Health & Safety

Health & Safety

Study Finds Most Young Men Aren't Aware Of Emergency Contraception

10:59am February 26, 2016

by Michelle Andrews

Although 84 percent of teenage boys and young men said they believed avoiding a partner's pregnancy was important, only 42 percent had heard of emergency contraception, researchers in Colorado found.

Dr. Etheldreda Nakimuli-Mpungu is one of this year's winners of the Elsevier Foundation Award for female scientists in the developing world.

Health & Safety

Mom Inspires Daughter To Be A Doctor Who Really Makes People Better

8:12pm February 25, 2016

by Maanvi Singh

"It's not good to just be a doctor," said the mother. The daughter, encountering HIV patients suffering from depression in Uganda, lived up to her mother's vision.

For something many deem a "health food," sprouts regularly appear on official outbreak lists.

Should Sprouts Come With A Warning Label?

7:37pm February 25, 2016

by Clare Leschin-Hoar

Over 20 people have been sickened in two new outbreaks of foodborne illness linked to alfalfa sprouts. For something many deem a "health food," sprouts continue to be a vexing food-safety challenge.

Scientists say they still have a lot to learn about Zika before they'll have a vaccine ready for people.

Why Scientists Hope To Inject Some People With Zika Virus

6:55pm February 25, 2016

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

There's no vaccine yet, but Zika researchers are racing to find a good candidate. After testing it in animals, checking for effectiveness in humans might include injecting Zika into healthy people.

Queue Listen Now

Beam Me Up, Scotty? Turns Out Your Brain Is Ready For Teleportation

6:42pm February 25, 2016

by Jon Hamilton

The brain usually relies on our senses to navigate. But researchers found that when people experienced virtual teleportation, their brains still managed to keep them on course.

Queue Listen Now

"The people that I know who have lost spouses, children, some of them are so ashamed that they wouldn't even acknowledge it as a cause of death," says A. Thomas McLellan, co-founder of the Treatment Research Institute.

Treating Addiction As A Chronic Disease

4:26pm February 25, 2016

by NPR Staff

Reframing addiction as a chronic illness would help people get appropriate treatment and benefit the health care system, says A. Thomas McLellan, co-founder of the Treatment Research Institute.

African-American men who have sex with men face a high risk of becoming infected with HIV.

The AIDS Crisis Hasn't Ended In The Black And Latino Communities

2:16pm February 25, 2016

by Rae Ellen Bichell

HIV rates in the U.S. have been dropping for about a decade. But African-American and Latino men who have sex with men still face a very high risk of becoming infected. Stigma is one big reason.

Marcia Andrade, an agent from Brazil's Ministry of Health, interviews Camila Alves, 22. A friend holds Alves' 2-month-old daughter.

Disease Detectives In Brazil Go Door-To-Door To Solve Zika Mystery

2:14pm February 25, 2016

by Rob Stein

A team of health experts is tracking down mothers who had babies with microcephaly to try to prove or debunk the link to Zika virus.

Queue Listen Now

A farmer applies fertilizer to soybeans in Kasbeer, Ill. Scientists say one significant source of nitrogen pollution is fertilizer that leaks off of fields growing corn and soybeans to feed meat and dairy animals.

Why Your Hamburger Might Be Leading To Nitrogen Pollution

2:09pm February 25, 2016

by Julia Rosen

Many farmers who grow corn and soybeans to feed livestock use too much nitrogen fertilizer, which can cause a host of environmental problems. To fix them, scientists say we should eat less meat.

Each year, between 8,000 and 9,000 people nationwide complain to the government about nursing home evictions, according to federal data. That makes evictions the leading category of all nursing home complaints.

Nursing Home Evictions Strand The Disabled In Costly Hospitals

12:57pm February 25, 2016

by Ina Jaffe

Federal rules mostly prohibit nursing homes from refusing to readmit residents after a hospital stay. But states rarely enforce the regulations. Some California families are now suing the state.

Queue Listen Now