Health & Safety

After Suicides, Greenland Town Mobilizes To Prevent More Deaths

4:33pm April 22, 2016

by Rebecca Hersher

In January, two young men killed themselves in one Greenland town. The country has the world's highest known suicide rate, and people worried these suicides would become a cluster. So they mobilized to prevent more deaths.

Earlier this week, NIH temporarily halted work in the cell therapy lab of Dr. Steven Rosenberg, chief of surgery at the National Cancer Institute, pending a review of safety standards there.

Task Force Calls For More Safety Oversight At NIH Research Hospital

2:10pm April 22, 2016

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

NIH Director Francis Collins has stopped research at two leading labs for now. But an independent board of experts wants even more oversight to ensure that patient safety is the top priority.

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McDonald's is super popular in Israel — the chain even offers potato-starch hamburger buns, like this one, that are kosher for Passover. But now McD's is fighting back against the Israeli health ministry's accusations that it's "junk food."

Israel's Health Minister To McDonald's: 'Not In Our Country'

1:48pm April 22, 2016

by Daniel Estrin

McDonald's is super popular in Israel — the chain even offers potato-starch buns for Passover. But now McD's is fighting back against government accusations that it's "junk food."

An abandoned house appears over a snow-covered hill in the old town of Kangeq, Greenland.

How Do You Help Someone Who Is At Risk Of Suicide?

1:24pm April 22, 2016

by Rebecca Hersher

Are there specific things you should say — or not say — to a family member or friend who seems to be potentially suicidal?

If you need to reach for a top-shelf medicine, some marketplace plans are making it more affordable.

Health & Safety

More Marketplace Health Plans Ease Access To Some Expensive Drugs

12:21pm April 22, 2016

by Michelle Andrews

Complaints from patient groups and increased regulatory oversight appear to be leading to changes in the way some marketplace health plans cover expensive drugs.

Electric Currents And An 'Emotional Awakening' For One Man With Autism

11:27am April 22, 2016

Switched On author John Elder Robison says the emotional empathy he gained after receiving transcranial magnetic stimulation was intense. "It's like I lost a protective shield," he says.

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Suicide rates for women and girls are on the rise.

Suicide Rates Climb In U.S., Especially Among Adolescent Girls

10:11am April 22, 2016

by Rae Ellen Bichell

After a decline throughout the '90s, suicide rates have reversed course. Suicide has increased in almost every age group over the past 15 years.

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Aspen Baker speaking at TED Women about how to be "pro-voice."

What's A Better Way To Talk About Abortion?

9:20am April 22, 2016

by NPR/TED Staff

The strong emotions sparked by abortion leave little room for thoughtful debate. To cut through the tension, Aspen Baker says we should calmly tell and listen to stories about women who had abortions.

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Drug Traffickers Flood Opioid Market With Cheaper Alternative To Heroin

12:09am April 22, 2016

by Eve Troeh

Drug traffickers are making their own Fentanyl, a powerful opioid pain medication used for extreme medical conditions, and selling it mixed with or instead of heroin. Much cheaper to make than heroin, and exponentially more potent, it's easier for users to overdose on Fentanyl. In New Orleans, Fentanyl deaths now outpace the murder rate.

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An aerial view of Tiniteqilaaq, a small settlement on Greenland's east coast.

Numbers Lie Even More Than Usual In Greenland

8:11pm April 21, 2016

by Rebecca Hersher

Statistics about Greenland both distort and reveal. The average income is $33,000 — that's definitely "high." Yet in some ways it resembles a developing world country.