Lifestyle
In a county that backed Trump, people dependent on Medicaid are conflicted about cuts
By Noam Levey In an Arizona county that voted for Trump 2-to-1, many people rely on Medicaid, would hate to lose it, and are persuaded that there is fraud that can be cut from the program. MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST: Gila County, Arizona, went big for Donald Trump and backed the president 2 to 1…
Medicaid Cuts Will Make Older People Sicker
The Very Real Health Implications of Medicaid Cuts for Older People For people aged 65 and older, Medicaid can provide vital health care—and losing coverage makes people sicker By Jane Tavares, Marc Cohen & The Conversation US Medicaid provides health insurance coverage for more than 82 million Americans. The following essay is reprinted with permission…
5 years after anti-police protests, initiatives for officer mental health have traction
By Katja Ridderbusch ATLANTA — A day rarely goes by when Officer Jonnie Moeller-Reed’s eyes don’t fall on a small, framed photograph on the bookshelf in her office. It shows two smiling young men in casual, colorful shirts and shorts. Both died by suicide in the past few years. Looking at the photo of her late…
Mahmoud Khalil told a judge his deportation could be a death sentence. Here’s why
Adrian Florido JENA, La. — The immigration judge was looking out over her courtroom. Mahmoud Khalil was sitting at a table next to his lawyers as they tried to convince her not to order him deported to the Middle East. “His life is at stake, your honor,” one of them, Marc Van Der Hout, told…
COVID Vaccines Face Potential New Limits from Trump Administration
What FDA’s Planned Limits on COVID Vaccinations Mean for Health Despite the fact that vaccines against COVID have already undergone strict safety reviews and that people continue to die from the disease, Trump’s FDA is moving to reduce access to annual COVID boosters for healthy Americans By Stephanie Armour & KFF Health News Larry Saltzman…
A Public Health Researcher and Her Engineer Husband Found How Diseases Can Spread through Air Decades before the COVID Pandemic
Mildred Weeks Wells’s Work on Airborne Transmission Could Have Saved Many Lives—If the Scientific Establishment Listened Mildred Weeks Wells and her husband figured out that disease-causing pathogens can spread through the air like smoke By Carol Sutton Lewis, Luca Evans & The Lost Women of Science Initiative LISTEN TO THE PODCAST If you’re enjoying this…
Vitamin D May Slow Cells’ Aging by Protecting DNA
Vitamin D May Slow Cells’ Aging Vitamin D supplements may help prevent the loss of telomeres, DNA sequences that shrink with aging, a large study shows. But the health effects aren’t yet clear By Stephanie Pappas edited by Jeanna Bryner A new study suggests vitamin D supplements might slow cellular aging by protecting telomeres. Vitamin…
Getting Enough Sleep is Critical for Weight Loss and Maintenance
Sleep Plays an Important Role in Sustainable Weight Loss A sleep medicine specialist explains how restless nights lead to consuming more calories and how you can use sleep as a tool for weight loss By Tammy Worth This Nature Outlook is editorially independent, produced with financial support from Avadel. A healthy diet and regular exercise…
Southwest Airlines will require passengers to keep chargers visible due to fire risk
By Joe Hernandez Passengers flying on Southwest Airlines will soon be required to keep battery packs and other portable charging devices visible if they’re using them during a flight. The airline announced in an emailed statement on Wednesday that this “first-in-industry” policy will take effect on May 28. It is intended as a safety measure…
El Salvador arrest prominent human rights lawyer
Eyder Peralta López has been an outspoken critic of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. She and her organization have documented human rights abuses in El Salvador — including inhumane conditions in jails and the extended state of emergency, during which the government has suspended many constitutional rights and imprisoned tens of thousands of suspected gang members…
For the first time, the U.S. is absent from WHO’s annual assembly. What’s the impact?
By Jonathan Lambert It’s the biggest global health meeting of the year. And the United States won’t be taking a seat at the table. This week, representatives from the 194 countries of the World Health Organization — minus the U.S. — are gathering in Geneva to discuss and vote on policies that will shape global…
What Are AI Chatbot Companions Doing to Our Mental Health?
What Are AI Chatbot Companions Doing to Our Mental Health? AI chatbot companions may not be real, but the feelings users form for them are. Some scientists worry about long-term dependency By David Adam & Nature magazine “My heart is broken,” said Mike, when he lost his friend Anne. “I feel like I’m losing the…
UnitedHealth Group abruptly replaces CEO Andrew Witty, deepening a terrible year
By Maria Aspan UnitedHealth Group abruptly replaced CEO Andrew Witty on Tuesday, as the sweeping problems facing the company and industry deepened. Witty resigned “for personal reasons,” UnitedHealth said. He was replaced, effective immediately, by the company’s former CEO and current chairman, Stephen J. Hemsley. A UnitedHealth spokesperson declined to comment further. Shares in UnitedHealth…
Ways To Cope When Your Child Gets A Life-Altering Diagnosis
Opinion The Science of ParentingMondays Ways To Cope When Your Child Gets A Life-Altering Diagnosis Parents often struggle with the news that their child has a major health issue. Learning how to manage new routines and expectations is key to everyone’s happiness By Beth S. Russell Cut through the claims: Get email alerts for The…
VA says its job cuts will limit doctor, nurse resignations
By Katya Mendoza , Quil Lawrence Data that employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs have shared with NPR shows that 11,273 agency employees nationwide have applied for deferred resignation, which the Trump administration is offering as part of its DOGE initiative to cut the VA’s workforce by 15%. The top positions across all networks…
Trump Aims to Cut Hospital Disaster Preparedness Program
Trump Aims to Cuts Program Used to Help Hospitals Evacuate During Disasters The Hospital Preparedness Program helps hospitals and emergency managers save lives in wildfires, tornadoes, pandemics and other mass-casualty events. The Trump administration has proposed cutting it By Ariel Wittenberg & E&E News The damaged interior of Monette Manor nursing home on Dec. 12,…
HIV Testing and Prevention Efforts Gutted as Trump Funding Cuts Sweep U.S. South
HIV Testing and Prevention Efforts Gutted as Trump Funding Cuts Sweep U.S. South A disruption in federal funds has jeopardized HIV testing and outreach in the U.S. South, and researchers warn of a resurgence of the epidemic in the region By Amy Maxmen & KFF Health News JACKSON, Miss. — Storm clouds hung low above…
IVF Treatment Faces Threats from ‘Fetal Personhood’ Laws That Would Grant Fetuses Legal Rights
The Push to Grant Fetuses and Embryos Legal Rights Is Threatening IVF Treatment In the new book Personhood, historian and law professor Mary Ziegler explores how the push to grant embryos and fetuses full legal rights is reshaping U.S. reproductive health care, research and policy By Lucy Tu edited by Lauren J. Young President Donald…
Trump EPA Reorganization Signals End to Climate Work
EPA Reorganization Signals End to Climate Work Under President Trump, the Environmental Protection Agency plans to eliminate offices that track greenhouse gas emissions and regulate air pollution By Jean Chemnick & E&E News EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin aims to eliminate the Office of Atmospheric Protection and Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards. CLIMATEWIRE |…
Trump restricts funding for ‘gain-of-function’ research — calling it dangerous
Rob Stein President Trump issued an executive order Monday restricting federal funding for research that involves a controversial field of scientific study known as “gain-of-function” research. The research, which is also known as “dual-use” research, involves experimenting with viruses and other pathogens that have the potential to trigger a pandemic. Those studies could discover how…
A Maryland town backed Trump’s cost-cutting pledge. Now it’s a target
Frank Langfitt EMMITSBURG, Md. — Frank Davis saw a lot of waste during his decades in the federal government. In November, he voted for Donald Trump to get rid of it. So far, Davis likes a lot of what he’s seen. “I’m probably gonna get shot for this, but he is doing what he said…
The Trump administration says it will cut EPA staffing to Reagan-era levels
By Alejandra Borunda The Trump administration announced plans for a significant reorganization of the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday, and signaled major cuts in staffing to come – especially for the agency’s scientific research arm. EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said the EPA expects to cut staff to levels similar to the 1980s, when President Ronald…
Health care for transgender children questioned in 400-page Trump administration report
Selena Simmons-Duffin On Thursday, the Department of Health and Human Services published a 400-page document entitled “Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria: Review of Evidence and Best Practices.” The review’s authors are not being named by HHS. According to a press release, the names “are not initially being made public in order to help maintain the…
Education Department stops $1 billion in funding for school mental health
Cory Turner The Trump administration says it will stop paying out $1 billion in federal grants that school districts across the country have been using to hire mental health professionals, including counselors and social workers. The U.S. Department of Education is telling impacted districts that the Biden administration, in awarding the grants, violated “the letter…
Trump’s VA strands thousands of veterans by ending a key mortgage program
By Chris Arnold , Quil Lawrence The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as of Thursday, has ended a new mortgage-rescue program that so far has helped about 20,000 veterans avoid foreclosure and keep their homes. The move leaves millions of military veterans with far worse options than most other American homeowners if they run into…
Fears for health of Alaa Abd el-Fattah and mother as hunger strikes take toll
Activist jailed in Egypt receives medical treatment and family worry his mother Laila Soueif is ‘dying in slow motion’ The family of the imprisoned British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah say they fear for his health along with that of his mother, Laila Soueif, as both continued their hunger strikes to demand his freedom. Relatives of…
Homes destroyed and 1,500 detained in Kashmir as India cracks down following attacks
By Bilal Kuchay , Omkar Khandekar PULWAMA, India — Indian authorities have detained at least 1,500 people in India-administered Kashmir after a militant attack killed 26 people last week, a top police officer told NPR. Several homes linked to alleged militants were also destroyed. India accused Pakistan of having a connection to the attack —…
Child Asthma Will Worsen with Trump’s Pollution Rollbacks and RFK, Jr.’s CDC Cuts
Childhood Asthma Will Worsen with Pollution Rollbacks and CDC Cuts President Trump has ordered agencies to act “urgently” to curb asthma—a goal at odds with moves to roll back air pollution limits and with RFK, Jr., cutting CDC experts By Ariel Wittenberg & E&E News CLIMATEWIRE | When EPA announced its intent to roll back…
Ukrainian families divided by Russian occupation hang on and hope to be reunited
Eleanor Beardsley ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine — On a recent Saturday morning, several dozen volunteers at a youth center are weaving strips of cloth to make camouflage netting for the Ukrainian army. They are in the capital of Ukraine’s southeastern province of Zaporizhzhia, about two-thirds of which is controlled by Russian forces. The front line is 25…
In a reversal, the Trump administration restores funding for women’s health study
Rob Stein The Trump administration is restoring financial support for a landmark study of women’s health, an official said Thursday, reversing a defunding decision that shocked medical researchers. “These studies represent critical contributions to our better understanding of women’s health,” said a statement from Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human…
Air pollution still plagues nearly half of Americans. That does a number on our health
By Alejandra Borunda Air in the U.S. has gotten cleaner for decades, adding years to people’s lives and preventing millions of asthma attacks, but nearly half of Americans still live with unhealthy air pollution, a new report finds. The report comes as the Trump administration is considering rolling back some key air quality regulations. Air…
‘I hope I’ll one day be at peace’: civilians seek mental health help in war-ravaged eastern DRC
People traumatised by conflict have queued outside the Saint Vincent de Paul neuropsychiatric hospital in Goma each day since free scheme launched On a sunny morning in the city of Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where fighting between the M23 rebel group and the Congolese army raged earlier this year, men and…
The time NPR’s Sylvia Poggioli came face-to-face with Pope Francis
Sylvia Poggioli Reporting for NPR from Rome, I covered the last three popes. My first encounter with Pope John Paul II was in 1983, when I was a budding radio reporter. It was a ceremonial event welcoming journalists. When he walked by me, I pulled out my microphone, broke the no-question protocol and asked, “When…
Lifesaving Alzheimer’s Research Delayed by Trump Funding Cuts
Lifesaving Alzheimer’s Research Delayed by Trump Funding Cuts The Trump administration is freezing, delaying and revoking funding for dementia research, setting back discoveries of potential future treatments By Allison Parshall edited by Jeanna Bryner On Monday, March 24, Charles DeCarli received an order from the federal government to stop work on his nationwide study of…
5 takeaways from the week: Nearing a constitutional crisis?
Domenico Montanaro The week was dominated by news about President Trump and the continued struggle over the narrative around Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was illegally deported to El Salvador. But there was also continued concern around Trump’s tariffs — with the Federal Reserve chair saying they’re likely to lead to higher prices…
Move over, Med diet – plantains and cassava can be as healthy as tomatoes and olive oil, say researchers
Findings from Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro region indicate traditional eating habits in rural Africa can boost the immune system and reduce inflammation Plantains, cassava and fermented banana drink should be added to global healthy eating guidelines alongside the olive oil, tomatoes and red wine of the Mediterranean diet, say researchers who found the traditional diet of people…
Earth Month: How we’re keeping the ocean healthy
Editor’s note: April is Earth Month, when we honor humanity’s shared responsibility for nature and the climate. At Conservation International, this responsibility drives us — and in honor of Earth Month, Conservation News is highlighting stories of our impact. We hope that this inspires you to carry the spirit of Earth Month throughout the year.…
RFK pushes to find ‘environmental’ cause of autism, calls rising rates an ‘epidemic’
By Rob Stein , Carmel Wroth Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Wednesday declared that autism is a rapidly growing “epidemic” in the U.S. and vowed to identify the “environmental toxin” he says is to blame. He noted that autism incidence in the U.S. has increased from 1 in 36 children in…
‘Homegrowns are next:’ Trump hopes to deport and jail U.S. citizens abroad
Brian Mann President Trump says his administration is actively exploring a proposal to detain U.S. citizens and send them to prisons in El Salvador. Speaking Monday, minutes before a press briefing alongside El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, Trump could be heard embracing the concept. “The homegrowns are next, the homegrowns. You’ve got to build about…
Federal funding freeze halts key infrastructure projects in tribal communities
By Nate Perez The Tebughna Foundation threw a big celebration in February after the Environmental Protection Agency awarded the nonprofit $20 million to renovate or replace 20 homes contaminated with asbestos and lead for the Native Village of Tyonek in Alaska. The project, which would also connect the homes to solar panels, aimed to upgrade…
White House doctor says Trump is ‘fully fit’ in medical report
Luke Garrett President Trump “exhibits excellent cognitive and physical health and is fully fit,” according to White House physician Capt. Sean Barbabella. The White House released Trump’s three-page medical report Sunday morning following the president’s annual physical examination at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Friday. Trump, 78, is the oldest president to take…
‘I cannot guarantee complete confidentiality,’ VA therapists ordered to tell veterans
By Katia Riddle Panic, fear, uncertainty, and anger. Those are the emotions mental health clinicians who work for the US Department of Veterans Affairs describe as they prepare for the VA’s mandatory return-to-office directive. Some are being summoned to offices as soon as Monday, April 14. Representatives from the VA say they are planning to…
HIV, Trans Health, and Covid Research Targeted by Trump Cuts to NIH
The Science Fields and State Hit Hardest by Trump NIH Cuts, in 4 Charts An analysis reveals which fields of science and U.S. states are being hit hardest by National Institutes of Health grant terminations By Max Kozlov, Chris Ryan & Nature magazine Scientists and others have been protesting the massive cuts to research at…
Health secretary RFK Jr. endorses the MMR vaccine — stoking fury among his supporters
Geoff Brumfiel An endorsement of the Measles Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has provoked an angry outcry from anti-vaccine activists. “The most effective way to prevent the spread of measles is the MMR vaccine,” Kennedy said in the third paragraph of a lengthy post on…
Colon cancer survivors who exercise regularly live longer
Maria Godoy Colon cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide, and it’s on the rise among younger adults in the U.S. But research recently published in the journal Cancer, finds regular exercise can help survivors live longer — in some cases, even longer than people who’ve never had colon cancer. “I…
Second child dies from measles-related causes in West Texas, where cases near 500
By The Associated Press A second school-aged child in West Texas has died from a measles-related illness, a hospital spokesman confirmed Sunday, as the outbreak continues to swell. Aaron Davis, a spokesperson for UMC Health System in Lubbock, Texas, said that the child was “receiving treatment for complications of measles while hospitalized” and was not…
Utah’s Decision to Ban Fluoride Is a Bad Move for Kids
Opinion Cross CurrentsFridays Utah’s Decision to Ban Fluoride Is a Bad Move for Kids Becoming the first state to ban fluoride is going to cost Utah, both financially and dentally By Megha Satyanarayana Keep in touch with Cross Current: Get email alerts for this weekly column by Megha Satyanarayana Utah has just become the first…
Don’t overthink the torpedo bats
Linda Holmes On Monday, March 31, at the Philadelphia Phillies’ home opener at Citizens Bank Park, with two outs in the bottom of the first inning, with the count at one ball and one strike, Phillies slugger Bryce Harper smacked the ball, hard. You could hear it — smack. And that home crowd (which I…
What does gender have to do with conservation?
In a remote, arid region of southwest Madagascar, the main source of local income is women’s work. In this case, it’s octopus fishing. Each day, as the men of the community set sail at dawn to fish in deep waters, women wait for the tide to recede. Joined by their children and armed with well-used…
As Happened in Texas, Ignoring EPA Science Will Allow Pollution and Cancer to Fester
Opinion As Happened in Texas, Ignoring EPA Science Will Allow Pollution and Cancer to Fester Trump administration plans to destroy EPA science will leave the air we breathe and the water we drink more polluted By Jennifer Sass Cows graze near the Oak Grove Power Plant in Robertson County, Texas, subject to EPA (Environmental Protection…
A midwife says of the aid cuts in Afghanistan: ‘No one prioritizes women’s lives.’
By Diaa Hadid , Khwaga Ghani An Afghan midwife describes how a woman died in childbirth, along with her baby. She was snowed into her village and couldn’t reach a hospital. Just weeks before, the health clinic in her village had closed. If it was open, a midwife could have helped her. Other midwives, based…
As Measles Continues to Rise, CDC Muffles Vaccine Messaging
As Measles Continues to Rise, CDC Muffles Vaccine Messaging By burying an assessment with updates and recommendations about the U.S.’s current measles outbreaks, the CDC has signaled an alarming shift in its public messaging By Jen Schwartz edited by Jeanna Bryner A health worker prepares a dose of the measles vaccine at a health center…
Charity-seekers from all over Pakistan flock to Karachi at Ramadan to collect alms
By Betsy Joles KARACHI, Pakistan — On a recent Monday afternoon, 61-year-old Sayani Soomar, a widow, sits on a curb in a busy Karachi commercial area with a paper sign asking for help. She holds in her lap packages with pills for high blood pressure, her husband’s death certificate and an electricity bill — evidence…
Amid Trump Cuts, Climate Researchers Wait for the Ax to Fall
Climate Researchers Wait for the Ax to Fall Climate experts whose research is funded by federal grants hide, whisper and wait for their jobs to disappear By Ariel Wittenberg, Chelsea Harvey & E&E News The Trump administration has slashed jobs and funding at the National Institutes of Health. CLIMATEWIRE | The National Institutes of Health…
What green card and visa holders should know before traveling abroad
Juliana Kim Traveling or returning to the U.S. from abroad has become increasingly risky for some — even for people with valid visas and green cards. In recent weeks, international tourists, visa holders and lawful permanent residents — also known as green card holders — have been facing tougher scrutiny at airports and border crossings.…
Long wait for a rushed doctor’s visit? Maybe you’ll get more with a ‘membership’ fee
From By Karen Brown Michele Andrews had been seeing her internist in Northampton, Massachusetts for about 10 years. She was happy with the care, although she did start to notice it was harder to get an appointment. This story was produced in partnership with KFF Health News. “You’d call and you’re talking about weeks to a…
Fat Doesn’t Deserve Its Bad Rap
Opinion Fat Doesn’t Deserve Its Bad Rap Fat is one of the most active, dynamic organs we have. Why can’t we learn to love it? By Bethany Brookshire We starve it. Sweat it off. Freeze or carve it out. We claim that two thirds of Americans have too much of it, and then we take…
The Trump administration restructures federal health agencies, cuts 20,000 jobs
By Selena Simmons-Duffin , Diane Webber The Trump administration Thursday announced a major restructuring of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that will cut 20,000 full-time jobs. The cuts include employees who have taken the Trump administration’s Fork in the Road offer and early retirement, plus an additional reduction in force of 10,000…
Exhibit takes visitors inside the annex where Anne Frank lived
By Sarah Ventre NEW YORK — The rooms are small and cramped, but they’re full of the details that would make a house into a home: colorful rugs, neatly made beds, a board game on the table and even pictures of the British royal family on the wall. But this isn’t exactly a home —…
HHS’s Long COVID Office Is Closing. What Will This Mean for Future Research and Treatments?
HHS’s Long COVID Office Is Closing. What Will This Mean for Future Research and Treatments? The Office for Long COVID Research and Practice was instrumental in coordinating the U.S. government’s initiatives to treat, diagnose and prevent the mysterious postviral condition that affects millions of people today By Lauren J. Young edited by Dean Visser Under…
What’s soil blocking? This seeding method helps gardeners use less plastic and peat
Neda Ulaby Spring means it’s time for gardeners to think about seedlings, those little baby plants all ready to get plunked into the ground. And a hands-on technique for growing them, called “soil blocking,” is capturing the attention of serious gardeners. Among them is Christopher Hallett. He’s a farm manager at Growing Hope Urban Farm,…
Reporter’s Notebook: Eight theories why fentanyl deaths are plummeting
Brian Mann The last six months I’ve been tracking something really cool and mysterious happening on American streets. For the first time in thirty years, drug deaths are plunging at a rate that addiction experts say is hopeful — but also baffling. In the past, even the most ambitious, well-funded efforts to slow drug deaths…
RFK, Jr., Wants to Make Baby Formula Safer, but Trump Budget Cuts Imperil That Effort
RFK, Jr., Wants to Make Baby Formula Safer, but Trump Budget Cuts Imperil That Effort A new Trump administration health initiative called Operation Stork Speed aims to improve the safety of infant formula and reduce contamination risk, but budget and staffing cuts may hinder that By Tanya Lewis edited by Sarah Lewin Frasier Earlier this week…
South African ambassador expelled from US welcomed home by supporters
Ebrahim Rasool, declared persona non grata by Washington, was surrounded by crowds at Cape Town airport The South African ambassador who was expelled from the US and declared persona non grata by the Trump administration was welcomed home on Sunday by hundreds of supporters who sang songs praising him. Crowds at Cape Town International airport…
Flights resume at London Heathrow after a daylong closure sparked travel chaos
By The Associated Press LONDON — London Heathrow Airport said it was “fully operational” on Saturday, after an almost daylong closure sparked by an electrical substation fire. But airlines warned that severe disruption will last for days as they scramble to relocate planes and crews and get travelers to their destinations. The airport’s boss said…
Homeland Security makes cuts to civil rights and immigration oversight offices
Ximena Bustillo The Department of Homeland Security is cutting jobs in the oversight divisions focused on civil rights as a part of a broader reduction in force effort across the federal government. The affected offices, confirmed by DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, are the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL), the Office of the…
USAID Funding Saved Millions of Children’s Lives. Recent Cuts Put It in Jeopardy
USAID Funding Saved Millions of Children’s Lives. Recent Cuts Put It in Jeopardy USAID investments significantly reduced deaths among children under age five and women of reproductive age, studies show By Tanya Lewis edited by Dean Visser Tigray people, fled due to conflicts and taking shelter in Mekelle city of the Tigray region, in northern…
Tren de Aragua — all you need to know about the Venezuelan gang
By John Otis BOGOTA, Colombia — The Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan gang that President Trump is targeting in his latest wave of deportations, formed in a Venezuelan prison but has branched out to become a multinational crime organization that has pulled off brazen attacks in places ranging from New York City to Santiago, Chile.…
After al-Assad’s Ouster, Many Syrians Struggle With Returning Home
Syria After Civil War Syria’s interim president has said that millions would return after President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster, but many houses and other buildings were destroyed in 13 years of civil war. Syria’s interim president has said that millions would return after President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster, but many houses and other buildings were destroyed in…
What we know about the search for a U.S. student missing in the Dominican Republic
By Ayana Archie A person of interest has been named in the investigation of a missing 20-year-old U.S. college student who disappeared last week in the Dominican Republic while on spring break with friends. The missing woman, Sudiksha Konanki, traveled to Punta Cana with five other people last Monday, according to the Dominican Republic’s national…
Kansas Tuberculosis Outbreak Emphasizes the Importance of Public Health Infrastructure
On COVID’s Fifth Anniversary, the U.S. Remains Vulnerable to Infectious Disease On COVID’s fifth anniversary, the U.S. is facing an outbreak of tuberculosis in Kansas that makes strong public health systems as important as ever. By Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi & Jeffery DelViscio Rachel Feltman: For Scientific American’s Science Quickly, I’m Rachel Feltman. This week…
She got her dream job at CDC back. But she’s already moving on
Yuki Noguchi Cancer outreach worker Bri McNulty, 23, was one of 750 employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who was terminated abruptly over email in mid-February, amid a slew of federal workforce dismissals. On Tuesday, McNulty got an equally surprising email hiring her back. She was one of an unknown number of…
Trump’s CDC Firings Will Gut Public Health at the State and Local Level
Trump’s CDC Firings Will Gut Public Health at the State and Local Level The Trump administration’s sudden dismissals have stripped training programs across the nation that bolstered state and local public health departments By Rachana Pradhan & KFF Health News A sign outside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. The Trump administration’s sudden firing…
As Canadians cancel trips due to Trump, the U.S. tourism industry could lose billions
By Joe Hernandez Leena Yousefi and her family typically visit Hawaii four or five times a year. The Vancouver attorney used to live in Maui and had booked another trip for this year. But that was before President Trump, shortly after taking office in January, said he would impose 25% tariffs on many Canadian goods…
Meet the Syrians behind the music that inspired a revolution
By Emily Feng , Jawad Rizkallah HOMS, Syria — His face is everywhere in Syria. It’s plastered on the country’s new flags, on sweaters and on the side of buses. His voice, untrained and unfiltered, is ubiquitous, too: used in cellphone ringtones and blared from loudspeakers. His name is Abdel Basset al-Sarout. Once the goalkeeper…
Consumers can buy Zepbound direct from the drugmaker if they’ll pay out of pocket
By Sydney Lupkin Every month, roughly 100,000 people buy Zepbound directly from Eli Lilly through its website. “It’s about the size of a small city,” says David Ricks, Eli Lilly’s CEO. That’s about 10% of the 1 million people who use the blockbuster obesity drug every month, though the numbers can vary, he says. The…
Cutting a Parent Out of Your Life Isn’t Always the Right Solution
Opinion The Science of ParentingMondays Cutting a Parent Out of Your Life Isn’t Always the Right Solution Popular culture paints going “no contact” as the best way to deal with hard family relationships. But it’s not always the right choice By Joshua Coleman & Karl Pillemer edited by Megha Satyanarayana Cut through the claims: Get…
Mental health crisis ‘means youth is no longer one of happiest times of life’
UN-commissioned study in UK, US, Ireland, Australia, Canada and New Zealand finds satisfaction rises with age For more than half a century, the midlife crisis has been a feature of western society. Fast cars, impulsive decisions, and peak misery between the age of 40 and 50. But all that is changing, according to experts. In…
The International Space Station May Need More Microbes to Keep Astronauts Healthy
The International Space Station May Need More Microbes to Keep Astronauts Healthy The overly sterile environment of the International Space Station is missing important microbes, a new detailed map shows. If we want to live off Earth, we may need to take more of our bacterial friends with us By Allison Parshall edited by Lee…
Africa’s medical system risks ‘collapse in next few years’, warns health leader
Focusing foreign aid on infectious diseases has allowed a rise in cancer and diabetes that African governments don’t have resources to fight, says Dr Githinji Gitahi Health services in Africa are at risk of “collapse in the next few years” due to soaring chronic diseases, a senior public health leader has warned. Foreign aid to…
Transgender Youth Have Better Emotional Health after Taking Hormones, New Study Finds
Transgender Youth Have Better Emotional Health after Taking Hormones, New Study Finds Hormone therapy improves transgender young people’s well-being and social relationships, but Trump’s recent executive order and state bans threaten to take it away By Tyler Santora edited by Tanya Lewis A demonstrator at the Rise Up for Trans Youth rally against President Donald Trump’s executive…
How is Pope Francis doing? The Vatican says he rested well and met church officials
By Fatima Al-Kassab , Willem Marx ROME — Pope Francis “rested well throughout the night,” according to a statement from the Vatican Tuesday morning, as he appears to make a slight recovery from double pneumonia and other ailments. He has also resumed some of his duties as pontiff while in the Gemelli hospital in Italy’s…
Health care workers are rushing to learn about immigration law in case of ICE raids
From By Jackie Fortiér The lobby at the St. John’s Community Health clinic in South Los Angeles bustles with patients. But community health worker Ana Ruth Varela is worried that it’s about to get a lot quieter. Many patients, she said, are afraid to leave their homes. “The other day I spoke with one of…
Trump Denied Knowledge of Project 2025—Now His Health Care Plans Follow It Closely
Trump Denied Knowledge of Project 2025—Now His Health Care Plans Follow It Closely During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump distanced himself from the conservative governing plan Project 2025. But it’s increasingly viewed as a blueprint for his administration’s plans for federal health programs By Stephanie Armour & KFF Health News Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of…
Carl Zimmer on His New Book Air-Borne and What Public Health Experts Learned from the COVID Pandemic
The Air around Us Is Full of Life By Rachel Feltman, Naeem Amarsy, Jeffery DelViscio & Fonda Mwangi [CLIP: Theme music] Rachel Feltman: For Scientific American’s Science Quickly, I’m Rachel Feltman. You probably don’t spend too much time thinking about the air you breathe—at least relative to the amount of time you spend actually breathing…
Why Is the Trump Administration Villainizing Mental Health Meds for Kids?
Opinion Cross CurrentsFridays Why Is the Trump Administration Villainizing Mental Health Meds for Kids? A federal commission to examine U.S. chronic disease could undercut real treatment for kids with depression, ADHD and other mental health challenges By Megha Satyanarayana edited by Dan Vergano Keep in touch with Cross Current: Get email alerts for this weekly…
Texas Measles Outbreak Nears 100 Cases, Raising Concerns About Undetected Spread
Texas Measles Outbreak Nears 100 Cases, Raising Concerns About Undetected Spread Low vaccination rates and undetected infections are driving the measles outbreak in West Texas By Amy Maxmen & KFF Health News Most unvaccinated people will contract measles if they’re exposed to the airborne virus, which can linger for up to two hours indoors. Those…
Trump’s picks to oversee Medicare and biomedical research will divest stock
By Sydney Lupkin , Rob Stein If Dr. Mehmet Oz is confirmed to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, he said in an ethics letter dated Feb. 16 that he will sell health care stock and leave his role as an advisor to iHerb, LLC, a nutritional supplement company that he has promoted…
Trump Administration’s Attacks on Science in First 30 Days
Science under Siege during Trump’s First 30 Days The Trump administration has acted fast to attack science with a range of funding and policy tactics By Jeff Tollefson, Max Kozlov, Alexandra Witze, Dan Garisto & Nature magazine U.S. President Donald Trump looks at an executive order on halting federal funds for schools and universities that…
Kenya’s wildlife tourism, a casualty of COVID, gets a lifeline
From July to October each year, millions of wildebeests, zebras and other wildlife travel from Tanzania to Kenya’s Maasai Mara region — a phenomenon known as “The Great Migration.” But the animals are not usually the only ones that flood the region during this time: Typically, thousands of tourists flock to the Maasai Mara to…
Funding cuts leave a forest at risk
One of the world’s most important places for nature is a small strip of mountainous forest no more than about 40 miles wide. And for want of a relatively small amount of money, its long-term health is in doubt. Not many people have heard of Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains, home to one of the last large…
Republican proposals to cut Medicaid could be politically fraught
From By Phil Galewitz Medicaid is under threat — again. Republicans, who narrowly control Congress, are pushing proposals that could sharply cut funding to the government health insurance program for poor and disabled Americans, as a way to finance President Trump’s agenda for tax cuts and border security. Democrats, hoping to block the GOP’s plans…
Health agencies lose staff in key areas as Trump firings set in
By Will Stone , Pien Huang Termination letters landed in the mailboxes of hundreds of employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health over the weekend, as the Trump administration moved ahead with firings announced verbally Friday. That’s according to more than half…
Men Actually Crave Romantic Relationships More Than Women Do
Men Actually Crave Romantic Relationships More Than Women Do Multiple-study analysis looks at why men’s emotional intimacy is much more difficult outside of romantic relationships By Clarissa Brincat edited by Sarah Lewin Frasier Research explores why men seem to find romantic relationships more important than women do. Join Our Community of Science Lovers! Drawing on…
She suspected a heart attack, but was diagnosed with broken heart syndrome
Allison Aubrey If you’ve ever had a scary experience, when your adrenaline is pumping, as you deal with a threat or shock, you may relate to Maria Carraballo’s experience. While on vacation in Puerto Rico, Carraballo, 75, was swimming with her two young grandsons, when the current began to pull them away from the shore.…
Trump’s Proposal to Expel Palestinians From Gaza Hangs Over Rubio’s Israel Trip
Trump Administration Scholars of international law say President Trump’s vision for American control of a Gaza without Palestinians would be ethnic cleansing and a war crime. By Edward Wong and Isabel Kershner Edward Wong reported from Washington, and Isabel Kershner from Jerusalem. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel…
Indonesian province leaps ahead in conservation
One of Indonesia’s easternmost regions is taking an unprecedented step toward sustainability. Last week, the government of the province of West Papua, on the island of New Guinea, announced legislation establishing it as Indonesia’s first “conservation province.” What this means is that the government will ensure that all future economic activity and development will be…
Indonesia protects ‘walking sharks.’ Are other sharks next?
The Indonesian government has granted six species of threatened “walking sharks” the highest level of protection across all national waters — a move experts hope will lead to the conservation of other sharks, whose numbers have plummeted due largely to the shark fin trade. “Walking sharks are small, charismatic and absolutely harmless to humans. Our…
Unease grows at the CDC as Trump administration keeps grip on research, messaging
By Pien Huang , Will Stone The situation is far from normal at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, current and former CDC officials tell NPR, even as a clampdown on external communications is starting to ease. New layers of review from political appointees installed by the new Trump Administration remain in place amid…