Health & Safety

Dense Breasts Are Just One Part Of The Cancer Risk Calculus

1:00pm May 20, 2015

by Nancy Shute

Women with dense breasts are more likely to get cancer and less likely to catch it early on a mammogram. But degree of density matters too, a study finds, as do other factors like family history.

People exercise along the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.; the metro area was ranked as America's fittest city for the second year in a row.

Wanna Go To Fit City? List Ranks America's 50 Fittest Metro Areas

9:44am May 20, 2015

by Bill Chappell

The new American Fitness Index is out, with some good news and bad news. Five cities fell five or more slots; Washington, D.C., finished first, followed by Minneapolis-St. Paul.

Families harvest poppy bulbs in the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan. To collect the opium, they score the bulbs and let the milky substance ooze out. The dried residue contains about 10 percent morphine.

Home-Brewed Morphine Is Around The Corner

9:09pm May 19, 2015

by Michaeleen Doucleff

What if microbes could ferment sugar into narcotics, like the way yeasts make beer? That day is quickly approaching. This week scientists report all the steps needed to make morphine in yeast.

Clinical Psychologist To Head Chicago's Cook County Jail

7:06pm May 19, 2015

NPR's Melissa Block interviews Nneka Jones Tapia, a clinical psychologist who was appointed to lead one of the country's largest jails. More than a third of Cook County's inmates are mentally ill.

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A whole range of foods in common in the Mediterranean diet — from fish to nuts to fruits and vegetables — are rich in antioxidants and may protect against cognitive decline.

Health & Safety

Brain Boost: Mediterranean Diet May Fend Off Memory Loss

6:44pm May 19, 2015

by Allison Aubrey

People in their 60s and 70s who followed the Mediterranean diet for four years held steady on cognitive tests, a study found. But the test scores of people following a lower-fat diet went down.

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it will verify companies' claims of using non-GMO ingredients through its Process Verified Program.

USDA To Certify Non-GMO Foods With New Label

6:40pm May 19, 2015

by Allison Aubrey

The government runs organic and antibiotic-free labeling programs, but has stayed out of the non-GMO labeling fray. That is, until a food company asked the USDA for help, and the agency obliged.

Do food-laden environments really contribute to obesity or is it the other way around?

Health & Safety

How We Store Food At Home Could Be Linked To How Much We Eat

6:40pm May 19, 2015

by Angus Chen

Could keeping food out of sight be a way to keep it out of your mouth? A new study points to a possible tie between how food is stored, how visible it is in the home and obesity.

Does A Foreign Accent Mess Up Our Memory Of What's Said?

5:28pm May 19, 2015

by Nancy Shute

It can be hard to decipher what a non-native speaker is saying. But that might not always be a bad thing when it comes to understanding or remembering, scientists say.

Health & Safety

Public Hearing Contests Additional Mental Health Space

4:58pm May 19, 2015

by Michael Burke

A mental health facility wants to add more beds to its Kernersville location. Supporters and detractors both spoke out at a public hearing Monday.

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Assault On Salt: Uruguay Bans Shakers In Restaurants And Schools

1:33pm May 19, 2015

by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro

The tiny nation has some of Latin America's highest rates of obesity, hypertension and heart disease. The capital Montevideo has tried to intervene by making salt on the table illegal.

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