Health & Safety

To Cure What Ails You, Bibliotherapists Prescribe Literature

6:24am October 20, 2015

There are all kinds of therapies to cure what ails you. But a new and intriguing approach is bibliotherapy, which dispenses a prescription of literature specifically tailored to a patient's unique circumstances. NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with pioneering bibliotherapist Susan Elderkin.

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Marilyn Kruse couldn't get health insurance through her job as a substitute teacher in Jefferson County, Colo. Now she buys insurance through the state's health exchange.

In Colorado, More People Are Insured But Cost Remains An Issue

6:10am October 20, 2015

by John Daley

Colorado has cut the number of people without health insurance in half, with 20 percent of state residents now on Medicaid. but out-of-pocket medical expenses can still be hard for families to afford.

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Gulping down coffee to stay awake at night delays the body's natural surge of the sleep hormone melatonin.

Caffeine At Night Resets Your Inner Clock

6:10am October 20, 2015

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Late-night coffee, tea or cola does more than keep you up, scientists say. The amount of caffeine in a double espresso can delay the internal clock in cells throughout your body by about 40 minutes.

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Despite Improving Economy, Poverty Remains Unchanged In 2014

6:10am October 20, 2015

by Pam Fessler

The Census Bureau released its annual report on income, poverty and health insurance coverage for 2014 on Wednesday. Poverty in the U.S. was unchanged last year, despite more jobs.

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10 Charged In New York Over Synthetic Marijuana Operation

6:10am October 20, 2015

by Hansi Lo Wang

The men were charged for manufacturing and dealing the illegal drug known as "spice." Federal authorities say they plan to charge more distributors to crack down on a nationwide public health crisis.

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Health & Safety

North Carolina Youth Suicides Double Since 2010

3:57am October 20, 2015

by Associated Press and Michael Burke

Youth suicides in North Carolina have doubled since the start of the decade and increased by more than one-third between 2013 and 2014. Child safety advocates are worried that the increase wi

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Researchers have used MRI scanners to learn that preemies are born with weak connections in some critical brain networks.

Weak Brain Connections May Link Premature Birth And Later Disorders

9:31pm October 19, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

Brain scans found abnormally weak connections in the brains of premature infants may make them more prone to develop autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other emotional disorders.

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She's a teenager with a cellphone, surfing the Internet. And she's a Syrian refugee who works in the fields up to 14 hours a day. That's the new life of 15-year-old Fatmeh, seen here in the living room area of her family's makeshift shelter.

How A Top Student Ended Up Picking Potatoes: #15Girls

9:06pm October 19, 2015

Fatmeh is one of hundreds of thousands of children who have fled Syria with their families. In Lebanon, she works in the fields up to 14 hours a day, clinging to her dream of going to college.

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The vast majority of reported cases of norovirus — the leading cause of foodborne disease outbreaks and illnesses across the country — have been linked to infected food industry workers.

Survey: Half Of Food Workers Go To Work Sick Because They Have To

8:13pm October 19, 2015

by Lynne Shallcross

Sick food workers who go to work say they can't afford to stay home or don't want to let their co-workers down, a survey finds. That puts consumers at risk of getting sick from contaminated food.

A Florida Family Moves Forward After Struggling With Addiction

6:57pm October 19, 2015

Battles with addiction can rattle or wreck a family. Shenika Morrison, a youth reporter from WLRN in Miami, explores what getting past drug, alcohol and tobacco addiction means for her family.

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