Shailaja Paik is one of the 2024 MacArthur '"genius grant" recipients. She is a historian of modern India who writes about caste and gender, shedding light on the unseen lives of women from the Dalit caste — referred to as "untouchables." MacArthur Fellows Program hide caption
Rep. Leigh Finke, Minnesota's first openly trans legislator, arrives to cheers from supporters just before before the Minnesota Senate introduced the trans refuge bill at the state capitol building in Saint Paul in April 2023. Transgender rights may come up in the vice presidential debate on Tuesday. Stephen Maturen/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent checks pedestrians' documentation at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Ysidro, California. A growing number of experts believe the flow of deadly street fentanyl from Mexico into the U.S. has been disrupted, contributing to a drop in fatal overdoses. Sandy Huffaker/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Samples of yeast collected around Baltimore, that are being stress-tested at the Casadevall lab at Johns Hopkins University. Casadevall Lab hide caption
Professors Salim Abdool Karim and Quarraisha Abdool Karim, married for more than 40 years, are respected around the world for their research on HIV. In September they were named winners of the Lasker Award for public service in recognition for their groundbreaking medical research. Phill Magakoe/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
The Maryland State House on May 11, 2023, in Annapolis, MD. Brian Witte/AP hide caption
Student researchers Mayisha Alam (L) and Swazi Tshabalala (R) collect samples as part of their work with the nonprofit BioBus. Christine Marizzi/BioBus hide caption
Nicole Fahey, six months pregnant, receives a Pfizer vaccination from a nurse on Nov. 3, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA. Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag/Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images hide caption
A new scientific report finds that the gap between federal and state regulations on cannabis is leading to emerging problems with public health Jim Mone/AP hide caption
The Food and Drug Administration approved Cobenfy, a twice-a-day medication that is a new kind of treatment for schizophrenia in adults. Steve Belkowitz/Bristol Myers Squibb hide caption
Patients line up for remote health consultation sessions near Rangpur, Bangladesh. The country has emerged as a model of health-care progress in the Global South. Allison Joyce for NPR/2019 Allison Joyce hide caption
Veronica, 17, drove with her mother nearly four hours from her home in Iowa to visit a doctor in Minneapolis in September. Iowa banned gender-affirming care for youth in March 2023.
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A doctor shows what a 3D image of the breast using tomosynthesis (3D mammography) looks like on a screen. South China Morning Post/Getty Images hide caption
Kentucky state Sen. Karen Berg (D-Louisville), is consoled by colleagues after SB 150 passed the Senate, 29-6, at the Kentucky state Capitol in Frankfort on Feb. 16, 2023. Berg's transgender son died by suicide in December 2022. Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader/Tribune News Service via Getty Images hide caption
Suad Abdulaziz Hamid Ahmed, 29, sits with her 5 children, plus some of her sister's children in the spontaneous settlement in Adré. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption
Debra Ragoonanan, a nursing assistant, says she has endured PTSD after COVID killed dozens in 2020 at the Massachusetts veterans facility where she still works. The state agreed to a $56 million settlement for veterans and their families, but caretakers have gotten little assistance. Amy Maxmen/KFF Health News hide caption
Some employers are giving workers contributions to buy their own health care plans on the individual marketplace. It can mean a better plan option for some, though critics note it moves the complex process of choosing a good plan from staff to employees. ljubaphoto/Getty Images/E+ hide caption
In Bangladesh, turmeric — sold as the root or in a powder form — is a popular spice. In the 1980s, some farmers began adding a dye to make the root more attractive to buyers. But there was a problem with the dye. Jenna Forsyth hide caption
Ravi Coutinho took a picture of himself on May 22, 2023, hoping to mark the beginning of his recovery from alcohol use disorder. Webber Coutinho family hide caption
A "ghost network" is when a health plan lists providers in its network who are not actually available. The problem is rampant in mental health care, reporting by ProPublica shows. Stone RF/PM Images/Getty Images hide caption
