Health & Safety

Health & Safety

Weight loss surgery is becoming increasingly common to treat children with obesity

8:00am June 11, 2023

by Ayesha Rascoe

NPR's Ayesha Rascoe talks with epidemiologist Sarah Messiah about the rise of bariatric surgery to treat severe obesity in children and teens in the U.S.

Alessandra Korap Munduruku demanded that mining company Anglo American withdraw its permits to develop projects on her ancestral land.

This Brazilian activist stared down mining giants to protect the rainforest she loves

6:22am June 11, 2023

by Jill Langlois

Champion of her ancestral forest, Brazilian Indigenous activist Alessandra Korap Munduruku was one of this year's recipients of the Goldman Environmental Prize for grassroots activists.

Horseshoe crabs are bled at a facility in Charleston, S.C., in June 2014.

Coastal biomedical labs are bleeding more horseshoe crabs with little accountability

11:58am June 10, 2023

by Chiara Eisner

Horseshoe crab blood is used to test vaccines around the world. But while Europe has approved a synthetic alternative, biomedical labs are bleeding more crabs from the Atlantic Coast.

Queue Listen Now

Health & Safety

Wildfire smoke can be especially dangerous for kids. Here's how to protect them

10:25am June 10, 2023

Children in particular face health risks from wildfire smoke. Short-term exposure can trigger coughing and asthma attacks, while repeated encounters may reduce lung function.

Queue Listen Now

A scene from the Brazilian film "Nurses Facing Covid" ("Na Lihna de Frente"), one of the "Grand Prix" winners in this year's Health for All Film Festival.

From lead poisoning to 'miracle feet,' sample the winners of the WHO's film festival

9:30am June 10, 2023

by Max Barnhart

From the harms of lead poisoning in Bangladesh to the stony resolve of COVID nurses in Brazil, we sample the award-winning films in the Health for All Film Festival from the World Health Organization.

Health & Safety

Why the FDA tightened rules around antimicrobial medications for animals

8:42am June 10, 2023

by Scott Simon

NPR's Scott Simon asks William Flynn, a deputy director at the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, about the agency's tightening of regulations around antimicrobial drugs for animals.

Rescuers remove rubble at the maternity ward of the Vilniansk Multidisciplinary Hospital in Ukraine, one of the countries experiencing an increase in violence against health care workers.

2022 was the worst year on record for attacks on health care workers

6:07pm June 09, 2023

by Diane Cole

A new report from the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition documents almost 2,000 incidents in 2022: "a shockingly violent year against health care, especially in Ukraine and in Myanmar."

Trans-rights supporters filled a meeting of Florida's medical boards on Feb. 10, 2023 in Tallahassee. The boards voted to approve rules banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth, rules later codified by the state legislature.

Florida families face confusion after gender-affirming care ban temporarily blocked

4:55pm June 09, 2023

by Melissa Block

This week, a judge temporarily blocked Florida's ban on gender-affirming care for kids. It's seen as a win for trans rights but a chilling effect has left some providers and families confused on care.

Queue Listen Now

How residents of Baltimore are coping with the smoke coming from Canada

4:43pm June 09, 2023

by Scott Maucione

Homeless shelters handed out masks and schools cancelled activities as Baltimore residents endured another day of smoky air from wildfires in Canada.

Queue Listen Now

Smoky air is filled with microscopic flakes of particulate matter that can get into the lungs and even into the blood stream.

Staying safe in smoky air is particularly important for some people. Here's how

2:17pm June 09, 2023

Much of the Northeast U.S. is blanketed in a murky haze of wildfire smoke. For most people breathing this air is unpleasant, for others it can be life-threatening. There are ways to reduce the risk.

Queue Listen Now