Edition: U.S. / Global

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Health

Getty Images

High-impact exercise can be beneficial for those middle aged and beyond, much of the recent science shows.

Thousands Without Water After Spill in West Virginia

As 300,000 people learned that their tap water was unsafe, residents and businesses expressed a mix of anger and anxiety in coping with the industrial accident.

The New Old Age Blog

Fighting ‘Observation’ Status

There are steps to take when the hospital refuses to formally admit a Medicare patient.

E-Cigarette Shops Open Even as City Cracks Down

Six electronic-cigarette shops have recently opened in New York City, providing supplies, guidance and something of a scene.

Enrollees at Health Exchanges Face Struggle to Prove Coverage

Many Americans who signed up through the federal marketplace for health care coverage have yet to receive an insurance card, policy number or bill.

Observatory

A Window to Bone Disease in a Shark’s Skeleton

The elephant shark’s skeleton is made up largely of cartilage, not bone, and a possible explanation could help in developing treatments for bone diseases like osteoporosis.

At Issue in 2 Wrenching Cases: What to Do After the Brain Dies

Two recent cases involving a patient kept alive by ventilator despite a diagnosis of brain death raise questions about exactly what this term means.

Well

The Well Smoking Quiz: Who Looks Older?

A new study provides photographic evidence for the claim that smoking ages a person prematurely.

Recipes for Health

Coconut Ginger Tea With Lime, Honey and Turmeric

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

The smell of coconut inspired this infusion.

The Weekly Health Quiz
Columns
Personal Health

Symptoms of Torn Artery Are Easy to Miss

A headache, neck pain or dizziness, seemingly innocuous, may be signs of a vertebral artery dissection, a leading cause of stroke in young adults.

Ask Well

Is Nail Polish Harmful?

The idea of nail polish as a risky substance gained traction in recent years when public health advocates began a nationwide protest concerning three compounds — often referred to as “the toxic trio” — in leading nail polish brands.

The Cancer Divide
Tackling a Racial Gap in Breast Cancer Survival

Advances in treatment have improved survival rates for women with breast cancer in the United States, but the majority of those gains have bypassed black women.

Multimedia
Picture Your Life
Faces of Breast Cancer

We asked our readers to share insights from their experiences with breast cancer. Here are some of their stories.

From Booming
New Parent, Old Parent

How Did You Motivate Your Hibernating Teenager to Stay Healthy in Winter?

Seeking advice from parents who helped their teenagers inclined to be couch potatoes to stay active in winter.

From Opinion
Op-Ed | Mark Bittman

How Many Cheers for Cheerios?

A new G.M.O.-free label is either a cynical marketing ploy or a huge deal or, possibly, both.

From the Magazine
Riff

We Didn’t Eat the Marshmallow. The Marshmallow Ate Us.

How a simple experiment about impulse control became a seductive gospel truth.

Interactive Feature: Training Tool

Get ready for your 5K, 10K or marathon day with customized running plans that help you track your training.

Quizzes and Assessments
Can You Read People’s Emotions?

The “Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test” measures a person’s ability to understand others’ emotional states.

Gulp! The Quiz

Chew, swallow, digest, repeat. Take this quiz to learn some of the amazing things that go on in your gut.

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