Gabrielle Emanuel

And the numbers in 2024 aren't looking any better. Why is this highly infectious disease on the rise? And how can it be tamed?

An outbreak of mpox — formerly known as monkeypox — in the Democratic Republic of Congo has health experts concerned as the majority of deaths have been children.

This week Puerto Rico declared a health emergency due to an increase of Dengue Fever cases. Health officials are worried because the mosquito-borne illness is showing up unusually early.

The U.N. says the number of children who died before the age of 5 is at an all-time low worldwide, and about half what it was in 2000. Some countries, including Ethiopia, have done even better.

The global cholera vaccine stockpile is empty at a time when there are outbreaks around the world. Last year, the WHO recommended the vaccine dose be cut in half to stretch the supply.

Massachusetts is housing homeless people in hotels. That sometimes means pushing current hotel residents out of their rooms and into homelessness.

250 years ago, colonists dumped tens of thousands of pounds of British tea into Boston harbor in an act of defiance of British rule that helped catalyze the American Revolution.

Rising temperatures and carbon dioxide levels give the toxic vine the oomph it needs to grow earlier, bigger and itchier, scientists say.

Climate change appears to be making poison ivy thrive, with the plant growing faster, larger and more potent.

In recent years, the number of children enrolled in a federal benefit program, Supplemental Security Income, has dropped. It provides assistance to people who are very poor and have a disability.

Firefighters are on the front lines of the effort to regulate PFAS because they have been particularly exposed to these chemicals through their jobs and equipment.

As the FDA considers whether to make birth control pills available over the counter, some are looking back at the controversial history of the development of "the pill."

The EPA proposed new regulations for PFAS and PFOA in the nation's drinking water. The chemicals are part of a class of so-called forever chemicals associated with a variety of health problems.

In Massachusetts, dozens of homeless people spend each night in emergency rooms even though they are not sick. The state guarantees a right to shelter, yet these people have nowhere else to go.

Wheelchairs break down often, and insurance bureaucracy can delay repairs for weeks or months. Wheelchair users say the delays can have serious consequences.

The recent transfer of Venezuelan migrants to Martha's Vineyard resembles the "Reverse Freedom Rides" of 60 years ago, when white supremacist groups bused Black southerners to the North.

The National Cancer Act became law 50 years ago. Cancer went from shameful taboo to one of the best-funded areas of medicine. Much of the credit for this transformation goes to one woman, Mary Lasker.

Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Washington, Iowa and Colorado all have programs to offer free COVID testing to some or all of their residents. So do Boston, Philadelphia and New York.

Five decades ago, the National Cancer Act became law. What did it take for cancer to go from an unmentionable disease to among the most visible and best-funded areas of medicine?

With some high-quality air filters, and a lot of duct tape, some teachers are making DIY air purifiers – one that was designed by experts but can be built by amateurs.