The word “leprosy” conjures images of biblical plagues, but the disease is still with us today. Caused by infectious bacteria, some 200,000 new cases are reported each year, according to…
Category: Anthropology
Salty foods are making people sick − in part by poisoning their microbiomes
People have been using salt since the dawn of civilization to process, preserve and enhance foods. In ancient Rome, salt was so central to commerce that soldiers were paid their…
Vaccine-skeptical mothers say bad health care experiences made them distrust the medical system
Why would a mother reject safe, potentially lifesaving vaccines for her child? Popular writing on vaccine skepticism often denigrates white and middle-class mothers who reject some or all recommended vaccines…
I’m a political scientist, and the Alabama Supreme Court’s IVF ruling turned me into a reproductive-rights refugee
The day before the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos created and used for in vitro fertilization are children, my wife, Gabby, and I were greenlighted by our doctors…
Opill, the first over-the-counter birth control pill, will be on shelves soon − here are some key things to know
The Food and Drug Administration’s 2023 approval of the first over-the-counter birth control pill, called Opill, broadened the options for people seeking to prevent pregnancy. On March 4, 2024, the…
Asthma meds have become shockingly unaffordable − but relief may be on the way
The price of asthma medication has soared in the U.S. over the past decade and a half. The jump – in some cases from around a little over US$10 to…
Lead from old paint and pipes is still a harmful and deadly hazard in millions of US homes
Lead is a potent neurotoxin that causes severe health effects such as neurological damage, organ failure and death. Widely used in products such as paint and gasoline until the late…
Michigan Gov. Whitmer proposes a caregiver tax credit − an idea many Americans support
People caring for elderly or disabled relatives need a break – and, in Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has a proposal to give them one. Whitmer’s recently proposed $5,000 tax credit,…
Hispanic health disparities in the US trace back to the Spanish Inquisition
Many of the significant health disparities and inequities Hispanic communities in the United States face are tied to a long history of health injustice in the Hispanic world. The health…
Could the days of ‘springing forward’ be numbered? A neurologist and sleep expert explains the downside to that borrowed hour of daylight
As people in the U.S. prepare to set their clocks ahead one hour on Sunday, March 10, 2024, I find myself bracing for the annual ritual of media stories about…
