Families pay thousands of dollars to store their children’s stem cells with the hope of a healthier future. But the cells are rarely useful, and sometimes contaminated.
By Sarah Kliff and
Encouraged on social media, many Americans are estranging themselves from their families as a therapeutic step.
By
The Apgar test grades infants in five areas, including skin tone. Babies of color score lower, and may be subjected to unnecessary treatment.
By
Millions of parents have paid to bank blood from their infants’ umbilical cords. But storage companies have misled them about the cells’ promise.
By
Why Nursing Home Residents Still Suffer Despite Tough State Laws
The Biden administration set stringent new federal staffing rules. But for years, nursing homes have failed to meet the toughest standards set by states.
By
How to Find a Good, Well-Staffed Nursing Home
Here are the telltale signs to look for in nursing homes to avoid, and resources that can point to better places.
By
In Constant Battle With Insurers, Doctors Reach for a Cudgel: A.I.
As health plans increasingly rely on technology to deny treatment, physicians are fighting back with chatbots that synthesize research and make the case.
By
Do You Have Concerns About Embryo Storage? We Want to Hear From You.
We’re reporting on the challenges that fertility clinics face as they store a growing number of frozen embryos.
By Sarah Kliff and
States and Creditors for Purdue Pharma Threaten Sacklers With Gush of Lawsuits
Legal maneuverings followed a Supreme Court ruling last month that denied the Sackler family immunity from liability over its role in the opioid crisis.
By
Advertisement
How Science Went to the Dogs (and Cats)
Pets were once dismissed as trivial scientific subjects. Today, companion animal science is hot.
By
Their Job Is to Help You Grieve Your Pet
Though still rare, social workers in animal hospitals are growing in their ranks.
By Katie Thomas and
The Pet ‘Superheroes’ Who Donate Their Blood
Transfusions have become an important part of veterinary medicine, but cat and dog blood is not always easy to come by.
By
Why You’re Paying Your Veterinarian So Much
People have grown more attached to their pets — and more willing to spend money on them — turning animal medicine into a high-tech industry worth billions.
By
Are We Loving Our Pets to Death?
Pet owners are treating their animal charges ever more like humans. But that isn’t good for pets, or for us, many experts argue.
By
Your Brain Holds Secrets. Scientists Want to Find Them.
Many Americans plan to donate their organs for transplants or their bodies for medical science. Few realize that there’s a growing need for their brains, too.
By
Personal Conflicts, Even Violence, Are Not Uncommon in Long-Term Care
Arguments, verbal abuse and aggression are not unusual in elder care settings. Better staffing and training can ease the tensions, experts say.
By
When ‘Prior Authorization’ Becomes a Medical Roadblock
Medicare Advantage plans say it reduces waste and inappropriate care. Critics say it often restricts coverage unnecessarily.
By
When Families Fight Over a Relative With Dementia, It’s Time to Call in the Mediator
Trained negotiators can help families struggling with vexing elder-care issues.
By
‘Aging in Place, or Stuck in Place?’
Homeownership is not the boon to older Americans that it once was.
By
Advertisement
Facing Financial Ruin as Costs Soar for Elder Care
The United States has no coherent system for providing long-term care, leading many who are aging to struggle to stay independent or to rely on a patchwork of solutions.
By Reed Abelson and
Desperate Families Search for Affordable Home Care
Facing a severe shortage of aides and high costs, people trying to keep aging loved ones at home often cobble together a patchwork of family and friends to help.
By Reed Abelson and
Extra Fees Drive Assisted-Living Profits
The add-ons pile up: $93 for medications, $50 for cable TV. Prices soar as the industry leaves no service unbilled. The housing option is out of reach for many families.
By
Why Long-Term Care Insurance Falls Short for So Many
The private insurance market has proved wildly inadequate in providing financial security for millions of older Americans, in part by underestimating how many policyholders would use their coverage.
By Jordan Rau and
‘I Wish I Had Known That No One Was Going to Help Me’
Adult children discuss the trials of caring for their aging parents: unreliable agencies, a lack of help and dwindling financial resources.
By Reed Abelson and
How Poor Sleep Affects Your Risk of Dementia
For older adults, too much or too little sleep has been tied to cognitive issues.
By
Richard Simmons’s Radical Promise: Exercise Is for Everybody
By preaching that you didn’t have to already be slim to work out, Simmons reshaped the fitness industry — and ushered in the modern era of exercise.
By
Are You Sure Your Ozempic Is Real? Fakes Are on the Rise.
Counterfeit versions of popular drugs used for weight loss are putting people at risk.
By
What Did Dr. Ruth Mean to You?
Her frank and frequently hilarious advice about sex, love and loneliness reached millions. How did she influence your life?
By
Advertisement
Some families pay thousands of dollars to store their children’s stem cells with the hope of a healthier future for them. But Sarah Kliff, an investigative health care reporter for The New York Times, explains that the cells are rarely useful and are sometimes contaminated.
By Sarah Kliff, Claire Hogan and James Surdam
Conventional toilet paper has a big environmental impact. We’ve got the lowdown on alternatives, from bamboo tissue to bidets.
By Elizabeth Anne Brown
The cases, which have yet to be confirmed, were identified in farmworkers culling infected birds. The risk to the public remains low, health officials said.
By Isabella Kwai
Frank and funny, the taboo-breaking psychologist said things on television and radio that would have been shocking coming from almost anyone else.
By Daniel Lewis
More than a million public records were used to assess whether nursing homes were meeting state staffing minimums.
By Jordan Rau and Holly K. Hacker
A leading biochemist, she helped shape guidelines in the 1970s for genetic-engineering while calming public fears of a spread of deadly lab-made microbes.
By Denise Gellene
The Times wants to hear from patients and providers about medical practices affiliated with Optum, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group. Share your experience below.
By Chris Hamby
Lisa Pisano, 54, lived with the organ for 47 days. She was the first patient to receive both a heart pump and an organ transplant, doctors said.
By Roni Caryn Rabin
In a report, the regulator sharply criticized pharmacy benefit managers, a turnaround from its longstanding tolerance of their practices.
By Reed Abelson and Rebecca Robbins
She was involved in a minor car accident three months earlier. Could that somehow be the cause?
By Lisa Sanders, M.D.
Every spring, hundreds of bicyclists gather in Santa Fe, N.M., to ride through a high-desert landscape rich in art, history and Indigenous culture. This year, the author, who lost the use of his legs 12 years ago, joined them.
By Bill Becher
A New York Times mental health reporter wants to hear why therapy didn’t work out.
By Christina Caron
The White House said President Biden had met with a neurologist only three times in more than three years in office, and implied that the doctor’s visits were related to treating other people.
By Emily Baumgaertner and Peter Baker
The research, which builds on previous work, eventually may lead to a more objective diagnostic tool, scientists said.
By Teddy Rosenbluth
Advertisement
Climate change and contaminated water have combined to create an epidemic of kidney disease.
By Kang-Chun Cheng and Apoorva Mandavilli
After years of delay, millions of malaria vaccines are being supplied to children in Africa. Tens of thousands died waiting.
By Stephanie Nolen
He found that a failed contraceptive, tamoxifen, could block the growth of cancer cells, opening up a whole new class of treatment.
By Clay Risen
The drug, Kisunla, made by Eli Lilly, is the latest in a new class of treatments that could modestly slow cognitive decline in initial stages of the disease but also carry safety risks.
By Pam Belluck
The insects seem to know which injuries to treat as they engage in a behavior that seems almost human.
By Annie Roth
She developed one of the first modern intensive care units for premature babies, helping newborns to breathe with lifesaving new treatments.
By Randi Hutter Epstein
My dad always remembered his childhood journey through Europe. Now, with Alzheimer’s claiming his memories, we tried to recreate it.
By Francesca Mari
A former hippie who chafed at wealth, she married a Chicago real estate titan and, after his death, donated hundreds of millions in her adopted city and beyond.
By Alex Williams
A Texas hospital is experimenting with hologram technology for doctors to see patients. Some health care experts wonder if it’s beneficial.
By Hank Sanders
Scientists say that findings from a small experiment lend hope the outbreak among dairy cattle can potentially be contained.
By Carl Zimmer
Advertisement
Mine is the first generation that has corporate benefits for a technology with the potential to slow the biological clock. Is it feminist dream or Silicon Valley fantasy?
By Emma Goldberg
Dr. Alex Arroyo, a director of pediatric medicine in Brooklyn, gets to live out his “Star Wars” dreams, practice jujitsu and make a big mess while cooking for his family.
By Sarah Bahr
The statement followed a report in The Times that a federal health official had urged the removal of age minimums from treatment guidelines for transgender minors.
By Roni Caryn Rabin, Teddy Rosenbluth and Noah Weiland
Hoau-Yan Wang, a professor at City College, published studies supporting simufilam, now in advanced clinical trials.
By Apoorva Mandavilli
The court’s strategy of avoidance and delay cannot last and may have been shaped by a desire to avoid controversy in an election year.
By Adam Liptak
Stress, ovarian cancer, buoyancy disorders: Every pet has its troubles, and needs a good doctor who makes house calls.
By Emily Anthes and Nic Coury
As the virus continues to mutate, the C.D.C. urged Americans to roll up their sleeves again for annual vaccinations.
By Apoorva Mandavilli
Plaintiffs and the company vowed to renegotiate but the talks will be challenging after the court struck down a provision the Sacklers had insisted on in exchange for $6 billion.
By Jan Hoffman
The species survived on an island north of Siberia for thousands of years, scientists reported, but were most likely plagued by genetic abnormalities.
By Carl Zimmer
A majority of the justices voted to dismiss the case, reinstating a lower-court ruling that paused the state’s near-total abortion ban. The ruling mirrored a version inadvertently posted a day earlier.
By Abbie VanSickle
Advertisement
The justices rejected a bankruptcy settlement maneuver that would have protected members of the Sackler family from civil claims related to the opioid epidemic.
By Abbie VanSickle
At a barbershop in Colorado, stylists and customers discussed a matter of social protocol.
By Matt Richtel and Theo Stroomer
Among Americans aged 60 to 74, only those with certain health conditions need to receive the shots, the agency concluded.
By Apoorva Mandavilli
A document posted briefly to the court’s website suggested a majority of the justices would reinstate a lower-court ruling that paused the state’s near-total abortion ban.
By Abbie VanSickle
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has called on a government watchdog to investigate. Here’s what you need to know.
By Alisha Haridasani Gupta
Cats are more social than they are often given credit for. Can you help yours access its inner dog?
By Emily Anthes
Newly released emails from an influential group issuing transgender medical guidelines indicate that U.S. health officials lobbied to remove age minimums for surgery in minors because of concerns over political fallout.
By Azeen Ghorayshi
Public employees in West Virginia who took the drugs lost weight and were healthier, and some are despondent that the state is canceling a program to help pay for them.
By Oliver Whang
The New York Times and KFF Health News are looking into a dreaded “adulting” milestone: finding your own medical insurance at 26.
By Elisabeth Rosenthal
Dr. Vivek Murthy is calling for a multipronged effort to reduce gun deaths, modeled on campaigns against smoking and traffic fatalities.
By Ellen Barry
Advertisement
Despite decades of research, the evidence for omega-3 supplements is murky.
By Alice Callahan
An injection given just twice a year could herald a breakthrough in protecting the population that has the highest infection rates.
By Stephanie Nolen
Pharmacy benefit managers are driving up drug costs for millions of people, employers and the government. New York Times pharmaceutical reporter, Rebecca Robbins, explains how.
By Rebecca Robbins, Claire Hogan, Christina Shaman and James Surdam
Pharmacy benefit managers are driving up drug costs for millions of people, employers and the government.
By Rebecca Robbins and Reed Abelson
Here’s what to know about your pharmacy benefit manager and how to find out if you are being overcharged for medications.
By Reed Abelson and Rebecca Robbins
Dr. Hans Klingemann, pioneering immunotherapy scientist, has studied whether the innovative treatment could save his two pets.
By Matt Richtel
A new study adds to a large body of evidence on the effectiveness of movement for treating and preventing pain.
By Talya Minsberg
High temperatures can make us miserable. Research shows they also make us aggressive, impulsive and dull.
By Dana G. Smith
Neck cracks and spine adjustments have become a potent social media trend, but some chiropractors fear the videos send the wrong message about the profession.
By Derrick Bryson Taylor
Some scientists who study youth mental health say the evidence does not support the notion that social media is harmful per se.
By Ellen Barry
Advertisement
The shortage highlights a widening gulf in the standard of care for people with diabetes, most of whom live in low-income countries.
By Stephanie Nolen
“Obesity first” doctors say they start with one medication, to treat obesity, and often find other chronic diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis, simply vanish.
By Gina Kolata
A few “reasonable precautions” can help people keep their pets safe from the H5N1 virus, experts say.
By Emily Anthes
In high-tech labs, workers are generating data to train A.I. algorithms to design better medicine, faster. But the transformation is just getting underway.
By Steve Lohr and Spencer Lowell
Don’t get sick this season.
By Kristen Miglore
There is no guarantee that a person-to-person virus would be benign, scientists say, and vaccines and treatments at hand may not be sufficient.
By Apoorva Mandavilli
Dr. Vivek Murthy said he would urge Congress to require a warning that social media use can harm teenagers’ mental health.
By Ellen Barry and Cecilia Kang
Methods such as hormonal implants and injections are reaching remote areas, providing more discretion and autonomy.
By Stephanie Nolen and Natalija Gormalova
Many pregnant women who struggle with drugs put off prenatal care, feeling ashamed and judged. But as fatal overdoses rise, some clinics see pregnancy as an ideal time to help them confront addiction.
By Jan Hoffman and Ilana Panich-Linsman
Alcohol is riskier than previously thought, but weighing the trade-offs of health risks can be deeply personal.
By Susan Dominus
Advertisement
A new state law will permit surgeons to perform cesarean deliveries in “advanced birth centers,” despite the risk of complications.
By Roni Caryn Rabin
In a message to the public, Catherine said she would attend King Charles’s birthday parade this weekend and wrote candidly about “knowing I am not out of the woods yet.”
By Mark Landler
A new emotion has taken over Riley’s teenage mind. And she has lessons for us all.
By Christina Caron
In a new book, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci recounts a career advising seven presidents. The chapter about Donald J. Trump is titled “He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not.”
By Sheryl Gay Stolberg
She first noticed the scent on her husband. Now her abilities are helping unlock new research in early disease detection.
By Scott Sayare
Firearms often are not stored safely in U.S. homes, a federal survey found. At the same time, gun-related suicides and injuries to children are on the rise.
By Teddy Rosenbluth
The Japanese biochemist found in the 1970s that cholesterol-lowering drugs lowered the level of LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, in the blood.
By Hisako Ueno and Mike Ives
An extensive examination of medical data gathered from the private Inspiration4 mission in 2021 revealed temporary cognitive declines and genetic changes in the crew.
By Kenneth Chang
The move would offer relief to millions of Americans who need a better credit score to get an apartment or a car, but it would not wipe out their financial obligations.
By Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Sarah Kliff
A rare supercentenarian, he remained remarkably lucid after 11 decades, even maintaining a blog. His brain has been donated for research on what’s known as super-aging.
By Alex Williams
Advertisement
For Paula Span, a columnist for The Times’s Health section, the subject of aging doesn’t age.
By Josh Ocampo
Collecting wild mushrooms, berries and other foods from public forests and parks has become so popular that state and federal agencies are imposing more restrictions.
By Jim Robbins
The modest benefits of the treatment, donanemab, made by Eli Lilly, outweigh the risks, the panel concluded unanimously.
By Gina Kolata and Pam Belluck
Agents from various federal agencies will focus on unauthorized candy-flavored and nicotine-laden vapes that have flooded the U.S. market from overseas.
By Christina Jewett
Programs are sprouting across the country to provide nursing home and rehabilitation services to homeless people who would otherwise shuttle between hospitals and the street.
By Jason DeParle
Montana’s suicide rate has been the highest in the U.S. for the past three years. Most of the deaths involved firearms. But suicide rarely registers in the national debate over guns.
By Michael Corkery and Tailyr Irvine
The American Cancer Society hopes to enroll 100,000 women and follow them for three decades to discover what’s causing higher case and death rates.
By Roni Caryn Rabin
His marriage fell apart as his addiction to crack cocaine deepened. The Times would like to speak with families shaken by a loved one’s drug addiction.
By Jan Hoffman
The panel endorsed targeting a variant of the coronavirus that is now receding, though some officials suggested aiming at newer versions of the virus that have emerged in recent weeks.
By Noah Weiland and Christina Jewett
Huge die-offs of elephant seals occurred after the virus gained nearly 20 troublesome new mutations, scientists found.
By Apoorva Mandavilli
Advertisement
The National Academies said the condition could involve up to 200 symptoms, make it difficult for people to work and last for months or years.
By Pam Belluck
An independent group of experts expressed concerns that the data from clinical trials did not outweigh risks for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder.
By Andrew Jacobs
The organ, from a genetically modified animal, failed because of a lack of blood flow, surgeons said, but did not appear to have been rejected by the body.
By Roni Caryn Rabin
An F.D.A. advisory panel dealt a setback to those seeking treatment for PTSD, citing health risks of the illegal drug and study flaws.
By Andrew Jacobs
Artists and community organizations around the world are increasingly turning to art to create positive social change.
By Ginanne Brownell
Dr. Fauci testified before a House panel investigating Covid’s origins. The panel found emails suggesting that his aides were skirting public records laws.
By Benjamin Mueller and Sheryl Gay Stolberg
The agency’s staff analysis suggests that approval of the illegal drug known as Ecstasy for treatment of PTSD is far from certain, with advisers meeting next week to consider the proposed therapy.
By Andrew Jacobs and Christina Jewett
New research shows that people who develop dementia often begin falling behind on bills years earlier.
By Ben Casselman
Some say that becoming as dull as a rock is an effective way to disengage.
By Christina Caron
The worker had respiratory symptoms, unlike the first two. But the risk to the public remains low, federal health officials said.
By Apoorva Mandavilli
Advertisement
The prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder among college students rose to 7.5 percent in 2022, more than double the rate five years earlier, researchers found.
By Ellen Barry
The perception of taste is remarkably complex, not only on the tongue but in organs throughout the body.
By Joanne Silberner
Cuts in the cranium, which is more than 4,000 years old, hint that people in the ancient civilization attempted to treat a scourge that persists today.
By Jordan Pearson
N.I.H. officials suggested federal record keepers helped them hide emails. If so, “that’s really damaging to trust in all of government,” one expert said.
By Benjamin Mueller
She believed the bond between adults was as sustaining as that between parent and child, and developed a therapy to strengthen and repair broken relationships.
By Penelope Green
A data analytics firm that helps insurers collect big fees while leaving some patients with unpaid bills has been summoned to explain its business model.
By Chris Hamby
Advertisement
Advertisement