Hal Herzog, a professor of psychology at Western Carolina University, says the more we attribute human-like qualities to animals, the more ethically problematic it may be to keep them as pets. Angela Hsieh hide caption
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Geriatrics is a specialty that should adapt and change with each patient, says physician and author Louise Aronson. "I need to be a different sort of doctor for people at different ages and phases of old age." Robert Lang Photography/Getty Images hide caption
A Clearer Map For Aging: 'Elderhood' Shows How Geriatricians Help Seniors Thrive
Powder methamphetamine packaged in foil for an illegal street sale. Across the U.S., more and more opioid users report using methamphetamine as well as opioids — up from 19% in 2011 to 34% in 2017, according to one study. Science Source hide caption
Meth In The Morning, Heroin At Night: Inside The Seesaw Struggle of Dual Addiction
Liv Cannon and her fiancé, Cole Chiumento, considered calling off their wedding because of uncertainty over medical debt from her surgery. "I think about it every time I go to the mailbox," Cannon says. Julia Robinson for Kaiser Health News hide caption
A Year After Spinal Surgery, A $94,000 Bill Feels Like A Backbreaker
The disclosure of millions of once-secret tobacco industry documents — which are now readily searchable online — has opened a window into Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's interactions with tobacco executives and lobbyists. Alvaro Tapia Hidalgo for NPR hide caption
Tobacco's 'Special Friend': What Internal Documents Say About Mitch McConnell
Scientists exhumed 10 wooden braziers from eight tombs at the ancient Jirzankal Cemetery in what is now western China. Many of the braziers held stones that were apparently heated and used to burn cannabis plants. Xinhua Wu/Science Advances hide caption
Fecal transplantation is an experimental procedure to treat intestinal conditions, including recurrent, antibiotic-resistant Clostridium difficile infection. But if the donor stool is not properly screened, it can spread other illnesses. SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Science Source hide caption
The WHO says the current Ebola outbreak is an emergency in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the region — but not on the international level. Here, people arriving from the DRC on Friday wash their hands with chlorinated water to prevent the spread of infection at the Mpondwe border crossing in western Uganda. Ronald Kabuubi/AP hide caption
Assemblywoman Mahjabeen Sheran on the day she brought her 8-month-old son to a session in Pakistan's Balochistan province. The secretary of the assembly said babies were against the rules. Ismail Kakar hide caption
Oxycodone pain pills prescribed for a patient with chronic pain are photographed in 2016. Attorneys unveiled a plan Friday morning which they say would move the nation closer to a global settlement of lawsuits stemming from the deadly opioid crisis. John Moore/Getty Images hide caption
Mechanical Sex: The Relationship Between Intercourse And Intimacy
In many rural areas, helicopters are the only speedy way to get patients to a trauma center or hospital burn unit. As more than 100 rural hospitals have closed around the U.S. since 2010, the need for air transport has only increased. Ollo/Getty Images hide caption
New York eliminated a religious exemption to vaccine requirements Thursday in the face of the nation's worst measles outbreak in decades. Paul Vernon/AP hide caption
Bonnielin Swenor, an assistant professor of ophthalmology, has myopic macular degeneration. It hasn't stopped her from having a prolific career as a researcher and epidemiologist. But until recently, she rarely discussed her disability with her peers, worried they would judge or dismiss her. Christopher Myers hide caption
Presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden publicly switched his position on the Hyde Amendment under pressure from other Democrats. Charlie Neibergall/AP hide caption
Ban On Abortion Funding Stays In House Bill As 2020 Democrats Promise Repeal
Drug agents last fall worked with a Minneapolis police SWAT team to seize just under 171 pounds of methamphetamine. Many U.S. states say they face an escalating problem with meth and drugs other than opioids. Cannon River Drug and Violent Task Force/AP hide caption
Federal Grants Restricted To Fighting Opioids Miss The Mark, States Say
Kaiser Health News
Federal Grants Restricted To Fighting Opioids Miss The Mark, States Say
Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic is a popular vacation spot among American tourists. Federal investigators are now probing why a spate of people have died suddenly over the past year while visiting the island country. ullstein bild via Getty Images hide caption
Processed meats, including hot dogs and bacon, cook in a frying pan. A new study of 80,000 people finds that those who ate the most red meat — especially processed meats such as bacon and hot dogs — had a higher risk of premature death compared with those who cut back. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption
Rural Health: Financial Insecurity Plagues Many Who Live With Disability
Uganda has reported its first death from Ebola. Here, a health worker takes a woman's temperature at a border crossing between Uganda and Democratic Republic of the Congo, part of an effort to screen for Ebola and prevent its spread. Al-hadji Kudra Maliro/AP hide caption
Two reports from the federal government have determined that many cases of abuse or neglect of elderly patients that are severe enough to require medical attention are not being reported to enforcement agencies by nursing homes or health workers — even though such reporting is required by law. Mary Smyth/Getty Images hide caption
Health Workers Still Aren't Alerting Police About Likely Elder Abuse, Reports Find
Firefighters who work on wildland fires and prescribed burns (shown here) can be exposed to high levels of harmful smoke. Jes Burns/OPB hide caption