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United States Surgeon General Jerome Adams, left, and Arlington, Mass., Police Chief Frederick Ryan, center, look at a mobile phone during a break at a national summit focused on police efforts to address the opioid epidemic on Thursday. (Steven Senne/AP)

U.S. Surgeon General Weighs In On Police Response To Opioid Crisis At PAARI Summit

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams said a culture shift might be needed for both police and public health officials to deal with the nation's opioid epidemic.

CommonHealth

04:24Dec 7, 2018

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The Scramble For Shingrix: What To Know About The Shingles Vaccine Shortage

Here's what you need to know about the national shortage of Shingrix, the new and highly effective shingles vaccine.

CommonHealth

03:54Dec 7, 2018

Just... six fries? (Robert F. Bukaty/AP)

Harvard 'French Fry Guy' Holds His Ground About Cutting Down

Despite social media backlash, Harvard professor Eric Rimm explains why he still believes Americans should eat fewer fries, and parents should be careful how they train their children's eating habits.

CommonHealth

Dec 6, 2018

Isela was denied life insurance because her medication list showed a prescription for the opioid-reversal drug naloxone. The Boston Medical Center nurse says she wants the drug to save others. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Why You May Be Denied Life Insurance For Carrying Naloxone

The U.S. surgeon general has advised people to get the opioid-reversal drug. But it's why Isela, pictured, a Boston Medical Center nurse, was denied life insurance.

CommonHealth

04:04Dec 5, 2018

Dr. Betsy Nabel, president of Brigham Health, spoke Tuesday against the Trump administration's proposed changes to the so-called "public charge" rule. (Miriam Wasser for WBUR)

Brigham Doctors Rally Against Trump Administration's Proposed Changes To 'Public Charge' Rule

Immigration officials consider whether a person would be dependent on the government before granting a green card, visa renewal or other change in legal status.

CommonHealth

Dec 4, 2018

In this Oct. 10, 2018 photo, He Jiankui speaks during an interview at a laboratory in Shenzhen in southern China's Guangdong province. Chinese scientist He claims he helped make world's first genetically edited babies: twin girls whose DNA he said he altered. He revealed it Monday, Nov. 26, in Hong Kong to one of the organizers of an international conference on gene editing. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Why, As A Parent, I Can't Imagine A Wave Of 'Designer Babies' Any Time Soon

A parental view on one more reason there's likely no major wave of CRISPR-enhanced babies on the horizon: the guilt if anything goes wrong.

CommonHealth

Nov 30, 2018

An entrance to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. (Steven Senne/AP)

Adding Another '800-Pound Gorilla' To Mass. Hospital Market Will Mean Higher Prices

A health care economist argues against the now-approved merger of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Lahey Health.

CommonHealth

Nov 30, 2018

Yield10 research associate Kieran Ryan examines some gene-edited grains of rice. The lack of a glow signals that the editing process is complete. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

CRISPRed Food: How Gene Editing Is Expected To Change Our Crops — And Supermarket Shelves

With a new generation of gene-edited food on the way, it's time to ask: If a label promises you better nutrition through CRISPR, how do you feel about that?

CommonHealth

09:18Nov 30, 2018

Morphine Sulfate, OxyContin and Opana are displayed for a photograph in Carmichael, California, on Jan. 18, 2013. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP)

Mass. U.S. Attorney Warning Doctors About Prescribing Opioids

The top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts has sent letters to a number of doctors and medical professionals in the state warning them that their prescribing practices have raised red flags...

CommonHealth

Nov 30, 2018

A Look At The Future Of Gene Editing For Babies

On Morning Edition, Bob Oakes spoke with two people about the supposed genetically edited babies, with Daniel Suarez, a science fiction writer who focuses on the potential impact of gene...

CommonHealth

06:06Nov 30, 2018

An entrance to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. (Steven Senne/AP)

Settlement Allows Big Merger Of Beth Israel Deaconess And Lahey Health To Proceed

The attorney general's conditions include limits on annual price increases for the next seven years.

CommonHealth

04:10Nov 29, 2018

In this 2017 file photo, the CEO of a methadone clinic holds a 35 mg liquid dose of methadone in Rossville, Ga. (Kevin D. Liles/AP)

Judge Rules Essex County Jail Must Give Man Methadone For Opioid Addiction

A U.S. District Court judge in Boston issued a temporary injunction in a lawsuit against an Essex County jail in favor of a man seeking to force officials to let...

CommonHealth

Nov 27, 2018

Study: Opioid-Free Remedy To Manage Pain May Be Harmful

A new report says spinal stimulators, thought to be a safe way to manage pain without opioids, can actually be dangerous.

CommonHealth

04:09Nov 27, 2018

Feng Zhang of the Broad Institute and MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research (Carey Goldberg/WBUR)

Gene Editing Pioneer Speaks Out Against Genetic Editing Of Babies In China

Feng Zhang, a biological engineer at the Broad Institute, says he has major concerns about the gene editing technique a Chinese scientist says he used on human embryos.

CommonHealth

04:52Nov 26, 2018

Anna Ford, left, and her partner, Sara Watson, play with their son Eli at home in the village of Saunderstown, in Narragansett, R.I. Three years after the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that gave same-sex couples the right to marry nationwide, a patchwork of outdated state laws governing who can be a legal parent presents obstacles for many LGBTQ couples who start a family, lawyers say. (Michael Dwyer/AP)

For Same-Sex Couples, A New Path To Legal Parenthood

A simple hospital form that has long been off limits to same-sex couples because it only had room for the "mother" and "father" are now gender-neutral in some states, including...

CommonHealth

Nov 23, 2018

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From The Old Chemistry Set To New 'BioBits,' Cutting-Edge Kit To Teach Biology

A no-muss, no-fuss kit that helps teach basic DNA concepts, developed partly at MIT, shows that cutting-edge synthetic biology methods can help improve school science classes, too.

CommonHealth

04:09Nov 23, 2018

Michael sweeps up cigarettes and other debris from the sidewalk outside a needle exchange in Cambridge. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Meth Use Is Rising In Boston, Intensifying The Opioid Crisis

Some meth users, doctors and drug experts say methamphetamine -- a longstanding problem in more rural states -- is an emerging threat in Massachusetts that is already worsening the opioid...

CommonHealth

06:37Nov 21, 2018

Whittier Street Health Center. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Main Health Center In Roxbury Beset By Turnover And Turmoil, Staffers Say

Sixteen current and former health care providers who spoke to WBUR describe Whittier Street as beset by worsening turmoil in recent months -- copious firings, financial trouble, personal conflict.

CommonHealth

10:22Nov 20, 2018

Small vials of fentanyl are shown in the inpatient pharmacy at the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City. (Rick Bowmer/AP)

Opioid Deaths Down, Overdose EMS Calls Up, And Fentanyl Remains Culprit In Mass.

Twenty fewer men and women died in the first nine months of 2018 as compared to 2017, a 1.3 percent decrease.

CommonHealth

Nov 16, 2018

The deathbed scene in an Embodied Labs video (Courtesy)

Dress Rehearsal For Death: Using Virtual Reality To Foster Empathy For Dying Patients

Virtual reality, already seen as a tool to foster empathy, may also help families and medical staffers understand better what it's like to be dying.

CommonHealth

Nov 16, 2018