Personal Health

The anti-viral drug Paxlovid and its packaging. (Stephanie Nano/AP)

From Paxlovid to Spikevax: Inside the 'intensive' process of naming drugs

“The typical reaction to a pharmaceutical name is like, ‘Who came up with that? They must have shouted it out when they were leaving a meeting,’” Scott Piergrossi, The Brand...

What the end of the COVID public health emergency means in Massachusetts

After more than three years, COVID public health emergencies at the federal level and in Massachusetts come to an end Thursday. Here's what will change with testing, masking, vaccination and...

Scientists studied the DNA of 240 different animals. Here are some of the quirkiest findings

Scientists who worked on the Zoonomia Project believe the innovative DNA research could eventually lead to important insights about health and human disease.

Judy Collins On Suicide, Mental Illness And The Story Her Voice Is Telling

Singer Judy Collins wins an award from McLean Hospital for speaking out about mental health and addiction, including her own alcoholism and depression and her son's 1992 suicide.

Yuck! The Weird Things Kids Swallow Or Stuff Go On Display At Boston Children's

Thousands of children are treated annually for sticking stuff they're not supposed to into their mouths, noses and ears. And at Boston Children's Hospital, these items are now on display....

New England Governors Converge To Address Opioid Epidemic

The governors spoke to an international conference of physicians who prescribe or study opioids and urged them to reduce prescribing on their own.

Birth Control's Next Frontier? Health Center Aims For Quick And Easy IUDs And Implants

If they're so effective, why aren't more women using IUDs and implants? A health clinic in Worcester is getting help to put better birth control front and center -- particularly...

Minimum Age For Buying Tobacco In Worcester Raised To 21

The Worcester Board of Health has unanimously voted to increase the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products in the city from 18 to 21.

Diagnosing CTE In The Living: Massive Study Of Degenerative Brain Disease To Begin

Researchers are recruiting 180 former NFL and college football players hoping their study will help develop ways to diagnose CTE in people while they're still alive. The only way to...

Popping A Daily Baby Aspirin? Caution: New Guidelines, Amid Controversy

The bottom line is aspirin "has benefits, but it also has harms, and the harms are important to understand,” says Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, an author of the new guidelines that...

When The Therapist Has A Fear Of Elevators

As a psychologist who specializes in the treatment of anxiety disorders, I knew that I should be able to calm myself in the elevator, writes Ellen Holtzman.

Exercise Addiction: How To Know If You've Crossed The Line Between Health And Obsession

If you feel driven to work out daily, and do it even through illness and injury -- that could signal a problem. And if you feel guilty, anxious or out...

Boston Medical Center Launches First Comprehensive Transgender Medical Center In Northeast

The center brings together services including primary care, hormone therapy and mental health support as well as chest and facial reconstruction procedures. Its creation reflects a shift within mainstream medicine...

Local Coverage

05:17May 18, 2016

A new Dartmouth study looked at whether or not doctors' actions are influenced by an interest in controlling health care costs. (Alex Proimos/Flickr)

Dartmouth Study Looks At When Doctors And Patients Clash Over 'Unnecessary' Care

What happens when you want a test that your doctor thinks won't help? What drives doctors to provide care that they don't think a patient needs? That's what Dartmouth researchers...

Local Coverage

May 17, 2016

Students and postdocs at MIT who were part of the pharmacy on demand (a small scale pharmaceutical manufacturing unit) team. (Courtesy of MIT)

MIT Researchers Aim To Create An On-Demand Pharmacy

They've created a device the size of a refrigerator that can turn out 1,000 pills in just 24 hours. It's a whole new way to make drugs, but questions about...

Local Coverage

04:34May 16, 2016

Dr. Atul Gawande, a co-chair of the Serious Illness Care coalition, is a surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health. (Courtesy)

Health Care And Civic Leaders Launch Serious Illness Care Coalition

The aim of the group is to encourage patients, doctors and family members to talk about what type of care they want when facing a serious illness.

Local Coverage

04:35May 12, 2016

Justin Bonoyer standing in the athletic field at Ponaganset High School. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Policies For Transgender High School Athletes Vary From State To State

There's a lot of attention on bathrooms in the debate about transgender rights. The next battleground may be locker rooms, basketball courts and soccer fields. For high school students, the...

Local Coverage

08:26May 9, 2016

As a doctor myself, writes Dr. Anna Reisman, I was embarrassed that I didn’t know how to help a patient with a bedpan. (Michaelwalk/Wikimedia Commons)

Narrating Medicine: Let's Talk Bedpans, And Why Doctors Should Get Good With Them

As a doctor myself, I was embarrassed that I didn’t know how to help handle a patient's bedpan.

Local Coverage

May 4, 2016

Opioids include drugs like OxyContin, which are arranged in this 2013 file photo at a pharmacy. (Toby Talbot/AP)

Some Doctors Say Focus Of Opioid Addiction Treatment Must Shift From Medication To Long-Term Recovery

While most say medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction improves patient outcomes, some doctors are questioning seeking a cure from the same industry they say caused the problem.

Local Coverage

05:15May 2, 2016

The Massachusetts Senate voted to raise the minimum age to buy tobacco products from 18 to 21. Signs like this one may need to change if the legislation makes it to the governor's desk. (Joe Difazio for WBUR)

Senate Votes To Increase Smoking Age To 21 In Mass.

The bill also bans pharmacies and health care institutions from selling tobacco products and prohibits the use of electronic cigarettes in places where smoking is already banned.

Local Coverage

Apr 28, 2016