public health

A digital drawing, made with black pencil and red and neon-blue gouache, shows a teenager standing in the center. The figure's human head has been replaced with a red rose, which is losing its petals.

Health & Safety

'All we want is revenge': How social media fuels gun violence among teens

11:06am August 25, 2023

by Liz Szabo

Teens share photos or videos of themselves with guns and cash, sometimes calling out rivals, on social media. When posts go viral, fueled by "likes" and comments, the danger is hard to contain.

Amy Treglia shows scarring on her arms caused by xylazine, a veterinary tranquilizer that is being used as a cutting agent for heroin and fentanyl.

A deadly new street drug caught the U.S. off guard. Experts say it'll happen again

7:00am June 17, 2023

by Brian Mann

A dangerous chemical called xylazine is being mixed into fentanyl across the U.S., but who's doing it and why is a mystery. The government still doesn't identify and track new drug threats.

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Farming in a 20-year drought is "hard for us," says John Mestas, at his cattle ranch in Colorado's San Luis Valley. Rising levels of arsenic in the water supply are linked to the drought.

Health & Safety

Once 'paradise,' parched Colorado valley grapples with arsenic in water

5:01am May 22, 2023

by Melissa Bailey

As the West endures a megadrought, rising levels of arsenic — a known carcinogen — in the water supply of Colorado's San Luis Valley offer clues to what the future may hold.

Law enforcement officials in the Cleveland, Texas, neighborhood where a man allegedly shot five of his neighbors after they asked him to stop firing off rounds in his yard.

One way to prevent gun violence? Treat it as a public health issue

5:12am May 12, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith has spent decades framing violence as a public health issue. She spoke to Morning Edition about how guns fit into that picture and what prevention would look like.

Cars line up during a Forsyth County COVID-19 testing event

Forsyth County officials recognize the end of the federal COVID-19 public health emergency

2:02pm May 11, 2023

by April Laissle

Forsyth County commemorated the end of the official COVID-19 public health emergency at a press conference Thursday.

Kat Yetka (left) pours the wastewater sample over a filter (right), negatively-charged to better capture COVID virus particles.

Health & Safety

Tracking health threats, one sewage sample at a time

5:01am April 24, 2023

Researchers in Virginia Beach, Va., show how they test wastewater for signs of COVID-19, and how they're preparing to look for other health threats.

A program called MomConnect fields questions via mobile phone about pregnancy and babies. It started in South Africa and now is offered in other countries in sub-Saharan Africa and in Bangladesh, Indonesia and Timor-Leste as well.

Health & Safety

A robot answers questions about health. Its creators just won a $2.25 million prize

12:49pm April 14, 2023

by Ari Daniel

At the Skoll World Forum this week, South Africa's Reach Digital Health was one of five honorees. They offer health advice via mobile phones to millions, focusing on pregnancy, babies and COVID.

Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, speaks at a press conference at the Superior Council of the Judiciary in Bogota, Colombia on Aug. 23, 2022.

Biden administration says fentanyl-xylazine cocktail is a deadly national threat

8:34am April 12, 2023

by Brian Mann

The White House says drug deaths linked to a mix of synthetic drugs including fentanyl and xylazine — also known as tranq — are a major public health threat. The drug cocktail is spreading fast.

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Life expectancy around the world decreased in 2020 due to COVID-19. Most peer countries rebounded by 2021, while the U.S. continued to decline.

Health & Safety

'Live free and die'? The sad state of U.S. life expectancy

12:45pm March 25, 2023

by Selena Simmons-Duffin

A decade after a landmark report on Americans' shorter lives, the problem has only gotten worse. Unlike other wealthy nations, U.S. life expectancy has not bounced back from the pandemic.

Cannabis candies, made to look appealing, are being ingested by children under 6, sending some kids to the hospital. Most of the children found the edible weed at their own homes.

Health & Safety

3,000+ young children accidentally ate weed edibles in 2021, study finds

12:19pm January 03, 2023

by Rhitu Chatterjee

The cases of accidental ingestion of cannabis candies and baked goods among small children increased 1,375% in five years, according to a study in the journal Pediatrics.

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