Health & Safety

Health & Safety

Wastewater reveals which viruses are actually circulating and causing colds

7:42am October 23, 2023

by Pien Huang

COVID, flu and RSV are the big respiratory illnesses, but U.S. researchers have a clearer picture of other circulating viruses with wastewater surveillance. (Story aired on ATC on Oct. 20, 2023.)

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Health & Safety

Israel-Hamas war takes toll on Israeli and Palestinian civilians' mental health

5:13am October 23, 2023

As the Israel-Hamas conflict continues, researchers warn about the surge of mental health problems that will plague the region for years to come as a result of the war trauma.

Health & Safety

With the help of AI, cardiologists can predict who will develop A-Fib

5:13am October 23, 2023

by Allison Aubrey

Cardiologists have developed an algorithm to detect an irregular heart rhythm called A-Fib, a month before it happens. It's one example of AI finding patterns the human eye can't see.

Angels for Change founder Laura Bray took on the problem of drug shortages when the hospital ran out of the drug that her then-9-year-old daughter needed to treat her leukemia.

Health & Safety

The hospital ran out of her child's cancer drug. Now she's fighting to end shortages

5:00am October 23, 2023

by Yuki Noguchi

Laura Bray couldn't watch her 9-year-old's leukemia go untreated. She started campaigning to fix a broken system and get patients the treatments they need in the face of drug shortages.

Health & Safety

The FDA moves to ban chemical hair straighteners containing formaldehyde

8:06am October 22, 2023

by Ayesha Rascoe

NPR's Ayesha Rascoe asks researcher Kimberly Bertrand about hair relaxers containing formaldehyde and moves by the FDA to ban them.

What happened to the EPA investigation into Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley'?

6:19pm October 21, 2023

by Halle Parker

The podcast Sea Change from WWNO and WRKF, looks at the EPA investigation into whether Louisiana discriminated against Black communities living in the 85-mile-long corridor known as "Cancer Alley."

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Flu and COVID-19 vaccinations are now available across the U.S., including at this CVS pharmacy in Palatine, Illinois.

Health & Safety

A seasonal viral stew is brewing with flu, RSV, COVID and more

2:38pm October 21, 2023

by Pien Huang

National data shows COVID-19 levels are moderate. In most of the U.S., levels of other respiratory viruses are low, although RSV is ticking up in some southeastern states.

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Health & Safety

There's renewed pressure on the FDA to ban synthetic food dye Red No. 3

9:27am October 21, 2023

by Allison Aubrey

California became the first state to ban a synthetic food dye. Health advocates want the dye removed from the food supply nationwide. (This story first aired on Morning Edition on October 16, 2023.)

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Health & Safety

A new shot could protect babies against RSV — if they're able to get it in time

8:32am October 21, 2023

by Amelia Templeton

A new vaccine for newborns could dramatically reduce hospitalizations this winter for RSV, a respiratory virus. But not every baby may get the shot.

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Kayleigh Butler, a hair stylist, stands for a portrait at her studio in Atlanta on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. "Relaxers have taken an extreme decline ... as we became more knowledgeable about the effects of the relaxer on your hair and what it can do to your hair," says Butler, who remembers getting relaxers when she was 5 years old.

The FDA is proposing a ban on hair relaxers with formaldehyde due to cancer concerns

6:05am October 21, 2023

by Jonathan Franklin

The federal agency says it is proposing a ban on the use of formaldehyde in hair straighteners and smoothers, which have been linked to increased cancer risks.