Health & Safety

Idle Pharmaceutical Factories In Puerto Rico Raise Concerns Of Drug Shortages

4:58pm October 06, 2017

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with reporter Katie Thomas of The New York Times about how Hurricane Maria may cause shortages of essential drugs due to idled factories.

Violent gun deaths per 100,000 people in 2016

Health & Safety

Gun Violence: How The U.S. Compares With Other Countries

4:41pm October 06, 2017

by Nurith Aizenman

The U.S. should, based on its wealth and other factors, have one of the world's lowest rates of gun deaths. The data show a different picture.

Manufacturers are not required to disclose if BPA, or other similar compounds, are used in their packaging.

Health & Safety

Which Items In Our Kitchens Contain BPA?

7:00am October 06, 2017

by Natalie Jacewicz

Manufacturers are not required to disclose whether products contain BPA, which makes it hard to know which kitchen plastics include the additive — or other functionally identical compounds.

Hospitals in Puerto Rico are dealing with no power, no air conditioning, no local water, no local food, no Internet and very limited communication.

112 Degrees With No Water: Puerto Rican Hospitals Battle Life And Death Daily

5:27pm October 05, 2017

by John Burnett

An American disaster medical team is now setting up cooling tents to help some patients. "When they transferred me here ... they rescued me from the dragon's mouth," one patient said.

Queue Listen Now

Zannah Mustapha and the students of the Future Prowess School he founded for children caught up in the Boko Haram conflict. This week he won a U.N. prize for his efforts.

His School For 540 Needy Kids Earns Him A U.N. Prize

3:18pm October 05, 2017

by Vicky Hallett

Nigerian lawyer Zannah Mustapha is honored this week for negotiating the release of girls captured by Boko Haram and starting a school for orphans and others affected by the violence.

The contents of a drug overdose rescue kit at a May 13, 2015, training session in Buffalo, N.Y., on how to administer naloxone, which reverses the effects of heroin and prescription painkillers.

To Save Opioid Addicts, This Experimental Court Is Ditching The Delays

2:26pm October 05, 2017

by Eric Westervelt

Underscoring the severity of the U.S. overdose crisis, a first-of-its kind opioid intervention court aims to get drug-addicted criminal defendants into recovery before their criminal case is heard.

Queue Listen Now

An employee of the Natural History Museum in London peeks at a model of a Neanderthal male in his 20s on display for a 2014 exhibition.

Neanderthal Genes Help Shape How Many Modern Humans Look

12:31pm October 05, 2017

by Greta Jochem

Calling someone a Neanderthal because of his coarse manners or brutish looks may seem like fun. But be careful. Neanderthal DNA persists inside many of us.

About 40 million people in the U.S. suffer from some form of anxiety disorder, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America.

Health & Safety

What Is It Like To Suffer From An Anxiety Disorder?

11:34am October 05, 2017

by Barbara J. King

Empathy for people diagnosed with an anxiety disorder can come about by reading first-person accounts and by knowing the facts from science, says anthropologist Barbara J. King.

Health & Safety

State Fines Guilford Animal Shelter Over Delayed Vaccinations

10:53am October 05, 2017

by Neal Charnoff

State inspectors have cited the Guilford County Animal Shelter for being out of compliance on a number of issues. The shelter is also being fined over delayed rabies vaccinations.

Low- and middle-income countries, as ranked on a Sociodemographic Index, where the observed life expectancy exceeded the expected life expectancy by the greatest margins.

People Are Living Longer In Places You Wouldn't Expect

10:46am October 05, 2017

by Emily Sohn

In lower income countries and territories, life expectancy can be quite low — below 55 years. But sometimes it is years more than you'd predict. What's up?