Naseem Miller

A Hidden Health Crisis Following Natural Disasters: Mold Growth in Homes - KFF Health News As extreme weather wreaks havoc, the risk of dangerous mold looms. An estimated 47% of homes already have mold or dampness, leaving their residents exposed to mold spores and associated allergens that...

A Hidden Health Crisis Following Natural Disasters: Mold Growth in Homes

kffhealthnews.org/news/article...

Recycling lead for U.S. car batteries is poisoning people We documented the toxic fallout of a green technology.

www.theexamination.org/articles/bat...

Our understanding of memory is all wrong An expert on the best ways to strengthen yours.

Good nuggets of information here:

www.vox.com/podcasts/464...

Missing 1,900-year-old Roman artifact was found in a New Orleans garden Roman soldier Sextus Congenius Verus was buried 1,900 years ago in Italy. So how did his grave marker end up in a backyard in New Orleans?

"What they first thought was a massive rock turned out to be the gravestone of a Roman soldier: Sextus Congenius Verus, a Thracian who sailed aboard the warship Asclepius before dying at age 42 — 1,900 years ago."

www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...

Harvard exhibit on the policing women’s fashion — Harvard Gazette Houghton Library exhibit highlights the policing of women’s fashion since the 17th century.

"Fashions have changed over the centuries, but one thing has not: attempts to police what women wear."

news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

What to know about zarfs, the fanciest way to drink coffee For NPR's Word of the Week, we're getting hot: During the Ottoman Empire, people used devices called "zarfs" to hold their coffee cups. Here's what to know about this word's history.

☕️ "Preparing coffee the Turkish way involves grinding the beans very finely, and slowly cooking the water and coffee in a pot to create a thick layer of foam. It's served in small cups."

www.npr.org/2025/09/17/n...

Does this cellphone habit raise risk of hemorrhoids? — Harvard Gazette Gastroenterologist Trisha Pasricha discusses why new findings may change how you think about bathroom routines.

Small but interesting study “Smartphone use on the toilet was associated with a 46 percent increased risk of having hemorrhoids.”

news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...

Are creatine supplements all that they're pumped up to be? Creatine supplements have long become increasingly popular as social media influencers tout their benefits. What does the evidence say?

In case you were wondering

www.npr.org/2025/09/04/n...

Why two Kenyan journalists launched a newsroom to change global health storytelling “Too often, health is treated like politics, with shock, yet these are people’s lives,” says DeFrontera publisher Verah Okeyo.

Love this

reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/why-two...

🔊 Listen Now: Queen's classic 'Bohemian Rhapsody' finds a new voice in Zulu Weekend Edition Saturday on NPR One | 3:57

💗 one.npr.org?sharedMediaI...

'You get to fly': Why Dutch athletes pole vault over canals The Dutch sport of “fierljeppen” sees athletes hoist themselves up and over canals on slender carbon poles in the Netherlands countryside.

“The moment you are at the top of the pole and you get to jump (off) of the pole, in that small moment you get to fly and that’s just really nice to experience,” 25-year-old athlete Bas van Leeuwen said”

apnews.com/article/neth...

One Tech Tip: Ditch the chatbots and take your AI nature apps on a birdwatching hike AI-driven nature apps are changing how people engage with wildlife on their hikes. Want to know type of a bird is around you using just its chirps?

“Every observation submitted to iNaturalist, run by a nonprofit, and Cornell’s Merlin is potentially helping with conservation research as animal extinctions and biodiversity loss accelerate around the world.”

apnews.com/article/ai-n...

Fishermen Pulled In an Orange Shark Off Costa Rica: ‘My God, What Is This?’

“Researchers quickly noticed, too, realizing this could be the first recorded case of an orange shark.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/28/w...

Grow fruit trees in small spaces with the trick known as espalier If you think you need a big space to grow fruit trees, think again. The espalier (es-PAHL-yay or es-PAHL-yer) method trains trees to grow flat against walls.

This is pretty cool.
"use a method perfected by Louis XIV’s gardeners back in the 1600s at Versailles, when cold, windy winters, not a lack of space, inspired them to train trees to grow flat against walls."

apnews.com/article/gard...

“Around the world, streetlights, store signs and skyscrapers are pouring artificial light into the night, and all that extra illumination is prompting birds to tweet for nearly an extra hour a day on average…”
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

A team of scientists found a black hole that formed soon after the Big Bang A group of astronomers detect the oldest known black hole using the James Webb Telescope

“The cosmic mass is not only old, it's massive — up to 300 million times bigger than our sun. That's remarkable for a black hole that developed so soon after the Big Bang, says Anthony Taylor, who led the research team.”

www.npr.org/2025/08/13/n...

Children in a mental health crisis can spend days languishing in the ER A new study finds that nearly 1 in 10 kids on Medicaid visiting an emergency department for mental health care remain stuck there for days waiting for follow up psychiatric care.

This is also true for adults and has been for more than a decade

Children in a mental health crisis can spend days in the ER waiting for treatment : Shots - Health News

www.npr.org/sections/sho...

Chimpanzees pick up communication styles from their moms, not their dads A new study finds that chimpanzee babies learn vocal and visual communication patterns from their mothers. The findings may shed light on the way human babies learn from those close to them.

“When Mine later examined chimps ten years and older — meaning subadults and adults — he found that individuals related through their mother produced similar amounts of these vocal and visual combinations.”

www.npr.org/2025/08/16/n...

Stone Age humans were picky about which rocks they used for making tools, study finds New research finds early human ancestors during the Stone Age were more picky about the rocks they used for making tools than previously thought.

“The new study shows that ‘these early humans were thinking ahead. This is probably the earliest time we have in the archaeological record an indication of that behavior…”

apnews.com/article/ston...

Tick-borne meat allergies on the rise A growing number of people across the US are developing red-meat allergies because of ticks.

"A strange tick-borne malady is on the rise, as well. Named alpha-gal syndrome, it causes an allergic reaction to red meat and dairy."

healthbeat.beehiiv.com/p/tick-borne...

Covering Wildfire: A Toolkit for Editors, Reporters, and Media Professionals As Canada experiences its second-worst wildfire season on record, the Mitigating Wildfire Initiative (MWI) at Simon Fraser University has launched Covering Wildfire: A Toolkit for Editors, Reporters, ...

Good resource for covering #wildfires.
#journalism

www.sfu.ca/dialogue/wha...

Unbreaking.org tracker tracker (public)

Very helpful list of issue trackers by @unbreaking.org

docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

Inside ‘Projekt Helpline’: Germany’s Mental Health Phoneline for Journalists A dedicated mental health helpline for journalists facing anxiety, stress, and burnout was a long time coming. Can it survive?

“After about 18 months of research, training, and fundraising, the Netzwerk Recherche Helpline launched in November 2023 for journalists facing mental health issues. It’s independent, anonymous, and free, and is for both staff and freelance journalists…”
gijn.org/stories/insi...

The Hidden Trauma of Jury Duty

“One study found that symptoms of trauma — such as anxiety, feeling emotionally drained and sleep issues — occured in as many as 50 percent of jurors who served on difficult cases.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/10/w...

15 Ways to Break Free of Your Phone (Gift Article) We asked screen-time experts how to avoid the relentless pull of our devices.

With the weekend approaching, here are a few good tips for putting your phone down

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

A Case of Bromism Influenced by Use of Artificial Intelligence | Annals of Internal Medicine: Clinical Cases Ingestion of bromide can lead to a toxidrome known as bromism. While this condition is less common than it was in the early 20th century, it remains important to describe the associated symptoms and r...

Interesting case report: "Based on the timeline of this case, it appears that the patient either consulted ChatGPT 3.5 or 4.0 when considering how he might remove chloride from this diet." #medicine #AI

www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/...

Millions are flocking to grow virtual gardens in viral Roblox game created by teenager A 16-year-old’s Roblox game, Grow a Garden, has shattered records for the most concurrent players in history.

"Grow a Garden, created by a 16-year-old in a few days, has shattered records for the most concurrent players of any game in history, beating out video games that take years and millions of dollars to develop."

apnews.com/article/robl...

Evolutionary origins of the potato revealed - and a tomato was involved The potato is one of the world's food staples, first cultivated thousands of years ago in the Andes region of South America before spreading globally from the 16th century. But despite its importance to humankind, the evolutionary origins of the potato have remained puzzling - until now.

“potato lineage originated through natural interbreeding between a wild tomato plant and a potato-like species in South America about 9 million years ago.”

www.reuters.com/science/evol...

If compliments make you feel super awkward, this comic is for you When someone says something nice about us, it can make us feel awkward and uncomfortable. Researchers explain the science behind those emotions — and make the case for accepting genuine praise.

Love this comic about the science behind giving and receiving compliments.

www.npr.org/2025/08/02/n...

Trying to keep your brain young? A big new study finds these lifestyle changes help A study of more than 2,100 people ages 60 to 79 found that an intensive two-year program of mental and physical activities, along with a heart-healthy diet, improved memory and thinking.

A self-care reminder for today:

www.npr.org/2025/07/28/n...