24 Aug, 2026

Why longevity ‘blue zones’ are a mixed bag

Below is a lightly edited, AI-generated transcript of the “First Opinion Podcast” interview with Shelley Wood and Eric Topol. Be sure to sign up for the weekly “First Opinion Podcast” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Get alerts about each new episode by signing up for the “First Opinion Podcast” newsletter. And don’t […]

37 mins read

CDC playing smaller role in MV Hondius hantavirus outbreak

NEW YORK — No quick dispatching of disease investigators. No televised news conference to inform the public. No timely health alerts to doctors. In the midst of a hantavirus outbreak that involves Americans and is making headlines around the world, the U.S. government’s top public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has been uncharacteristically missing in […]

10 mins read

More men should go into nursing

While the number of Americans in need of care keeps rising, many health systems are struggling to find qualified nurses. The demand for qualified nurses is projected to increase nationwide, with nearly 200,000 annual job openings expected. This is driven, in part, by a mass exodus of nurses reaching retirement age. At this critical juncture […]

10 mins read

Microplastics have become a rare source of bipartisan agreement

This month, the Trump administration announced what may be the biggest win for the Make America Healthy Again movement on an environmental issue to date. The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a rule that would, for the first time, formally flag microplastics and pharmaceuticals in drinking water as threats that deserve federal attention — putting them on its […]

8 mins read