Health & Safety

A nasal spray version of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone demonstrated at police headquarters in Quincy, Mass., in 2014.

Price Soars For Key Weapon Against Heroin Overdoses

2:24pm September 11, 2015

Baltimore Health Commissioner Leana Wen is working to put the anti-overdose medication naloxone into the hands of as many heroin users as possible. But the price of the antidote has nearly doubled.

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National Geographic paleoartist John Gurche used fossils from a South African cave to reconstruct the face of Homo naledi, the newest addition to the genus Homo.

South African Cave Yields Strange Bones Of Early Human-Like Species

12:38pm September 11, 2015

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Deep inside a rocky chamber, reached by a narrow crevice, researchers found more than 1,500 fossilized bones of what may be the gravesite of a creature never before identified by science.

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Health worker Nathan Fields (left), Rep. Donna Edwards and Dr. Leana Wen show people how to use naloxone on a street corner in Sandtown, a Baltimore neighborhood where drug activity is common.

Baltimore Fights Heroin Overdoses With Antidote Outreach

6:59pm September 10, 2015

by Audie Cornish

Fatal overdoses are rising among an estimated 19,000 people who use heroin in Baltimore. To curb deaths, the city's health commissioner aims to make an antidote widely available to drug users.

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Treatment From Brain Tissue May Have Spread Alzheimer's Protein

4:07pm September 10, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

Eight people who received growth hormone treatments made from human brains died decades later from a rare disease. Some also had brain damage similar to that seen in Alzheimer's, autopsies reveal.

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The Problem With Teens Is That They're Just Too Rational

4:06pm September 10, 2015

by Nancy Shute

Teenagers aren't always risk-taking gamblers; they put a lot of effort into weighing financial choices, a study finds. Adults are more apt to adopt rules and quickly make choices that are good enough.

How Sound Shaped The Evolution Of Your Brain

4:06pm September 10, 2015

by Bill McQuay

Sound gets into our brains and processed so quickly that it shapes all other perceptions, says neuroscientist Seth Horowitz. "You hear anywhere from 20 to 100 times faster than you see."

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Two polio cases have been reported in Ukraine, where some parents are fearful of vaccinations. Above: A child receives the diphtheria, whooping cough and tetanus vaccine in a children's hospital in Kiev.

How Did Polio Pop Up In 2 Polio-Free Countries: Ukraine And Mali?

2:40pm September 10, 2015

by Diane Cole

Three new cases have raised questions about how the virus can suddenly reappear in a place where it had previously been eradicated.

Restrictions on the airspace around Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., prompted an Orange County contractor to cancel a plan to conduct aerial spraying Wednesday.

Disneyland's Restricted Airspace Prompts Cancellation Of Insect-Spraying Flight

2:33pm September 10, 2015

by Bill Chappell

A 3-mile radius around the California theme park is designated as "national defense airspace" by the FAA, complicating attempts to control mosquitoes.

House Begins Series Of Hearings On Defunding Planned Parenthood

1:55pm September 10, 2015

by Jennifer Ludden

The House Judiciary Committee held the first hearing Wednesday to investigate whether Planned Parenthood is breaking any laws, but it quickly focused instead on whether abortion should be legal.

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Some Medicare Advantage special needs plans may cover respite care, but are not required to do so.

Health & Safety

Medicare Provides Few Respite Coverage Options For Caregivers

12:35pm September 10, 2015

by Michelle Andrews

Medicare generally covers respite care only when a beneficiary is in hospice, although some special needs Medicare Advantage plans may be of help.