Health & Safety

Find other stories in the Living Cancer series at WNYC.org.

Stats Split On Progress Against Cancer

8:33am March 24, 2015

by Richard Harris

When you dig into the number on cancer, the results are mixed. Overall, deaths are up. But survival five years after diagnosis has improved for many forms of the disease, including breast cancer.

It's not the real deal. This Ebola Treatment Unit was set up for a TED talk in Vancouver so people could get a sense of what the units are like, and what it's like to put on the protective suit.

You're Just A Blob In Layers Of Plastic

6:52pm March 23, 2015

by Nina Gregory

Ever wondered what it feels like to get into one of the moon suits that Ebola workers wear for protection? At a TED Talk, Bill Gates gave audience members a chance to climb in and see.

Grey lines connecting health care workers (marked with "+") and patients represent contacts between them. The red figures are carriers of MRSA.

Wireless Sensors Help Scientists Map Staph Spread Inside Hospital

5:34pm March 23, 2015

by Scott Hensley

Over four months of tracking and testing, French researchers mapped the hops that bacteria made from one person to another. Within a month, a third of patients were newly colonized with staph.

If You're Going To Die Soon, Do You Really Need Statins?

4:30pm March 23, 2015

by Nancy Shute

Many older people are taking a lot of meds, and some drugs may not be doing them much good. When terminally ill people went off statins, they said they felt better. And it didn't increase their risk.

Twins Watta and Fatta Balyon pose outside the home of their guardian Mamuedeh Kanneh in Barkedu, a village in Liberia.

A Year Of Ebola: Memorable Moments From Our Reporters' Notebooks

2:43pm March 23, 2015

by NPR Staff

They remember an early survivor, the crying child, the teenager who wouldn't give up, the woman who had only bananas to eat, people shaking hands again despite the risks.

Polina, 37, rests in a hospital bed in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2011. She is severely malnourished and suffers from numerous diseases, including tuberculosis, hepatitis C and HIV.

'How Unromantic It Is To Die Of Tuberculosis In The 21st Century'

2:40pm March 23, 2015

by Salmaan Keshavjee

That's what a patient in Russia said a few years ago. In fact, 1.5 million people do die of the airborne infection each year. Here's what the world needs to do to fight this generally curable scourge.

Laury Sacks and her husband, Eric. The actress and writer developed frontotemporal dementia in her late 40s and died in 2008 at age 52.

'Looks Like Laury' Shines The Power Of Friendship On A Failing Mind

8:09am March 23, 2015

by Deborah Franklin

When actress and writer Laury Sacks started losing words fast, her best friends, who happened to be filmmakers, captured her experience. Looks Like Laury, Sounds Like Laury shows how they reached her.

Health & Safety

Despite A Wave Of Data Breaches, Fed Says Patient Privacy Isn't Dead

8:08am March 23, 2015

by Charles Ornstein

Hackers may have gained access to records for 11 million people covered by Premera Blue Cross. It's the latest lapse keeping an obscure government agency that investigates the breaches busy.

Brazilian mothers participate in a demonstration in 2011 for the right to breastfeed in public, in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Breast-Feeding Boosts Chances Of Success, Study In Brazil Finds

2:01pm March 22, 2015

by Rob Stein

A study that followed more than 3,000 babies into adulthood found those who were breast-fed had slightly higher IQ test scores, stayed in school longer and earned more money as adults.

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The effects of malaria in the brain are clear: A healthy brain, right, has many grooves and crevices. But when the brain swells up, left, these crevices smooth out.

How Malaria In The Brain Kills: Doctors Solve A Medical Mystery

1:56pm March 22, 2015

by Michaeleen Doucleff

A child stricken with the deadliest form of the disease can quickly fall unconscious and die. A doctor in Michigan has dedicated her life to figuring out how this happens. At last, she has the answer.

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