Your Health

Researchers looked at states with medical marijuana dispensaries and those that allow home cultivation.

Opioid Use Lower In States That Eased Marijuana Laws

4:29pm April 02, 2018

by Richard Harris

Researchers looked at states with medical marijuana dispensaries and those that allow home cultivation. They found lower use of opioids, when compared with states where marijuana remains illegal.

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Cutting back up to 25 percent of your calories per day helps slow your metabolism and reduce free radicals that cause cell damage and aging. But would you want to?

You May Live Longer By Severely Restricting Calories, Scientists Say

11:38am April 02, 2018

Scientists have long been fascinated with whether dramatically restricting the amount of food we eat can help us live longer. New research suggests it might, but the question is, is it worth it?

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Kit Parker and his team have developed wound dressings that use incredibly thin fibers to speed healing and reduce scarring.

Failure To Save A Child In Wartime Inspires Wound-Healing Tech

5:06am April 02, 2018

by Jon Hamilton

As a soldier, Kit Parker saw horrific injuries. As a scientist, he led an effort to create high-tech dressings that speed healing and reduce scarring.

Health & Safety

Invisibilia: Do the Patterns in Your Past Predict Your Future?

1:03pm March 30, 2018

by Alix Spiegel

A massive computer competition works to identify the patterns that can predict where someone will end up in life. But whether this competition has a winner may depend on your viewpoint.

Arlington, Mass., Police Chief Fred Ryan (right) and Inspector Gina Bassett review toxicology reports on cocaine evidence looking for the possibility of fentanyl.

Fentanyl-Laced Cocaine Becoming A Deadly Problem Among Drug Users

11:05am March 29, 2018

by Martha Bebinger

The powerful opioid fentanyl is showing up in batches of cocaine, threatening a new wave of opioid overdoses. Some doctors, drug users and law enforcement wonder if the contamination is deliberate.

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Sheila Dhand, a wound care nurse, treats many people who use drugs via mobile unit.

Healing Drug Injection Wounds Can Help Get Care Closer To Patients

5:00am March 28, 2018

by Elana Gordon

Infections from intravenous drug use are often hidden, under sleeves and beneath pants. These wounds of addiction may be buried in shame. They can also be serious, requiring surgery or constant care.

The author of a new book, Doing Harm, argues that a pattern of gender bias in medicine means women's pain may be going undiagnosed.

Health & Safety

How 'Bad Medicine' Dismisses And Misdiagnoses Women's Symptoms

4:41pm March 27, 2018

by Terry Gross

Journalist Maya Dusenbery argues that medicine has a "systemic and unconscious bias" against women that is rooted in "what doctors, regardless of their own gender, are learning in medical schools."

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A telemedicine program in Rochester, Minn., allows low-risk expectant mothers to forgo some standard prenatal visits.

For Women With Low-Risk Pregnancies, Technology Can Reduce Doctor Visits

5:00am March 27, 2018

by Michelle Andrews

In a program called OB Nest, The Mayo Clinic has been using a telemedicine program that allows low-risk expectant mothers to forgo some standard prenatal visits.

Apps that deliver birth control pills in the mail help provide a service in "contraception deserts," where the local clinic may be miles away.

Birth Control Apps Find A Big Market In 'Contraception Deserts'

2:14pm March 26, 2018

For some U.S. women who buy hormonal contraception via an app, it's all about convenience — birth control pills in the mail, without an office visit. But in Texas there's much more to it.

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When patients connect online, they often share information that reveals how treatments work in the real world.

How Social Media Can Reveal Overlooked Drug Reactions

11:28am March 23, 2018

by Menaka Wilhelm

Even big clinical studies can miss important drug side effects. Researchers, doctors and drugmakers are looking at patients' experiences posted on social media for clues on problems that were missed.