Health & Safety

Miriala Gonzalez, a registered nurse in Miami, carries a monkeypox vaccine. A new survey highlights major concerns from nurses nationwide regarding future staffing levels in hospitals.

Nearly a third of nurses nationwide say they are likely to leave the profession

10:55am May 02, 2023

by Jaclyn Diaz

Unions representing nurses say the findings from the latest AMN Healthcare survey are not a surprise. The nurses unions have long warned about problems facing the profession.

Scientists haven't unraveled the cause of long COVID. But evidence is growing that an ongoing viral infection could be driving the symptoms, at least in some patients.

Health & Safety

Why viral reservoirs are a prime suspect for long COVID sleuths

10:41am May 02, 2023

by Will Stone

Scientists are turning up more evidence that some people may harbor a viral reservoir in the wake of COVID-19. What could that tell us about long COVID?

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Advocates for addiction treatment say Narcan should be made available everywhere

5:25am May 02, 2023

NPR's Michel Martin talks to William Jawando, a councilmember in Montgomery County, Md., and activist Laura Mitchell, about the impact of the FDA's approval of over-the-counter sales of Narcan.

Dustin and Jaci Statton in an engagement photo from 2021. Jaci found out she had a partial molar pregnancy and couldn't get the abortion she needed in Oklahoma. They traveled to Kansas for care.

Health & Safety

'I'll lose my family.' A husband's dread during an abortion ordeal in Oklahoma

4:40pm May 01, 2023

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

Jaci and Dustin Statton didn't think Oklahoma's abortion bans would affect them. They were open to having more kids. They didn't imagine Jaci would face a life-threatening pregnancy, though.

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An electronic health records system for veterans has caused unnecessary suffering

4:38pm May 01, 2023

by Quil Lawrence

It took decades for the VA to begin updating it's electronic health records system. After breakdowns, the VA stopped all work on the $16 billion update with the Oracle-Cerner electronic health record.

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AI could help reduce military suicides, nonprofit hopes

4:26pm May 01, 2023

by Jay Price

A new project by a North Carolina non-profit group is using artificial intelligence to better understand – and maybe reduce – military suicide.

This video still shows a view of one person's cerebral cortex. Pink areas have above-average activity; blue areas have below-average activity.

A decoder that uses brain scans to know what you mean — mostly

4:26pm May 01, 2023

by Jon Hamilton

Scientists have decoded streams of words in the brain using artificial intelligence and the data from MRI scans.

Health & Safety

North Carolina expands action plan to address food and nutrition needs

10:50am May 01, 2023

by Neal Charnoff

North Carolina officials have released a new action plan to address food insecurity and nutrition needs.

Sixth graders from Habu Primary School in Botswana on a safari. The trip is the high point of a multi-pronged effort by the nonprofit Wild Entrust to resolve a chronic conflict between rural villagers and the wild animals that destroy their crops.

Health & Safety

Elephants are a menace for these 6th graders. Then they went on a safari ...

10:18am April 30, 2023

by Nurith Aizenman

Botswana has one of the last thriving elephant herds – and a history of human-elephant conflict that threatens both sides. A nonprofit has a program to shift that dynamic. Will it work?

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Health & Safety

We asked, you answered: What's your secret to staying optimistic in gloomy times?

7:00am April 30, 2023

From watching the sun rise — yeah, it's a cliche but it works! — to dancing to techno music to doing good for others to just plain smiling, readers share what gives them optimism in times of trouble.