Emily Vaughn

Still from the short film Phosphôros, one of the finalists in the WHO Health For All Film Festival Süsy Serrano/Screengrab by NPR hide caption

A child learns to swim in a pond in a rural area of Bangladesh. Zakir Hossain Chowdhury/NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption

Showers feel fabulous — but how frequent is too frequent for skin ecology? www.boelke-art.de/Getty Images hide caption

Architects say making the office more like the outdoors — with filtered air and good ventilation — will be a priority post-pandemic. This living wall in the Danielle N. Ripich Commons at the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine, is one such approach. Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images hide caption

Doctors are performing pelvic exams and Pap smears on girls and young women that may be unnecessary. Vladimir Nenov/EyeEm/Getty Images hide caption

We all struggle with healthy habits — including experts. They just have science-tested tips to get them back on track. Michael Driver for NPR hide caption

Gulalai Ismail, the Pakistani activist who fled the country after being threatened for taking a stand against sexual violence perpetrated by security forces. She was photographed in Brooklyn, where she is now seeking asylum. Tim McDonnell/NPR hide caption

Russell Ledet, a second-year medical student (top row, third from left) organized an outing for 14 of his fellow African American classmates to a former plantation that had slave quarters. Ledet says he would caption this photo "Our Moment of Resiliency." Brian Washington Jr. hide caption

A menstrual shed sits among trees in the village of Narsi in western Nepal. Poulomi Basu/VII hide caption

Lual Mayen, CEO of Junub Games, says that before he taught himself how to code at a refugee camp, "I never thought video games were made by people. I thought they just fall from heaven." Catie Dull/NPR hide caption

A food allergy, sensitivity, or intolerance can make the difference between passing the mashed potatoes — and passing on them. JGI/Jamie Grill/Getty Images hide caption

Rose McAdoo makes cakes based on research performed by her colleagues at Antarctica's McMurdo Station research base. Courtesy of Rose McAdoo hide caption

A new book by anthropologist and physician Kimberly Sue tells the stories of women navigating opioid addiction during and after incarceration. Catie Dull/NPR hide caption

New research illuminates how the measles virus may suppress the immune system after an infection. James Cavallini/Science Source hide caption

In a new book of essays, literary luminaries share stories of surviving dark times and the foods tied to those memories. Think of it as a cathartic dinner party. Meryl Rowin hide caption