Health & Safety

A Lone Star tick (middle) flanked by a deer tick (left) and a dog tick. The Lone Star tick is thought to be primarily responsible for an allergy to red meat, but other ticks can't be ruled out.

Health & Safety

CDC warns about red meat allergy caused by some tick bites

5:26pm July 27, 2023

by Allison Aubrey

Patients who have digestive symptoms only after eating red meat may have developed an allergy caused by ticks. The CDC says hundreds of thousands of people may have been affected over the past decade.

Many new bans on medical care for transgender children are being challenged in courts

9:24am July 27, 2023

by Morgan Watkins

Gender-affirming care bans are undergoing intense legal scrutiny and testing federal courts in new ways, setting up battles that may go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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A doctor leaves a lasting impression on a woman caring for her dying mom

5:00am July 27, 2023

When her mother was struggling with late-stage cancer, Julia had a conversation with a doctor that made her feel heard.

Here are the drugs that could be in short supply after a tornado hit a Pfizer factory

10:13pm July 26, 2023

by Sydney Lupkin

A tornado that tore through a Pfizer factory in North Carolina could exacerbate drug shortages. Records obtained by NPR show the plant made dozens of products, including painkillers and anesthetics.

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Heat kills, but it doesn't have to: How the government can help

8:36pm July 26, 2023

NPR's Juana Summers talks with Kathy Baughman McLeod of the Arsht-Rock Resilience Center about why heat waves don't have the same legitimacy or federal funding as other extreme weather events.

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Why stinky sweat is good

8:36pm July 26, 2023

by Michaeleen Doucleff

Most people think sweat can be stinky. And we work hard to remove that smell. But could a stinky sweat actually be a signal of something good?

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Image shows a nurse treating a skin wound

Health & Safety

Veterinary sedative showing up in street drugs tested in NC

5:14pm July 26, 2023

by Paul Garber

State health officials are warning that a tranquilizer normally used for veterinary purposes is showing up in street drugs in the Piedmont.

Mosquito control teams in Sarasota County, Florida have been spraying larvicides, which target immature mosquitoes, in areas where standing water could serve as breeding grounds for Anopheles, the type of mosquito that can spread malaria.

In Florida's local malaria outbreak, forgotten bite led to surprise hospitalization

3:38pm July 26, 2023

by Stephanie Colombini

For the first time in two decades, the U.S. has evidence of local transmission of malaria. Most of the cases occurred in Florida's Sarasota County, which has stepped up mosquito suppression efforts.

President Biden delivers remarks on expanding access to mental health care in the East Room at the White House on Tuesday.

'Gimme a break!' Biden blasts insurance hassles for mental health treatment

3:06pm July 26, 2023

by Yuki Noguchi

President Biden unveiled a set of proposed new rules for health insurance companies designed to push the industry to cover treatment for mental health problems on par with how it covers medical care.

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An image of the hepatitis C virus Image made from a transmission electron microscopy. The virus is adept at evading the immune system.

Hep C has a secret strategy to evade the immune system. And now we know what it is

2:33pm July 26, 2023

by Bec Roldan

How does the hepatitis C virus keep the immune system at bay? A scientist finds the answer — and it involves a standard technique used by villains.