Humans

Dr. Dorry Segev (right), of Johns Hopkins Medicine, led the team of doctors that transplanted an HIV-positive liver and kidney into two different HIV-positive patients this month.

New Source Of Transplant Organs For Patients With HIV: Others With HIV

2:31pm March 31, 2016

by Rae Ellen Bichell

The organ donor and both recipients in the procedure this month were all HIV-positive — a first in the U.S. Using HIV-positive organs for some patients could enable a thousand more transplants a year.

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Fatty plaque (shown here in yellow) blocks about 60 percent of this coronary artery's width. The increasing thickness of artery walls is just one factor that can increase vulnerability to a heart attack or stroke.

Possible Heart Benefits Of Taking Estrogen Get Another Look

8:05pm March 30, 2016

by Rae Ellen Bichell

Evidence has ping-ponged over the decades on the effects of hormone therapy on a woman's arteries. The latest study suggests a brief stint on hormones might be helpful — if given at the right time.

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Paul Hornback was a senior engineer and analyst for the U.S. Army when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease six years ago at age 55. His wife, Sarah, had to retire 18 months ago to care for him full time.

Big Financial Costs Are Part Of Alzheimer's Toll On Families

4:36pm March 30, 2016

by Jon Hamilton

A survey of more than 3,500 people caring for family members with dementia finds that many are spending down personal savings and cutting into their own basic needs to meet their loved one's expenses.

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An oil field truck is used to make a transfer at oil-storage tanks in Williston, N.D., in 2014. It was atop tanks like these that oil worker Dustin Bergsing, 21, was found dead.

Mysterious Death Uncovers Risk In Federal Oil Field Rules

9:41am March 30, 2016

by Emily Guerin

Oil worker Dustin Bergsing, 21, was found dead on top of a North Dakota oil tank in 2012. A journalist and a doctor looking into the death found a pattern of similar fatal accidents.

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Science

How To Build A Better Job

8:37am March 29, 2016

by NPR Staff

You have more control over having the job you want than you think.

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A Crisis With Scant Data: States Move To Count Drug-Dependent Babies

2:57pm March 28, 2016

by Ben Allen

Getting good information is critical to figuring out where resources need to go to treat newborns dependent on opioids. Pennsylvania relies on old and incomplete statistics, but that may be changing.

Amanda Hensley with her daughter, Valencia. Hensley says several hospitals and clinics she contacted were reluctant to help her quit her opioid habit. "Nobody wants to touch a pregnant woman with an addiction issue."

Pregnant And Addicted: The Tough Road To Family Health

1:17pm March 28, 2016

by Sarah Jane Tribble

Guilt still haunts a new mother who was addicted to opioids when she got pregnant. Once she was ready to ask for help, treatment programs that could handle her complicated pregnancy were hard to find.

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Co-workers dish on their lazy colleagues and some defend their slow-rolling behaviors.

Before You Judge Lazy Workers, Consider They Might Serve A Purpose

4:57am March 28, 2016

by Yuki Noguchi

A recent Japanese study shows the lazy ants play a critical role in colonies. They contribute when others die or drop out. The researcher says the same is true for humans. But is it?

Carolyn Rossi, a registered nurse at the Hospital of Central Connecticut, says the opioid epidemic has required nurses who used to specialize in care for infants gain insights into caring for addicted mothers, as well.

To Help Newborns Dependent On Opioids, Hospitals Rethink Mom's Role

2:00pm March 26, 2016

by Jeff Cohen

When a woman addicted to opioids gives birth, she is too often dismissed as an obstacle to her infant's health. A Connecticut hospital is challenging that attitude — and the culture of care.

Science

Scientists Build A Live, No-Frills Cell That Could Have A Big Future

8:00am March 26, 2016

A group of synthetic biologists report they've created an organism with a minimum number of genes required to survive and reproduce.