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November 1, 2012 This month the Global Fund board will decides whether to continue or scrap a $225 million program that subsidizes malaria drugs in Africa. A new analysis bolsters a major criticism of the project. In some places, most of the subsidized drugs have been going to people without malaria.

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November 1, 2012 Although there's no cure for Ebola, scientists have been experimenting with a vaccine for years. But there's been no easy way to test it in people. A study in monkeys offers a way around this obstacle and sheds light on how the immune systems fights off the deadly virus.

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October 31, 2012 Haiti had documented 54 deaths caused by Sandy — most in the nation's southern peninsula, which points toward Jamaica. Another 21 Haitians were still counted as missing, and many fear the death toll will rise as officials reach affected areas isolated by impassable roads and ruined bridges.

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October 31, 2012 A test of subsidies in Africa for the most effective malaria drug treatment is drawing fire. Supporters say the subsidies helped improve access and drive out less effective drugs. But critics say the approach is risky and a distraction from other efforts to fight the disease.

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October 28, 2012 Get an anatomical education through cakes, cookies, and cocktails. A British museum is hosting an anatomy-themed bake sale this weekend.

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October 26, 2012 After decades of being malaria-free, Greece is seeing a spike in malaria cases. And it's showing up in communities where the disease has never been seen before. Fewer resources for mosquito control and medications are fueling the reappearance of the forgotten disease, health workers say.

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October 24, 2012 We're right on the verge of wiping out polio globally. But to do that, children in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan must be inoculated with the heat-sensitive vaccine — not once, but multiple times. Time to call in the donkeys.

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October 23, 2012 Researchers have found dozens of free apps on iPhones and Androids that promote and glamorize smoking. Many of the apps target children and teens by using cartoons, celebrities and games. Health experts say these apps, downloaded by millions of people, violate bans on tobacco advertising.

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October 22, 2012 Researchers in South Africa tracked how the evolution of the virus in two infected woman shaped the antibodies they produced to fight it. Several months after infection, the researchers saw that the patients had developed more "broadly neutralizing antibodies," which target different versions of the virus.

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October 19, 2012 Thanks to vigorous efforts to eradicate the poliovirus through vaccination, there are only three countries on the face of the earth where polio is still endemic. NPR reporters and editors hosted a chat on Twitter: #chasingpolio.

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October 18, 2012 Despite poverty and poor sanitation, the world's second-most populous country is eradicating polio, which has afflicted India for millennia. Health officials hope India's successful war plan against polio will serve as inspiration for its archrival, Pakistan, in its own fight against the disease.

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October 18, 2012 Adding a 12-year-old antibiotic to the regimen of patients with highly drug-resistant tuberculosis cured nearly 90 percent of patients in a study involving about 40 people in South Korea. The study, though small, suggests that the battle against the ancient scourge is far from lost.

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