Skin bleaching is a billion-dollar industry in predominantly black countries, but some governments want that to change. Rwanda is one of them. Pointing to the chemicals’ harmful health effects, the country has begun a crackdown to enforce its ban on bleaching agents, especially hydroquinone and mercury, that are found in cosmetics. “We have been conducting…
Happy 10 Minutes, a Chinese government campaign that encouraged schoolchildren to exercise for 10 minutes a day, would seem a laudable step toward improving public health in a nation struggling with alarming rates of childhood obesity. But the initiative and other official Chinese efforts that emphasized exercise as the best way to lose weight were…
WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration has stopped routine food safety inspections of seafood, fruits, vegetables and many other foods at high risk of contamination because of the federal government’s shutdown, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the agency’s commissioner, said on Wednesday. F.D.A. inspectors normally examine operations at about 160 domestic manufacturing and food processing plants…
Image Oral hormone replacement therapy, or H.R.T., increases the risk for potentially fatal blood clots. But a study in BMJ found that hormone replacement delivered through the skin by injection or skin patch entails no increased risk for blood clots. British researchers looked at 80,396 women who had blood clots while on various H.R.T. regimens,…
LONDON — When a technical error forced a Norwegian Air jet to land at Shiraz Airport in Iran last month, the Boeing 737 touched down in uncharted territory. The airline, known for cheap long-haul flights from Europe, does not have a base in Iran. It had never flown there before. And nearly a month after…
Anita Radini, an archaeologist at the University of York, in England, spends a lot of time looking at tartar. Really old tartar. Tartar, or dental plaque — that film of bacteria that feels like sweaters on your teeth — contains a wealth of information about what long-dead individuals encountered in their daily lives. Dr. Radini…
Why do people who made themselves clear saying they want to see you fail to pick up the phone five minutes before the meeting? The next day they call and say that they forgot, did not have enough time, fell ill, or their phone was discharged. All these reasons sound plausible only the first couple…
On this week’s podcast, the actor Carmen Ejogo reads “What the Sea Took Away, a Daughter Restores,” an essay about a young woman’s decision to rewrite the narrative surrounding her father’s disappearance. Emily Listfield, the author of the 2014 Modern Love essay, is a novelist and journalist living in New York City. Ms. Ejogo stars…
Lifestyle has a significant impact on type 2 diabetes, with diet playing a major role. Nuts are a good source of nutrition, and they provide a range of health benefits. However, some nuts are better than others for people with diabetes. Around 30.3 million adults in the United States have a form of diabetes. A…
Image “Wait —” is a weekly newsletter by Caity Weaver that investigates an unanswered (and, to be fair, quite possibly unasked) question. We want to take you on a little journey with us, into a silly or serious or doofy wormhole in the news. Sometimes the weirdest things are lurking in plain sight or sound,…