Will Stone

Scientists gathered this week to unpack what we know about the underlying cause of long COVID and potential treatments.

All those daily activities we'd rather avoid — taking the stairs, cleaning the house etc. — have a big metabolic payoff. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis can help manage weight and boost health.

Most of us know that exercise is good for our health. But what about all the other ways we move during the day?

Taken after sex, the antibiotic doxycycline can ward off some sexually transmitted illnesses. Doctors are already prescribing it and the CDC is expected to share guidance soon for how best to use it.

A carefully conducted study of treatments for short-term back pain finds that opioids aren't the best approach. The results throw into question current guidelines.

New research calls into question prescribing the drugs even for short-term pain relief – especially given the risk of addiction.

Patients trying to lose weight are often counseled to count calories, but new research finds intermittent fasting can be just as effective. (Story aired on All Things Considered on June 26, 2023.)

When trying to lose weight, patients are often counseled to count calories, but this can be cumbersome and hard to stick with. New research finds that intermittent fasting can be just as effective.

Limiting when you eat to a six- or eight-hour window can help reduce caloric intake. While the weight loss isn't dramatic, it may be easier to stick to than counting calories.

A panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration has recommended revising the current COVID-19 vaccine so that it specifically targets omicron.

New research shows that the U.S. is making progress in preventing new HIV infections but the gains are happening unevenly across racial and ethnic groups.

Research shows taking a certain antibiotic after sex can significantly reduce the risk of getting sexually transmitted infections. It is seen as a promising approach to curb the nation's STI epidemic.

Scientists are turning up more evidence that some people may harbor a viral reservoir in the wake of COVID-19. What could that tell us about long COVID?

A growing body of evidence points to the idea that the coronavirus can stick around long after an initial infection. Some researchers think that may be a major driver of long COVID.

The drug had been fast-tracked for approval under the agency's accelerated approval program, and has been available for more than a decade, despite the drugmaker's failure to prove that it works.

Millions of Americans may lose access to free preventive health care services. Insurers have been required to cover those services under the ACA, but a federal judge in Texas struck that down.

NPR's Ailsa Chang speaks with Jen Kates from the Kaiser Family Foundation about what it means that President Biden has declared the COVID public health emergency over for the United States in May.

Long criticized as discriminatory, the policy has prevented many gay and bisexual men from donating blood. The Food and Drug Administration revealed a draft of its new approach on Friday.

Call it "precision waking" — the alleged ability to decide when you want to wake up and then doing so, without an alarm. If you think you can do it, you're not alone, though how is still mysterious.

Pediatric hospitals in the U.S. are being inundated with patients due to an unusually early and intense surge of respiratory illnesses. Here's how one Seattle hospital is coping.