Health & Safety

Scientists are asking people to contribute samples of their gut microbes to help figure out how those microbes affect human health. But ethicists say sharing that information, as well as the personal health data that make it useful to researchers, poses risks. That's especially true for children.

Brain scans may help people who were ill treated as children realize that they process fear differently than others. They may have a harder time realizing what's truly a threat and what's not. Researchers say that can lead to increased risk of anxiety and depression.

More than 12 million Americans buy health insurance on their own, and many are getting cancellation notices because their individual coverage does not meet the standards of the Affordable Care Act. This is causing anxiety and anger — especially since most of these people can't get onto the healthcare.gov website to figure out their options for 2014.

The rate of heroin use is up, and federal data show that nearly 80 percent of people using it had previously abused prescription painkillers. The drugs have similar effects, and curbing painkiller abuse may help stymie the draw to heroin.

Many health plans being offered on the New York state insurance marketplace do not include some of New York City's biggest hospitals in their networks. And across the state, many doctors say they are not yet participating in exchange plans at all.

With the federal insurance exchanges still a mess, some uninsured people are turning to local groups to figure out how and where to purchase insurance. In Florida, a lack of coordination among different agencies is leaving room for dubious outfits to enter the scene.

The number of polio cases globally sank to an all-time low in 2012. But outbreaks in Syria and Somalia this year are jeopardizing efforts to eradicate the virus. A recent visit to the Somali-Ethiopian border highlights just how easily polio can regain a foothold in rural, insecure communities.

The success of the Affordable Care Act rests in part on getting young, healthy people to purchase coverage. But despite marketing attempts to reach them, some young people feel they're too healthy or cash-strapped to buy something they say they're unlikely to need.

Long after we die, many of the microscopic creatures living in and on us continue to thrive. In field experiments, forensic scientists are tracking changes in communities of microbes on human remains that could one day serve as clues.

President Obama repeatedly said that anyone who likes their current health insurance policy would be able to keep it. But insurers have sent hundreds of thousands of cancellation notices to people who buy their own coverage — and some of them face significantly higher costs to get new policies under the Affordable Care Act.