With suicides on the rise, the government wants to make the national crisis hotline easier to use. A proposed three-digit number — 988 — could replace the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Jenny Kane/AP hide caption
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How To Teach Future Doctors About Pain In The Midst Of The Opioid Crisis
Millions of homes built before 1978 still contain lead-based paint. A report published Monday finds the Environmental Protection Agency is not adequately enforcing laws meant to protect children from lead-laden paint flakes and dust. Stew Milne/AP hide caption
Joe Bay (center), coach of a New York City "Bootcamp for New Dads," instructs Adewale Oshodi (left) and George Pasco in how to cradle an infant for best soothing. Jason LeCras for NPR hide caption
Supporters of safe injection sites in Philadelphia rallied outside this week's federal hearing. The judge's ultimate ruling will determine if the proposed "Safehouse" facility to prevent deaths from opioid overdose would violate the federal Controlled Substances Act. Kimberly Paynter/WHYY hide caption
Trump Administration Is In Court To Block Nation's 1st Supervised Injection Site
Dr. Peter Grinspoon was a practicing physician when he became addicted to opioids. When he got caught, Grinspoon wasn't allowed access to what's now the standard treatment for addiction — buprenorphine or methadone (in addition to counseling) — precisely because he was a doctor. /Tony Luong for NPR hide caption
For Health Workers Struggling With Addiction, Why Are Treatment Options Limited?
Bags of heroin, some laced with fentanyl, picked up in a 2016 New York City drug bust. "Basically, [fentanyl] is so cheap to produce and it's so powerful, that drug dealers began realizing it was a way to increase their profits," Fentanyl, Inc. author Ben Westhoff says. But miscalculations of the amount used can be deadly. Drew Angerer/Getty Images hide caption
Fentanyl As A Dark Web Profit Center, From Chinese Labs To U.S. Streets
Even if optimism doesn't come naturally, it can be taught, researchers say. Therapists can help you practice reframing your expectations, to cultivate a sunnier outlook. Roy Scott/Ikon Images via Getty Images hide caption
Optimists For The Win: Finding The Bright Side Might Help You Live Longer
Scientists say pea-size organoids of human brain tissue may offer a way to study the biological beginnings of a wide range of brain conditions, including autism, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Alysson Muotri/UC San Diego Health Sciences hide caption
After Months In A Dish, Lab-Grown Minibrains Start Making 'Brain Waves'
State's attorney Brad Beckworth lays out one of his closing arguments in Oklahoma's case against drugmaker Johnson & Johnson at the Cleveland County Courthouse in Norman, Okla. in July. The judge in the case ruled Monday that J&J must pay $572 million to the state. Chris Landsberger/AP hide caption
Oklahoma Wanted $17 Billion To Fight Its Opioid Crisis: What's The Real Cost?
Judge Thad Balkman will rule Monday in the Johnson & Johnson opioid trial. Sue Ogrocki/AP hide caption
Rows of guns for sale were on display at the Vernal Knife and Gun Show in northeastern Utah, where firearms are imbued in the culture. Erik Neumann/KUER hide caption
In Rural Utah, Preventing Suicide Means Meeting Gun Owners Where They Are
A man cools off in a fountain in New York's Washington Square Park this summer. Death from all causes doubled during a heat wave in New York City in August 1975, with heart attacks and strokes accounting for a majority of the excess deaths. Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
When children are held for long periods away in detention centers, such as this center for migrant children in Carrizo Springs, Texas, they may suffer psychological harm. Eric Gay/AP hide caption
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that most new heroin addicts first became hooked on prescription painkillers, such as oxycodone, before graduating to heroin, which is cheaper. John Moore/Getty Images hide caption
Tales Of Corporate Painkiller Pushing: 'The Death Rates Just Soared'
Addiction Clinics Market Unproven Infusion Treatments To Desperate Patients
Side Effects Public Media
Addiction Clinics Market Unproven Infusion Treatments To Desperate Patients
A 15-year-old in Cambridge, Mass., shows off her vaping device in 2018. Schools and health officials across the U.S. are struggling to curb what they say is an epidemic of underage vaping. Steven Senne/AP hide caption
Jill Heinerth says Dan's Cave on Abaco Island, Bahamas, is her "favorite cave on Earth." Jill Heinerth/Ecco hide caption
Cave Diver Risks All To Explore Places 'Where Nobody Has Ever Been'
Though not the same as actually jumping into the waves, a virtual reality program like this one that let a headset-wearing patient "swim with dolphins" was enough of an immersive distraction to significantly reduce pain, a study found. Courtesy of Cedars Sinai/Screenshot by NPR hide caption
Lithium: A Doctor, a Drug, and a Breakthrough, by Walter A. Brown Liveright hide caption