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Health

Highlights

  2. the new old age

    The Painkiller Used for Just About Anything

    In huge numbers, older people are taking gabapentin for a variety of conditions, including itching, alcohol dependence and sciatica. “It’s crazy,” one expert said.

       By Paula Span

    CreditLuisa Jung

  4. Ancient Scribes Got Ergonomic Injuries, Too

    The scriveners of ancient Egypt were more than papyrus pushers, but they suffered many of the same repetitive ailments as desk jockeys today, a new study suggests.

       By Franz Lidz

    Two scribes in a relief from the Tomb of Akhethotep in Saqqara, Egypt. Scribes performed vital administrative functions, such as drawing up contracts and measuring fields for tax purposes.
    CreditHeritage Image Partnership Ltd./Alamy

  1. Tell us: Have you been forgoing Covid tests?

    It’s the fifth summer of Covid, and most people seem eager to move on. We want to understand the pervasiveness of the ignorance-is-bliss attitude.

       By Emily Baumgaertner

    A box of home COVID-19 testing kits, in New York.
    CreditRichard B. Levine/SIPA, via Reuters Connect

  2. How Did Mpox Become a Global Emergency? What’s Next?

    The virus is evolving, and the newest version spreads more often through heterosexual populations. Sweden reported the first case outside Africa.

       By Apoorva Mandavilli

    Dr. Tresor Wakilongo examines the skin lesions of a child with mpox at a treatment center in Munigi, Democratic Republic of Congo.
    CreditArlette Bashizi/Reuters

  3. A.L.S. Stole His Voice. A.I. Retrieved It.

    In an experiment that surpassed expectations, implants in a patient’s brain were able to recognize words he tried to speak, and A.I. helped produce sounds that came close to matching his true voice.

       By Benjamin Mueller

    CreditIan C. Bates for The New York Times

  4. Unresponsive Brain-Damaged Patients May Have Some Awareness

    Many patients thought to be in vegetative or minimally conscious states may be capable of thought, researchers reported.

       By Carl Zimmer

    Colored computed-tomography scan of the brain of a 42-year-old patient in a coma with unresponsive pupil dilation. A study suggests that some people might be able to think and remain at least somewhat aware in a vegetative state.
    CreditZephyr/Science Source

  5. Hot Summer Threatens Efficacy of Mail-Order Medications

    The temperatures inside delivery trucks can reach twice the recommended threshold, but federal rules on drug storage conditions do not apply to the booming world of mail-order delivery.

       By Emily Baumgaertner

    Toujeo, a medication used to treat Type 2 diabetes, is intended to be stored at temperatures below 86 degrees. But many patients receive their doses through the mail, even in the summer heat.
    CreditEmily Elconin for The New York Times

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Pets

More in Pets ›

  1. How Science Went to the Dogs (and Cats)

    Pets were once dismissed as trivial scientific subjects. Today, companion animal science is hot.

       By Emily Anthes

    Max, a 2-year-old German shepherd, Belgian Malinois and husky mix, was rescued in an emaciated condition but is now a healthy participant in Darwin’s Dogs, a science organization that investigates animal genetics and behavior.
    CreditM. Scott Brauer for The New York Times

  2. 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 Jamie Kelter Davis

    Claire Johnson, a veterinary social worker, left, comforted Zorro, a 16-year-old cockapoo, as he was prepared for euthanasia at MedVet, a 24-hour pet care facility in Chicago.
    Credit

  3. 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 Emily Anthes

    Jolie, a blood donor, giving blood at a DoveLewis Blood Bank in Portland, Ore., last month.
    CreditMichael Hanson for The New York Times

  4. 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 Katie Thomas

    Heather Massey of Carlton, Ga., with her dog, Lunabear. She is still paying off a bill for scans and care six years after her previous dog, Ladybird, was diagnosed with brain cancer.
    CreditAudra Melton for The New York Times

  5. 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 Linda Baker

    The proliferation of dog strollers is one sign of a trend in which pets’ lives have become constrained and dependent on humans.
    CreditGraham Dickie/The New York Times

The New Old Age

More in The New Old Age ›

  1. When Elder Care Is All in the Stepfamily

    Adult children are less likely to assist an aging stepparent, studies show. A growing “step gap” in senior care worries experts.

       By Paula Span

    CreditCaitlin O'Hara for The New York Times

  2. Some Seniors Readily Step Back. Some Never Will.

    Researchers are only beginning to understand why some people embrace retirement while others won’t even consider it.

       By Paula Span

    Philip Roth in Manhattan in 2018, a few months before he died. When he stopped writing a few years earlier, at age 79, he said, “I know I’m not going to write as well as I used to.”
    CreditPhilip Montgomery for The New York Times

  3. 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 Paula Span

    Morrie Markoff, who died in June at the age of 110, with a piece of writing last year. His family donated his brain to NeuroBioBank.
    Creditvia Markoff Family

  4. 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 Paula Span

    CreditErina Chida

  5. 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 Paula Span

    Marlene Nathanson, right, with her husband, was abruptly refused a request to cover further treatment from her Medicare Advantage plan as she recovered from a stroke. “She has to leave our facility by Friday,” a therapist told her.
    CreditCaroline Yang for The New York Times

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Dying Broke

More in Dying Broke ›

  1. 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 Jordan Rau

    CreditWilliam DeShazer for The New York Times

  2. 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 Desiree Rios

    April Abel, a former home health nurse at Roper St. Francis Healthcare, in the home of a patient, Ron Keur, in Summerville, S.C., in 2022.
    CreditDesiree Rios/The New York Times

  3. 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 Jordan Rau

    Anne Palm with her parents, Donald and Florence Reiners, when they both lived at the Waters of Excelsior, an assisted-living facility near Minneapolis.
    CreditJenn Ackerman and Tim Gruber for The New York Times

  4. 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 JoNel Aleccia

    Jewell Thomas with her daughter, Angela Jemmott. Ms. Jemmott and her brothers pay $4,000 a month for home health aides who are not covered under Mrs. Thomas’s long-term care insurance policy.
    CreditBryan Meltz for The New York Times

  5. ‘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 Jordan Rau

    Robert Ingenito helping his father, Jerry Ingenito, get out of bed at their home in Mamaroneck, N.Y.
    CreditMaansi Srivastava/The New York Times

From Well

More in From Well ›

  1. Many People Are Eligible for Paxlovid. Who Should Take It?

    The treatment can help prevent mild or moderate cases of Covid-19 from becoming more severe. Here’s what to know.

       By Dani Blum

    CreditGetty Images

  2. How to Help Someone Through a Panic Attack

    This week a meteorologist stepped away from a live broadcast when he noticed familiar feelings of panic start to arise. We can all learn from how he and his colleagues handled it.

       By Christina Caron

    CreditGetty Images

  3. Miss Your Friends? Here Are 4 Strategies for Connecting

    Reaching out takes less time than you think.

       By Jancee Dunn

    CreditIllustration by Nicolás Ortega; Photograph by Getty Images

  4. An Alternative to the Pap Smear Is Here, No Speculum Required

    Starting this fall, women will be able to use a simple swab to screen for cervical cancer. The method offers an alternative to a procedure that many dread — and promises to address disparities in who develops the disease.

       By Danielle Friedman

    This fall, self-collection kits for cervical cancer screening will arrive in doctor’s offices, allowing patients to skip the discomfort of a Pap smear.
    CreditElizabeth Renstrom for The New York Times

  5. A Short Workout You Can Do in a Chair

    If your mobility is limited, you can still build strength with a few simple exercises.

       By Jen Murphy and Gritchelle Fallesgon

    Credit

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