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Global Health

Wednesday

Gut Microbes May Play Deadly Role In Malnutrition

Twins in Malawi helped scientists discover a role the gut microbiome appears to play in severe malnutrition. Photograph courtesy of Tanya Yatsunenko hide caption

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Photograph courtesy of Tanya Yatsunenko

Shots - Health News

Gut Microbes May Play Deadly Role In Malnutrition

The bacteria that live in humans' guts influence weight gain and health. By studying twins in Malawi, scientists have found that changes in this microbial community may also turn malnutrition into a fatal condition.

Gut Microbes May Play Deadly Role In Malnutrition

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Tuesday

Keep Calm And Carry On, Except When It Comes To Cancer

The British have long said, "Keep calm and carry on." But the catchphrase may need an update for health care. Keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk hide caption

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Keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk

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Keep Calm And Carry On, Except When It Comes To Cancer

That famous stiff upper lip has carried the Brits through tough times, but it can be a risky trait when it comes to health. An international survey finds the British often delay seeking help for serious symptoms of cancer because they're embarrassed or worried about wasting the doctor's time.

Thursday

Wednesday

Scientists Put An End To Moratorium On Bird Flu Research

Health workers in Nepal culled chickens and destroyed eggs following an outbreak of bird flu in Kathmandu in October 2012. Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Prakash Mathema/AFP/Getty Images

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Scientists Put An End To Moratorium On Bird Flu Research

After researchers created versions of the bird flu virus that could spread more easily, critics began to worry that the work could spawn a pandemic if a virus escaped from the lab. After halting their work for more than a year, scientists now say the benefits outweigh the risks, and they are set to restart their experiments.

Scientists Put An End To Moratorium On Bird Flu Research

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Sunday

Former Anti-GMO Activist Says Science Changed His Mind

Harvest wheat from a field near Wright, Kan. May 10, 2004. ORLIN WAGNER/ASSOCIATED PRESS hide caption

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ORLIN WAGNER/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Environment

Former Anti-GMO Activist Says Science Changed His Mind

For years, British environmental activist Mark Lynas vandalized genetically modified food crops. Then, he had a change of heart. He went in front of the world to reverse his position, telling the anti-GMO lobby to "get out of the way and let the rest of us get on with feeding the world sustainably."

Former Anti-GMO Activist Says Science Changed His Mind

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Saturday

Inching Closer To The Demise Of A Stubborn Parasitic Worm

A boy with multiple Guinea worms sits outside a containment center in northern Ghana, February 2007. Wes Pope/Chicago Tribune/MCT /Landov hide caption

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Wes Pope/Chicago Tribune/MCT /Landov

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Inching Closer To The Demise Of A Stubborn Parasitic Worm

After a decades-long campaign, Guinea worm remains in only four countries, and eradication is in sight. But health workers say that recent violence in Mali is hindering efforts to stamp out the last few cases there.

Friday

Environment

Beijing Grapples with Record Air Pollution

Last weekend, air pollution in Beijing reached record highs, raising concerns about the cost of China's rapid industrialization. David Pettit, of the Natural Resources Defense Council, discusses the pollution problem in China's capital, and why severe smog can be deadly.

Beijing Grapples with Record Air Pollution

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Thursday

After Years Of Silence, The Plague Can Rise Again

A copper engraving from 1656 shows a plague doctor in Rome wearing a protective suit and a mask. Artwork by Paul Furst/Wikimedia.org hide caption

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Artwork by Paul Furst/Wikimedia.org

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After Years Of Silence, The Plague Can Rise Again

In many parts of the world, like Europe, the plague is thought to have been eliminated. French scientists find evidence that the stubborn bacteria can trigger new outbreaks even after decades of apparent dormancy.

Wednesday

'Robogut' Makes Synthetic Poop To Treat Stubborn Infections

Microbiologist Emma Allen-Vercoe invented the Robogut, a mechanical device that mimics conditions in the human colon. Courtesy of thestar.com hide caption

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Courtesy of thestar.com

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'Robogut' Makes Synthetic Poop To Treat Stubborn Infections

Canadian scientists have developed a synthetic stool that successfully treated two patients with a severe form of diarrhea. The researchers call the concoction RePOOPulate, and they produce it using a machine that recreates conditions in the colon.

Saturday

After Bringing Cholera To Haiti, U.N. Plans To Get Rid Of It

Haitians protest against the United Nations peacekeepers in Port-au-Prince in November 2010. Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images

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After Bringing Cholera To Haiti, U.N. Plans To Get Rid Of It

On the third anniversary of Haiti's devastating earthquake, the country is laying plans to rid itself of the cholera epidemic that followed in its wake. Most scientists now think Nepalese soldiers unwittingly spread the pathogen in Haiti when they joined a United Nations peacekeeping force.

After Bringing Cholera To Haiti, U.N. Plans To Get Rid Of It

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Friday

Despite Billions In Aid, Many Haitians Still Live In Squalid Camps

Jacqueline Syra has been living in the La Piste camp for three years. She says she has no idea when she will be able to leave. David Gilkey/NPR hide caption

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David Gilkey/NPR

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Despite Billions In Aid, Many Haitians Still Live In Squalid Camps

Three years ago, a massive earthquake destroyed much of Haiti's capital city. Aid agencies from around the world pledged billions of dollars to help Haiti rebuild. But since then, many of the grand plans have fizzled, and some 350,000 Haitians still live in makeshift camps.

Despite Billions In Aid, Many Haitians Still Live In Squalid Camps

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Haiti Then And Now: 3 Years After The Earthquake

Jan. 9, 2013 David Gilkey/NPR hide caption

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David Gilkey/NPR

The Picture Show

Haiti Then And Now: 3 Years After The Earthquake

Evidence of loss remains even three years after a massive earthquake claimed the lives of as many as 200,000 people in Haiti. One of the first photojournalists to capture the grim aftermath of the quake, NPR's David Gilkey traveled back to Haiti to revisit images he originally took in 2010.

Haiti Then And Now: 3 Years After The Earthquake

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Tuesday

In Canada, Gonorrhea Defeats Another Antibiotic

In the U.S., doctors no longer have the option of treating gonorrhea with a pill. Instead, they are advised to use an injectable antibiotic, which is still effective against the bacteria. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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iStockphoto.com

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In Canada, Gonorrhea Defeats Another Antibiotic

Superstrains of gonorrhea, which are resistant to all antibiotics, have cropped up in Europe and Asia. Now Canadian doctors report the first failure in North America of the usual antibiotic for gonorrhea, leaving just one drug left to fight the sexually transmitted germ.

Friday

Mexico Aims To Save Babies And Moms With Modern Midwifery

Infants used to be born at home to traditional midwives. Mónica Ortiz Uribe hide caption

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Mónica Ortiz Uribe

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Mexico Aims To Save Babies And Moms With Modern Midwifery

At a new school for midwives, students learn old arts, like massaging bellies, while also studying gynecology, obstetrics and nursing. Officials hope a new generation of professional midwives will help reduce the pressures on Mexican hospitals overwhelmed by births that, in the past, would have taken place at home.

Mexico Aims To Save Babies And Moms With Modern Midwifery

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