbon Cask & Stave Series Whiskey was awarded the highest marks in the category, earning the title of America’s Greatest Whiskey 2025.

Competition director Eric Zandona said 290 whiskeys were entered into this year’s contest, though that number includes recipes from across the world. In all, 700 spirits were entered into the competition, which started in 2007.

Judges evaluate flights of spirits based on their overall quality and taste, assigning each one a score from 0 to 100. Spirits that score 90 points or more earn a gold medal, and judges can award a double gold if they believe the liquor is exemplary in its style (i.e. bourbon, single malt, rye, etc.). Those that earn both gold and double gold medals get considered for the “best in class” honor. Only one gets crowned the greatest among its category (i.e. vodka, gin, whiskey, agave, etc.).

Taluna’s spirit rose above all other whiskeys, across all the different styles, that were made stateside. The distillery is unique in that it uses a pot still method, similar to many Irish whiskeys. That method requires the use of a copper pot still and a distinct mash bill, which is half malted barley and half unmalted barley. The unmalted barley plays prominently in the flavor profile of Talnua’s various whiskeys, as well as its house-made gins.

The Bourbon Cask & Stave Series Whiskey, specifically, is aged in former bourbon barrels for three years along with charred oak staves, giving it bright floral, new mown hay, and vanilla bean notes, according to the distillery’s website. Patrick Miller, Talnua’s founder and master distiller, said by email that introducing the staves creates complexity in the flavor beyond what a single cask can offer.

“As a Colorado distillery rooted in tradition and driven by curiosity, it means a lot to be recognized among such respected peers. Honors like this don’t come around often, especially for smaller teams like ours, and we’re grateful,” Miller added in his statement.

Talnua also earned a gold medal for its American White Oak Cask Bottled in Bond whiskey, and a silver for its Old Saint’s Keep whiskey released in 2025. But it wasn’t the only local distiller to bring home awards.

Stranahan’s in Denver earned five medals total, including two double-gold, two gold and one silver; Pullman Distillery in Frisco brought home two bronze medals; Littleton’s Rocker Spirits collected two silvers; and Salida Distillery garnered one silver and one bronze.

St. Anthony Police are investigating after they were notified a child with a reported accidental gunshot wound to the head was brought to a hospital.

At about 6:40 p.m. Thursday, there was a 911 hang-up call in the area of the Equinox Apartments off Silver Lake Road in St. Anthony.

“Commotion could be heard in the background and the mention of the need for a hospital,” police said in a statement. “Officers arrived … within 2 minutes and were unable to locate the source of the call, any evidence of a crime, or a person in need of help.”

At 7:08 p.m., police were told about the child who’d been brought to the hospital.

Detectives interviewed two adults who were reported to be near the child when the gunshot happened. They told police it was in the Equinox Apartment parking lot inside a vehicle.

The child was admitted to the hospital. Information about the child’s age and condition weren’t immediately released.

Law enforcement gathered evidence at the hospital and the scene.

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By LAURA UNGAR

A baby born with a rare and dangerous genetic disease is growing and thriving after getting an experimental gene editing treatment made just for him.

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Researchers described the case in a new study, saying he’s among the first to be successfully treated with a custom therapy that seeks to fix a tiny but critical error in his genetic code that kills half of affected infants. Though it may be a while before similar personalized treatments are available for others, doctors hope the technology can someday help the millions left behind even as genetic medicine has advanced because their conditions are so rare.

“This is the first step towards the use of gene editing therapies to treat a wide variety of rare genetic disorders for which there are currently no definitive medical treatments,” said Dr. Kiran Musunuru, a University of Pennsylvania gene editing expert who co-authored the study published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The baby, KJ Muldoon of Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania, is one of 350 million people worldwide with rare diseases, most of which are genetic. He was diagnosed shortly after birth with severe CPS1 deficiency, estimated by some experts to affect around one in a million babies. Those infants lack an enzyme needed to help remove ammonia from the body, so it can build up in their blood and become toxic. A liver transplant is an option for some.

Knowing KJ’s odds, parents Kyle and Nicole Muldoon, both 34, worried they could lose him.

“We were, like, you know, weighing all the options, asking all the questions for either the liver transplant, which is invasive, or something that’s never been done before,” Nicole said.

“We prayed, we talked to people, we gathered information, and we eventually decided that this was the way we were going to go,” her husband added.

Within six months, the team at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine, along with their partners, created a therapy designed to correct KJ’s faulty gene. They used CRISPR, the gene editing tool that won its inventors the Nobel Prize in 2020. Instead of cutting the DNA strand like the first CRISPR approaches, doctors employed a technique that flips the mutated DNA “letter” — also known as a base — to the correct type. Known as “base editing,” it reduces the risk of unintended genetic changes.

It’s “very exciting” that the team created the therapy so quickly, said gene therapy researcher Senthil Bhoopalan at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, who wasn’t involved in the study. “This really sets the pace and the benchmark for such approaches.”

In February, KJ got his first IV infusion with the gene editing therapy, delivered through tiny fatty droplets called lipid nanoparticles that are taken up by liver cells.

While the room was abuzz with excitement that day, “he slept through the entire thing,” recalled study author Dr. Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas, a gene therapy expert at CHOP.

After follow-up doses in March and April, KJ has been able to eat more normally and has recovered well from illnesses like colds, which can strain the body and exacerbate symptoms of CPS1. The 9 ½-month old also takes less medication.

Considering his poor prognosis earlier, “any time we see even the smallest milestone that he’s meeting – like a little wave or rolling over – that’s a big moment for us,” his mother said.

Still, researchers caution that it’s only been a few months. They’ll need to watch him for years.

“We’re still very much in the early stages of understanding what this medication may have done for KJ,” Ahrens-Nicklas said. “But every day, he’s showing us signs that he’s growing and thriving.”

Researchers hope what they learn from KJ will help other rare disease patients.

Gene therapies, which can be extremely expensive to develop, generally target more common disorders in part for simple financial reasons: more patients mean potentially more sales, which can help pay the development costs and generate more profit. The first CRISPR therapy approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for example, treats sickle cell disease, a painful blood disorder affecting millions worldwide.

Musunuru said his team’s work — funded in part by the National Institutes of Health — showed that creating a custom treatment doesn’t have to be prohibitively expensive. The cost was “not far off” from the $800,000-plus for an average liver transplant and related care, he said.

“As we get better and better at making these therapies and shorten the time frame even more, economies of scale will kick in and I would expect the costs to come down,” Musunuru said.

Scientists also won’t have to redo all the initial work every time they create a customized therapy, Bhoopalan said, so this research “sets the stage” for treating other rare conditions.

Carlos Moraes, a neurology professor at the University of Miami who wasn’t involved with the study, said research like this opens the door to more advances.

“Once someone comes with a breakthrough like this, it will take no time” for other teams to apply the lessons and move forward, he said. “There are barriers, but I predict that they are going to be crossed in the next five to 10 years. Then the whole field will move as a block because we’re pretty much ready.”

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.