Health & Safety

In Philadelphia, harm reduction experts help communities fight xylazine addiction

4:30pm April 12, 2023

NPR's Andrew Limbong talks with Sarah Laurel, founder of a harm reduction nonprofit called Savage Sisters, about how communities are helping people struggling with addiction to xylazine and fentanyl.

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The Navy has begun to look into the service's high rate of suicide

4:28pm April 12, 2023

by Steve Walsh

The Navy is trying to learn why it has high suicide rates. One answer may lie with the practice of putting sailors together on limited duty, which can exacerbate feelings of hopelessness and despair.

What's the origin of the long-ago Swahili civilization? Genes offer a revealing answer

4:05pm April 12, 2023

by Joanne Silberner

Genetic analyses back up what Swahili oral tradition has long held about ancestry of people from eastern Africa — that their ancestors are from Africa and abroad.

Health & Safety

High Country health executive says telehealth brings benefits for rural patients

3:50pm April 12, 2023

by Braden Bock

Health officials in the High Country say that telehealth services can fill a need for rural providers and their patients.

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Smoke billows from the site of an industrial fire in Richmond, Ind., on Wednesday.

What we know about the Indiana industrial fire that's forced residents to evacuate

2:28pm April 12, 2023

by Joe Hernandez

An evacuation order remains in place for people within a half-mile of the industrial site in Richmond, but authorities say firefighters have contained the blaze.

A doctor reflects on the challenges of caring for a parent with Alzheimer's

2:05pm April 12, 2023

by Terry Gross

Dr. Sandeep Jauhar says caring for his dad was the hardest journey he's ever taken. His memoir, My Father's Brain, is also about the latest research into the disease, and why there's not yet a cure.

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Long COVID may be due to the virus sticking around after infection, researchers say

9:33am April 12, 2023

by Will Stone

A growing body of evidence points to the idea that the coronavirus can stick around long after an initial infection. Some researchers think that may be a major driver of long COVID.

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Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, speaks at a press conference at the Superior Council of the Judiciary in Bogota, Colombia on Aug. 23, 2022.

Biden administration says fentanyl-xylazine cocktail is a deadly national threat

8:34am April 12, 2023

by Brian Mann

The White House says drug deaths linked to a mix of synthetic drugs including fentanyl and xylazine — also known as tranq — are a major public health threat. The drug cocktail is spreading fast.

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Health & Safety

80-hour weeks and roaches near your cot? More medical residents unionize

5:56am April 12, 2023

by Alan Yu | WHYY

Medical residents at Penn Medicine in Philadelphia move to unionize in search of better working conditions. (This piece originally aired April 4, 2023, on All Things Considered.)

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Health & Safety

The legal battle over mifepristone raises concerns in the the pharmacetical industry

5:20am April 12, 2023

by Michel Martin

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Harvard Medical School's Ameet Sarpatwari about the legal battle over mifepristone and how it might affect the drug market in the U.S. and beyond.