Health & Safety

In the beginning of their project, Sara Hendren and Brian Glenney stuck their new design over existing handicapped signs around Boston.

New Handicapped Sign Rolls Into New York City

12:37pm July 09, 2013

by NPR Staff

A pair of guerrilla artists are on a mission to bring new momentum to the wheelchair-bound figure. It's an attitude that's already given some disabled people a voice they haven't had before.

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Anne Jones, 62, and Robin Jones, 73, at their home in Menlo Park, Calif. He took a test that revealed proteins typical of Alzheimer's disease.

Finding Simple Tests For Brain Disorders Turns Out To Be Complex

1:17pm July 08, 2013

by Amy Standen

There are tests for heart attacks and diabetes, but few for brain disorders. Researchers are trying to change that, but are finding the hunt for biomarkers for mental illness to be a tough slog. Tests on the market, like ones for Alzheimer's, are not conclusive.

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The Italian Renaissance Garden in New York's botanical gardens is inspired by the garden in Padua, Italy, created in 1545.

Growing The Latest In 16th-Century Medicine

6:37pm July 06, 2013

by Margot Adler

A small section of the New York Botanical Garden's Wild Medicine exhibit recreates the Italian Renaissance Garden at Padua, Italy, the site of one of the earliest and most important medical schools.

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"Liver buds" grow in petri dishes. The rudimentary organs are about 5 mm wide, or half the height of a classic Lego block.

Scientists Grow A Simple, Human Liver In A Petri Dish

9:48am July 04, 2013

The tiny organs created from stem cells aren't complete, but they act like regular livers when transplanted into mice, Japanese scientists say. Still, it will be years before the synthetic organs could help people with liver problems, even if further research all works out as hoped.

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How does the doctor decide what to write on the prescription pad?

Health & Safety

Top Medicare Prescribers Rake In Speaking Fees From Drugmakers

5:38pm July 03, 2013

by Charles Ornstein, Tracy Weber and Jennifer LaFleur, ProPublica

Paying doctors to prescribe particular drugs is illegal. But drugmakers pay some doctors to talk with their peers about prescription drugs. The speakers say they aren't influenced by the money they get for promoting the drugs. But data show many of them are top prescribers of the medicines.

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Patients sit with their eyes bandaged at an Aravind Eye Care clinic in Madurai, India after cataract surgeries. Aravind performs more than 300,000 cataract surgeries annually.

One Man's Quest To Make Medical Technology Affordable To All

2:47pm July 03, 2013

by John Ydstie

David Green says capitalism practiced with empathy is the right way to make health care available to the masses. The social entrepreneur is working on medical devices and services that can make a difference in the developing world.

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White House Delays Key Piece Of Affordable Care Act

9:52am July 03, 2013

by Julie Rovner

The Obama administration has decided to delay the date companies with 50 or more full-time employees are required to comply with the Affordable Care Act. They'll now have until 2015.

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Health & Safety

Affordable Care Act's Employer Mandate Delayed

8:12pm July 02, 2013

by Julie Rovner

The Obama administration announced Tuesday that it's delaying a key part of the Affordable Care Act. Businesses will now have another year to prove that they are providing health insurance — or that their employees otherwise have health insurance from some other source. Companies had complained that the reporting requirements to prove this were too complicated and burdensome.

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How A Minority Biking Group Raises The Profile Of Cycling

12:30pm July 02, 2013

by Lauren Ober

Minority cycling groups are forming all over the country. One in Washington, D.C., in particular, is trying to change the perception of just who is a cyclist.

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Nurse Tina Martin checks on Orion Qurbonaliev, 4, who has tuberculosis. Orion's grandmother, Kholbibi Abdulloeva, also has TB.

Myths And Stigma Stoke TB Epidemic In Tajikistan

10:51am July 02, 2013

by Jason Beaubien

A family copes with tuberculosis in a place where a child infected with the illness may be shunned. Nurses are working hard to bring clean air and clear information to every home and every generation.

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