Health & Safety

On Sept. 11, 2001, 343 firefighters and paramedics were killed, most when the towers collapsed. Now, an equal number have died from 9/11-related illnesses, the FDNY says.

FDNY deaths from 9/11-related illnesses now equal the number killed on Sept. 11

4:36pm September 25, 2023

by Becky Sullivan

Two recent deaths brought the total to 343, matching the death toll from Sept. 11, the FDNY said. Some 11,000 former and current FDNY employees suffer from 9/11-related illnesses, 3,500 with cancer.

Health & Safety

North Carolina receives over $4 million to strengthen maternal health care

11:08am September 25, 2023

by Neal Charnoff

North Carolina will receive over $4 million in federal funding to help strengthen access to maternal health care. The funding initiative is aimed at addressing high infant and maternal mortality rates, as well as ongoing inequity in those rates.

Long-time collaborators Pardis Sabeti (right) of the Broad Institute and Christian Happi of the African Centre of Excellence for Genomics of Infectious Diseases in Nigeria, are developing an early-warning system that could flag an emerging pandemic .

Scientific dynamic duo aims to stop the next pandemic before it starts

7:01am September 25, 2023

by Ari Daniel

Two scientists, one Nigerian and one American, created a cutting-edge surveillance network to catch the next emerging disease before it becomes a pandemic.

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Health & Safety

Is it true that taking a dip in freezing cold water has health benefits?

5:08am September 25, 2023

by Will Stone

Lots of people are touting the benefits of cold water immersion but is there research to back up these claims? We check with scientists.

Why 1 in 4 inmate deaths happens in the same federal prison in North Carolina

5:08am September 25, 2023

A quarter of federal inmate deaths occur at North Carolina's Butner prison complex. Some federal inmates only arrived at its medical facility after waiting months or even years for care elsewhere.

Health & Safety

The U.S. government will send up to 4 free COVID tests to anyone who requests them

5:08am September 25, 2023

NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O'Connell about giving away free COVID tests again, and issuing grants for U.S. test manufacturers.

Siblings Sofia Oliveira, 18, and Andre Oliveira, 15, pose for a picture at the beach in Costa da Caparica, south of Lisbon, Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023.

Young climate activists challenging 32 governments will get their day in court

4:34am September 25, 2023

by The Associated Press

Six young activists are due Wednesday at the European Court of Human Rights, where they're accusing 32 governments of violating their human rights for failing to adequately address climate change.

Ekemeni Riley is the managing director of Aligning Science Across Parkinson's, a research initiative that worked on an effort to bring a more diverse population into a study on genes that carry a greater risk for the disease. A team that included scientists from Lagos, London and the U.S. found a previously unknown gene variant that can nearly quadruple the risk for people of African ancestry.

Risk factor for Parkinson's discovered in genes from people of African descent

9:54am September 24, 2023

by Jon Hamilton

An effort to diversify genetic studies has led to a discovery about Parkinson's disease in people of African descent.

Health & Safety

New research finds building evidence for the long-term health effects of wildfire smoke

8:23am September 24, 2023

Wildfire smoke has plagued much of the country this summer causing short-term impacts like increasing asthma. But researchers learning that wildfire smoke can have far-lasting implications.

Health & Safety

Norovirus is breaking out in the wilderness — with busy hiking trails to blame

8:00am September 24, 2023

by Pien Huang

Hikers are getting sick with norovirus in the wilderness. A CDC investigation finds poor hygiene along the Pacific Crest Trail — and other outdoor settings — is to blame.