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July 02, 2026
 

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Lisa Jarvis
Members of the M23 rebel group guard a laboratory in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, on Tuesday, as provincial authorities visit the facility where suspected Ebola samples are being tested.
COMMENTARY / World
May 21, 2026
Containing Ebola is hard. The U.S. made it worse
One thing is certain: The decimation of USAID will make containing the spread much more difficult.
A deadly suspected hantavirus outbreak on the cruise ship MV Hondius en route from Argentina to the African island of Cape Verde is under investigation, though experts say wider spread is unlikely.
COMMENTARY / World
May 8, 2026
The hantavirus outbreak is cause for caution, not panic
Hantaviruses are spread by mice, rats and other rodents. Human infections, which occur when people come in contact with droppings or urine, are relatively uncommon.
Revolution Medicines’ pancreatic cancer therapy daraxonrasib has delivered stunning results in clinical trials, offering patients significantly more time to live and laying the groundwork for future advancements in treating this deadly disease.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 24, 2026
Finally, real progress against pancreatic cancer
The challenge comes from how late the disease is discovered — some 80% of pancreatic cancer patients’ tumors have already spread by the time of diagnosis.
Many women going through midlife are turning to strength training to combat age-related muscle loss and health risks, but the trend is being clouded by conflicting advice and influencer-driven misinformation.
COMMENTARY
Apr 12, 2026
The most valuable menopause fitness hack
Middle-aged women aiming to build muscle should be skeptical of “fitfluencers,” many of whom promote junk science and grifts.
The Artemis II crew take a selfie midway through their lunar observation period on Monday.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 9, 2026
Artemis II’s awe reminds us of science’s fragility and importance
Artemis II is a desperately needed reminder of the magic that can happen when humans come together to realize a lofty goal.
Claims that testosterone therapy is a perimenopausal cure-all overstate its benefits, with evidence showing only modest gains for postmenopausal libido and potential risks at higher doses.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 6, 2026
Testosterone isn’t a magic cure-all for middle age
The reality is that there is currently no FDA-approved testosterone product for women.
Long-term studies show that mentally stimulating activities such as games and targeted brain training can strengthen cognitive resilience and delay the onset of dementia.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 10, 2026
Tired of spending billions on dementia care? Try a brain workout.
Twenty years later, about 25% fewer people in the speed training group developed dementia compared with the people who weren’t offered the intervention.
A recent fast-moving measles outbreak in South Carolina highlights how declining vaccination rates, permissive state laws and weakened federal vaccine oversight under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are creating larger, harder-to-control outbreaks across the U.S.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 9, 2026
South Carolina’s measles milestone is everyone’s problem
It’s the latest public health record to be broken as vaccine hesitancy and increasingly permissive state laws create more and larger pockets of disease vulnerability in the U.S.
Upheaval under U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is weakening the nation's public health by fueling disease outbreaks, undermining vaccinations and threatening insurance coverage and drug approvals.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 5, 2026
America’s year of health care chaos will have consequences
The consequences of Kennedy’s first year in office will unfold over years or even decades.
New research suggests the shingles vaccine may not only reduce the risk of developing dementia but could also slow its progression, though more rigorous trials are needed.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 21, 2025
Fighting dementia could be as easy as the shingles vaccine
Over the past several years, a growing body of research has suggested that immunization against shingles may reduce the risk of dementia by up to 20%.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meets at the agency’s headquarters in Atlanta on Dec. 5 where it voted to revoke the longstanding recommendation that all babies receive hepatitis B shots. 
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 11, 2025
CDC panel’s hepatitis B vaccine vote undid decades of progress
The plan is simple: demand proof of the unprovable, set impossible safety and data standards and distort risk by focusing on the individual instead of the collective.
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. addresses the inaugural Make America Healthy Again summit in Washington on Nov. 12.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 23, 2025
Is America next after Canada to lose its measles elimination status?
In normal times, Canada’s misfortune might serve as a wake-up call for public health leaders in the U.S., which is precariously close to losing its own measles-free status.
Early evidence suggests that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, when given shortly before cancer immunotherapy, may significantly boost survival rates by activating the immune system.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 12, 2025
What if the COVID-19 vaccine could save cancer patients too?
That something as simple as a COVID-19 vaccine might improve survival in cancer patients receiving standard immunotherapy has taken oncologists by surprise — in a good way.
Signage outside the Capitol Hill visitors center in Washington notifies the public of its closure due to the government shutdown on Wednesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2025
The U.S. government shutdown fight has life-or-death consequences
About 4.2 million people are expected to lose coverage if Congress fails to extend premium subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to cancel funding for mRNA vaccine development dismantles an important public health tool and could weaken America’s ability to respond to future pandemics.
COMMENTARY
Aug 8, 2025
RFK Jr.’s mRNA decision may be his worst yet
U.S. Health Secretary RFK Jr.’s decision to cancel funding for mRNA vaccine development dismantles a public health tool and could weaken the ability to respond to future pandemics.
A breakthrough HIV prevention drug, lenacapavir, offers hope to end the epidemic, but U.S. President Donald Trump’s cuts to global health funding threaten access and rollout, especially in Africa where prevention efforts are already strained.  
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 8, 2025
When an HIV scientific breakthrough isn’t enough
Trump administration funding cuts and dismantling of USAID force a shift from HIV elimination back to treatment.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's new plan to restrict updated COVID-19 vaccines to high-risk groups has sparked confusion and criticism, with experts warning it could limit public access and bypass established advisory channels.
COMMENTARY / World
May 26, 2025
The FDA’s new COVID-19 vaccine policy is clear as mud
The U.S. health agency’s promises of transparency and choice for COVID-19 vaccines fall short in its first big test. 
A new U.S. FDA policy requiring full placebo-controlled trials for updated vaccines, pushed by Commissioner Marty Makary (right) and U.S. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (center), is seen as a backdoor effort to sideline COVID-19 boosters and undermine broader vaccine development.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 2, 2025
RFK Jr.’s new vaccine scrutiny is alarming
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who oversees the FDA, intends to set new regulatory standards vaccine manufacturers couldn’t possibly meet.
Since the 1990s, Parkinson's disease researchers have aimed to use stem cells to replace lost neurons, and they're now finding the right cues to turn them into dopamine-producing cells.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 30, 2025
Finally, a source of hope for Parkinson’s disease sufferers
The treatments were originally developed by a team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York and the other by researchers in Kyoto.
The Trump administration has slashed LGBTQ+ health research funding, dismantling key programs and halting studies on disparities and mental health, which experts warn will reverse progress and harm vulnerable communities.
COMMENTARY
Apr 14, 2025
The very idea of LGBTQ+ health is under attack
The Trump administration is rapidly breaking down the research infrastructure for these communities and doing so in a manner that guarantees it can’t be restored.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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