People are living longer, reshaping what it means to grow old. By the late 2060s, an estimated 2.5 billion people worldwide will be age 60 or older – more than…
Category: Anthropology
Why conflicting public health messages jeopardize public safety
If you’ve been following the dispute between Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., you probably know that it centers on the deaths…
Are too many Americans taking antidepressants?
Drugs for treating depression are among the most prescribed category of medications in the U.S. – 1 in 6 American adults take them. Some health researchers and advocates have raised…
What we remember when we remember 9/11
Do you remember where you were and what you were doing when you learned of the September 11 terrorist attacks that occurred 25 years ago? Do you remember what you…
I’m a pediatrician in Michigan who created Rx Kids, one of the nation’s largest anti‑poverty programs – here’s what I’ve learned about how medical schools can improve community health
As a pediatrician at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in Flint, Michigan, I perform well-child checks, treat asthma and discuss nutrition with families. I prescribe medicine and arrange…
People with Tourette syndrome, like Billie Eilish, use everything in their power to suppress tics – this exhausting process is key to treatment
Imagine trying not to blink, resisting the urge to sneeze or refusing to scratch an intense itch. For a short time, you can probably succeed, but the effort becomes increasingly…
Could you survive The Oregon Trail? An emergency medicine doctor offers tips on how to not die in the great outdoors
If you grew up in the United States in the 1980s or ’90s, chances are you remember The Oregon Trail. For many like me, it was our first computer game…
AI skin cancer detection tools are getting better – but only for people with light skin
Imagine you’re getting out of the shower one morning and you notice a mole on your thigh that you’ve never seen before. It’s reddish brown, bumpy and surprisingly large. Is…
Decades after 9/11, toxic dust and PTSD may be accelerating brain aging among first responders
Hundreds of first responders have told me they remember exactly how they felt during the World Trade Center attacks, even 25 years on. They tell me that they remember not…
Here’s how to navigate your options and find the right clinician
As a mental health nurse practitioner who sees patients both in person and via telehealth, I’m often struck by just how many of my patients would not have received any…
