Ticks are small, and you might not notice when they bite, but the diseases they carry can dramatically harm your health. Each year, deer ticks alone cause an estimated 476,000…
Category: Anthropology
FDA drug approval affects healthcare around the world, but political shortcuts could hurt the agency’s international reputation
At the beginning of July 2026, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first gene therapy for young children with sickle cell disease. While this is good news for…
When a police officer is shot, how they get to the hospital depends on the city – and Philadelphia stands apart
When five police officers were shot in Houston in January 2019 while serving a drug-related arrest warrant, all of them were transported to the hospital after emergency medical services arrived.…
Most Americans prefer to die at home, but the US healthcare system often prevents it
Ask people what they want at the end of their lives, and overwhelmingly the answers will revolve around comfort, dignity and time at home with loved ones. Yet the U.S.…
2.6 million Americans lost health insurance in 2025 after ACA subsidies expired, leading to real health consequences
Millions of Americans who buy their own health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces faced a stark choice this year: pay more than twice as much to keep…
Can Ozempic prevent cancer? A doctor explains why the headlines are easy to misread
In the weeks around the 2026 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, my phone kept buzzing with alerts about GLP-1 drugs and cancer. The headlines were everywhere…
Earthquakes in Venezuela expose a severely under-resourced and unprepared healthcare system
Twin earthquakes struck Venezuela on June 24, 2026, causing major damage in Caracas and a nearby coastal city, La Guaira. At the time of publication, 3,685 people have been declared…
From maternal health to influenza rates, gaps in CDC’s public health data are creating dangerous blind spots for disease tracking and prevention
Public health relies on data – whether it is tracking the effectiveness of a given year’s flu vaccine, monitoring blood lead levels around the country or estimating the prevalence of…
Ivermectin isn’t a cancer miracle drug, but influencers claim otherwise – here’s how to avoid sprinting past scientific evidence
Though researchers have been studying the animal deworming drug ivermectin for decades, there is no evidence that it’s a safe or effective way to treat cancer in people. However, a…
Nearly 20% of new moms have anxiety or depression, but a promising psychedelic treatment is on the horizon
About 1 in 5 women will experience depression and anxiety during pregnancy or in the year after giving birth. If untreated, a mother who has these conditions has a higher…
