What a year 2024 has been for health stories

Insights on long COVID, ADHD, metabolism and aging ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

As a health and medicine editor, it’s hard to know where to start an end-of-year newsletter about 2024. I expect the outcome of November’s election will reverberate for years to come, particularly with regard to health care policy. My own immediate and extended family has experienced the shortcomings of our country’s health care system in a very up-close and personal way this year.

I find myself falling back on the time-tested strategy of focusing on gratitude. Gratitude for my bright, insightful, good-humored colleagues. Gratitude for my own health, as I surpassed a big birthday milestone this year while also throwing myself into teacher training for heated yoga – a longtime aspiration of mine. Gratitude that we have a fantastic new health editor joining our team in January, who will undoubtedly have her work cut out for her covering the incoming Trump administration’s health care priorities. Gratitude for our scholars; it is a true gift to work so collaboratively with them and to experience the synergy that allows us to bring important stories to our readers.

Here are a handful of the stories that resonated with our readers this year:

  • Nearly five years after COVID-19 turned the world inside out, the puzzle pieces surrounding long COVID are falling into place, and the picture is unsettling, explained physician scientist Ziyad Al-Aly from Washington University in St. Louis.

  • Readers clearly appreciated our piece on the wonders of healthy teeth and how best to keep them that way, by clinical dentistry specialist Samer Zaky of the University of Pittsburgh.

  • My colleague Vivian Lam, associate health and biomedicine editor on the science desk, edited a reader favorite on the potential mechanisms that link metabolism, aging and health, by Penn State biochemist Melanie R. McReynolds.

And for a few of our editing team’s favorites:

  • Macalester College English professor Andrea Kaston Tange delved into the heartbreaking toll of infectious diseases on Victorian children, highlighting the “fragility of public health today.” Lam, who edited the story, noted to me that “we don’t need to look far in the past to remember that reality – nor do we need to stretch our imaginations that far to see it happening again in the future.”

  • I’ve read and edited a lot of stories about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, but I still learned a great deal about how the wiring differs in a brain with ADHD, by Kennesaw State University pathophysiologist Kate Harrington.

  • As part of our series on the role of art in science, two stories about the particular role that art plays in the well-being of our health care workers and in our own personal well-being left me feeling hopeful and uplifted.

On that note, I feel a deep sense of gratitude to our readers, who thirst for evidence-based explainers about the complicated world we live in. It’s a true honor to be in the position I’m in.

If you value reading health and medicine articles written by experts and scientists, please consider donating to our end-of-year fundraising campaign. Thank you.

Amanda Mascarelli

Senior Health and Medicine Editor

Readers' picks

Researchers are gaining key insights into the ways that the SARS-CoV-2 virus can lead to long COVID symptoms. Catherine McQueen/Moment via Getty Images

Long COVID puzzle pieces are falling into place – the picture is unsettling

Ziyad Al-Aly, Washington University in St. Louis

A new study finds the risks of developing long COVID declined over the first two years of the pandemic. But unvaccinated adults were more than twice as likely to get long COVID compared with those who were vaccinated.

Healthy teeth are truly priceless. Moncherie/E+ via Getty Images

Healthy teeth are wondrous and priceless – a dentist explains why and how best to protect them

Samer Zaky, University of Pittsburgh

The durability and longevity of teeth lie in the complex interplay between six different tissues, all of which play an intricate role in tooth formation and health.

Thomas Worth’s 1872 illustration for the Household Edition of The Old Curiosity Shop highlights her grandfather’s grief at losing Little Nell. Thomas Worth via George P. Landow/Victorian Web

Infectious diseases killed Victorian children at alarming rates — their novels highlight the fragility of public health today

Andrea Kaston Tange, Macalester College

Between 40% and 50% of children didn’t live past 5 in the US during the 19th century. Popular authors like Charles Dickens documented the common but no less gutting grief of losing a child.

Editors' picks

ADHD is characterized by symptoms such as inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. Nuthawut Somsuk/iStock / Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

ADHD brains present unique challenges, but the condition is highly treatable − a primary care nurse practitioner with ADHD explains the science

Kate Harrington, Kennesaw State University

Navigating life with ADHD or as a parent of a child with ADHD can be stressful. But as researchers learn more about the uniqueness of brains with ADHD, they are also gleaning insight into treatments.

If current trends continue, the U.S. could see a drastic shortage of health care workers over the next decade. LaylaBird/E+ via Getty Images

Creative arts therapy programs can help health care workers dance, write and draw their way through burnout and on-the-job stress

Marc Moss, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus; Rafaela Mantelli, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Long before the pandemic, health care workers were experiencing high levels of stress, burnout and compassion fatigue, all of which contribute to reduced quality of care for patients.

The act of creating art serves as exercise for the brain and is integral to physical and mental health. hzechphotography/Moment via Getty Images

Making art is a uniquely human act, and one that provides a wellspring of health benefits

Girija Kaimal, Drexel University

From drawing to gardening and woodworking, self-expression can lower stress, improve mood and increase self-confidence.

 
 
 
 

Older messages

What cephalopods know, and how we know it

Saturday, December 21, 2024

+ Bob Dylan's creative risks ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

3D-printed guns a rising threat

Friday, December 20, 2024

+ Bob Dylan's key creative leap; plants becoming less nutritious ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Accountability journalism is critical − for you

Friday, December 20, 2024

Give in this season of giving, and invest in a better-informed world ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Why enslaved people plotted escapes during the holidays

Thursday, December 19, 2024

+ Gilded Age history not best lesson in CEO shooting ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Vaccines and values

Thursday, December 19, 2024

+ more personalized blood tests; South Korea's democracy tested ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

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