You’re in your mid-40s, eating healthy and exercising regularly. It’s the same routine that has worked for years. Yet lately, the number on the scale is creeping up. Clothes fit…
Category: Anthropology
The world risks forgetting one of humanity’s greatest triumphs as polio nears global eradication − 70 years after Jonas Salk developed the vaccine in a Pittsburgh lab
It was like a horror movie. The invisible polio virus would strike, leaving young children on crutches, in wheelchairs or in a dreaded “iron lung” ventilator. Each summer, the fear…
How C-reactive protein outpaced ‘bad’ cholesterol as leading heart disease risk marker
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Since researchers first established the link between diet, cholesterol and heart disease in the 1950s, risk for heart…
As millions of Americans face a steep rise in health insurance costs, lawmakers continue a century-long battle over who should pay for health care
Dec. 15, 2025 – the deadline for enrolling in a marketplace plan through the Affordable Care Act for 2026 – came and went without an agreement on the federal subsidies…
RFK Jr. wants to scrutinize the vaccine schedule – but its safety record is already decades long
The U.S. childhood immunization schedule, the grid of colored bars pediatricians share with parents, recommends a set of vaccines given from birth through adolescence to prevent a range of serious…
Rest is essential during the holidays, but it may mean getting active, not crashing on the couch
The holiday season is often painted as an idyllic vision of rest, conjuring images of warm beverages and bountiful time with loved ones. But many people have trouble unwinding at…
Unpaid caregiving work can feel small and personal, but that doesn’t take away its ethical value
As child care costs outpace wages, more families are facing difficult decisions about whether to scale back work in order to care for loved ones. Caregiving remains the top reason…
The #iwasfifteen hashtag and ongoing Epstein coverage show how traffickers exploit the vulnerabilities of teens and tweens
The release of information about the powerful cadre of men associated with convicted sex offender and accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein – known as the Epstein files – has been…
My prescription costs what?! Pharmacists offer tips that could reduce your out-of-pocket drug costs
Even when Americans have health insurance, they can have a hard time affording the drugs they’ve been prescribed. About 1 in 5 U.S. adults skip filling a prescription due to…
How the NIH became the backbone of American medical research and a major driver of innovation and economic growth
As a young medical student in 1975, I walked into a basement lab at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, to interview for a summer job. It turned…
