Health & Safety

Health & Safety

Medicare Seeks Savings And Innovation With A Switch In Doctors' Pay

3:37pm April 11, 2016

by Alison Kodjak

A Medicare project will test a new approach for paying primary care doctors that could save money while encouraging physicians to explore alternative ways to serve patients.

The researchers were inspired by working with ultramarathoners, who can be sidelined by blisters despite years of training. These runners competed in the 2007 Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley, Calif.

Go To The Tape: A Cheap, Easy Way To Prevent Blisters

1:46pm April 11, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

Ultramarathoners can train for years and still get sidelined by blisters. Stanford researchers tested paper surgical tape during a 155-mile race and found it reduces blisters by 40 percent.

'Alice & Oliver' Novelist On Marriage, Cancer And The Pain Of Uncertainty

1:20pm April 11, 2016

Charles Bock's wife died from leukemia just before their daughter's 3rd birthday. Bock relived the final years of her life while writing his new novel. "I was just shattered," he says of the loss.

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The isolated Cree community of Attawapiskat — shown several years ago, in a photo by the Toronto Star — struggled all winter with a high rate of suicide attempts.

Canadian First Nation Declares State Of Emergency Over Suicide Attempts

10:59am April 11, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

The isolated Attawapiskat community is home to about 2,000 people. In March, there were 28 suicide attempts — and on Saturday night alone, 11 people tried to kill themselves, the CBC reports.

During a weekend run in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal, Biko and his owner paused as a funeral procession passed by.

Doggone It, Why Do They Make It So Hard To Take A Pooch On A Plane?

12:59pm April 10, 2016

by Donatella Lorch

Our 94-pound Rhodesian Ridgeback has moved from the Kenya to Nepal — and now to Turkey. It was really ruff.

Two-month-old Lara, who was born with microcephaly, is examined by a neurologist at the Pedro I hospital in Campina Grande, Paraiba state, Brazil, on Feb. 12.

Brazilian Doctor Crafts System Hailed As 'Way Forward' For Combating Zika

12:27pm April 10, 2016

by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro

Pediatric cardiologist Sandra Mattos had set up a network of doctors and hospitals working with tiny heart patients via telemedicine. Her system now also helps remote Zika sufferers.

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Maria Welch is a researcher studying the impact of uranium mining on Navajo families today. She also has a personal interest: Both her parents grew up next to mines.

For The Navajo Nation, Uranium Mining's Deadly Legacy Lingers

5:08am April 10, 2016

by Laurel Morales

Uranium mining on Navajo lands ended in 1986, but the tribe is still suffering profound health effects. The government started cleanup only recently; many of the polluters have gone out of business.

A scientist examines mosquitoes at the lab.

Volunteers Who Say 'Bite Me' Are Helping To Win The War Vs. Mosquitoes

5:31pm April 09, 2016

by Greg Myre

Mosquitoes inflict more death and spread more illness than any animal. The Zika virus is just the latest example. But now humanity is finally getting the upper hand.

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Going There: Food, Farming And Health

5:29pm April 09, 2016

Michel Martin went to Kansas City, Mo., this week to talk about food and health with organic farmer Linda Hezel, hybrid farmer Chris Boeckmann and Missouri Farm Bureau president Blake Hurst.

When The Cost Of Care Triggers A Medical Deportation

4:08pm April 09, 2016

by John Henning Schumann

Hospitals are legally obligated to find suitable places to discharge patients, but their insurance status makes all the difference. Things get complicated if people have entered the country illegally.