Humans

Some critically ill patients who received a CAR-T cell treatment have remained cancer-free for as long as five years, researchers say. But the price is high.

Insurers And Government Are Slow To Cover Expensive CAR-T Cancer Therapy

3:36pm July 17, 2018

by Michelle Andrews

Treatment costs for the immunotherapy can run to more than $1 million. Some state Medicaid programs aren't paying for the treatment, and Medicare's complicated payment rates have hospitals worried.

Julien Lavandier, a Colorado State University student, started smoking e-cigarettes as a high school sophomore. He says he's now hooked on Juul and has been unable to quit.

He Started Vaping As A Teen And Now Says Habit Is 'Impossible To Let Go'

5:54pm July 14, 2018

by John Daley

Public health officials worry vaping is an emerging disaster that could reverse years of decline in smoking by young people. What's the latest evidence that e-cigarettes are a gateway to tobacco?

What The Diet Of A 5,300-Year-Old 'Iceman' Says About Ancient Europeans

5:57pm July 13, 2018

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Frank Maixner about how scientists uncovered the last meal of a frozen hunter who died 5,300 years ago in the Alps. The stomach contents of the man show what ancient Europeans ate.

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Books
Arts

Sally Kohn: What Is The Opposite Of Hate?

9:33am July 13, 2018

by NPR/TED Staff

Political commentator Sally Kohn wanted to understand why people hate. She traveled the world tracking down stories of hatred - but along the way, discovered an uncomfortable truth about her own past.

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Explaining a Concept. To make something plain or comprehensible; to make understandable the nature or meaning of something.

Watch Your Mouth

3:02pm July 12, 2018

This week on the Hidden Brain radio show, we explore how the constantly evolving nature of languages can give us different ways of understanding ourselves as well as the world we live in.

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Science

Fresh Starts

10:44am July 11, 2018

Unpredictable things happen to us all the time. On this week's radio episode, we bring you two stories of loss and the change it brings.

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The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act still prohibits your insurer from using the results of genetic tests against you. But the ACA's additional protections may be in doubt if certain states get their way.

Has Genetic Privacy Been Strained By Trump's Recent ACA Moves?

8:02am July 11, 2018

by Michelle Andrews

As the Trump administration decides not to defend the Affordable Care Act's legal protections for people with pre-existing conditions, questions arise about health insurance and genetic information.

When ticks come into contact with clothing sprayed with permethrin, research shows, they quickly become incapacitated and are unable to bite.

To Repel Ticks, Try Spraying Your Clothes With A Pesticide That Mimics Mums

11:23am July 09, 2018

by Allison Aubrey

Just in time for summer hikes and outdoor play, a study finds that the ticks that often convey Lyme disease become unable to bite, and soon die, after exposure to clothing treated with permethrin.

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Jana Krocakova and Petra Plankova of Mamma HELP show off their new brew aimed at helping breast cancer patients undergoing chemo to "feel normal" and overcome their impaired sense of taste.

Czech Company Designs A Nonalcoholic Beer To Taste Good To Cancer Patients

3:43pm July 06, 2018

by Elizabeth Zahradnicek-Haas

A nonalcoholic brew joins the growing market to help chemo patients overcome the changes in their palates that make food unappealing. And it just might help them feel better, too.

In 'Light Of The Stars,' Adam Frank Studies Alien Worlds To Find Earth's Fate

5:32pm July 05, 2018

Astrophysicist Adam Frank has a new book out, Light of the Stars: Alien Worlds and the Fate of the Earth. He talks to NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about it.