Health & Safety

Although Gray will finally go home to Forest, Miss., she will return to Nashville once a month for four months to undergo blood tests and a bone marrow biopsy. But, she says, the hardest part is over.

A Patient Hopes Gene-Editing Can Help With Pain Of Sickle Cell Disease

10:02pm October 10, 2019

by Rob Stein

She's the first patient with a genetic disorder to be treated with the powerful gene-editing technique CRISPR. The treatment has wrapped up, and now she's waiting to see if it brings relief.

Queue Listen Now

Sometimes doctors rapidly taper their chronic pain patients' opioid doses. Now a federal agency recommends against this.

Health & Safety

Don't Force Patients Off Opioids Abruptly, New Guidelines Say, Warning Of Severe Risks

5:30pm October 10, 2019

Researchers say chronic pain patients can feel suicidal or risk overdose when taken off medication too quickly. The warnings seek to course-correct after doctors felt pressured to taper drugs rapidly.

More cities are passing legislation to ban the construction of drive-through windows in an attempt to curb emissions, reduce litter and improve pedestrian safety. The bans are also sometimes touted as a way to help fight obesity, but past studies suggest

Health & Safety

Why U.S. Cities Are Banning New Fast-Food Drive-Throughs

3:37pm October 10, 2019

by Jodi Helmer

Most of the bans aim to curb emissions and protect pedestrians. The bans are also sometimes touted as a way to help fight obesity, but past studies suggest they don't have that effect.

How does nicotine in e-cigarettes affect young brains? Researchers are teasing out answers. Research on young mice and rats shows how nicotine hijacks brain systems involved in learning, memory, impulse control and addiction.

Health & Safety

How Vaping Nicotine Can Affect A Teenage Brain

11:04am October 10, 2019

by Jon Hamilton

Research on young mice and rats shows how nicotine hijacks brain systems involved in learning, memory, impulse control and addiction.

Queue Listen Now

News Brief: ISIS Detainees, Trade Talks, Sickle Cell Treatment

6:08am October 10, 2019

The U.S. is taking custody of Islamic State detainees accused of executing American and other hostages. U.S.-China trade talks resume today. A sickle cell disease patient hopes gene-editing can help.

Queue Listen Now

Grandmother Maria Jose holds her twin granddaughters Heloisa (right) and Heloa Barbosa, both born with microcephaly, during their one-year birthday party on April 16, 2017, in Areia, Paraiba state, Brazil.

Zika: Researchers Are Learning More About The Long-Term Consequences For Children

9:33pm October 09, 2019

by Pien Huang

A new review of research on the Zika virus since 2016 finds there is still much scientists don't understand about the pandemic — including when another may strike.

Depression symptoms dropped significantly in a group of young adults who ate a Mediterranean-style diet for three weeks. It's the latest study to show that food can influence mental health.

Changing Your Diet Can Help Tamp Down Depression, Boost Mood

9:27pm October 09, 2019

Depression symptoms dropped significantly in a group of young adults who ate a Mediterranean-style diet for three weeks. It's the latest study to show that food can influence mental health.

School Districts Sue Juul, Saying Student Vaping Drains Resources

3:22pm October 09, 2019

by Elle Moxley

The lawsuits say schools have had to hire more staff, install special sensors and provide programs to help students cope with nicotine addiction.

Piper Johnson used to vape regularly in high school. After surviving vaping-related lung illness, she's now working to raise awareness of the risks of the habit.

Health & Safety

She Survived The ICU. Now, She Has A Message: Quit Vaping!

1:56pm October 09, 2019

by Allison Aubrey

On her way to start her freshman year of college, Piper Johnson landed in the emergency room because of vaping. She wants other young people to know how bad it can be.

A woman rolls tobacco inside a tendu leaf to make a beedi cigarette at her home in Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh, India, on Wednesday, June 3, 2015. India's smokers favor cheaper options such as chewing and leaf-wrapped tobacco over cigarettes.

India Banned E-Cigarettes — But Beedis And Chewing Tobacco Remain Widespread

1:18pm October 09, 2019

India is the world's top consumer of smokeless tobacco — and has the world's highest number of oral cavity cancers.