A mermaid takes the annual polar bear plunge at Brooklyn's Coney Island beach last year. More people take cold plunges on a regular basis for health benefits, but hype outpaces research for now. Ed Jones/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Health Health
Health
Sunday
Ten-month-old Ahmin Esas, who was born with clubfoot, shares a moment with his mother and brother in the family's home near Battambang, Cambodia. As a single parent with limited means, his mother, Pho Sok overcame many challenges to ensure her son could receive the treatment he needed. Tommy Trenchard for NPR hide caption
Saturday
Doctors and medical societies are suggesting patients who rely on Flovent take action now to ensure they can get the medication in 2024. Mariia Siurtukova/Getty Images hide caption
A popular asthma inhaler is leaving pharmacy shelves. Here's what you need to know
Friday
Immigrants wait to be processed after they crossed the border into the U.S. in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Dec. 22. Eleven states and D.C. offer taxpayer-funded health insurance to some immigrants without legal status. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
Smoke from wildfires turned the skies orange behind New York's Chrysler Building in June 2023. The smoke affected millions across the central and eastern U.S. David Dee Delgado/Getty Images hide caption
Wildfire smoke this year woke up places unaccustomed to its effects. Now what?
Thursday
Bishop William J. Barber II speaks during the Clinton Global Initiative September 2023 meeting at New York Hilton Midtown on Sept. 19. Noam Galai/Getty Images for Clinton Global hide caption
The former Akorn pharmaceutical plant in Decatur, Ill., that made a wide range of generic drugs used in hospitals is being reopened under new ownership. Emilija Manevska/Getty Images hide caption
How rock-bottom prices drive shortages of generic drugs used in hospitals
Left to right: Barbies in India; Maya softball players in Mexico; walking on a frozen fountain in the mountains of Pakistan, where efforts are underway to revive the ancient art of glacier mating. Anushree Bhatter for NPR, Bénédicte Desrus; Diaa Hadid/NPR hide caption
Matt Capelouto, whose daughter died from a fentanyl overdose, speaks at a news conference outside the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, April 18, 2023. Capelouto is among dozens of protesters who called on the Assembly to hear fentanyl-related bills as tension mounts over how to address the fentanyl crisis. (AP Photo/Tran Nguyen) Tran Nguyen/AP hide caption
In 2023 fentanyl overdoses ravaged the U.S. and fueled a new culture war fight
Terminally ill hospice resident Evelyn Breuning, 91, right, sits with music therapist Jen Dunlap in her bed in August 2009 in Lakewood, Colo. The nonprofit hospice, the second oldest in the United States, accepts the terminally ill regardless of their ability to pay, although most residents are covered by Medicare. John Moore/Getty Images hide caption
Dr. Shoshana Ungerleider (right) interviews comedian Tig Notaro about drawing humor from her breast cancer diagnosis. Ungerleider is the founder of End Well, a nonprofit focused on shifting the American conversation around death. Their discussion took place in November at End Well's 2023 conference held in Los Angeles. Britney Landreth for End Well hide caption
Doctors are pushing Hollywood for more realistic depictions of death and dying on TV
Tuesday
Palestinian children, having fled the Israeli bombing of the northern Gaza Strip in response to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, are living in temporary shelters at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. Global health groups say they are doing what they can to keep a lid on infectious diseases amid crowded, unsanitary conditions and a devastated health-care system. Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect hide caption
Health workers struggle to prevent an infectious disease 'disaster in waiting' in Gaza
A research participant in the Levi Lab at University California, Berkeley undergoes treatment for amblyopia using virtual reality. Elena Zhukova/UC Regents hide caption
Elizabeth Weller speaks at a press conference in Austin, Texas on July 19. She's one of 20 women suing the state after being denied abortions despite serious pregnancy complications. Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images hide caption