Petting other people's dogs, even briefly, can boost your health You don't even have to own one. Research shows just 5 to 20 minutes interacting with other people's pooches can reduce stress hormones and increase well-being. Maria Godoy
The summer months can be even more extreme for people with diabetes Many communities suffer in unrelenting heat. People with diabetes are among the most vulnerable to heat-related complications.
Texas Medicaid drops 82% of its enrollees since April Medicaid is shedding enrollees for the first time since the pandemic started. But rolls in some states are shrinking much faster than in others. Nearly 4 million people have lost coverage so far. Selena Simmons-Duffin
A vending machine in Seattle that dispenses the morning-after pill There’s a new kind of vending machine on the University of Washington campus. It sells pregnancy tests, tampons, tylenol – and the morning-after pill for $12.60, packaged in purple and white boxes. Eilís O'Neill
Weekly Dose of Wonder: Spending time with a dog can be good for your health What's four-legged, furry and often serves up a mood boost? That's right: dogs. As part of our series Weekly Dose of Wonder, here's how even brief interactions with pups can be good for health. Maria Godoy
Doctors have their own diagnosis: 'Moral distress' from an inhumane health system A term coined to evoke the torment felt by soldiers as they process the cruelty of war, it's now used by doctors to describe the guilt and helplessness we feel when patients can't access needed care. Lisa Doggett, Public Health Watch
Cancer risk can lurk in our genes. So why don't more people get tested? Millions of people in the U.S. have a genetic variant that raises their risk of cancer. Genetic testing can help people find cancer earlier and seek treatment. But many patients aren't offered it. Nell Greenfieldboyce
The new CDC director outlines 3 steps to rebuild trust with the public Mandy Cohen led North Carolina's department of Health & Human Services throughout the pandemic. Now, she's taking what she learned to the national level. Sacha Pfeiffer
The push to expand testing for cancer predisposition Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the U.S., and 10% of it comes from inherited gene mutations. Tests for genetic risk factors are inexpensive, and yet many people don't take them. Nell Greenfieldboyce
States comb through Medicaid rolls to see who can stay and who should go Nearly four million people across the country have been disenrolled from Medicaid since pandemic protections expired in April. Experts say that number could rise to 24 million. Selena Simmons-Duffin